Whether you enjoy pick-up games or tournament play, conventions enhance opportunities for armchair generalship.

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World Boardgaming Championships 2005

Frustrated in your quest to find opponents to pit yourself against for your favorite historical wargames? Although computer games and local game clubs can fill some of the void, conventions go a step beyond. Conventions allow you to try favorite strategies on new opponents, play games before shelling out cash for them, learn rules instead of just reading them, and often make new friends.

Finding the right conventions can be tricky. A few years ago, we drove five hours to Pittsburgh because some of my old favorite games were on the schedule. There were plenty of attendees-but almost all were playing something else. Needless to say, we didn’t stay long. To avoid the same outcome, consider attending on of the following conventions.

MonsterGame.CON (link), sponsored by Consimworld, is one of the best venues for anyone interested in historical boardgames. It runs from June 6-11 in Arizona. Now in its sixth year, the convention offers round-the-clock gaming for serious grognards, though there is no tournament play. In 2005, about 200 people attended just to play wargames.

With "monster" games, most players rarely get beyond reading the rules, fondling the counters, and spending 12 months with the map spread out on the dining room table. With this convention, pre-registration matches up those who want to play the same monster game to completion. It also offers open gaming of shorter games.

Beyond gaming, attendees have the chance to hear breakfast after-action reports, spend money in the exhibitor’s room or at the flea market and game auction, play-test new designs, and meet renowned game designers.

World Boardgaming Championships (link), sponsored by the Boardgame Players Association (BPA), brings more than 1,100 boardgamers together in Lancaster, Pa., for up to nine days of competition. There is a distinct emphasis on scheduled tournaments, but open gaming is also popular.

Although the convention isn’t limited to wargames, the genre is well represented and Grognard tournaments have at least 20 participants EACH. Some of the larger tournaments pull in close to 100 players.

WBC’s main event begins Tues., Aug. 1, but "mini-cons" (see single game conventions, below) start the previous Saturday, allowing wargamers plenty of time to whet their appetites. New in 2006 is Grognardcon, which allows players to arrive early and play preliminary rounds of traditional, hex-style wargames. Winners advance to finals later in the week.

Beyond WBC, BPA sponsors several small tournaments throughout the year dedicated to a single wargame. (See below for more information.) One of these, BPA Block Party - also hosted by the Columbus Area Boardgaming Society-offers tournament and open play for historical wargames that use wooden blocks instead of cardboard counters. (BPA also sponsors Play-By-e-Mail tournaments, but that is fodder for a later column.)

Regional Conventions

While regional conventions expand your gaming opportunities, their size sometimes means that there are no more wargamers present than in your local group. I’ve listed several below that present a good chance of success.

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