Warpcon is Cork's biggest gaming convention, and has been Ireland's largest student-run gaming convention. Beginning in 1990, it is run every year, during the last weekend of January. WARPS (the UCC Wargaming And RolePlaying Society) is the organiser of the event. Each year, Warpcon hosts

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from a range of systems, CCGs, tabletop

wargaming A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

, LARPS and other games over the weekend.

Events and features

Warpcon stages a charity auction where various things are sold, previously including signed first-edition and pre-publication books, slots to appear as a character drawn by

John Kovalic John Kovalic (born Robert John Kovalic, Jr. on 24 November 1962) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. Career Born in Manchester, England, Kovalic is best known for his ''Dork Tower'' comic book, comic strip, and webcomic, and oth ...

in a Steve Jackson Games card game or in

Dork Tower ''Dork Tower'' is an online comic created, written and drawn by John Kovalic. It chronicles the lives of a group of geeks living in the fictional town of Mud Bay, Wisconsin. Mud Bay's design is strongly influenced by the author's home town of M ...

, rare collectible cards,

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's hat (as worn by

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in the TV show '' Firefly'', and the first ever My Little Cthulhu plush toy. It takes place on the Saturday night of the convention, and proceeds go to a local charity. The Warpcon Pub Quiz has been a fixture of Warpcon's Friday night for many years. The quiz usually features esoteric questions on nerd culture, over eight rounds. Each year various CCGs from

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are hosted at Warpcon. Warpcon 28 featured a regional event for L5R which attracted over two hundred people. RPGs and LARPs from many different systems are run each year, with some based on the theme of the convention. Wargames at Warpcon usually consist of Warhammer 40,000, Warmachine, X-wing, and historical wargaming. Warhammer 40,000 tournaments has been a feature of Warpcon for most of its history, with some past tournaments exceeding 100 entrants. Warmachine tournaments have been a small but steady contributor to the life of the convention since its launch. In past years, Warpcon has featured writers and artists as special guests. They sign merchandise, occasionally run events such as games-making workshops, and dinner with the special guests is one of the items regularly sold at the Warpcon charity auction. The closing ceremony is where the prizes are awarded. These include best trader, best RPG scenario, best LARP scenario, and best staff member. It is also where the Spirit of Warpcon is handed out, a perpetual award given out each year for contributions to gaming in Cork.

History

Warpcon was a joint winner, along with Gaelcon, of the ''

Diana Jones Award The Diana Jones Award is an annual award for "excellence in gaming". The original award was made from a burned book encased in lucite. The award is unusual in two ways: first, it is not an award for a specific class of thing, but can be awarded t ...

for Excellence in Gaming'' for the charity auctions run each year.Diana Jones Award: 2006 Winner: Available: http://www.dianajonesaward.org/06winner.html Accessed: 19 May 2007 Warpcon was known for its Saturday night Club Warpcon event where the convention sold tickets to a private night club in

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

. Previous special guests have come from a range of different backgrounds. Warpcon 17:

, and Gar Hanrahan. Warpcon 18:

and gameworkshop's Jervis Johnson. Warpcon 19:

and

David Nykl David Nykl (born 7 February 1967) is a Czech-Canadian actor of film, television, commercials and theater. He is best known for portraying Dr. Radek Zelenka in the SyFy television series ''Stargate Atlantis'' and Anatoly Knyazev in the DC Com ...

. Warpcon 28:

. Warpcon 29:

Ross Mullan Ross Mullan (born 5 January 1967) is a Canadian-British actor and puppeteer, known for portraying multiple White Walkers on the HBO television series '' Game of Thrones'' in its second through fourth seasons. He has appeared in episodes of ''Do ...

. As a part of previous Warpcons, on the lower grounds of

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

, the UCC Medieval Renaissance society has run a "Battle of the Flags" event. The 'Flags', as it was commonly known was the 'rebated steel' medieval combat competition open to anyone who has fought or trained with the society previously.

References

{{reflist Culture in Cork (city) Gaming conventions Annual events in Ireland 1991 establishments in Ireland Recurring events established in 1991