CaptainCon Policies

Universal Attendee Policies:

CaptainCon is dedicated to providing the best social tabletop gaming experiences for all attendees. Key to that is maintaining a safe, fun, welcoming, and accessible environment for all attendees.  We do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, physical ability, or any of the other myriad wonderful ways that people are individuals and we require the same of all attendees, vendors, event organizers, volunteers, staff, exhibitors, and guests of CaptainCon.  What does that mean for you?  Well, it boils down to 9 simple rules, guidelines, and consequences:

1. Wear your badge at all times – Your CaptainCon membership badge is your access pass to all the fun things at CaptainCon and we ask that you wear/display it while at the show. Event organizers and volunteers have been instructed not to let anyone play who doesn’t have a badge and persons without a badge may be asked to leave, so do yourself a favor and please don’t forget it in your hotel room.
   
   

2. Harassment is prohibited – Any form of harassment of others at CaptainCon will not be tolerated. This includes harassment of someone based on their age, gender identity/expressions, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical appearance, religion, or disability as well as harassment based on gameplay suchas being a poor sport or bad winner/loser. Harassment includes stalking, verbal abuse/insults or threats, offensive or discriminatory joking/comments, unwanted sexual advances, unwanted physical contact, physical threatening/intimidation, bathroom policing, hate symbols, teasing/jokes/innuendo of an unwanted sexual nature, sexually explicit behavior and subjecting others to photos/mages/video/gestures of an offensive or otherwise unwanted nature.
   
   COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT to be inappropriate. Intoxication is not a free pass for bad behavior. Seriously, don’t be a creep. When a person says “no” you’ve already used up one or more warnings.
   
   Persons found violating this policy will face appropriate consequences as determined by CaptainCon staff which may include, but is not limited to, being expelled from a particular event, removal from CaptainCon for the remainder of the convention, or possible banning from future conventions. Local law enforcement may also be informed as appropriate.
   
   We treat harassment seriously at CaptainCon and this includes respecting the privacy of victims and avoiding social mobs. All reports of harassment made to the convention organizers/staff/volunteers will be recorded and acted upon, but identities of all parties involved will be kept confidential unless required by law.
   
   

3. Physical assault and threatening are prohibited – Violence against others at CaptainCon will not be tolerated. We value the health and safety of our attendees, vendors, and staff. This isn’t Fight Club! Threating violence against another person at CaptainCon or physically assaulting a person or malicious destruction of property will result in corrective action that can include expulsion from the convention, banning from future conventions, and/or contacting local law enforcement for their intervention.
   
   

4. Illegal drugs are prohibited – Seriously, we hate that we even have to spell this out, but if you’re caught buying, selling, sharing, or using illegal drugs at CaptainCon we must take corrective action that can include expelling you from the convention, banning you from future conventions, contacting emergency medical services, or contacting local law enforcement. If you’re a user of prescription medicine (including medical cannabis) we expect you not to “share” your medicine with others.
   
   Smoking/vaping and consumption of alcohol are governed by local laws and we will follow all local laws and venue rules. Please help us by enjoying responsibly and staying in the rules. This includes not smoking/vaping inside the hotel and exercising moderation when drinking. Remember that you are responsible for your actions at all times.
   
   Events/activities designated as “21+” are strictly 21+. Event organizers may not allow individuals under the age of 21 to participate, please don’t ask them to make an exception.
   
   

5. Theft is prohibited – Yes, we’re a bunch of pirates, but theft is not tolerated at CaptainCon. If you are caught stealing from anyone at CaptainCon (attendees, vendors, the hotel, guests) we will take enforcement action up to and including expelling you from the convention, banning you from future conventions, and contacting local law enforcement.
   
   

6. Restrictions on weapons, items, cosplay – Possession of real weapons is governed by applicable local laws which CaptainCon will follow. Replica and prop weapons are permitted as part of cosplay and generally enjoying the fandom of gaming, but we reserve the right to inspect any such weapons at any time. Please help us to help you enjoy the show by making sure that any costume weapons are clearly non-functional: no sharp-edged metal swords/daggers/etc., replica firearms should have an orange tip or other clear indicator, and bows/crossbows should be strung with low-tension strings. Costumes with stilts, wings, or bulky protruding sections may be prohibited from some areas of the convention (such as the crowded miniatures tournament hall) for the safety and convenience of yourself and others. Lastly, it should go without saying, but please don’t brandish or swing your cosplay weapon at another person other than when posing for a photo of mutual consent. If you start hitting people, you’ll be asked to leave per the assault rule above.
   
