What is a gaming convention? Well, it’s an event where people spend time gaming. What is gaming? Well in the case of gaming conventions, gaming has nothing to do with gambling:
Main Entry: gam·ing
Pronunciation: 'gA-mi ng
Function: noun
Date: 1501
1 : the practice of gambling
2 : the playing of games that simulate actual conditions (as of business or war) especially for training
This entry from Webster’s online dictionary (WWWebster) defines gaming as being one of two things, and in the case of gaming conventions we use the second definition. In recent years, that definition has stretched to include a hobby industry that produces hundreds of games for entertainment purposes, not necessarily training or testing. No wagers are placed in this type of gaming, and no money is won.
Biggest Gaming Conventions 2024
MAGFest 2024 January 2-5, 2024
Téli MondoCon 2024 January 4, 2024
Fandom PDX 2024 January 4-5, 2024
Ichibancon 2024 January 9-12, 2024
PAX South 2024 January 17-19, 2024
Sixty Six Games Expo 2024 January 17-19, 2024
DreamHack Leipzig 2024 January 24-26, 2024
Genesis 2024 January 24-26, 2024
Maynard Comic Con 2024 January 25, 2024
QuadCon Cedar Rapids 2024 January 26, 2024
Savannah Animazing Con 2024 January 31 - February 2, 2024
QuadCon Rockford 2024 February 1, 2024
Life, the Universe, and Everything 2024 February 13-15, 2024
Geeks of Color Expo 2024 February 14-16, 2024
London Anime & Gaming Con 2024 February 14-16, 2024
KupoCon 2024 February 15, 2024
NärCon Vinter 2024 February 20-23, 2024
DreamHack Anaheim 2024 February 21-23, 2024
Lvl Up Expo 2024 February 21-23, 2024
Florida Game Con 2024 February 22, 2024
Geek Days Rennes 2024 February 22-23, 2024
Minefaire Dallas 2024 February 22-23, 2024
PAX East 2024 February 27 - March 1, 2024
GalaxyCon Richmond 2024 February 28 - March 1, 2024
Portsmouth Anime & Gaming Con 2024 February 29 - March 1, 2024
AgamaCon 2024 March 7-8, 2024
Puchi Con! 2024 March 7-8, 2024
Harucon 2024 March 10, 2024
Leeds Anime & Gaming Con 2024 March 14-15, 2024
SwampCon 2024 March 14-15, 2024
Aselia Con 2024 March 20-22, 2024
Queen City Kamikaze 2024 March 21, 2024
Genericon 2024 March 21-22, 2024
MCM Comic Con Birmingham 2024 March 21-22, 2024
Playthrough 2024 March 21-22, 2024
Tiger Con 2024 March 21-22, 2024
Fan Expo Dallas 2024 March 27-29, 2024
Shine Con 2024 March 27-29, 2024
8-Bit Block Party 2024 March 28, 2024
Superior Con 2024 April 4, 2024
Manchester Anime & Gaming Con 2024 April 4-5, 2024
Sci-Fi Scarborough 2024 April 4-5, 2024
Tsunami Mérida Comic Con 2024 April 4-5, 2024
Conapalooza: Vendor Bender 2024 April 11, 2024
QuadCon Davenport 2024 April 11, 2024
QuadCon Peoria 2024 April 11, 2024
MegaCon Orlando 2024 April 16-19, 2024
Barrie Fantasticon 2024 April 17-18, 2024
Geek-it! 2024 April 24-26, 2024
AniFest 2024 April 25, 2024
Bristol Anime & Gaming Con 2024 April 25-26, 2024
Makers & Creators Convention 2024 April 25-26, 2024
Kingston ComiCon 2024 April 26, 2024
Metrotham Con 2024 May 1-3, 2024
Level Up Maine 2024 May 2, 2024
Birmingham Anime & Gaming Con 2024 May 2-3, 2024
Florida Supercon 2024 May 8-10, 2024
Newcastle Anime & Gaming Con 2024 May 16-17, 2024
Wayback Weekend 2024 May 16-17, 2024
Comicpalooza 2024 May 22-24, 2024
Thy Geekdom Con 2024 May 22-24, 2024
DoKomi 2024 May 23-24, 2024
Dream Con 2024 June 5-7, 2024
QuadCon Altoona 2024 June 7, 2024
E3 2024 June 9-11, 2024
OMG!Con 2024 June 12-14, 2024
Liverpool Anime & Gaming Con 2024 June 13-14, 2024
PortConMaine 2024 June 25-28, 2024
Animaritime 2024 June 26-28, 2024
Planet Funk Con 2024 June 26-28, 2024
GeekTakuFest 2024 June 29-30, 2024
London Anime & Gaming Con 2024 July 3-5, 2024
OtakuFest 2024 July 4-5, 2024
ConnectiCon 2024 July 9-12, 2024
Replay FX 2024 July 9-12, 2024
Southern-Fried Gaming Expo 2024 July 10-12, 2024
GACUCon Cruise 2024 July 13-17, 2024
PokeFest SA 2024 July 17-18, 2024
Metrocon 2024 July 23-26, 2024
NärCon Sommar 2024 July 23-26, 2024
Hazard Con 2024 July 24-26, 2024
GalaxyCon Raleigh 2024 July 30 - August 2, 2024
QuakeCon 2024 August 6-9, 2024
Matsuricon 2024 August 14-16, 2024
Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2024 August 14-16, 2024
Cardiff Anime & Gaming Con 2024 August 15-16, 2024
Animania Wichita Falls 2024 August 22, 2024
Alcon 2024 August 28-30, 2024
Hero Hype Expo 2024 September 5, 2024
Megabit Game Expo 2024 September 13, 2024
QuadCon Coralville 2024 September 26, 2024
Kingston ComiCon 2024 September 27, 2024
Fanaticon 2024 October 2-4, 2024
Realms Con 2024 October 2-4, 2024
HyperCon 2024 October 3, 2024
C3AFA Tokyo 2024 October 3-4, 2024
Tsubasacon 2024 October 9-11, 2024
Newcastle Anime & Gaming Con 2024 October 10-11, 2024
Memphis Comic Expo 2024 October 17-18, 2024
DerpyCon 2024 October 30 - November 1, 2024
Sheffield Anime & Gaming Con 2024 October 31 - November 1, 2024
GalaxyCon Minneapolis 2024 November 6-8, 2024
Bristol Anime & Gaming Con 2024 November 7-8, 2024
