Microsoft had made GenCon a habit since who knows when, with a modest booth on showroom floor and a host of games in the LAN pit. And with Indianapolis located within driving distance for nearly two-thirds of the midwest’s population it was the best place to relocate and still have room to grow. The Indiana Convention Center had over 300,000 square feet of space and around 3,500 hotel rooms nearby. According to Susan Scheid, Origins and GenCon manager, finding housing for the convention and all the attendees had always been a problem. Although GenCon tended to bring in something like $10 million of revenue into the city there was just not enough room in Milwaukee’s largest convention center to hold all the events, exhibitors and the throngs of gamers who made their requisite pilgrimage to “the Mecca of Gaming.” With an approximate attendance of at least 40,000 from all over the world, it was time to find some more elbow room! So, from July 24-27, 2003, Indianapolis, home of the Indy 500, welcomed GenCon with open arms.

Being wargaming enthusiasts, I'm certain that it was with much glee that their official gathering would be henceforth known as GenCon, short for the 'Geneva Convention.' Thirty five years later, the mayor of the city of Milwaukee states his regret that his city was just not big enough to support the kind of room GenCon required. The first official convention was held a year later in 1968 in the Lake Geneva Horticultural Hall up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with 100 people attending.

It started off in 1967 as a gathering of friends from Milwaukee and Chicago, wargame enthusiasts all, for a weekend of gaming at the home of Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeon&Dragons and Advanced Dungeons&Dragons. GenCon, “The Best Four Days of Gaming”, is one of the longest running game conventions in the world.

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