Ziggurat Con
Encyclopedia
Ziggurat Con was a role playing game convention
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 on June 10, 2007. It was remarkable for being the only known role-playing convention held in a war zone. The con was held on the grounds of the Ali Airbase and Camp Adder in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, both housing large numbers of United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 personnel. It was named after a ziggurat
Ziggurat
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...

 from the ancient city of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...

 that is on the base grounds. Admission was free to all U.S.-allied military personnel and civilian contractors posted in Iraq.

History

Ziggurat Con was as a soldier-run event. The convention was organized by active duty military service personnel deployed to Iraq by the United States Armed Forces, and by contractors to the United States government. It was originally scheduled for June 9, but was moved to the 10th to help preserve operational security.

Part of the base's Community Activity Center hosted the convention. The Memorial Theater showed anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, the ping pong room and mini-theater held pen-and-paper role-playing games, and console role-playing games were held in the console gaming room at the MWR Activity Center. The convention's first organizer was Convention Chair SPC David Amberson. SPC Amberson is looking for someone who will take the reins and hold a second Ziggurat Con, and has a couple of prospects already.

SPC Amberson noted that a distinct lack of morale was plaguing the troops stationed in Iraq. This was especially true after troops first heard about the three-month extension over the news or from family members as early as two weeks prior to announcements by their own chain of command. To help combat this low morale, Amberson organized the friends he played Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

 with regularly and scheduled a convention to give games, dice, and other goodies to the troops he was stationed with.

As there are no stores near the base where these games can be bought, Ziggurat Con was dependent upon private sponsorship and internet orders. Game manufacturers and private individuals donated supplies, including rule books and dice. A number of groups formed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

to collect and ship gaming supplies for the convention. Operation Dice Drop in Oregon is one such group. The ultimate goal of the Con was to give every coalition service member and civilian contractor in attendance at least one item to take home and keep. This was achieved quite easily, and many soldiers even took boxes of goodies with them to their individual living areas.

External links

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