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Here are some tips we wish we'd known when we attended our first Protospiel. Please contact us if you think of other tips that should be added!
Read our page on How to Playtest.
Stan Kordonskiy has created a couple of informative videos: What is Protospiel? and Protospiel Feedback.
More info is available at Protospiel.Events.
Some events offer "early bird" pricing, because having people register in advance helps them estimate the total number of attendees to plan for. Help them and help yourself by registering as early as you can.
If you're coming from out of town, reserve a hotel room or somewhere else to sleep as soon as possible, even if your plans aren't solid yet. Hotels can fill up fast due to other unrelated events. And canceling a reservation generally costs nothing if you do it a few days in advance of the event.
If you're coming alone, consider asking on the Protospiel Facebook group if anyone is interested in a roommate. Housing expenses are by far the greatest Protospiel expense, see if you can halve them for yourself and someone else.
Add your games to the prototypes list, so other attendees can seek you out to play your game. Check the prototypes list before you arrive for games that you would like to playtest.
The prototypes list works better if it shows your real world name as the Designer. If that's not what you see in the list, go to your Tabletop Events account, look under Preferences for Which name would you like to be displayed on the site?, and select "Real Name".
Your game can be in any stage of development for playtesting at Protospiel. It can be pitch-ready, or it can be pencil scrawls on index cards. It can be a core mechanism that isn't even a complete game yet. All we ask is that, if possible, you've solo-tested it at least once.
Bring a water bottle. You'll be talking a lot. And you'll help cut down on forgotten water cups being left on tables for others to clean up.
Bring snacks. It's easy to miss a meal when you're engaged in a game. If they're not allowed in the hall, keep them in your room or your ride. Sometimes the event will provide snacks, but they can go fast. All that said, consider opportunities to get out of the hall and grab a meal with others. Making new friends is one of the best things about our hobby.
Don't bring a printer. Bring colored pens / sharpies to mark stuff up as needed instead. If the venue is a hotel, you can probably get something printed by their front desk.
Table space is almost always at a premium. Unless you have explicit permission from the organizers, absolutely never claim a table as your own. Set up your game just before you're ready to playtest it, put it away as soon as you are done. Never leave your unused stuff on a table: find an out-of-the-way place at the edge of the room and leave it there.
Climate control in a room with several dozen people can be tricky. Your host may not have control over the thermostat. Bring a light jacket or hoodie or sweater, even when it's hot outside.