Gen Con is the largest
tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s,
miniatures wargames,
live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...
s,
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
s, and
strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game (e.g. a board game) in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decisi ...
s. Gen Con also features
computer games. Attendees engage in a variety of tournament and interactive game sessions. In 2019, Gen Con had nearly 70,000 unique attendees.
Established in 1968 as the Lake Geneva Wargames Convention by
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
, who later co-created ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'', Gen Con was first held in
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The convention was moved to various locations in Wisconsin from 1972 to 1984 before becoming fixed in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, in 1985, where it remained until moving to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, in 2003. Other Gen Con conventions have been held sporadically in various locations around the United States, as well as internationally.
In 1976, Gen Con became the property of
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
, the gaming company co-founded by Gary Gygax. TSR (and Gen Con) were then acquired by
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
in 1997, which was subsequently acquired by
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
. Hasbro then sold Gen Con to the former CEO of Wizards of the Coast,
Peter Adkison
Peter D. Adkison is an American game designer and businessman who is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast (1993–2001).
During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game indust ...
, in 2002. Gen Con spent a short time under
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...
, due to a lawsuit brought against them by
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
in 2008.
The organization emerged from bankruptcy protection a year later, while still holding its regularly scheduled events and is now larger than ever.
History
Early years
![Gen-Con Show Floor, 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Gen-Con_Show_Floor%2C_2010.JPG)
The
International Federation of Wargaming
The International Federation of Wargaming (IFW) was a wargaming club operated from 1967 to early 1970s.
Formation
Founded by Bill Speer, Gary Gygax, and Scott Duncan in 1967, it emerged as a successor to an earlier club called the United States Co ...
(IFW) hosted a number of small regional conventions in the months following its foundation in 1967, including the first annual club convention in
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, and ...
, in August. Some IFW gamers in the Chicago area could not make the journey to Malvern, so they had an informal gathering that same weekend at the
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin home of
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
.
Later this gathering would come to be referred to as "Gen Con 0". In 1968, Gygax rented Lake Geneva's
Horticultural Hall to hold a follow-up IFW convention, the Lake Geneva Wargames Convention, later known as the Gen Con
gaming convention.
The IFW, which Gygax co-founded, put up $35 of the $50 Horticultural Hall fee to sponsor this first Gen Con. Almost 100 people attended. At the second Gen Con in August 1969, Gygax met
Rob Kuntz and
Dave Arneson
David Lance Arneson (; October 1, 1947Minnesota Department of Health. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004. – April 7, 2009) was an American game designer best known ...
.
During these early conventions, the events centered around
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
s and miniature wargames.
Gen Con's name is a derivation of "Geneva Convention", due to the convention's origins in Lake Geneva. It is also a play on words, as the "
Geneva Conventions
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
" are a set of important international
treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
regarding war, the subject of many of the early games. Starting in 1971, Gen Con was cosponsored by the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association.
TSR
Beginning in 1975, Gen Con was managed and hosted by
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
, original publisher of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
''
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
. During the following decade the event grew and was hosted at a variety of southern Wisconsin locations, including an
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
Hall,
George Williams College
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...
, and the former Lake Geneva
Playboy Resort. In 1978 the convention moved to the
University of Wisconsin–Parkside
The University of Wisconsin–Parkside (UWP) is a public university in Somers, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has 4,644 students, 161 full-time faculty, and 89 lecturers and part-time faculty. The university o ...
campus in
Kenosha
Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...
, where it remained through 1984.
A Gen Con West was held in California for only three years, 1976–1978.
From 1978 to 1984, Gen Con South was held in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
,
and Gen Con East was held in 1981 and 1982, first in
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census. , and then in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...
.
MECCA
In 1985, Gen Con moved to the
Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center & Arena (MECCA) in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
due to a need for more space.
After the move, attendance steadily rose from 5,000 to a peak of 30,000 in 1995, making Gen Con the premier event in the role-playing game industry.
In 1992, Gen Con broke all previous attendance records for any U.S. gaming convention, with more than 18,000 people in attendance.
Gen Con briefly joined forces with its major competitor, the
Origins Game Fair
Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was cha ...
,
and the two were run as a single convention in 1988.
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
debuted ''
Magic: The Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
'' at Gen Con in August 1993; the game proved extremely popular, selling out its supply of 2.5 million cards, which had been scheduled to last until the end of the year.
The ensuing collectible card game craze has been credited with generating the extra attendance that produced the 1995 record.
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR in 1997, which was in turn purchased by
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
in 1999. Gen Con moved to the Midwest Express Center (now the
Wisconsin Center
The Wisconsin Center (formerly Midwest Express Center, Midwest Airlines Center, Frontier Airlines Center and Delta Center) is a convention and exhibition center located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The center is part of a greater complex ...
) in 1998. In November 1999 Wizards announced that Gen Con would leave Milwaukee after the 2002 convention.
Peter Adkison
Peter D. Adkison is an American game designer and businessman who is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast (1993–2001).
During Adkison's tenure, Wizards of the Coast rose to the status of a major publisher in the hobby game indust ...
