Tickets for the convention will go on sale on this site some time in July 2024. You can register for a Project Boo account in advance of this time.

Ticket prices will be confirmed nearer the time.

You can buy your tickets from this site and can choose from one of three available payment methods :

• Bank transfer (sent in advance)
• Cheque (sent in advance)
• Paypal (at point of purchase)

If paying by bank transfer or cheque, payment details will be contained within your order confirmation, and payment must be made within 10 days of placing your order or it is at risk of cancellation.

Once tickets are booked and paid, refunds can only be paid in the event that the convention does not go ahead.

The convention reception desk will be open from 9am each morning on the day of the convention - we ask that you don't come up to it in search of your tickets before that time, and instead queue outside the convention area so that we can get set up.

The convention reception desk will generally be staffed throughout the day until early evening on Friday and Saturday (generally around 6 - 7pm), and around lunchtime on Sunday. Outside those times, you can track down committee members wearing their cornflower blue t-shirts, or there may be one or more mobile numbers listed at the reception desk you can call in case of issues.

You can collect your pre-purchased tickets from the convention reception desk - see above for opening times.

The convention gaming areas will be open from 9am until the early hours of the morning, Friday and Saturday, and notionally until 6pm on the Sunday, although the hotel tends not to mind people continuing playing past that time.

If you are staying overnight on the Sunday, you may wish to move into the bar / mezzanine areas to continue playing after 6pm, in case the hotel decide they wish to tidy up the tables and chairs in the main gaming area.

The hotel has following types of room (subject to availability) - prices in brackets are per night for single / double / triple occupancy and include breakfast :

• Classic double / twin (£79 / £92)
• Executive double / twin (£89 / £102)
• Executive family (£109 / £122 / £142)
• Suite (£139 / £152 / £172)

IMPORTANT : please note that all bookings are paid for in full at the time of booking, and are non-refundable (although they may be transferable at the hotel's discretion).

We have secured a discounted rate (including breakfast) for the hotel for Friday and Saturday nights (shown above).

If you are arriving earlier, or leaving later, then you can chance your arm and ask for the discounted rate to be applied to the Thursday and / or Sunday night(s) as well, but this is by no means guaranteed.

Some have had success with this in the past.

The best method is to call the hotel direct (01332 521234) as the hotel is generally more clued up about the availability of the discounted convention rate. The trick is getting them to answer the phone, however.

Should you have no joy with that number, the hotel also publicises another telephone number that you can try to reach them on, which is 0330 028 3404, but calls to that number, if not answered by the hotel, may transfer to central reservations with the Best Western group (of which the hotel is a part), who often have no knowledge of the convention-specific rate.

You can try your luck with Best Western central reservations direct on 03330 035442 but that is probably best used as a last resort.

You could also try emailing the hotel direct at info@derbymickleoverhotel.co.uk but we would recommend telephoning them if at all possible.

Absolutely not - whilst the convention block books the majority of the rooms at the hotel, these often sell out.

There are a number of alternative hotels within walking and driving distance of the hotel - see the hotels page on this site for details.

As in previous years, we have arranged for the hotel to lay on MidCon meals.

On all three days of the convention there will be lunch available to purchase, and on the Friday and Saturday there will be dinner available to purchase.

We have asked the hotel to try and cater to as many dietary requirements as possible, and expect the meals, which will be served in the hotel's main dining room, to be priced at around the £8 - £9 mark.

Lunch will be served from 12:30 PM until 2:00 PM. Dinner will be served from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM.

Between 2:00 PM and 6:30 PM a variety of cold bar food (sandwiches, etc.) will be available to order from the main hotel bar.

During the evening, the main hotel restaurant will also be serving its normal menu for those who would like it.

Breakfast is available to those who are staying at the hotel.

Whilst a bottle of something soft next to you whilst you're playing a game isn't a problem, we'd prefer you patronised the hotel bar, restaurant, and convention lunch, rather than open a picnic basket and bring out a four course feast. It helps us to keep us friendly with the hotel.

Very much so. Despite our Chairman being fond of saying that it's a games convention, not a real ale festival, we take great pains in lining up a number of excellent ales from local breweries each year, which are available at the bar in the main gaming room.

Details on how to get to the convention, whether coming by car, bus, or train, can be found on the convention's homepage.

