Gencon 1968

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**reds8n**

hat-tip http://playingattheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/gen-con-1968-and-today.html

Kinda chuckled/winced at the lines about it being " kind of a sickness" and the line about defending Stalingrad

**Skinnereal**

Is it me, or was the language used in that article not very good?
"Games range from the very ancient of battles with the very ancient men and equipment...".
"The same research goes into certain equipments..."
.

Still, it's always good to see how things were.

**the_Armyman**

Interesting read. I didn't know Gary Gygax started the whole thing. As gamers, we owe quite a lot to that fellow.

**Sean_OBrien**

reds8n wrote:

Kinda chuckled/winced at the lines about it being " kind of a sickness" and the line about defending Stalingrad

It was the rest of the sickness paragraph that I got a kick out of...

He owned almost all of the 15 commercially available wargames... Simpler times and all that. I think I have around 200 different printed rulebooks for core games not including supplements, expansions and the like.

**master of ordinance**

If only Gary Gygax was still with us....

He gave us so much in return for so little....

**gorgon**

"Well-dressed"? Obviously some things were very different then.

**daedalus**

gorgon wrote:
"Well-dressed"? Obviously some things were very different then.

"intellectual" kind of made me chuckle too.

**Brian2112**

I just returned from Gen Con and they are reporting a new record attendance of over 56,000. I think every single one of them was in the dealer hall on Saturday.

For me one of the highlights is the part of the auction where they sell old TSR products. You are guaranteed a few stories by Frank Mentzer and Tim Kask as they auction off many of the modules and suppliments for D&D that they wrote or helped develop. I've seen Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson at past conventions, unfortunately I never got to meet them or thank them for what they helped create.

I'm now trying to convince my friends to attend Gary Con.

**Eilif**

Interesting read. I think even in '68, the hobby was slightly bigger than the author seems to think, but it does give a sense of how small the scene was and how new.

Gary Gygax was (iirc,) the one who started GenCon, but he didn't invent wargames as we know them. TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) was one of several companies creating wargames for the growing number of wargamers.

We owe him alot, just not everything.

Thanks for posting this.

**reds8n**

2112 wrote:
I just returned from Gen Con and they are reporting a new record attendance of over 56,000. I think every single one of them was in the dealer hall on Saturday.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2014/08/19/gen-con-attendance-records/

More than 56,000 fans of board games, card games and role-playing games flocked to the 47th annual Gen Con game last weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana, setting all-time attendance records.

The convention –which took place from August 14 to 17, at locations in and around the Indiana Convention Center– attracted 56,614 people, a 14% increase over last year, and more than double the crowd of just five years ago. The weekend’s turnstile attendance was 184,699, indicating that a large majority of visitors attended all four days of the game festival. Gen Con hosted more than 14,000 games, panels and activities during the extended weekend, and attracted a record number of 370 exhibitors to its expo floor.

“Since their first show in Indy in 2003, Gen Con has evolved into more than just a great convention for gamers – it’s become a one-of-a-kind cultural event,” said Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Indianapolis tourism agency Visit Indy, in a statement. Last year, the agency reported that Gen Con 2013 accounted for more than $47 million in economic impact to the city —a figure only surpassed by the 2012 Super Bowl.

Gen Con’s continued growth is only the latest evidence of the surging popularity of tabletop gaming. The new edition of Hasbro HAS -0.37%-owned Wizard of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, released today, is currently ranked at #2 among all books on Amazon.com's AMZN +0.52% sales charts. Back in May, Felicia Day‘s production company Geek and Sundry raised over $1.4 million to produce season 3 of its hit digital tv series TableTop, setting an all-time crowdfunding record in the process.

Gen Con 2015 will be held in Indianapolis from July 30 to August 2, 2015.

Fair play to them.