Article on other languages:
 |
del.icio.us |
 |
Digg |
 |
Furl |
 |
|
 |
Rojo |
| Add to OnlyWire |
A gaming convention is typically a two- or three-day convention at which people play role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, or other types of games. Some have rooms of networked computers to play video games.
The largest gaming convention is probably Spiel in Essen, Germany. In 2004 this convention, which focuses on board games, had 150,000 visitors and 690 exhibitors from 24 nations. The Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (FLIP) is probably the second largest gaming convention with 140,000 visitors during twelve days in 2005. Another large gaming convention in Europe is Spellenspektakel in Eindhoven, Netherlands. This largely commercial convention had 12,000 visitors in 2004.
Gen Con is probably the largest gaming con in the US for RPGs (Gen Con Indy had 21,700 attendees over four days in 2005); Origins is probably the largest for miniatures wargames and live-action role playing games. Exact numbers, however, are debatable. DragonCon, for example, is a large convention also aimed at gaming, and has huge numbers of attendees (however not all of them are there to play games; it might be one of the largest conventions where people can game but gaming is only a small part of the convention (and there are few (non-RPG) retailers). A smaller genre of gaming conventions are those devoted to the hobby of historical miniature wargaming, many of which are sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society.
World Boardgaming Championships, PrezCon and Euro Quest are game conventions representing the hobby of Tournament, Board Gaming Open Gaming, Demos, Jr. Events and more dedicated to the face to face board game hobby. WBC http://www.boardgamers.org PrezCon http://www.prezcon.com are your largest pure board game events. WBC runs the first week in August each year and PrezCon runs the last week of February each year..
Gaming Convention events
Gaming conventions typically have wieners scheduled for various girl slots. Most gaming cons use some system of pre-registration to ensure that games are neither over-full nor under-full.
Competitive games, such as Magic: The Gathering, typically have tournaments set out where players meet in matches. Prizes can be quite large for the winners. There are also competitive role-playing games, where the best roleplayers, most successful parties, etc. get rewarded. The RPGA runs competitive D&D and other RPGs at many conventions. Most scheduled RPGs, however, are not competitive.
The types of games often include many of the following:
- Collectible Card Games aka CCG's, like Magic: The Gathering
- Board games
- Role-playing games aka RPG's, like Dungeons and Dragons
- RPGA games
- Table-top miniatures games like Mechwarrior, HeroClix, HorrorClix and Warhammer 40k
- Electronic games
Open gaming goes on throughout any such convention, and it is common that all seating in common areas will be taken by people playing pick-up games. Pick-up gaming is not generally discouraged by the convention management; in fact, pick-up games are a large part of the appeal of gaming conventions.
There is almost always a dealers' room where various game manufacturers and related companies sell their products. Many game companies choose game cons to reveal new products. Creating consumer excitement is greatly facilitated at gaming cons, but word can spread fast, and games may equally well become instant failures at conventions.
Often there are other activities at a gaming convention as well. Costume balls, art auctions, and screenings of movies may all take place. Lectures, workshops, or panel discussions on gaming might be part of the programming, or for some cons, even the focus.
List of gaming conventions by location
Various
- Gen Con – various locations in the US and Europe
- Knutepunkt – Scandinavian conference on role playing theory
Asia
- Ziggurat Con – Tallil Airbase, Iraq. Premiere of this event and the first con in a combat zone.
Australia
- Arcanacon – Melbourne, in January
- Conquest – Melbourne, at Easter (March/April)
- FauxCon – regional Victoria, in April
- Unicon – Melbourne, in September
Canada
- Great Canadian Baycon 2006 – Hamilton, in May
- Fragapalooza – Edmonton, June
- CanGames – Canadian May Long Weekend (May 16-18 in 2008)
- RoyalCon – Annual gaming convention held in Montreal in September
Denmark
- Fastaval – Århus, at Easter
Finland
- Ropecon – Espoo, in August
France
- Festival International des Jeux (FIJ) – Cannes, in February
- Mondial du Gaming - Paris, in July
- Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (FLIP) – Parthenay, in July
- Blizzard Worldwide Invitational – Paris, in July (2008 only)
- Festival du Jeu Vidéo (FJV) - Paris, in September
Germany
- Games Convention – Leipzig, in August
- Internationale Spieltage – Essen, Germany, in October
- Nuremberg International Toy Fair – Nuremberg, in February
Ireland
- Confess – Sligo in late September
- Dominicon – At NUI Maynooth in mid-November
- Gaelcon – At Clontarf Castle in late October
- Itzacon Eire – At NUI Galway in early March
- Leprecon – At Trinity College Dublin in late February
- Sillicon – At Dublin City University in early April
- Vaticon – At University College Dublin in late March
- Warpcon – At University College Cork in late January
- Conclave – Pery's Best Western Hotel, Limerick in early July (12th and the 13th for 2008)
- Heinecon – Limerick in early August
Italy
- Lucca Comics and Games – Lucca, in November
Japan
- AM Show (Amusement Machine Show)
- AOU (Arcade Operator's Union Amusement Expo)
- JGC (Japan Game Convention) - Yokohama, in August
- Tokyo Game Show - Tokyo, in October
Netherlands