, founder of Wizards of the Coast, purchased Gen Con from Hasbro in May 2002,
forming Gen Con LLC to run the convention. The first show under Adkison's leadership took place that August in Milwaukee.
Indianapolis
The convention moved to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
in 2003. Peter Adkison attributed the move to the lack of hotel space, the convention center layout, and frequently broken escalators in Milwaukee's convention center.
![Gen Con - 20030724 - Giant Settlers of Catan Game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Gen_Con_-_20030724_-_Giant_Settlers_of_Catan_Game.jpg)
In Indianapolis, the convention, now called Gen Con Indy, continued to draw between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors each year, at the
Indiana Convention Center
The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and th ...
.
Wizards of the Coast helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game at Gen Con Indy 2004.
In 2005 Gen Con Indy generated the most direct visitor spending of any annual convention in Indianapolis.
Adkison also restarted the convention in California, this time named Gen Con SoCal. Smaller than its mid-western counterpart, it drew approximately 6,300 attendees in 2005,
making it the third-largest consumer hobby game convention in North America. It was held in the
Anaheim Convention Center
The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original com ...
.
In spite of Adkison saying that he did not want Gen Con to become a "mini-E3" in 2003,
when
E3 downsized in mid-2006, Gen Con LLC announced it would provide more show space for video game businesses.
Gen Con described their intention to "pick up where E3
eft
A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqu ...
off".
Also in 2006, Gen Con LLC ran the official ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' convention, called
''Star Wars'' Celebration, which was held in the banner years of the franchise.
The
Indiana Convention Center
The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and th ...
completed a major expansion in 2011, in large part, to accommodate increased attendance to Gen Con, at a cost of over $275 million.
International
Gen Con was held in Europe in the 1990s, with the first annual European Gen Con held in Camber Sands, Sussex, England, in 1990, and Gen Con Barcelona in Spain in 1994. The European convention was held in England for 8 years, eventually migrating from Camber Sands in the mid-1990s to Loughborough, where the final UK-based European event was held in 1997; the same weekend on which Princess Diana died. There was no European Gen Con in 1998, but it reappeared in Belgium in 1999 for a single year, before again reappearing in Paris for three years between 2006 and 2008. Benelux Gen Con was held in the Netherlands in 1998 and re-occurred there in 2000. Gen Con Barcelona occurred five years, in 1994–1996, 1999, and 2004. Gen Con UK was held between 1998 and 2005.
A Gen Con was held in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia, in July 2008 and again in September 2009. A third Gen Con Australia was scheduled for 2010, but was cancelled.
Events
![Cardhalla - Gen Con - 2005-08-20 - a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Cardhalla_-_Gen_Con_-_2005-08-20_-_a.jpg)
The convention features a large exhibit hall filled with game publishers, artists, and related businesses, wherein most attendees spend at least $100.
The only game to be on the event schedule every year since the convention's inception is ''
Fight in the Skies
''Fight In The Skies'', also known as ''Dawn Patrol'', is a board wargame first self-published by creator Mike Carr in 1966, then published by Guidon Games in 1972 and TSR in 1975. The game simulates World War I style air combat, and is the only ...
'',
(later renamed ''
Dawn Patrol'').
The
''D&D'' Championship Series (formerly the ''D&D'' Open) is a long-running series of ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' games at Gen Con, beginning in 1977.
The RPGA, beginning in 1981, has run large numbers of events at Gen Con, so extensive they have been given their own category. The RPGA events are primarily "Living" games where players create characters who persist between events. The RPGA first ran events in 1981.
![Gen Con - 20030724 - Game Base 7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Gen_Con_-_20030724_-_Game_Base_7.jpg)
In 1987 a games library was added from which attendees could borrow games.
Appearing in 1994 was the first
''Magic: The Gathering'' World Championship, won by Zak Dolan, who defeated France's Bertrand Lestrée in the finals.
Gen Con has featured a number of events that raise money for a variety of charities. These include
Cardhalla
Cardhalla is a charity event that has been held at Gen Con since 1999. During the convention, a city is constructed out of donated trading card game cards. Near the end of the convention attendees are invited to throw coins at the city to des ...
, in which donated cards are used to build a large city. Attendees are then invited to throw coins at the city to destroy it. The coins are collected for charity. Cardhalla was first run in 1999. The gaming group
NASCRAG has run ''Dungeons & Dragons'' events at Gen Con since 1980. NASCRAG events sometimes donate their ticket fees to charity. The games run tend to be humorous. The Gen Con Live Games Auction is another long-running event, though the majority of the Auction (including the Consignment Store) is not run for charity.
![Enormous D20 and D8 relax near empty tables, Gen-Con 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Enormous_D20_and_D8_relax_near_empty_tables%2C_Gen-Con_2007.jpg)
The EN World RPG Awards (the
ENnies
The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...
) are an annual awards ceremony devoted to role-playing games. Established in 2001, the ENnies have been hosted at Gen Con Indy since 2002, and are organized and owned by
EN World
EN World, also known as Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG News, is a British-owned tabletop role-playing game news and reviews website founded in 2000, which grew from the earlier "Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News" site (which was activ ...
