Gary Con

Gary Con
Genre Gaming
Venue Grand Geneva Resort
Location(s) Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Country United States
Organized by Luke Gygax
Website
http://www.garycon.com

Gary Con is a gaming convention held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin every year to celebrate the contributions of Gary Gygax to the gaming industry and to the local community, where Gygax was raised, and where the company he founded, TSR, Inc. created and produced the Dungeons & Dragons game for 25 years.[1][2] The event held March 3-6, 2016 was the eighth Gary Con.[3]

History

When Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax died in 2008, role playing gamers from around the world joined to honor Gygax's life with a virtual convention, held at locations around the world.[4] Gygax's friends and family held an impromptu game event at Lake Geneva's American Legion Hall following his funeral on March 8, 2008, now known as "Gary Con 0".[2][5] By 2009, son Luke Gygax had established the first official Gary Con, still at the Legion Hall. "Gary Con I", held March 7, 2009, was attended by a number of gaming industry icons: Frank Mentzer, Tom Wham, Steve Chenault, and Jim Ward.[2] Daughter M. Elise Gygax-Cousino helped establish the initial event.

By 2010, the Legion Hall no longer had the capacity to host the growing event and its participants. As a result, the event was moved to a local lodge west of the town where it has been held ever since.[2] Convention organizer Luke Gygax told a local paper Gary Con was "...meant to be a more intimate event, reminiscent of the formative years of the gaming industry".[6]

In 2015 word of the convention had spread far enough to earn multiple mentions in an episode of the television program, The Big Bang Theory.[7]

Events

The focus of Gary Con is "Old School Renaissance", with games written during Gygax's ownership of TSR getting the most attention.[1][8] Often the games are run by designers who originally created the game: Metamorphosis Alpha run by Jim Ward, Fight in the Skies run by Mike Carr, and Tom Wham's boardgames.[5][8] Other TSR titles are in abundance, Kevin Cabai, and a host of loyal gamers running the classic games, such as Chainmail.

References

  1. 1 2 Wieland, Rob (March 13, 2013). "Gary Con celebrates the life and games of the first Dungeon Master, Gary Gygax". A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ewalt, David M. (August 20, 2013). "16: Pilgrimage". Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-4052-6.
  3. ↑ "GaryCon VIII". Gary Con Enterprises. 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Ewalt, David M. (March 6, 2008). "Gary Con: Weekend Tributes To Gary Gygax". Forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 O'Neill, John (March 22, 2010). "Gary Con II Report". Blackgate Magazine. New Epoch Press. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Maple Fest, Gary Con II this weekend". LakeGenevaNews.net. Lake Geneva Printing & Publishing Company. March 17, 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "SPOILERS: THE BIG BANG THEORY Mentions Gary Con", by "Morrus", Enworld, February 27, 2015, Archived at web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20150327100409/http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?2387-SPOILERS-THE-BIG-BANG-THEORY-Mentions-Gary-Con
  8. 1 2 Forbeck, Matt (May 23, 2010). "Gary Con II rocked". Forbeck.com. Retrieved 19 January 2014.

Coordinates: 42°21′49″N 88°14′30″W / 42.363612°N 88.241762°W / 42.363612; -88.241762

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