Ettin Games Association

Overview & Purpose

Ettin Con (and more broadly, any event run by the Ettin Games Association) is about bringing people together to play games. This prompts us to ensure that our events are inclusive, and therefore sensitive, in order to be safe for all to enjoy.

If you need a quick rule of thumb for everything below, here is a summary:

General Rules

All participants are expected to abide by the following rules. Please notify staff immediately if you observe anyone in violation of these rules. Any ticket sold subsequent to publication of these rules is subject to their conditions, and may be revoked without refund if the attendee is found to breach them.

1. Attendees under the age of 16 should be accompanied by a supervising adult at all times within the venue. For online games, we assume (and hope) that parents are aware of their children's activities and will do our best to warn young players away from mature-content sessions.
2. Ettin Con is a sober, drug-free event. Feel free to enjoy libations at any after-parties, off-site, subject to local laws. For online games, please also attend clear-minded.
3. Absolutely no gambling with real-world stakes: Wagers for in-game currency (tokens/monopoly money) are allowed as long as no-one experiences a real-world loss or gain. We're about fun and frivolity, not contributing to the social problem our country has with gambling.
4. Aggressive behavior and/or theft are never acceptable. Engaging in these will result in immediate ejection from the event. Local police will be notified of such behavior.
5. Respect our space and hosts, especially the Games Library. Please keep areas of egress clear of congestion, maintain respectful noise levels, do not run, do not litter, do not damage venue or EGA property, or post unauthorized materials on venue property (including stickers!). Please follow any policies set by the venue. Event staff will comply with any requests by the venue to remove attendees due to a violation of their policies.
6. Ettin Con has an attendee Safety & Inclusion Policy. It also has a comprehensive Anti-Harassment Policy. All attendees are expected to read and follow each of them. Failure to adhere to both could result in ejection from the event without a refund, and even a ban from attending future EGA events.
7. No solicitation or selling of goods by unauthorized vendors is allowed. If you aren’t a sponsor, please contact staff prior to the event in order to request/obtain permission to sell goods/services.
8. Be responsible for your wristband. Your wristband must be visible within the venue at all times. Do not loan out or trade your wristband with any other attendee. Please comply with any event staff requests to see your wristband. Please report any lost or stolen wristband to the registration desk.
9. Appropriate attire is required. If any attendee’s clothing (or lack thereof) is deemed inappropriate or unsafe for a public event, event staff reserve the right to ask them to change. See our Cosplay Guidelines for more details. Yes, you should still be reasonably dressed for an online session, even if you think your camera is off.

Public Games Library

1. Please remember that our library games were donated to, or purchased by, our non-profit organisation using donations and admission fees, and every loan extends trust to the borrower. We expect you to respect and honour that trust by caring for the games and being honest in your dealings with the library.
2. When you borrow a game, take note of how the components are packed so you can return it in the same state in which you received it. If any components are lost or damaged during play, please alert the library staff to this damage and offer to make this right. Remember, we keep records of these incidents and will be reluctant to lend to serial offenders.
3. Please avoid eating food while playing borrowed games. If you do eat food while playing you should accept that any resultant damage to the components is your responsibility. Parents: if you allow your children to eat while playing the game, you are responsible for any said damage.

Self Care

Gaming is a social activity! Please take the time to ensure you can enjoy yourself and not reduce the enjoyment of others. Get plenty of sleep, eat regular meals and hydrate during the day. Although it feels awful to say this, and most attendees don’t need to hear it, please ensure you and your garments are clean and laundered respectively. Phew! Let us never speak of this again.

Safety & Inclusion

We would like to welcome you all to Ettin Con! Our staff of volunteers and sponsors have worked very hard to make this convention happen. We couldn’t have done it without your help! Ettin Con is, above all else, about creating an inclusive gaming community where everyone can feel safe to be themselves while playing the types of games they enjoy. As part of maintaining that community, we would like everyone to agree to the following as guidelines for our behavior.

