Your local convention…  and plenty of national ones! ~

GrogHeads Staff, 23 January 2018

Obviously, we pimp Origins pretty hard because that’s the one where we have our “official” presence.  But there’s plenty of gaming all over the country (and Europe!) that you can check out if Origins isn’t in your schedule or budget.

If we missed your local one let us know (links / feedback at the bottom) and we’ll try to remember for next year.

Game On!
8-11 Feb, Seattle, WA
An ASL tournament, along with the Hank Award and all sorts of hex-and-counter goodness.

Williamsburg Muster
16-18 Feb, Williamsburg, VA
A new date this year, but the same wargaming fun.  There’s also an additional boardgame area run by TAGS that includes all sorts of non-wargames.  This annual wargaming convention is hosted by the Hampton Roads Wargamers.

Playthrough
17-18 Feb, Raleigh, NC
A newer convention, but growing like crazy.  A mixture of digital and tabletop games, with previous exhibitors including folks like Epic Games.  A big free-to-play area of classic consoles complements another large area of open tabletop gaming.

StrategiCon: OrcCon
16-19 Feb, Los Angeles, CA
One of three conventions from the StrategiCon guys in the LA area.  Heavy tabletop focus with a lot of Eurogames, as well as RPGs, and other fantasy/sci-fi games.

DundraCon
16-19 Feb, San Ramon, CA
It’s RPG-heavy, but does include enough board games to keep you busy all weekend.  DDC also includes their own seminar series, with a West Coast edition of the War College.

WinterFest
16-24 Feb, Sandusky, OH
Going into their second decade, this a wargaming-only convention that’s smaller than most, but heavily focused on grogs.

PrezCon
19-25 Feb, Charlottesville, VA
Over 95 Tournaments and 50+ Demo events, and no additional fees to enter games (i.e., no tickets) –  one price pays for all the gaming you can cram in over the convention.  They’ve also got the Meeple League for Eurogamers.  Dealer room includes GMT, Worthington, and Columbia, among others.

OwlCon
23-25 February, Houston, TX
Hosted by the gaming club at Rice University, this Houston convention includes 100-odd board gaming events, plus at least that many RPG events, as well as minis and LARPs.

Hammerhead Wargames Show
3 Mar , Newark Showgrounds, UK
50-odd games on a single day, with visitor participation expected.  They’ve got a lot more info in our forums, too.  It’s a minis-heavy show, but that’s normal in England.

TwisterCon
16-17 Mar, Midwest City, OK (suburb of OKC)
A variety of tabletop games, including a bunch of ACW and AWI, as well as X-Wing minis.  Also includes an extensive flea market.

Cold Wars
15-18 Mar, Lancaster, PA
This year’s theme is “A Good Day to Die Hard”.  Minis-focused, but also includes a variety of other wargames and game dealers.

GMT East
23-25 Mar, White Plains, NY
One of GMT’s “house” conventions, featuring a ton of their games.

San Marino Game Convention
4-6 May, San Marino, which is not a part of Italy, just surrounded by it
Wargaming across the pond, with a variety of Euro-focused scenarios and games.

HuzzahCon
18-20 May, South Portland, ME
HuzzahCon is a wargaming-heavy gathering in New England that includes minis and tabletop gaming, tournaments, raffle prizes, and more.

StrategiCon: Gamex
25-28 May, Los Angeles, CA
One of three conventions from the StrategiCon guys in the LA area.  Heavy tabletop focus with a lot of Eurogames, as well as RPGs, and other fantasy/sci-fi games.

KublaCon
25-28 May, San Francisco, CA
Friend-of-Grog and GrogCast guest Anthony Gallela was once heavily involved, and KublaCon gives you and a few thousand friends a weekend of gaming in the Bay area and a dozen-odd dealers in the exhibitor area.

Nexus Game Fair
31 May – 3 June, Milwaukee, WI
A solid tabletop show with a hefty dose of cosplay.  There are a bunch of tabletop minis games, too, as HMGS tends to show up.

Southern Fried Gaming Expo
8-10 June, Atlanta, GA
A combination of tabletop gaming, classic/retro digital gaming, and a heapin’ helpin’ of pinball machines.

ConSimWorld Expo
23-30 June, Tempe, AZ
This one is all-wargames-all-week  Some folks will spend the entire weekend playing one monster ‘grail’ game, and others will just shop and sit through guest speakers and seminars.

ORIGINS
13-17  June, Columbus, OH
Featuring the GrogHeads Central Command – Command Post Wargaming, teaching sessions, tabletop wargames, guest speakers, tactics seminars, and more.
And our kids-specific program for the under-14 generals-in-the-making will be back!

