Offline Major Survival Guide

Since Combo Breaker will be a first offline tournament for a lot of folks, I decided to write this handy guide which will help you plan for the event.

THINGS YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE GOING TO ANYTHING:

- Download Venmo & Paypal. This will make splitting money with people way easier, since things like rideshares will frequently be on one person's card. Figuring out cash stuff is really irritating, and especially in a post-covid era people are less likely to carry cash on hand.

- Get a reusable water bottle. This will save you, I promise. If you don't mind dropping cash for a nice one, anything by Klean Kanteen is usually good.

- Make a Twitter account. Not everyone will be willing to share their phone number with you off the bat. This is the best way to connect with people and find information, and also help people locate you if you lose something. You can nuke it after the event, but have one on hand so that you can contact people. If somehow you don't have a discord account, that's also good to have.

- Have a backpack or messenger bag that will carry most of your belongings. Extra important if you play on a larger input device.

- Label *everything* you can with your name and a way to contact you (ideally the twitter account). FGC people will generally try and get your lost items back to you, but they need a way to contact you first. Masking tape with something scribbled on a sharpie is usually fine.

- Any medications should be portioned out for the weekend and carried separately. You don't want to be screwed on an antidepressant or stimulant because you lost the bottle out of town (I did this my first year at SGDQ, it was horrible).

- Make sure you have either a drivers license or government issued ID. You need this to even get into security. I believe that RealIDs are required starting in 2023, so do some research and make plans for a trip to the DMV / RMV if possible. Passports work too.

 

Booking Flights

Always book flights in an incognito window to get the best prices. I can't remember why you do this, but I've been doing it for years.

For websites, I personally use Kayak.com, but there are other ways to find flights. DO NOT BOOK SPIRIT OR FRONTIER. IT IS ALWAYS A BAD IDEA. IT WILL NOT EVEN SAVE YOU MONEY BECAUSE THEY WILL HIT YOU WITH THE EXTRA FEES. My preferred airlines are JetBlue and Southwest, but Delta is usually okay for me. Mixed experiences on American. For the most part though, they're the same minus the two I mentioned.

If you've never been to an airport before, make sure you get there super early ( I aim for two hours early. If you're flying at a busy time of day in a huge city, you might want to aim for three). Missing flights is a huge source of stress, but if it does happen- don't panic. Airlines are generally good about rescheduling you as long as you talk to people at the airline help desk. 

If possible, take a screenshot of your ticket on your phone. Having it digitally

Booking Rooms

Fighting game players tend to stack rooms like sardines. Having a sleeping bag or other set-up that you can bring on an airplane will help. You technically aren't supposed to do this, but the hotel staff doesn't care as long as you don't go out of your way to tell them.  

If you're in charge of booking the room, do so through the hotel's website. You might have to call them and specifically tell them it's for the event to get the discounted rooms. Hotel staff are practically engineered to be nice to you, so don't sweat it. They'll help you out as much as they possibly can.

Airport Security Stuff 

If you've never been through airport security, it's a lot. Be prepared to take off your shoes, belt, jewelry, etc for hopping into the dystopian body scanner. I generally put all of this stuff in my bag beforehand and dress super light.  

If you play on an arcade stick, hitbox, or keyboard, always take this out and put it into a separate tray when it goes through the conveyor belt scanner. Whether or not this technology gets you stopped will depend solely on the TSA agent checking it and the airport you're in (I get stopped every time I go through San Francisco. Boston & Orlando have not stopped me once). If you do get stopped, don't panic. They usually just swab it with something that checks for explosive residue. Tell them that its a video game controller- they'll probably understand what it is. 

TSA agents might seem really mean. They're just trying to get you in and out as fast as they can, so if they seem off-putting- don't take it personally. They're also usually very good at helping you answer questions, so if you're not sure of something- ask.

Make sure that your resuable water bottle

Venue / Airport transportation

Find people who are arriving at a similar time to you at the airport so that you can split a rideshare to the venue (Lyft, Uber, Etc). There are sometimes locals who are willing to drive you, but don't rely on it. Depending on the event, there may be shuttles from the airport which will take you straight to or near the venue.

Sidenote, find out as much about the local area as you can beforehand. You don't want to be stuck in a sketchy area with nowhere to go late at night, but usually events are good to communicate with you about it.

Money

Once you've booked your flight and room, you'll need to plan your finances for the rest of the trip. Scout food options near the venue using google maps and figure out what your budget is. I usually bring about $100 for food depending on the event and how much I want to go out. I tend to rely more on healthy snacks than eating out in order to save money. I strongly recommend scouting the area near the venue for convenience stores. If there isn't one, buy as much as possible beforehand. Don't rely on buying things at the airport- those are usually really expensive.

I always put some of my cash in a separate place in my bag, just so I have emergency money if I lose my wallet.

There will be other things to spend money on at the venue too. There are usually art booths and hardware booths for buttons. Sometimes there are retro game sales. T-shirts, etc. Set aside some fuck off money if you can swing it. Majors are often a good place to replace buttons or pick up some nice prints.

It's better to over budget than under budget. You never know when emergencies might pop up, or when surprise food / transportation fees will blow you up.

Packing

Bring enough clothes for the weekend, and for the love of god bring deodorant. I don't care if you don't think you have body odor- these rooms can get super warm and sweaty. Brings extra sock sand underwear, as well as comfortable clothes to sleep in. Portable phone chargers are also super good.

Absolutely bring a water bottle, but keep it empty before you go through airport security as outlined above. You can usually refill it at a water station beforehand.

The Event

Show up early to your pools. Be proactive with the volunteer or judge running them. I promise you, they won't ever get mad at you as long as you communicate with them about scheduling. They're trying to get your matches done as fast as possible and will work with you on things like bathroom breaks and stick issues. Look at your brackets beforehand and make sure that you have the times written down. You'll know where in the venue to go because there are usually signs for each area, separated by game.

It can be really tempting to stay up insanely late to play more matches and laugh with friends, but take care of yourself. The classic rule is: Get at least six hours of sleep and eat at least two meals (plus snacks!) every day. Naps are also good. I generally plan time to go and lay down in the hotel room between matches when I can.

Social Stuff

To get in casual sets and warm-ups, you will need to talk to people. If you see two people on a setup, just ask if you can get next. The worst thing they can say is no. Again, people in the greater FGC will generally match the energy you present them with, so as long as you're polite- they'll be polite to you. The only time I wouldn't do this is if you see money visible on the table- that means there's probably a moneymatch going on. Usually, the default rule is- loser gets up unless the winner offers to get up instead.

Outside of all that, please MAKE SURE YOU HAVE FUN AT THE EVENT. Even if you're a hardcore competitor like I am, don't sweat the tournament too much. You don't want to have your mood nosedive because you don't play as well as you hope in bracket. You'll be with your friends. The games that you love playing will be there in their best form; take advantage of that time. Take pictures. These things are really, really fun!