Oldtimer Wargamer Conventions
Gaming Conventions started popping up in the mid 60's. The earliest of all
were started by wargamers for wargaming exclusively. These early conventions
served as the templates for later Role Playing Conventions to come in the later
70's. You could find vendor booths at the earliest conventions hawking their
goods. There were used game auctions, movies, hot dogs and sodas, and
of course lots
of gaming over the course of a weekend. Most of all the
conventions were
organized by clubs or publishers. Following is a
smattering of the
most popular of all the
conventions in
the earliest days of
game gatherings.
-Lake Geneva Con
Began in 1968 and held at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Organised by Gary Gygax and his
gaming group with oversight provided by the
International Federation of Wargamers, IFW. This
convention has grown and spun into the largest and
longest running game convention named Gen Con.
-West Con
Began in 1967 and held at USC (University of So. California). This
convention was organized and overseen by The Spartan gaming club.
The 1972
West Con featured a magic show by
Lou Zocchi (of course there was gaming too).
-Mil Con
Began in 1969 and held in NYC, as well as, on a docked naval vessel
for a couple
of years. One year they promised the AC would be working
on the ship as opposed to the sweltering conditions the previous year.
-DipCon (DiploCon)
Began in 1968 and held in Chicago. This convention was organized
by Lenard Lakofka with oversight by the IFW. Feature gaming
at this convention was Diplomacy. Sometimes shared/merged
with Chicago Con and Prospect Con.