Yes - whether you are staying at the hotel or not, if you are attending the convention you are able to park for free at the hotel.

It is absolutely essential* that you register your vehicle with reception to cover your whole stay (if staying at the hotel) or each day you are attending (if not). Parking is enforced by a third party company who are militant about chasing and enforcing parking fines.

* I write from bitter experience, having just finished a two year fight with the same company as a result of my wife's seeming inability to enter her complete car registration number into the parking machine when going for a haircut.

Not as far as we are aware. The nearest charge points are at the BP Pulse petrol station in Mickleover, which has two CCS/CHAdeMO chargers which say that they'll deliver 150 / 100 kW respectively.

Whether they actually do or not depends on how they're feeling on the day. I think I peaked at 60kW on the CCS last year.

The Bring and Buy runs on the Saturday of the convention.

10:30 - 11:00 AM - sellers bring their games to the Bring and Buy, check them in, receive their barcodes and apply their barcodes to the games.

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM - buyers can enter the Bring and Buy to purchase games.

11:30 AM - 12:00 NOON - sellers can come to the Bring and Buy to reprice any unsold games (this can also be done online at any time), or collect any unsold games and any proceeds of sale (if they are not going to be around for the afternoon session).

4:30 PM - 5:00 PM - sellers can come to the Bring and Buy to check in any new games, or reprice any existing games.

5:00 PM - 5:30 PM - buyers can enter the Bring and Buy to purchase games.

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM - sellers must reclaim any unsold games and collect any proceeds of sale - any games remaining at the end of this time will be considered abandoned and given to charity.

From the convention's website, click on the Dashboard link at the top of the page. Then, on your dashboard, click on the My Bring and Buy Items menu item on the left hand side.

On mobile devices, the Dashboard link shows as a profile icon, or can be accessed via the mobile menu. Once in the dashboard, you will find the My Bring and Buy Items in the mobile menu.

You will then see your Listings, which will (probably) be empty). Use the box on the right (or further down the page, on mobile devices) to search for the game you want to sell. Add details of its version (if applicable), its condition, its price and any relevant notes, then click on the Add button.

If you have already purchased your ticket to MidCon, then you will be able to assign your listing to the convention either when you're creating the listing, or after you've created it.

Once you've created your listings and assigned them to MidCon, then come along to the Bring and Buy at the relevant time (see above) and they will be received, your barcode(s) will be printed out, and they will be available for purchase.

Yes - create a new listing for the main item in the bundle (let's say it's Carcassonne, for sake for of example).

You will then see the listing in your listings under My Bring and Buy Items - there will be a plus icon next to it - if you click on that, you can then add as many other items to the bundle as you wish.

Once you've created a listing, you can change its price at any time before assigning it to a convention.

After a listing is assigned to a convention, and received at it, you can change its price, but only downwards from its original price.

So you if you list the item at £40 you can later change that to £35, and again later still to £30, but you can never change it to more than its current price (so if you change it to £30 first time, you cannot revise it to £35, even though that is lower than its original starting price)

If you change a listing's price then you should also track down the physical item at the Bring and Buy and change the price on the label (or ask the staff to print you a new label) but it is not essential to do so - if someone buys it after you've changed the price, they will be charged the new price, irrespective of what is shown on the label.

You can pay for items that you purchase with :

• Cash
• Card
• The proceeds (net of commission) of any items you've sold

The convention charges a commission of 10% (rounded to the nearest 10 pence) on all items sold at the Bring and Buy.

There is no limit, but please bear in mind that we have a small window for checking-in games, so please do not turn up with hundreds.

At the end of the morning and afternoon selling sessions there is a 30 minute window for sellers to come along, reprice their games (after the morning session only), collect any unsold games and remove them from sale, and collect the proceeds of any sold games (less commission).

Proceeds will be paid in cash. All sales, and any commission paid, will be shown in your Dashboard under My Bring and Buy Items.

In no particular order, check these things :

1. You've got a Project Boo account - you cannot create listings for the Bring and Buy before you've got an account!
2. You've got a ticket for the convention - the system will only let you allocate listings to MidCon if it knows that you're going to MidCon (so have bought a ticket through your account, or been allocated a ticket that someone else bought for you - see 3).
3. If someone else bought your ticket for you (as part of a group purchase) then they can allocate the ticket to your account. Within their orders section of their dashboard, they will see the option to manage ticket allocation. If they follow their nose there, and enter the email address associated with your account, they can allocate the ticket to you, at which point the system will recognise that you're going to MidCon.
4. You're pricing your listing in GBP - MidCon transacts in GBP at the Bring and Buy, so if you've created (or are creating) a listing priced in another currency, you will not be able to allocate it to MidCon.

