Reviews

As the con chair, let me start by thanking whoever put this up in the first place, but let me clear up a few points:

First, we're in Massachusetts, not Maryland. Sorry Mid-Atlantic states, but you can check out our sister convention, Intercon Mid-Atlantic.

Second, we are a LARPing convention. There (understandably) isn't a category for that, and Gaming is the closest match, but I just wanted to inform interested parties before they get the wrong idea. We are a primarily Theater-Style larping con, and if you are curious, I invite you to check out our web site and read all the definitions and descriptions there.

Looking forward to a great convention!
Chad Bergeron, Intercon L Con Chair

I had a great time with my clan at the convention. There was something for everyone with the variety of events and games. Gaming was stepped up this year, keep it coming!We are looking forward to the convention coming back to Tampa.
Many thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts!
Last but not least Ben Bova was a great guest to have, very personable, funny, interesting, and worldly.

Necro is an amazing con! 2011 was my second year attending and it did not disappoint, I love the atmosphere and how the convention is really about the fans getting together for a good time rather than how many people can pack a hotel to see this or that overrated actor or director for 100 bucks on top of entry. The dinner is always nice, the staff is friendly, the con suite is well stocked with goodies for geeks (though bring your own energy drinks) and the hotel is wonderful for the event. The con always has great guests, thought-provoking "science fact" panels (like "Researching Immortality") as well as fun panels (like the "Starship Smakdown").

It's nice having a top-notch con close to home where I can have a lot of fun. I would love to see Necronomicon stay in St. Pete but I understand that they have their reasons for moving back to Tampa in 2013. Because of that move though I will be attending in 2012 and gaming all night (yes, they do gaming ALL NIGHT to those of you who complained about a lack of gaming) to maximize what may be the last time I get to go for a while.

All in all an amazing con with amazing people.

We are a family of 3 and nowadays our son comes with to the convention. What this does is shows me how all of us and other con goers can stay highly entertained for 3 jam packed days.
The hotel has gotten wiser in how to deal with the crowd of fans as well (thank you so much for putting the con suite on the lobby floor so I didn't spend a lifetime waiting for elevators!)(our one hotel meal was so incredibly delicious too, now I've got to try to make tapenade)
My husband is about the gaming. He runs a game pretty much every year and then plays in a number of others. This year he ran the one that's being published as a Chaosium contest winner for their Halloween event. He got a full table of players at noon on Sunday! But he was in the game room having a blast a whole lot. The gaming rocks, and so do the people in charge of it (their web scheduling lets us plan a bit ahead even)
My son has become all about the costumes. This year he made the jump into the adult category. I sewed my fingers off, and also did a heap of construction so I could put my guys in Mars costumes. There were a couple panels that he wanted to see, and of course the con-troll room eats up his time. He's rapidly learning to be a happy con nerd
As for me, love the Art Show and the panels. I don't get as much time for panels since we started bringing our kid so I've become more selective. For me the intense small panels are the best. I've sat through the popular ones for years and I'm eager to hit the next level with these. Managed to get a really great print at the Art Show that will go with something I bought last year - the colors are brilliant and I'm glad it was the one bid I won.
Oh, and the Dealers Room. My husband doesn't spend much time there, just enough to say what he might just like to see under the Christmas tree. Kiddo though is slowing working on owning some stuff for D&D. I got to talk with a game system author and find out that he and I had the same likes in games we both played, and the same quirky dislikes. Since I knew where he was coming from I laid down my money for a pretty sure shot at a system I'm going to enjoy with my son and hubby at home. More that one dealer was giving discounts - I had 3 purchases for less than the given price at a store and even a freebie for my son (he won a book that he has already ravenously read through).
Lastly the Survivors Raffle. Wow, that's getting crowded. It's great to see so many folks make it to the very end. Of the 3 of us in the family we had one winning ticket - well there is a lot more competition now. A year ago we each won something.
Each of us found our niche, and this year we couldn't even squeeze in time in the video rooms. Good thing the dealers room has a lady doing massage since I get no down time (she did my feet and it was heaven!)

I have read all the reviews here, both positive and negative, and what I am getting overall is that for those who like the sort of convention we hold, it was great and for those looking for something else, it was not. If you want just a gaming con, that's not us. If you want an anime con, that's not us. If you want a con that's got a lot of focus on writing and reading science fiction, fantasy and horror and on attendant interests, that's us. Choose your cons wisely. If you want a gaming con, go to GenCon in the summer. If you want an actor con, go to Vulcan Events. If you want an anime con, go to Metrocon. These are all good places to get what you want but don't compare apples and oranges and call them the same. We are not those kinds of conventions and never will be. We are a science fiction, fantasy and horror convention with an emphasis on the literature. If you are a reader, we are your convention. If you are not, you may not find us to your liking.

