A gaming convention is a gathering that centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a university or in a convention center hotel. The largest gaming convention, Spiel, is a trade fair held in Essen, Germany that focuses on German-style board games and RPGs. A similarly large event is Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (FLIP), a games festival held over twelve days in France.
While games are often a large part of science fiction conventions and other hobby conventions, gaming conventions are distinguished by focusing on games and game-industry guests. Gen Con is the largest gaming con in the US with an emphasis on RPGs and features events for RPGs, CCGs, miniatures and boardgames with 36,733 unique attendees over four days in 2011. Origins focuses on miniatures wargames and boardgames with 11,502 unique attendees in 2011, but also has a large component of RPG and CCG players. DragonCon is an example of a large convention with a focus on popular culture and comics that includes a large gaming contingent and 35,000-40,000 attendees, but isn't dedicated solely as a gaming convention. A smaller genre of gaming conventions are those devoted to the hobby of historical miniature wargaming, many of which are sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society.
World Boardgaming Championships, PrezCon and Euro Quest are game conventions representing the hobby of Tournament Board Gaming Open Gaming, Demos, Jr. Events and more dedicated to the face to face board game hobby. The World Boardgaming Championships and PrezCon are considered two of the largest events dedicated solely to board games. WBC runs the first week in August each year and PrezCon runs the last week of February each year.
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Famous quotes containing the words gaming and/or convention:
“Sir, I do not call a gamester a dishonest man; but I call him an unsocial man, an unprofitable man. Gaming is a mode of transferring property without producing any intermediate good.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
““We’ll encounter opposition, won’t we, if we give women the same education that we give to men,” Socrates says to Galucon. “For then we’d have to let women ... exercise in the company of men. And we know how ridiculous that would seem.” ... Convention and habit are women’s enemies here, and reason their ally.”
—Martha Nussbaum (b. 1947)