LibertyCon
29 June – 1 July, Chattanooga, TN
Steve Jackson himself plays in a variety of events at this one.  You get a mixture of gaming, literary, and artistic luminaries, and attendance is capped low to keep an intimate atmosphere.

Historicon
12-15 July, Fredericksburg, VA
Tournaments, seminars and a Hobby University of painting classes and events. Attendance usually runs 3700ish, so there’s plenty of folks to game with.  Minis-heavy, of course, but plenty of other games, too.

World Boardgaming Championships
21-29 July, Seven Springs, PA
The BPA’s largest event is the annual World Boardgaming Championships^® (WBC) where about 1,500 people from around the world compete to be named champion of their favorite games. By vote, BPA members select the 100 or so games (the “Century Group”) in which competitions are scheduled.

GenCon
2-5 Aug, Indianapolis, IN
GenCon starts its second half-century!  Looks, it’s GenCon, so you shouldn’t need a lot of details about it.  Go have fun.  If you can get a ticket, that is.

DragonFlight GameCon
24-26 Aug, Bellevue WA
Cascadia gets into the summer convention spirit with a full weekend of tabletop gaming, including RPGs and minis.

DragonCon
30 Aug -3 Sep, Atlanta, GA
Games, fantasy, sci-fi, comics, art & literature, and more…  There’s a decent gaming component, but it’s a much more general fantasy and sci-fi convention with a lot of other media thrown in for good measure.  And with over 70,000 attendees (you read that right) you should be able to find someone to game with.

Pacificon Game Expo
30 Aug -3 Sep, Santa Clara, CA
Up in the Bay Area, you can game a bit over Labor Day weekend, with a Wargamer Boot Camp, and a whole lot of other wargaming.

StrategiCon: GateWay
31 Aug-3 Sep, Los Angeles, CA
One of three conventions from the StrategiCon guys in the LA area.  Heavy tabletop focus with a lot of Eurogames, as well as RPGs, and other fantasy/sci-fi games.

BuckeyeGameFest
13-16 Sep, Columbus, OH
The Jim Reasoner War Room opens a few days earlier (the 10th), and they’ve got one of the best check-out-and-play libraries you’ve ever seen.  You can also find info on CSW, too.

Southern Front
21-23 Sep, Raleigh, NC
Minis-focused tabletop gaming weekend from Triangle Simulation Society.  Includes a robust number of vendors from the minis wargaming world, too

ASLOK
TBD Oct, Cleveland, OH
Well, it’s called ASL Oktoberfest, so you can probably figure it’s in October.  Anywho… it’s a whole weekend of ASL.  Have fun!

EssenSpiel
25-28 Oct, Essen, Germany
The über-con of all game conventions – you and 100,000 of your closest friends all gaming away for a long weekend.  Grab your passport and getouttahere!

Carnage Royale
TBD Nov, Killington, VT
Mainly board games and RPGs, strategy game players will find some lighter wargames, or arrange to meet up friends for a bigger wargame while at the show.

BottosCon
2-4 Nov, Vancouver, BC
The Canadians weigh in with a mixture of wargames, minis, and board games, with 12 years of gaming in Vancouver. There’s a game swap, organized events, and a whole of pre-arranged one-on-one matches, as well as plenty of pickup games.  Game theorist Brian Train makes the occasional appearance, as do a handful of our own GrogHeads.

GameHoleCon
8-11 Nov, Madison, WI
Old-school RPGs galore, as a lot of old TSR holdovers and old fans & friends are still local.  Lots of other tabletop games, and a variety of minis events, too.

MACE
9-11  Nov, Charlotte, NC
MACE outgrew its original High Point, NC roots and is now in the big city.  All manner of tabletop games, including RPGs and board games, are out for the weekend.

BGG.CON
14-18 Nov, Dallas, TX
Run by the BGG website guys, with an impressive dealer room and a lot of small/indie publishers there showing off new games.

San Diego Historical Games Convention
TBD Nov, get this…  SAN DIEGO!
Board games, minis games, whatever…  just make it a historical wargame and get to it.  Oh yeah, the weather’s not bad, either.

Battleground
TBD Nov, Stockton-on-Tees, UK
Always trying to bring the best selection of both display and participation games to the show, some presented by local games clubs and others by traders demo’ing their wares.

FATDOG
23 Nov, Long Island, NY
The “Friday After Thanksgiving Day Of Gaming” keeps you out of Black Friday insanity, and lets you sing dice with over 100 of your new best friends.  Get this – meals are included!

Got other cons we missed?  Tell us in the comments below and we’ll try to get them added throughout the year.

Chat about it below, or in our forums, or hit our FaceBook page >>