Gen Con Programs
Shoemaker, Matt
Shoemaker, Matt
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Date
2025-11-05
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Temple University. Libraries
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DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/392
Abstract
Gen Con is the largest and oldest continuously running convention that is focused on analog games. It has been an important fixture in the development of modern tabletop games not just for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, but also boardgames, collectible card games, miniature games, live action role-playing games, and others. Each year over 70,000 people make a pilgrimage to Indianapolis, Indiana to celebrate and play these games. Gathering of Gamers explores the convention through a year-by-year history from 1967 through 2022. The book not only discusses the prominent games at each annual convention, it also examines the major milestones in tabletop game development over the years, how gamer culture and the perception of gamers in society has evolved, how technology has impacted conventions and the games we play, and the relationship between game conventions and the cities and other entities that host them.
It is no secret that tabletop games, which include board games like The Settlers of Catan, card games like Dominion and Magic: The Gathering, and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Cyberpunk, have become a popular pastime in the United States and their ubiquity is only growing. The board game market alone is valued at over $13 billion and that figure does not include role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Gathering of Gamers narrates how we got here thanks to the role that game conventions like Gen Con played in popularizing these games.
This history is assembled from a close reading of various publications including zines, correspondence, convention programs, websites, interviews, and social media that surround the convention. It also takes a more distant look at the convention through data analysis of game attendance and sales of the various games and events, more than 20,000 of which are currently available at Gen Con each year. This approach makes this text useful not just to those looking to learn about the history of modern analog games, but also for those looking to attend Gen Con or other game conventions.
Description
This zip file contains spreadsheets of all events held at the Gen Con gaming convention from 1968 to 2025 in csv format and most years in xlsx format. 59 csv spreadsheets that contain the data for this project. Each spreadsheet Includes both the original 51 xlsx spreadsheet files created in 2017, additional xlsx files for 2022-2025, and 51 csv files generated from those xlsx files created up to 2017 using the Excel Archiving Tool (https://github.com/mcgrory/ExcelArchivalTool) for open access and additional csv files for 2018-2025 generated via Microsoft Excel.
The data within these spreadsheets captures the events of the Gen Con gaming convention. Discreate gameplay sessions that occur during the 2 to 4 day (depending on the year) festival of analog games. This dataset showcases how many games were played for systems like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, as well as for a variety of analog games spanning from role playing games, board games, wargames, and collectible card games to more spirited activities like Megagames and live action role playing games.
Citation
Shoemaker, Matt (2025). Gen Con Programs. Temple University Libraries.
Citation to related work
Shoemaker, Matt. Gathering of Gamers. Pittsburgh, PA: Play Story Press, 2025. https://doi.org/10.17613/31t39-t4c31.
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For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu
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Attribution ShareAlike CC BY-SA