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Monograph
Date
2025-08-19
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https://doi.org/10.17613/t0kwb-g5q56
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.
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Shoemaker, Matt. Gathering of Gamers: Dungeons & Dragons and other Games through Gen Con. Pittsburgh: Play Story Press, 2025.
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Play Story Press
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