, a ''D&D''/
d20 System news website.
''
True Dungeon
True Adventures, Ltd., is a role-playing game company started by Jeff Martin. It operates two entertainment venues at Gen Con Indy: True Dungeon and True Dungeon Fantasy Tavern. True Adventures is notable because their signature event, True Dungeo ...
'' is an immersive life-sized dungeon crawl
live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...
(LARP) run at Gen Con since 2003, featuring a series of puzzles and scenarios designed to recreate a ''D&D'' environment.
Issues
2008 was a tumultuous year, legally, for Gen Con LLC. On January 10,
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
filed a lawsuit against them, claiming breach of contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment over
Celebration IV, held in 2006. The suit also claims Gen Con failed to give the money raised at a charity auction held at the event to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old.
Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...
.
Gen Con filed a counter-suit claiming Lucasfilm had no basis for their claims and owed money to Gen Con.
On February 15, 2008, Gen Con LLC announced that it had filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...
, citing "significant unforeseen expenses associated with ... externally licensed events".
As a result of the bankruptcy filing, the Lucasfilm lawsuit was delayed until November 19, 2008.
Gen Con Indy 2008 was held as planned.
On November 20, 2008, a letter of intent to purchase Gen Con LLC's assets was filed with the bankruptcy court. It announced that a to-be-formed company called Gen Con Acquisition Group would purchase Gen Con LLC., for an amount equal to Gen Con LLC's outstanding debt.
Gen Con's president, Adrian Swartout, described the letter as "suspiciously cryptic" and concluded that the offer "is not in the best interest of our creditors".
Gen Con rejected the hostile takeover bid, and the bankruptcy court allowed Gen Con to emerge from bankruptcy in January 2009, 11 months after it had entered Chapter 11.
In 2008,
Christian Children's Fund
ChildFund, formerly known as Christian Children's Fund, is a child-focused international development organization that provides assistance to children facing poverty and other challenges in 24 countries, including the United States. ChildFund's h ...
was reported to have turned down $17,398 from a GenCon Live Game Auction, during that year's Gen Con.
The donation was made in honor of Gary Gygax, who died in 2008, and was a frequent donor to CCF.
Some individuals within the gaming community expressed disappointment about the decision; author and game designer
Rich Burlew
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...
, for example, called it "insulting,"
and the response by gamers led both the CCF and Gen Con to issue official statements explaining what had happened.
As a result of the misunderstanding, Gen Con chose to support a different charity.
On March 23, 2015, Adrian Swartout sent a letter to Indiana Governor
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
, asking the governor to reconsider his intent to sign
SB 101, the so-called "Religious Freedom" bill that already passed both state legislatures. The bill would allow businesses in the state to deny service to anyone on religious grounds, with opponents of the bill stating that it would allow businesses to unfairly single out and discriminate against the LGBT community and other groups. Swartout pointed out in the letter that "Gen Con proudly welcomes a diverse attendee base, made up of different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds" from over 40 countries and all 50 states, and that welcoming such a "wide-ranging diversity has been a key element to the success and growth of our convention," as well as injecting "over $50 million dollars" annually to the local economy. Swartout stated that signing such a bill "will have a direct negative impact on the state economy and factor into
en Con's
En or EN may refer to:
Businesses
* Bouygues (stock symbol EN)
* Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN, but now known as Southern Railway of Vancouver Island)
* Euronews, a news television and internet channel
Language and writing
* E ...
decision-making on hosting the convention in the state of Indiana in future years," after the
Indiana Convention Center
The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 exhibit halls, and th ...
had already completed a major expansion in 2011 to accommodate increased attendance to Gen Con.
Pence signed SB 101 into effect on March 26, 2015.
In August 2022 when
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
passed a near total ban on abortions, Gen Con tweeted a statement in support of abortion rights, and Gen Con president David Hoppe made the following statement: "Passage of Senate Bill 1 will have an impact on our stakeholders and attendees and will make it more difficult for us to remain committed to Indiana for our long-term home. We are committed here through 2026. We do have to think about what that means beyond that and, of course, we would have to look at what that means for the period up until that time."
Timeline
Attendance at Gen Con conventions, based on the numbers given below:
1967–2002: Gen Con
2003–present: Gen Con Indy
Auxiliary Gen Cons
1976–1977: Gen Con West
1978–1984: Gen Con South
1981–1982: Gen Con East
1990–2008: European Gen Con
1994–2004: Gen Con Barcelona
1998–2008: Gen Con UK
1998–2000: Gen Con Benelux
2003–2006: Gen Con SoCal
2008–2009: Gen Con Australia
Scheduled future events
Footnotes
Citations
Sources
* first page
preview!-- Citations that use this resource can almost certainly be switched to using the real book once it's released. -->
*
*
External links
*
{{Wargames
August events
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008
Esports tournaments
Fan conventions
Festivals in Indianapolis
Gaming conventions
Multigenre conventions
Privately held companies based in Indiana
Recurring events established in 1967
Trade shows in the United States