U-Con
| U-Con | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Gaming |
| Venue | Eagle Crest Resort (Ypsilanti, Michigan) |
| Location(s) | Ypsilanti, Michigan |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1988 |
| Organized by | UCon Gaming Club |
| Website | http://www.ucon-gaming.org |
U-Con is a gaming convention held annually in the fall in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. It has been sponsored by several different University of Michigan student organizations since its inception, but is currently a stand-alone non-profit not affiliated with the University of Michigan.
History at University of Michigan[edit]
U-Con first developed out of the Michigan Wargaming Club. In 1988, as a sophomore, Brian Meadors, a player of role-playing games and Avalon Hill boardgames, noted with distress that there was no gaming club at the University of Michigan. He and Birger de la Pena created the "Michigan Wargaming Club" in 1988 and began having monthly gatherings at the Michigan Union to play games. In 1989, Meadors, de la Pena, Tim Carroll, and Eve and Larry Madsen organized and created U-Con, along with other members of their weekly college gaming group (GAME: GUILD), which included Kris Fazzari, Jill Gallon, and Rick Coen. The organizational meetings for planning the first U-Con were held in "Entity Haus," which is where Tim Carroll lived and was an off-campus house that had a long run of gaming enthusiasts as tenants.
The 1989 U-Con had a format of games from Friday evening through Sunday evening.[1] U-Con was held in the Michigan Union, and it filled nearly every room. Friday morning and afternoon slots were added in 2005. U-Con 2009 was held November 13–15, 2009.,[2] and added video and computer gaming to the con's offerings.
Independent from U Michigan[edit]
In 2011, U-Con moved out of the Michigan Union to the Metropolitan Hotel in Romulus, Michigan. In 2012 it moved to the Eagle Crest Resort (Ypsilanti, Michigan) where it has been hosted ever since.
U-Con is a mid-size (1000+ attendees) regional gaming convention; an array of games, an exhibit hall and an auction are supplemented by seminars on game design and other gaming-related topics presented by the convention's guests. Events are provided for children as well. U-Con offers some unusual gaming opportunities as well: playtesting pre-release games with original designers ConTessa, Pathfinder Society, Adventurers League, a Tekumel track, Games on Demand, an Old School Revival track, tournaments, dealers hall, onsite dining, and more.
Guests of Honor have included game creators, writers, editors, publishers, and artists and the list continues to grow every year. U-Con went virtual during the pandemic (2020, 2021), returning to operations in 2022 but without any industry guests. 2023 U-Con returned to hosting industry guests.
References[edit]
- ↑ "The Michigan Daily Online". Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2007-07-10. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "U-Con Gaming Convention 2009". UpcomingCons.com. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
External links[edit]
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