   

7. Look after your stuff – We make every effort to provide a safe, fun, and secure environment. However, our staff and volunteers can’t be everywhere all the time and we all know that no matter how great most gamers are, there’s always a few bad apples so we can’t be responsible for your lost or stolen property. If you leave your bag sitting under a table and wander off, you do so at your own risk that someone might move it, accidentally kick it, or turn it in as lost property causing you great stress when you return.
   
   

8. Clean up after yourself – This is just basic courtesy to your fellow gamers. We strive to have lots of tables open for casual play and many event space tables are shared in shifts. Please help us to help you by cleaning up after you’re done at a table. Throw your trash away in the provided trash barrels, return any table signs or other setup to how it was when you sat down, and know that the next gamers will be appreciative.
   
   

9. Report Violations – We can’t be everywhere at once, so we rely on you to help us make the above rules work. If you see a violation of any rules or are a victim of violations of these rules, please report it right away. Find a volunteer who can bring you to one of us if you can’t find us directly. You can always find someone with the convention staff at either the convention registration desk or the Captain’s Log/Board Game Library.

Other Convention Policies:

• Badge sales and Refunds – All badge and merch sales on site at the show are final and cannot be refunded, though exchanges are permitted at the discretion of staff. Advance badge sales via the website are fully refundable within 60 days of purchase except that no refunds can be issued after December 31st prior to the convention.
  
  

• Merch Pickup – All convention merchandise pre-purchased through the website will be held for pickup on site at the convention. We cannot mail it to you as some is produced to order right before the show. If you are unable to make it to CaptainCon for some reason, consider making arrangements to have someone pick up your stuff for you at the show and let us know so that we’re expecting them.
  
  

• Photos and Video – While you are at CaptainCon you recognize and agree that convention staff or other attendees may take your photograph or record you on video or audio as part of documenting the convention, for media reporting purposes, or for advertising. All photos taken by CaptainCon staff or volunteers for use by the show become the property of New England Privateers, LLC to use as we see fit with or without attribution to the subject(s) of the photo.
  
  

• Right of Refusal – CaptainCon and New England Privateers, LLC reserve the right to remove and/or refuse admittance and sale to any individual due to past violations of the above rules or credible reports/documentation of violations of those policies at other conventions/events. We similarly reserve the right to refuse admittance to any vendor or exhibitor for the same reason or because the products on sale/exhibit don’t fit with the spirit of the show or to prevent imbalance in our vendor mix at the show.
  

• Staff vs. Volunteers vs. Event Organizers - It’s important to know who’s who.  CaptainCon staff are the core team that you can see on our About Us page on the website.  There’s only a handful of us and we have the final say on if a person is expelled from a particular CaptainCon, banned from future shows, or other such enforcements.  Please report problems/infractions of any of the policies above to us directly.
  
  Volunteers are just that, volunteers giving some of their time to help the show.  You can find them at the Captain’s Log table, Registration Desk, and elsewhere through the show.  They have limited ability to enforce rules around the specific activities they’re running (requiring an ID to check a game out of the game library, etc.) and can relay complaints about violations of convention policies to staff if you report to them. If they ask you to stop something or change your behavior, don’t give them a hard time, just do what they ask. Don’t ask them to change or overrule convention policy, they can’t. If you have a problem with a volunteer, find a member or staff and let us know.
  
  Event Organizers are the heart of the show as they run the organized game sessions, classes, and other activities.  Like the volunteers, these are all folks giving their time to help others enjoy a fun convention.  They have ultimate authority over their individual events as far as rules calls, ejecting players from events, banning players, etc. so don’t ask the staff or volunteers to overrule them in this matter.  They also have limited authority to enforce the other convention policies in that they can exclude a person from their event(s) for violations and are expected to report such violations to staff for any other follow-up. If you have a problem with an event organizer, find a member or staff and let us know.
  
  

Confidentiality and Personal Data:

We collect minimal personal data.  If you choose to sign up for our email mailing list, we’ll collect your name and email address. When you purchase through our badge and merch sale website, we collect information needed to get you your stuff that you provide to us directly:  your name, email address, mailing address, t-shirt size, and other preferences.

Payment/financial information is handled by third-party payment processors including tabletop.event, Stripe, and PayPal. We do not have access to that information directly or in full indirectly.

We do not sell or share any of the personal data collected by us with anyone else.   Occasionally, we have a partner or friend of the show that we want to support and may directly email you information about them in our mailing list, but that’s it.

We also maintain information on convention attendees who violate any of the rules above or are victims of such violations as necessary to enforce bans.  This information is kept confidential and used only by convention staff/organizers unless released to local law enforcement as part of response to an incident or otherwise required by law.

Embedded content from others:

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

In particular, we make use of the tabletop.events site to help us manage badge and merch sales, event registration, volunteers, etc.  Our use of personal data collected through that site is governed by our personal data policy above.  Their privacy policy can be found here.