List of gaming conventions
This is a list of noteworthy gaming conventions[nb 1] from around the world. The list is divided up by location, and each convention includes the dates during which it is typically held. Dates listed are approximate or traditional time periods for each convention.
Multiple locations
- Gen Con – US and Europe
- Knutepunkt – Scandinavia
- MineCon - US and Europe in November
Asia-Pacific
Australia
- AVCon – Adelaide in July
- EB Games Expo - Sydney Olympic Park in October
- Cancon - Canberra on Australia Day weekend in January
- Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Australia - Melbourne in July
New Zealand
- KapCon – Wellington at Wellington Anniversary Weekend
- Battlecry - Auckland in February
- Chimera - Auckland in August
Iraq
- Ziggurat Con – Tallil Airbase, Iraq Premiere of this event and the first con in a combat zone
Japan
- Tokyo Game Show – Tokyo in October
Europe
Denmark
- Fastaval – Århus at Easter
Finland
- Ropecon – Espoo in late July or early August
France
- Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (FLIP) – Parthenay in July
Germany
- Gamescom - Köln in August
- Internationale Spieltage – Essen in October
- Nuremberg International Toy Fair – Nuremberg in February
Ireland
- Games Fleadh - LIT Tipperary in late March
- Gaelcon – Clontarf Castle in late October
- Itzacon Eire – NUI Galway in early March
- Warpcon – University College Cork in late January
Italy
- PLAY: The Games Festival Modena in March
Norway
- The Gathering (computer party) - Hamar during Easter
Poland
Sweden
- GothCon – Gothenburg on Easter since 1977
- Lincon – Linköping on Ascension Day weekend since 1984
- DreamHack – Jönköping & Skellefteå since 1994
United Kingdom
- Eurogamer Expo – Leeds, England & London, England
- Salute – The Excel Centre, London, England in April
- GEEK - Winter Gardens, Margate, England in February
North America
Canada
- CanGames – Ottawa, Ontario, Canadian May Long Weekend
- Fragapalooza – Edmonton in June
- Hal-Con – Annual gaming/sci-fi convention held in October in Halifax
- Pure Spec – Annual fan culture festival held in November in Edmonton, Alberta
- ConBravo! - Multigenre convention with heavy gaming focus, held in July in Hamilton, Ontario.
- VCON - Fantasy, gaming, and science fiction convention held in October in Vancouver B.C.
United States
Arranged by regional divisions used by the United States Census Bureau
North East
New England
- Anime Boston - Boston, Massachusetts in May
- Arisia - Boston, Massachusetts in January
- Carnagecon - Killington, Vermont in early November
- ConnectiCon - Hartford, Connecticut in July.
- Intercon – Chelmsford, Massachusetts in early March
- Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East - Boston, Massachusetts in late March
- PortConMaine - Portland, Maine in Late June
- TempleCon – Providence, Rhode Island in February
- Vericon – Cambridge, Massachusetts in late March
Middle Atlantic
- Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia
- 1d4Con – Winchester, Virginia, in April/May
- Council of Five Nations - Schenectady, New York in October
- DexCon – Morristown, New Jersey in July
- Euro Quest - Pikesville, Maryland, early November
- Fall In! – Adams County, Pennsylvania in November
- Genericon - Troy, New York in February/March
- Historicon – Fredericksburg, Virginia in July
- I-CON – Long Island, New York at Stony Brook University in March/April
- MAGFest – National Harbor, Maryland
- MEPACon – Scranton, Pennsylvania in March/April and October/November
- PrezCon - Charlottesville, Virginia - President's Day weekend
- PrinceCon – Princeton, New Jersey
- RavenCon - Richmond, Virginia
- TooManyGames – Oaks, Pennsylvania
- UberCon – Edison, New Jersey in October
- World Boardgaming Championships – Lancaster, Pennsylvania in August
Midwest
East North Central
- A&G Ohio - Cincinnati, Ohio in April
- Archon - Collinsville, Illinois in October
- Bashcon - Toledo, Ohio in February
- D&D Experience – Fort Wayne, Indiana in January
