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It’s been nearly a year since Gamescom 2014 closed its doors and it’s only two more months until 2015 opens its doors again. I was lucky enough to attend the mayhem last year, so now I’m going to pass down how to get the best of Gamescom to any of you thinking of attending. Gamescom itself is a game! This is for the serious gamers. So check the list below and make sure you are ready for next year.
Booking
- Fly into Cologne. Don’t even think about flying into Frankfurt unless it is your last option (saves 4 hours from your journey at least).
- Book around Christmas (if you can) as it’s a lot cheaper and flights sell out!
- Book your hotel now! This is the most expensive part of the whole holiday and most of Cologne sells out a few months before Gamescom.
- Book your tickets last as, funnily enough, they’re the least expensive and they don’t go on sale until March at the earliest.
- Make sure, and I cant stress this enough, to have your hotel and flights booked by christmas. Otherwise, you could be screwed or forking out up to €4,000 for flights and a place to stay. Just to put it into perspective, my flights, accommodation and tickets cost me €300 euro in total for five nights stay. If I had bought this 4 months before Gamescom, it was working out at €3000 for accommodation and no flights to get there. Make sure to plan way ahead and don’t suffer like I am!
Getting around Cologne
- With your Gamescom ticket, you get four days of free travel around the city. I didn’t spend a single cent on transport the whole time I was there.
- The best and easiest way around is the trams or underground and surprisingly both were very safe.
- Don’t be afraid to ask anyone for help. It seems that everyone speaks English impeccably.
Gamescom
- Okay, so Gamescom is huge… and I don’t use this word lightly. No matter how big you think it is. It’s bigger!
- Make sure to pack 2 or 3 bottles of water a day as they will be used. The heat of 335,000 visitors is tremendous! Especially if you are cosplaying.
- Pack lunches as you will be queuing for several hours at times (there are places to buy food and drink but this will save you money and valuable time).
- Make sure you get your age band on the first day (Thursday) as this is quickest and you don’t have to worry all weekend, plus sometimes the bands are gone on other days.
- Bring I.D. — Although you have the age band, some companies such as 2K and Ubisoft do not take risks and ask for more proof. They will not come to an agreement if you don’t have I.D. It’s a simple no.
- Investing in some foldable chairs is a good idea, though I just sat on the floor the whole time and it was grand.
- Cards would also be a great investment.
- There is WiFi everywhere but, be warned, it is very temperamental and overall rarely works.
- Make sure each day you write out a list of what you want to do and see. Even in 4 days it’s almost impossible to get everything you want.
- Walk every area each day as there is constantly free stuff being thrown away.
- Keep an eye on each company’s schedules around their area, as you can get great free gifts such as games, T-shirts, posters, VIP passes and many others.
After Gamescom
- After you finish your day of Gamescom, check out Barcraft! You wont regret it.
- Another bar that’s worth seeing is Bar Of Legends.
- If gaming bars that go crazy all out during Gamescom isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe you should try the Saturday boat party where you can meet all types of game developers and so on with drinks and food!
- Cologne also throws 2 mini festivals around its city during this time so be sure to check these out.
- Finally, the most important thing: Have the time of your life!
Are you going to Gamescon? What are your own personal survival tips? Let us know in the comments!