- Spellenspektakel – Zwolle, Netherlands
Norway
Singapore
Sweden
- GothCon – Gothenburg, Sweden
- Stockholms spelkonvent (SSK) – Stockholm, Sweden
- SnöKon – Umeå, Sweden
- ApKon – Umeå, Sweden
- SävCon – Sävar, Sweden
- LinCon – Linköping, Sweden
UK
- Q-Con – Northern Ireland in June
- Gen Con UK – The University of Reading, England in August-September
US
Alabama
- MOBICON – Mobile, Alabama, in May
Arizona
California
- BlizzCon – Anaheim, California, in October
- DunDraCon – San Ramon, California, in February
- ConQuest SAC – Rancho Cordova, California, in March
- ConQuest SF – Santa Clara, California, in September\
- E3 – Los Angeles, California, in July
- E For All - Los Angeles, California, in October
- Games Day – Los Angeles, California, in May
- Gamex – Los Angeles, California, in May
- Gateway – Los Angeles, California, in September
- Kublacon - Burlingame, California, in May
- OrcCon – Los Angeles, California, in February
- PolyCon – San Luis Obispo, California, in June/July
Colorado
- GenghisCon – Denver, Colorado, in February
- TactiCon – Denver, Colorado, in August
Florida
- MegaCon – Orlando, Florida in February
- http://www.ancientcitycon.com Ancient City Con Jacksonville Florida in August
Georgia
- DragonCon – Atlanta, Georgia, in August
- Momocon – Atlanta, Georgia, in March, free admission
- Nerdacon - Columbus, Georgia, in November, free admission
Idaho
- Tactical Solutions - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in October
Illinois
- Games Day – Chicago
- Little Wars - Lincolnshire
- Rock Con - Rockford
- Winter War - Champaign, started in 1974
Indiana
- Gen Con – Indianapolis in August
- PentaCon - Fort Wayne in November
Iowa
- Gamicon – Iowa City in February
- Fields of Honor – Des Moines in September
- Pentacon - Fort Wayne in November
Kentucky
- ConGlomeration – Louisville, April
Maine
- PortConMaine – Maine
Maryland
- Winter Activation Meeting (WAM) – Tournaments for card-driven wargames
Massachusetts
Michigan
- Marmalade Dog – Kalamazoo, Michigan, in March.
- Penguicon – Troy, Michigan, in April.
- StarCon – at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, in March.
- U-Con – Ann Arbor, Michigan, in November
- UberCon – Livonia, Michigan, in April.
Minnesota
- Con of the North – Twin Cities, in February (around President's Day weekend)
Nebraska
- Nuke-Con Omaha, NE, in the Fall around the first of October
Nevada
- ConQuest VEGAS – Las Vegas, Nevada, in April
- ConQuest RENO – Reno, Nevada, in October
New Hampshire
- OGC Nashua, NH, in July
New Jersey
- DexCon East Brunswick, NJ. Held annually in July.
- PrinceCon In Princeton. One of the oldest in the United States, approaching its 32nd year.
- UberCon In Edison, NJ. This multi-genre gaming con will have its 10th installment in April 2008.
North Carolina
- MACE High Point, NC
- Southern Front Raleigh, NC
- Stellarcon High Point, NC
- Trinoc*con Raleigh, NC
Ohio
- Origins Game Fair – Columbus, in late June or early July
Oklahoma
- SoonerCon - Oklahoma City, Largest convention in OKC area includes very little gaming for all types.
Oregon
- Game Storm – Portland, Oregon, in March
- Portland Hobby Fair – Portland, Oregon, every Saturday
Pennsylvania
- Cold Wars – Lancaster County, in March
- Fall In! – Adams County, in November
- Historicon – Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in July
- MEPACon – Scranton, Pennsylvania in March/April and October/November
- World Boardgaming Championships – in Lancaster, PA in August
- TooManyGames - in Reading, PA in October
Rhode Island
- TempleCon – Providence, in February
South Carolina
- Waterloo – Tournament in Greenville, SC for boardgame Napoleonic Wars
Tennessee
- ConNooga – Chattanooga, TN, in February
- Hypericon – Nashville, TN
- MidSouthCon – Memphis, TN
- Games Day Memphis – Memphis, TN
Texas
- OwlCon - Houston, Texas, in February
- Chimaeracon – San Antonio, Texas, in March
- QuakeCon – Dallas, Texas, in August
- BGG.CON (Board Game Geek Convention) – Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, in November
- G-Kon – Dallas, Texas, in November
Utah
- A Gathering of Strangers – Salt Lake City, Utah
Vermont
- CarnageCon This is Carnage: We Go To 11! - Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, Vermont in November
Virginia
Washington
- ConQuest NW – Seattle, Washington, in February
- Dragonflight – Seattle, Washington, in August
- Enfilade! - Olympia, in May
- Penny Arcade Expo – Seattle, Washington, in August
- Spocon - Spokane, Washington, in August
Washington, D.C.
- D&D Experience – In February. This event (called Winter Fantasy previous to 2007) is mostly for the RPGA, but includes many events for DDM
West Virginia
- White Tower Gaming Convention – Triadelphia, held three times annually during January, April, and October.
- CharCon - THE West Virginia Gaming Convention - CharCon takes place in October in Charleston WV at the Charleston Civic Center.
Wisconsin
- Fire and Ice – Sheboygan, in February
External links
- Avalon Game Conventions Organizers of five gaming conventions on the West Coast, including the West Coast Boardgame Championships.
- Boardgame Players Association Sponsors of the annual World Boardgaming Championships.
- consupport A service conventions can use to list events, manage payments, etc. and the conventions that use it.
- GameConventions.net Another comprehensive list of gaming conventions.
- HMGS East Has lists of associated conventions that feature historical miniature wargaming.
- Running Games At Conventions - advice and tips, Epic Weekend Convention Gaming: A Tale From The Trenches, 4 Tips For Whipping Up Scenarios For Conventions,
- [1]
- Winter War Gaming Convention Winter War: The Midwest's Longest Consecutively Running Independent Gaming Convention!