Sorry, but no. We have a short window before the first selling session to check-in everyone's games, and it doesn't give us enough time to list games for you.

You should be able to create listing via your phone at any stage. If you are struggling track down Giles on the Friday and he will do his best to help you.

We leave it up to attendees to organise games amongst themselves, and urge them make the most of the the Find A Game feature of this website to set up games that others can book on to, or to join games that need players if you're at a loose end and looking for something to play.

If you enjoy parkrun (even if you don't), then Giles Bennett will be organising an outing to Markeaton parkrun on the Saturday morning, leaving from reception at 8:20 AM with room in his car. #DFYB

The Bring and Buy takes place in the morning and late afternoon on the Saturday - see the relevant section of these FAQs for full details.

The Saturday evening sees the ever-popular Quiz, compered by David Norman, at 10:00pm in the Atlee room (see the hotel plan for its precise location).

Spirit Games will be in attendance throughout the convention selling a wide range of new boardgames. There is also the popular Bring and Buy (full details above).

There's any number of ways. Probably the simplest is to set up a game for it using the website's Find a Game feature - in your dashboard, go to My Games and then fill in the relevant details. That will show it as available on the website, as well as advertise it on Discord, and other players will be able to join.

Alternatively you could post about it on the Facebook group, or directly into the Discord yourself (both are linked to from the footer of the site).

Or just sit down at a table, start setting up the game, and beam at passers-by with a hopeful look on your face!

The aim of MidCon is simple - to give people a place to play a huge range of games with others from all over the country (and overseas), with facilities such as a games shop, a second-hand games Bring & Buy for you to both sell and buy games, two bars, a Saturday night quiz, and more.

The convention is run by unpaid, slightly-harassed volunteers and not the hotel, so any problems other than with your room, drink or hotel food should be addressed to a Committee member (different coloured name badges, wearing sky-blue polo shirts).

You can see more details about who's who on the committee here.

The convention runs from 9:00 AM on Friday 3rd November to 6:00 PM on Sunday 5th November (although the hotel tends not to mind people staying for a little while after that time).

MidCon takes place at the Derby Mickleover hotel in Mickleover, a small town on the outskirts of Derby. Directions to the convention via various methods of transport can be found here - if coming by car, parking is plentiful and free but you must register your car at reception to avoid a hefty parking fine.

Advance tickets are £25 for the entire weekend, or £15 / £15 / £10 for the Friday / Saturday / Sunday when booked before 27th October 2023. Generally tickets are the same daily prices, but £30 for the entire weekend. All can be bought online here.

Subject to availability, tickets will also be available on the door.

MidCon takes over the entire convention wing of the hotel, which contains two small rooms, two medium rooms and one very large room, along with toilets. There is also playing space on the first floor of the hotel's main rotunda, and a further room (which will probably be used for the Bring & Buy) on the top (3rd) floor of the hotel's main rotunda. There will shortly be a site plan on this website showing the layout in more detail.

Absolutely not - many people do, but it's not obligatory unless there is something that you absolutely want to play.

Keep an eye out on this website's Find A Game section where people will post details of games that they are playing for which they are looking for other players. Speak to one of the committee members and they will help you find something suitable. Or, if you've bought a game with you that you want to play, find a table, put up a "looking for players" sign and start setting up and you will almost certainly find some takers.

Alternatively you could post about it on the Facebook group, or directly into the Discord yourself (both are also linked to from the footer of the site).

See the Food and Drink section above for full details.

If your problem is with the hotel itself, then please try reception first, and then seek out a committee member if you don't get any joy there - we will do whatever we can to help, but are limited (we cannot magic up empty hotel rooms at 3:00 AM, nor clear out the toilets if they become blocked).

If your problem is with the convention, then find a committee member and talk to them.

MidCon is a friendly convention, so any attendee should hopefully be able to help any other attendee if they have an issue.

Just track down any member of the committee who will be happy to receive feedback, both positive and negative, as we are always looking for ways to improve the convention experience for all attendees.