- Gen Con – Indianapolis, Indiana in August
- Marcon – Columbus, Ohio around Memorial Day
- Marmalade Dog – Kalamazoo, Michigan in the first quarter
- Origins Game Fair – Columbus, Ohio in late June
- Penguicon – Troy, Michigan in April
- StarCon – Oakland University, Rochester Hills, Michigan in March
- U-Con – Ann Arbor, Michigan in November
West North Central
- Fields of Honor – Des Moines, Iowa in September
- Gamicon – Iowa City, Iowa in February
- Nuke-Con – Omaha, Nebraska around the first of October
South
South Atlantic
- DragonCon – Atlanta, Georgia on Labor Day weekend
- MACE – High Point, North Carolina - November
- MegaCon – Orlando, Florida
- Momocon – Atlanta, Georgia in March
- Stellarcon – High Point, North Carolina - March
- Trinoc*con – Raleigh, North Carolina
- Waterloo – Greenville, South Carolina for boardgame Napoleonic Wars
East South Central
- CoastCon - Biloxi, Mississippi (typically in early March)
- Games Workshop Games Day - Memphis, Tennessee (mid Summer)
- Hypericon – Nashville, Tennessee (early Summer)
- MidSouthCon – Memphis, Tennessee
- MOBICON – Mobile, Alabama (May)
- Tennessee Game Days - Nashville, Tennessee (Late Spring)
- Chattacon - Chattanooga, Tennessee (end of January)
West South Central
- QuakeCon - id Software's expo, convention, and tournament, usually held in early August in Dallas, Texas.
- ScrewAttack Gaming Convention (SGC) - Texas in Summer
- BGG.CON - Irving, Texas in late November
- Glitch Con - Gamers, Anime, Trade, Steampunk, Fantasy, & Sci Fi - Bentonville, Arkansas, in the summer.
- ReaperCon - Miniatures and Gaming - Denton, Texas. Usually in the spring.
- RTX - Austin, Texas in early July. Internet and gaming convention hosted by Rooster Teeth
- Comicpalooza - Houston, Texas over Memorial Day weekend in late May.
West
Mountain
- Phoenix Comicon, Phoenix, Arizona - May 23-26, 2013
- CONduit (convention) Salt Lake City, Utah in May - Science Fiction and Fandom Convention -- Board games, miniatures, RPG, anime, panels, masquerade.
Pacific
- BlizzCon – Anaheim, California in October - computer gaming (Blizzard Entertainment, creators of World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo)
- CelestiCon - Fremont, California on Labor Day weekend in September[1]
- DunDraCon – San Ramon, California on Presidents' Day weekend in February
- E For All – Los Angeles, California in October
- Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) – Los Angeles, California in June[2] - computer gaming
- Enfilade - Olympia, Washington on Memorial Day weekend in May - Northwest Historical Miniature Gaming Society annual wargaming convention
- GameStorm – Portland, Oregon in March
- Gamex – Los Angeles, California on Memorial Day weekend in May
- Gateway – Los Angeles, California on Labor Day weekend in August/September
- GaymerX - San Francisco, California - LGBT-centered gaming convention
- KublaCon - San Jose, California - Memorial Day weekend in May - "the West Coast's largest gaming convention, with over 72 hours of non-stop gaming FUN!"[3]
- Northwest Pinball and Gameroom Show – Seattle, Washington in June
- Norwescon - Seattle, Washington in March/April
- OrcCon – Los Angeles, California on Presidents' Day weekend in February
- OryCon - Portland, Oregon in November
- PacifiCon - Santa Clara, California on Labor Day weekend in September[4]
- Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Prime – Seattle, Washington on the last weekend in August or Labor Day Weekend
- RadCon, Science Fiction and Fandom Convention, Pasco, WA Annually on President's Day Weekend
Latin America
Brazil
- Brazil Game Show – São Paulo in October
Notes
- ^ A convention is presumed noteworthy if it has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the convention and satisfies the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.
See also
- List of anime conventions
- List of comic book conventions
- List of multigenre conventions
- List of science fiction conventions
- List of Worldcons