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     This is a page of gaming conventions which I have attended or am considering attending. I have started writing up convention reports on the ones I attend. See Warhorn.net and Game Convention Central for a more comprehensive listing of gaming events in general. Below the conventions I report on are listed alphabetically.

Conventions I Attended

AmberCon NorthWest: November in Portland, OR

A gaming convention at a historic hotel in Portland, Oregon -- inspired by the Amber series by Robert Zelazny and the Amber Diceless RPG by Erick Wujcik. The deadline for preregistration is July or so. GMs should submit games by roughly the end of August.
ACNW 2005 Report
ACNW 2006 Report
ACNW 2007 Report
ACNW 2008 Report
ACNW 2009 Report
ACNW 2010 Report
ACNW 2011 Report
ACNW 2012 Report
ACNW 2013 Report
ACNW 2014 Report
ACNW 2015 Report
ACNW 2015 Report
ACNW 2016 Report
ACNW 2018 Report
ACNW 2019 Report
ACNW 2020 Report
ACNW 2021 Report
ACNW 2022 Report
ACNW 2023 Report

 

Big Bad Con: early October in Oakland

A new Bay Area gaming convention starting in 2011, organized by Sean Nittner and other local GMs.
Big Bad Con 2011 Report
Big Bad Con 2012 Report
Big Bad Con 2013 Report
Big Bad Con 2014 Report
Big Bad Con 2015 Report
Big Bad Con 2016 Report
Big Bad Con 2018 Report
Big Bad Con 2019 Report
Big Bad Con 2023 Report

 

3DBCon: April in San Francisco, CA

An experimental mini-convention (with seven events) hosted at Three Dollar Bill Cafe at San Francisco's LGBT Community Center. Billed as "a gaming convention for the people, by the people."
3DBCon 2005 Report
3DBCon 2006 Report

 

CelestiCon: Labor Day weekend in Redwood City

A game convention started in 2009. For 2011, it shifted to Labor Day Weekend - putting it at the same dates as PacifiCon.
ConQuest 2014 Report

 

ConQuest / Pacificon: End of August in Santa Clara, CA

A Bay Area convention, recently gone through change of ownership, and renamed "Pacificon". GMs should submit games by end of July. Pre-register by early August.
ConQuest 2003 Report
ConQuest 2004 Report
ConQuest 2005 Report
ConQuest 2006 Report
ConQuest 2008 Report
Pacificon 2009 Report
Pacificon 2010 Report
Pacificon 2011 Report
Pacificon 2012 Report
Pacificon 2013 Report
Pacificon 2015 Report
Pacificon 2016 Report
Pacificon 2018 Report
Pacificon 2019 Report
Pacificon 2021 Report

 

DundraCon: Mid-February in San Ramon

A large area convention, the "World's Longest Continuously Running RPG Convention". GMs should submit games by New Years. Preregister by end of October at reduced price, or by end of January otherwise.
DundraCon 2005 Report
DundraCon 2007 Report
DundraCon 2012 Report
DundraCon 2013 Report
DundraCon 2014 Report
DundraCon 2015 Report
DundraCon 2016 Report
DundraCon 2017 Report
DundraCon 2018 Report
DundraCon 2019 Report
DundraCon 2022 Report

 

End Game's Mini-Con: Quarterly in Oakland

This is single-day mini-convention emphasizing recent independent games, held at a local game store in Oakland ("End Game"). They are being scheduled quarterly, starting in 2006.
April Fool's 2006 Mini-Con Report
July 2006 Mini-Con Report
October 2006 Mini-Con Report
January 2007 Mini-Con Report
April 2007 Mini-Con Report
July 2007 Mini-Con Report
October 2007 Mini-Con Report
October 2008 Mini-Con Report
October 2009 Mini-Con Report

 

GenCon Indy: August in Indianapolis

I attended my first GenCon -- the largest gaming convention in the U.S. and probably the world -- in 2006. The start date for event submissions is early January. Events must be submitted by the event submission deadline, which is mid-April.
GenCon Indy 2006 Report
GenCon Indy 2007 Report
GenCon Indy 2012 Report

 

Go Play NorthWest

A mini-convention of indie gamers in Seattle, held in early summer starting in 2007.
Go Play NW 2007 Report
Go Play NW 2008 Report

 

Knutepunkt: Spring in Scandanavia

A cross-Scandanavian live-action role-playing theory convention. The name means "Nodal Point", and it changes name year to year as it rotates between Sweden (Knutpunkt), Denmark (Knudepunkt), Finland (Solmukohta), and Norway (Knutepunkt). Each year a book is published: articles should generally be submitted by December.
Knutepunkt 2005 Report
Knutpunkt 2006 Report
Solmukohta 2008 Report
Knutepunkt 2009 Report
Solmukohta 2012 Report Knutepunkt 2017 Report

 

KublaCon: Late May in Burlingame, CA

A relatively new Bay Area convention. GMs should submit games by mid-April. Preregister at reduced price by end of February.
KublaCon 2004 Report
KublaCon 2011 Report
KublaCon 2012 Report
KublaCon 2013 Report
KublaCon 2014 Report
KublaCon 2015 Report
KublaCon 2016 Report
KublaCon 2019 Report

 

Nerdly Beach Party: various times at San Simeon, CA

This is a new mini-convention run on the campgrounds at San Simeon State Beach Park in central California. It's been run three times, once in 2007 and twice in 2008.
Nerdly Beach Party Spring 2008 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Summer 2008 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Fall 2009 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Fall 2010 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Fall 2011 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Fall 2013 Report
Nerdly Beach Party Spring 2014 Report

 

Origins: July 4th weekend in Columbus, OH

I haven't been to Origins in decades, but I have fond memories of going there as a teenager.

 

PolyCon: late June in San Luis Obispo, CA

A small central coast gaming convention, running since 1983 at Cal Polytech SU.
PolyCon 2015 Report

 

South Bay Story Games Day: various times in San Jose, CA

This is an semi-informal gathering organized on the Story Games forum and held at Game Kastle in San Jose.
South Bay Story Games Day August 2010 Report
South Bay Story Games Day February 2011 Report
South Bay Story Games Day June 2011 Report

 

Strategicon/Gamex: Late May in Los Angeles, CA

An Los Angeles area local gaming convention, I went to two of these during the two years I was working at UC Irvine.

 

WisCon: Late May in Madison, WI

WisCon is a feminist science-fiction convention. However, I have run a role-playing game there in 1997, and moderated a panel on "Gender in Gaming" in 2006.
WisCon 2006 Report

 

Wyrd Con: June in Costa Mesa, CA

An "interactive storytelling" convention in southern California - mixing LARPs, ARGs, pervasive games, and transmedia experiences. It includes a number of panels on issues of interactive storytelling as well as games.
Wyrd Con 2012 Report
Wyrd Con 2013 Report

Conventions I Have Been Interested In

Conventions that I have been interested in but not yet attended.

DragonFlight: Late August in Seattle

A local Northwest gaming convention.

 

GenCon SoCal: November in Anaheim, CA

This isn't local to the Bay Area, but large enough and close enough that it's worth mentioning. Sadly, it was cancelled after a few years.

See Warhorn.net for a more comprehensive listing of gaming conventions.