1. We agree that no form of harassment (insults, stalking, bullying, unwanted touching, etc) or discrimination (by gender, race, disability, etc) will be tolerated. We will abide by the EGA’s anti-harassment policy and report any harassment or discrimination to event staff.
2. We will all refrain from using language that can be considered homophobic, sexist, transphobic, racist, ableist, etc. This includes slurs on sexuality, trans status, neurotype, physical ability and others. If you’re not sure, ask a staff member for advice!
3. We will also avoid using offensive topics as a form of humor, such as making racist or sexual assault jokes. Anyone running a game session, scheduled or not, should do so with an awareness of our GM Procedure.
4. We will remember that even if it’s okay to say some of these things in our circles of friends, we are in a public place where these things are not acceptable.
5. We will remain open and respectful when called out for saying something offensive or hurtful. This means we will:
   1. Listen to the person speaking and let them speak without interruption. If we do not understand, we will ask clarifying questions when they are done speaking.
   2. Believe that our behavior has negatively impacted another and not attempt to invalidate this.
   3. Remember that we are not being judged as individuals, but instead asked to reflect on ways our behavior may unintentionally impact others.
   4. Ask for tips/help to avoid committing the same offense in the future.
   5. Own our behavior and apologize.
   6. If all else fails, ask a volunteer or staff member to help mediate the situation.
6. If somebody offends us, we will do our best to do the following:
   1. Find an appropriate time to pull them aside to discuss their behavior. If we are not comfortable doing this, we will notify a staff member so they can address the situation.
   2. Inform the person that what they have said or done is offensive and explain as best we can why.
   3. Try to help them understand how to avoid it in the future.
   4. Be open to forgiving the person for their mistake and helping them remain a part of our community.
   5. If all else fails, ask a staff member to help mediate the situation.
7. We will, above all else, remember that our goal is to create a community for everyone. This should inform our actions when calling out the behavior of others or being called out for own own. We are all human beings who will make mistakes as part of our learning process. Our goal at Ettin Con is to foster this growth.
8. We understand that there is no “right” to discriminate or actively make a space unsafe for others through our words and actions. We agree that there is no place for this mindset at Ettin Con, as it is counterproductive to our goals.
9. If we have any criticism or concerns regarding anyone kind enough to donate their time to take part in Ettin Con, we will politely and ideally privately bring it up with them and ask if they would like to discuss it. If we are unable to or uncomfortable doing so, we will notify a staff member of our concerns so they can address it.
10. We will strive to respect each other’s space and boundaries. We will ask before touching or taking any pictures of anyone. And we will politely respect anybody’s request for privacy or space.
11. We acknowledge that we represent Ettin Con to the community hosting us and our behavior reflects upon Ettin Con as a whole. We agree to hold ourselves accountable for our actions.

Cosplay Guidelines

“Family-Friendly” is a catch-all term meant to imply certain standards of propriety, but we know full well that our community does tend to embrace the weird, so the following points unpack the implications of that term when we use it:

1. Avoid Adult Themes: Costumes of an overly-sexualised nature, including those involving real or simulated partial nudity risk running afoul of our policies. If you are skirting this theme and are unsure if it will offend the sensibilities of our all-ages audience, please start a conversation with Ettin Con organisers prior to the event so we can discuss, review and advise you on safest practices.
2. Avoid Horror: Please avoid gore and try to not be too terrifying. Do not become a nightmare who drives our young attendees into therapy.
3. Avoid Violence and Beware Weaponry: No actual weapons, please. No realistic replica weapons, please. No loaded projectiles, please. No actual lasers, please. If you simply must bring foam-based LARP weapons to complete your ensemble, please keep them holstered whilst in the venue, unless safely, slowly posing for photos in a cleared space. Absolutely no LARP battles, no physical scuffles of any kind will be tolerated within the venue. Your behaviour directly outside the venue may also threaten our reputation with the venue owners, so please keep that in mind.
4. Additionally, whether in costume or not, participating in the cosplay competition or not, we expect all attendees to be dressed appropriately for a public, all-ages space which is both pleasant and hygienic, so please employ belts to the very best of your ability as needed. We cannot emphasise this point highly (or tightly) enough.

Violation of any of the above policies may result in warning and/or ejection. If you do mistakenly bring something against the rules but do not wish to leave the convention, event staff can secure it for you until the end of the day.

Anti-Harassment Policy

We reserve the right to remove anyone if they are found to be harassing someone. This includes everything from physical assault to unwelcome attention. At this convention, if someone says “no” it truly and seriously means “no.” This includes cosplay! Remember: Attire is never consent.

1. Verbal abuse.
2. Stalking.
3. Deliberate intimidation.
4. Taking clearly unwanted or inappropriate photos (asking permission is the best way to be sure!).
5. The use of social media to engage in any of the above behaviors while at the convention.
6. Unwanted physical attention of any kind.
7. Unwanted physical contact or abuse of any kind.

We recognize that lots of people take pictures at conventions, but please respect the privacy of those who ask you not to take their pictures. You should always ask permission before taking pictures of specific people. If you see someone taking a picture of you and you don’t want them to, please ask them (politely) not to.

If you have been harassed in any way or witness someone engaging in harassment, please notify one of our staff immediately. We’ll do our best to make sure the problem gets resolved and we’ll provide the targeted party with a safe space to chill. You may be asked to complete a report to document the incident. This is optional, but is very helpful in tracking patterns of behavior and ensuring the offender is dealt with appropriately. Any reports of harassment are kept confidential and the identity of the reporting party is never shared without their express consent.

In summary: Don’t be a jerk. Don’t be a creep. If someone asks you to stop and leave them alone, stop and leave them alone. Have fun, play games, and don’t mess up anyone else’s good time.