As some of you know, I attend the gaming convention “Gary Con” each year. It’s named after Gary Gygax, the original author of Dungeons and Dragons. I’m a volunteer coordinator and spend a lot of time each year preparing for and then helping to execute the con in Gary’s home town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

The first Gary Con was 2008, and happened spontaneously after Gary’s funeral in March. All his old friends and gaming buddies gathered after the funeral at the VFW hall in Lake Geneva to game in his honor. Each year since, his son Luke and several of the “Old Guard” from TSR and Gary’s friends hold this ‘Con’ to continue that tradition.

This is a chance to meet all the guys who created the entire role-playing-game industry. People like Jim Ward, Tim Kask, Frank Mentzer, Skip Williams, Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman, and of course, the Gygax family, all will be running and playing games. It’s a very personal, intimate affair with only about 300-400 attendees over the 5 days. Everyone is super friendly and accessible. There is minimal commercial presence- the entire attitude of the event is to celebrate the spirit of gaming.

Though the Con is a celebration of ‘old school’ games like original D&D, Metamorphosis Alpha, Chainmail and the like, there are dozens of systems and genres represented. The entire concept of the Con is ‘open gaming’. Personally I’m signed up for Shadowrun, Battletech, D&D, Circus Maximus, and WW2 Micro-Armor.

There are special events and games schedule for kids, if you have spawn you want to bring- it’s a pretty family friendly atmosphere. Of course, if you are into more adult entertainment, I’ll be hanging out with Luke and the volunteer crew after hours where there has been known to be heavy drinking and lewd acts.

I know it’s a bit late to plan for, but I wanted to post this just in case anyone had interest in attending.

March 21st-25th, in Lake Geneva, WI.

Nightly rates and the lodge and convention passes are pretty cheap (as cons go). I can also accommodate a roommate this year, if you want to come but are strapped for cash.

Lots of info on the official GaryCon website.

I’d love to see some VSers there one of these years, so let me know if you have interest!

Gods of gaming...except the ones that invented Kender.

Too late to schedule now and too hard to do with house and moving and crap, but damn I'm in for next time.

This event was, again, epic. I have returned and only now recovered. I will continue to try and poach some of you for this in the future.

This event was, again, epic. I have returned and only now recovered. I will continue to try and poach some of you for this in the future.

I really want to go to this...and I like Wisconsin for some reason.