What types of games fall into the “gaming” category? Examples include Parker Brothers’ Monopoly™ game, WoTC/TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons™ game, and literally hundreds of games in between. The gaming convention brings an element of friendly competition to these games, and allows people who share interest in playing them a chance to get together and play. A gaming convention hosts tournaments, which are organized play sessions of a certain game, with the winner receiving a non-cash prize.
BOARD GAMES – Games at a gaming convention fall into a number of broad categories, including board games, such as Parker Brothers’ MONOPOLY™ game, Mayfair’s Settlers of Catan game, and advanced historical simulation games such as Avalon Hill’s Age of Renaissance or Civilization games. Many of these games have been computerized in recent years, although many people do not know that these complex computer games often had their roots in a tabletop board game.
ROLE-PLAYING GAMES – Another category is role-playing games, in which each player takes on the persona of a character in an interactive story. Although the most popular of these role-playing games worldwide is WoTC/TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons™ game, many other companies produce games in other settings, or genres. Genre has the same meaning in gaming as it does in fiction writing – the setting and style of the story. Dungeons & Dragons is set in a fantasy world, where the players, via their characters pretend to battle fantasy monsters such as dragons and trolls, using imaginary swords and crossbows. Other role-playing games cast the players as characters in a variety of settings, from space to the Old West to the middle of your favorite horror movie.
In role-playing games, the players work together to slay the monsters, or solve the crimes, or save the village. As such, the players are not competing against each other. At a gaming convention, where these games are played as tournaments, the players continue this cooperative spirit in resolving the story, but winners are determined by the players and storyteller voting on who portrayed their character the best. This is basically a combination of how well the player knows the rules of the game, the setting, and the background of the character, an how well they were able to use that information to contribute to the story being enacted by the players. A good role player is often a good improvisational actor.
Each tournament has a different setting, and different characters, forcing the player to quickly assume different personas and portray them convincingly. Many of the tournament scenarios played at conventions come from the Role Playing Game Association Network (RPGA Network™ ), an international organization of role-playing enthusiasts which sponsors role-playing games at conventions, and pays its members to write entertaining scenarios that are sent to conventions around the world and used as tournaments. Players and storytellers are ranked in the RPGA Network based on how many tournaments in which they have participated, and how well they did.
MINIATURES GAMES – Miniatures games are not only popular but visually impressive. Typically, a miniatures game is a reenactment of a certain type of combat using miniature figurines to represent the troops. Battles fought in time periods from the Crusades and the Civil War to thousands of years in the future are simulated with figurines and terrain. Miniatures gaming is a combination of artistic skill in fashioning the terrain and figurines, and strategy, as the tabletop generals decide how to deploy their troops.
TRADING CARD GAMES – A recent addition to the gaming convention are Collectible Card Games, aka Trading Card Games or TCGs. One of the most popular of these games is WoTC’s Magic: The Gathering™ game. These games have been described as a combination between baseball cards and board games. Out of a collection of thousands of cards, the players choose a few to play with. Their opponent does the same, and then the cards are played according to the rules of the game to resolve which player’s card selections and play strategy was more effective. Typically, the cards simulate characters and items, which are combined, deployed and lost according to the rules of the game. Other collectible card games abound, each allowing players to experience their favorite genre, or in many cases, television or movie milieu. Collectible card games are as diverse in setting and genre as role-playing games and have been produced based on a variety of worlds, including Babylon 5™, Star Trek™, Star Wars™, Dune™ and Pokemon™.
LIVE-ACTION ROLE-PLAYING GAMES – Some conventions also host live-action role-playing games, which are like role-playing games with fewer rules, and fewer restrictions. Costumes are encouraged in live-action games, and the game is not physically restricted to a table, but perhaps a room, or an entire hotel. The most well-known live-action games are the How to Host a Murder™ games from Parker Brothers. But, as we’ve seen with other types of games, if you have a favorite genre, a game probably exists that will let you experience it.
