U-Con
Encyclopedia
U-Con is a gaming convention
held annually in November in Ann Arbor
, Michigan
, on the campus of the University of Michigan
. It has been sponsored by several different University of Michigan student organizations since its inception, the current one being the UCon Gaming Club. UCon developed out of a small gaming event held in 1988 called Mission Minicon. In 1989, it changed its name to UCon and adopted a format offering games from Friday evening through Sunday evening. Friday morning and afternoon slots were added in 2005. U-Con 2009 was held November 13 - November 15, 2009., and added video and computer gaming to the con's offerings.
U-Con is a mid-size 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
). 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. The 2009 Guest of Honor was Sid Meier
, of Civilization and Sid Meier's Pirates fame.
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2003
2002
1999
1998
1997
1996
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
Gaming convention
A gaming convention is a gathering that centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a university or in a convention center hotel...
held annually in November in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, on the campus of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. It has been sponsored by several different University of Michigan student organizations since its inception, the current one being the UCon Gaming Club. UCon developed out of a small gaming event held in 1988 called Mission Minicon. In 1989, it changed its name to UCon and adopted a format offering games from Friday evening through Sunday evening. Friday morning and afternoon slots were added in 2005. U-Con 2009 was held November 13 - November 15, 2009., and added video and computer gaming to the con's offerings.
U-Con is a mid-size 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
Richard Garfield
Richard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
). 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
Erick Wujcik
Erick Wujcik was an American designer of both pen-and-paper and computer role-playing games, and co-founder of Palladium Books.- Gaming career :...
's Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, and it hosts a weekend-long track of Tekumel
Tékumel
Tékumel is a fantasy world created by Professor M. A. R. Barker over the course of several decades from around 1940. With time Barker also created the role-playing game Empire of the Petal Throne, set in the Tékumel fictional universe and first published in 1975 by TSR, Inc...
events. People come from as far away as England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to attend.
Guests of Honor have included game creators, writers, editors, publishers, and artists. The 2009 Guest of Honor was Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
, of Civilization and Sid Meier's Pirates fame.
Previous Guests of Honor
2010- Paul S. KempPaul S. KempPaul S. Kemp is a fantasy author most known for his Forgotten Realms novels. Some examples of his work include Resurrection, the final installation of War of the Spider Queen series...
, author best known for his many Forgotten RealmsForgotten RealmsThe Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
novels
2009
- Sid MeierSid MeierSidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
, co-founder and creative director of Firaxis GamesFiraxis GamesFiraxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
; co-founder of MicroProseMicroProseMicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
and initial developer of Civilization
2008
- Andy Looney, founder of Looney LabsLooney LabsLooney Labs is a small game company based in College Park, Maryland, USA. It is named after its founders, Andrew Looney and Kristin Looney.- Card games :...
2007
- Loren WisemanLoren WisemanLoren Wiseman is an award-winning wargame and role-playing game designer, game developer, and editor.-Game Designers' Workshop:Loren Wiseman published Eagles , his first wargame, through Game Designers’ Workshop in 1974...
2006
- Ed GreenwoodEd GreenwoodEd Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
- Jim Deitz of Jolly Roger Games
2005
- Larry ElmoreLarry ElmoreLarry Elmore is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, and the comic strip series SnarfQuest...
- Steven S. Long, President of Hero GamesHero GamesHero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
2003
- Eric Boyd
- Kevin SiembiedaKevin SiembiedaKevin Siembieda is an American artist, writer, designer, and publisher of role-playing games, and the co-founder and president of Palladium Books....
, founder of Palladium BooksPalladium BooksPalladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
2002
- Will Niebling, President of Mayfair GamesMayfair GamesMayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
1999
- James ErnestJames ErnestJames Ernest is an American game designer and juggler. He is best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Prior to founding Cheapass, he worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Medieval Village, and as a freelancer with Wizards of the Coast. He also worked for...
, founder of Cheapass GamesCheapass GamesCheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
1998
- Jolly BlackburnJolly BlackburnJolly Randall Blackburn is best known as the creator of the comic strip, Knights of the Dinner Table.-Biography:Jolly Blackburn majored in anthropology, history, and classical cultures in college...
, author of the Knights of the Dinner TableKnights of the Dinner TableKnights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
comic
1997
- Matt Forbeck, of Pinnacle Games
- Mark C. MacKinnon, President of Guardians of OrderGuardians of OrderGuardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games . Their first game is the anime inspired Big Eyes, Small Mouth. In 2006 Guardians of Order ceased operations due to overwhelming...
1996
- Richard GarfieldRichard GarfieldRichard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
, creator of Magic: the GatheringMagic: The GatheringMagic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011... - Steve Miller, of TSR Hobbies
1993
- Keith HerberKeith HerberKeith "Doc" Herber was an American author, editor, and musician.Herber was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He was known for his work on Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. He was employed by Chaosium from 1989 through 1994...
, editor of Call of CthulhuCall of Cthulhu (role-playing game)Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos.The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium.-Setting:...
1992
- David Pulver, freelancer who worked on GURPSGURPSThe Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
1991
- Erick WujcikErick WujcikErick Wujcik was an American designer of both pen-and-paper and computer role-playing games, and co-founder of Palladium Books.- Gaming career :...
, of Palladium BooksPalladium BooksPalladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
and Phage Press
1990
- Robert Lynn Aspirin, science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author - Lynn AbbeyLynn AbbeyLynn Abbey is an American computer programmer and author.-Background:Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel and Doris Lorraine . She attended the University of Rochester, where she began as an astrophysics major. She earned a A.B...
, science fiction author - Darwin Bromley, founder of Mayfair GamesMayfair GamesMayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
1989
- Rob Bell, of Hero GamesHero GamesHero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
- Darwin Bromley, founder of Mayfair GamesMayfair GamesMayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
- Gideon, author of JustifiersJustifiersThe Justifiers are fictional foot soldiers in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Forever People #3, , and were created by Jack Kirby.-Fictional character biography:...