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.

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 Fazarri, 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.

In 2011, U-Con moved out of the Michigan Union to the Metropolitan Hotel in Romulus, Michigan. It moved to the Eagle Crest Resort (Ypsilanti, Michigan) in 2012 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 (often put on by UCon's guests of honor, who have included well-known designers such as Richard Garfield[3]). Events are provided for children as well. U-Con offers some unusual gaming opportunities as well; it was an early site for playtesting of Erick Wujcik's Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, and it hosts a weekend-long track of Tekumel events. People come from as far away as England and Germany to attend.

Guests of Honor have included game creators, writers, editors, publishers, and artists and the list continues to grow every year.

Previous Guests of Honor

2017

  • Cam Banks of Magic Vaccum Studio and Atlas Games, designer of Cortex Prime.
  • Sarah “Doombringer” Richardson of Magpie Games, designer of Velvet Glove, co-designer of Bluebeard's Bride
  • James L. Sutter, Freelancer, Creative Director of Starfinder RPG, co-designer of Pathfinder RPG
  • Contessa, an organization dedicated to increasing diverse representation in tabletop gaming
  • Jon Gilmour, co-designer of Dead of Winter and Vault Wars
  • Brendan LaSalle, designer of Xcrawl, and author of numerous DCC adventures by Goodman Games
  • Doug Kovacs, freelance artist (including many works for DCC by Goodman Games)
  • Adam Horton, Dominion World Champion 2017

2016

  • John Wick, designer of 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings
  • Chris Badell, designer and co-creator of Sentinels of the Multiverse and co-owner of Greater Than Games
  • Stacy Dellorfano, founder of Contessa, an organization dedicated to increasing diverse representation in tabletop gaming, and project manager for 3rd printing of Swords and Wizardry
  • Darren Watts, former president of Hero Games and IPR, primary writer for Golden Age Champions, Champions Universe, Millenium City, and numerous other Hero products.
  • Brendan LaSalle, designer of Xcrawl, and author of numerous DCC adventures by Goodman Games
  • Leonard Balsera, FATE and Chez Geek line developer
  • Jon Gilmour, co-designer of Dead of Winter and Vault Wars
  • Marc Tassin, creator of the Aetaltis fantasy campaign setting and the founder of Mechanical Muse, writer for both Shadowrun and Dragon Magazine, and his short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies from DAW Books
  • Bill Webb, founder of Frog God Games
  • Michael Surbrook, author of Kazaei 5, Ninja Hero, Asian Bestiary, and Fantasy Hero Complete for HERO Games

2015

  • Nicole LIndroos, Green Ronin, author of Blue Rose RPG for AGE, contibutor to Dragon Age RPG, Titansgrave
  • Shoshana Kessock, game designer and writer for Phoenix Outlaw Productions, co-author of the Dresden Lives project for Evil Hat Productions.
  • Bill Webb, founder of Frog God Games
  • Jim Wampler, Save or Die! podcast, Spellburn, author of Mutant Crawl Classics by Goodman Games
  • Michael Surbrook, author of Kazaei 5, Ninja Hero, Asian Bestiary, and Fantasy Hero Complete for HERO Games
  • Shane Harsch, co-creator of Narosia, founder of Legendsmiths games, and creator of NOVA6

2014

  • Rodney Thompson, Wizards of the Coast, co-designer of Lords of Waterdeep, designer/developer for D&D 5E, Star Wars Saga Edition
  • James Ernest, Cheapass Games
  • Leonard Balsera, FATE and Chez Geek line developer
  • Tim Snider, Goblinoid Games, Savage Afterworld blog
  • Jim Wampler, Save or Die! podcast, Spellburn, author of Mutant Crawl Classics by Goodman Games
  • Bill Barsh, Pacesetter Games & Simulation
  • Doug Kovacs, freelance artist (including many works for DCC by Goodman Games)

2013

  • Leonard Balsera, FATE and Chez Geek line developer
  • Tim Thurmond, balloon sculptor (Special Guest)
  • Mike Brock, Pathfinder Society campaign coordinator (Special Guest)

2012

  • Jason Caminsky, author of the New Fire Role-Playing Game.
  • Tim Thurmond, balloon sculptor

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2003

2002

1999

1998

1997

1996

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  2. ↑ "U-Con Gaming Convention 2009". UpcomingCons.com. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
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