The hotel is extremely dry, and the convention's spaces are stuck back in what seem to be second-rate meeting rooms for the most part. The Hotel staff was pleasant, but more could have been done all around to accommodate the event.

The gaming department is mismanaged, my attempts to get information on where I might find several games being completely blown off by Dean Dryer, who is listed as the head of the very department. Apparently he was too concerned with some kids lighting stink bombs to do his job when I found him (by gaming registration) on Saturday.

Is it a gaming convention or a book show? Walking down the main hall is downright creepy. All the way down, tables line the main hallway on both sides with second-rate authors trying to get your attention with their plaintive stares, and insincere greetings so that maybe, maybe you will buy their book. This went on into the vendor room, with half of the spaces taken up by still more aspiring writers instead of anything involved with gaming.

The guest star was brought out so everyone could see in one cramped room, and then everyone who didn't pay the poorly advertised additional fee was thrown out of the room before any meaningful questions could be answered.

I haven't been in a few years, and was hoping things had gotten better since the debacle at the last hotel, but all in all I am disappointed. Someone fresh needs to takes the reigns of this once-great convention before it finally folds.

I've been heading to Necro every year since I moved to Florida, for about 6 years now. It's a great time every year. The Gaming department is headed by some amazing people who really support their Game Masters and Players. The panel schedule is always full of fun and really interesting material, and the Guests of Honor are always friendly and helpful to fans. The Art Show is home to a thousand different pieces of all different types, and the masquerade is always amazing to see.

This convention has something for everyone. The panels were great and the staff is wonderful. My favorite panel was the trivia contest, hosted by Timothy Zahn.

Necro was terrific this year. I brought a friend who was working in the dealers room, so I got there before Noon; I deposited her and her stuff at her table and went out to explore. Since it was very early, the place was just getting started. I attended one of the new-this-year gaming panels, and said hello to some of my con friends I only see a couple-times a year.

I looked into the Art Show ,which for me isn't generally a strong attraction, but I did bid on (and eventually win) a neat pen-and-ink drawing of Serenity.

Gaming started at 4PM Friday to a full house. I sat down to a Savage (Worlds) Ghostbusters game that still has me shaking with laughter. A quick bite from the nearby Subways, and the my own RPG game began, and I was gratified to have some really great players to spend the evening with.

As some other commenters have mentioned, there's a great farmers market across the street that I have somehow missed in previous years, so Saturday I wandered over there and had some breakfast, including some amazing freshly-squeezed tangerine juice that really got me energized for the day.

Saturday was spent bashing monkey-men in the gaming room and hanging out with friends.

If I have one complaint with the setup of the hotel, it's that the hotel bar is very far from the center of things. In other venues, a large bar was centrally located and contributed to the party atmosphere: seeing super heroes and anime characters belly up to the bar for a beer is great fun. There is none of this at this location, but others may consider this a benefit, so YMMV.

The Masquerade costume contest was very good this year, with lots of entries and wonderful getups and funny skits. Great fun.

Sunday, bleary-eyed and hoarse, I gamed some more after checking out of my room, slinging dice in Wonderland. The ice-cream social was soothing on my rough throat. I ended the Con at the Survivor's raffle at 4PM, and the room was entirely packed! There were hundreds of convention-goers (mostly gamers, I think) filling every table and lining the walls and crowded around the doorway. Dozens and dozens of "bags-o-crap" were given away, the largess of our generous sponsors. The final gift (a second-hand PS2!) marked the end of the con, so it was time to shake hands all around and bid a fond farewell until next year.

This is my favorite convention for gaming in Florida! I've been a fan of the move to the Bayfront Hilton in St. Petersburg, as there are plenty of nice eateries within short walking distance, the Saturday Morning Market is a nice diversion in the middle of the weekend, and it's just a short stroll to the beach. (It also helps that there's a Publix grocery right across the street, for last-minute snack runs, and a well-stocked con suite not far from the gaming room.)

The gaming department staff is friendly, helpful, and well-organized. The game rooms are spacious and kept at a comfortable temperature even when the tables are packed. Attendance was great; I ran 4 Savage Worlds game scenarios this year, and every single one (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) had full player groups at the table. The "ice cream social" was a nice touch on Sunday afternoon, as I got a chance to catch up with several local gamers, and to meet some new faces.

As for guests, one of my favorite sci-fi authors, Timothy Zahn, was there, and I loved the selection in the dealer's room and the art room (though I've got mixed feelings about the prevalence of lots of prints vs. original works).

I found the hotel staff to be very helpful, and the only rough point I ran into was with parking on Saturday - but even then, the hotel had a backup plan in place, and I was able to find an alternative with little trouble.

I'm looking forward to Necronomicon 2012, and I'm considering checking out "Necro Game Day" in July.