You should have been there. Lots of people were and had fun. GenCon 18 was big. Held August 22-25, 1985 at Mecca Convention Center in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this was quite a change from the Parkside University campus site where the convention has been held the last few years. The convention site was attractive, well-lit, and pleasant. Easy to locate, well-situated, and spacious, MECCA's site helped make GenCon 18 pleasant. The organization seemed as good as in past years, and the layout of the site made the information booths more accessible. With every new site comes solutions to old problems, and new problems. For the last few months the industry and gaming public heard rumors about how tight the schedule was going to be and that space was at a premium. Many gamers who were asked to run games in years past were not asked this year; some who applied had their applications returned with a note which told them there was not adequate room in the schedule for their proposed event; later, some of these gamers received letters saying that if they wanted to run their events, there was room on the schedule. Space, time, and dependability had a lot to do with the situation. Some rumors were based on truth, and some were the stuff dreams are made of. One way or the other, the convention didn't seem to suffer. All events were scheduled to run three hours and forty-five minutes. Promptly at the fourth hour, another gaming group came into the space, set up, and began their event. On paper this works well, but given human frailty and a gamer's enthusiasm, the time frame seemed too confining. Surprisingly, things moved along. No one had a heart attack, and events played smoothly. Of course, some gamers complained, but most just went about their business of having a good time. The only verified problem was the poor lighting in the miniatures gaming area. In contrast, I feared the acoustics would make the convention deafening, but it was not. Sound baffles cut down the noise. Overall, the essentials of GenCon were there: the auction, the dealer's area (more of that later), the demonstration games, the art show, the tournament the banquet, the miniatures events and the board games. Attendance of 8,000-10,000 was expected based on last year's attendance anq projected growth. Of course, it's one of those industry facts that anytime a convention changes locations, attendance drops. Still, there appeared to be at least 6,500 conventioneers in attendance. TSR Inc. confirmed around 7,000 attendees. Garners I talked with liked this year's site and wanted TSR Inc. to hold GenCon there again next year. The fact that MECCA is designed to host conventions certainly improved the professional appearance and functioning of the convention. The site helped rather than hurt the convention, and most people with problems had them solved in a helpful and timely manner, To say gamers come to GenCon to see dealers is exaggerating, but not too greatly. The big names in the industry were there in booths crammed to capacity with nice, shiny, new gaming products which I just had to have. It was like being a kid in a candy store. A lot was going on all the time; there was something for every taste. Gary Gygax was there signing autographs, the TSR designers and Dragonlance authors were in the autograph booth, and the artists were walking the floor and displaying in the fantasy art show. Games for every taste ran all hours of the day and night, and the open gaming area was always filled with excited gamers. Even the food tasted good. Like food at baseball games, the food at a convention isn't gourmet fare, but eating at the gaming site improves the taste of even a modest hot dog. Most notable was the type of dealers who came. I don't mean manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers. I mean the variety of dealers. Several comic book dealers were present, as were book dealers, arcade game companies, miniature companies, boardgaming companies, and role-playing game companies. What showed was the variety carried within the various hobby stores. More and more hobby stores are moving into related areas to generate additional dollars. Hobby stores now carry paint, glue, miniatures, miniature rules, role- playing games, board games, comic books, research books and arcade games. All of these areas were represented at GenCon 18. All in all, it was a good convention. A reliable source tells me GenConwill be at MECCA again in 1986. See you there next year! Some go to conventions to game, and others go to see new products. New product releases shown at the convention were: The Armory - New nylon brushes to complement the new line of acrylic paints (eight colors in the silk and satin line). Bally Arcade Games -Bally showed three new arcade adventures, Zwackery, Sarge, and the Spectre Files. Chaosium Inc. -Fragments of Fear adventure for Call of Cthulhu and Sea Elves adventure for Elfquest. Columbia Games Inc.-Gods of Harn for Harn Companions -Behind Enemy Lines role-playing game. DAG Productions -Heroes of Poseidonis role-playing game. FASA Corporation - Master of the Universe entry level role-playing game. Friends Hobby Shop - Ros Heroics SA-8 Soviet AA tank, LARS vehicle (MRLS) and Stan Johansen "Space Crabs." Gamescience Inc.-Blank playing cards for game/scenario design, and plastic gemstones for use in science fiction and fantasy games as player aids and treasure. GEO Games -Timeline (Chess in Time, the 4th dimension). GHQ- WWII German, Russian and Cossak Cavalry 1/300. Greenfield Hobby Distributors Complete 25mm castle with walls Iron Crown Enterprises -Haunted Ruins adventure for the Middle-earth Role-Playing system. Mayfair Games Inc. -Siege (DC Heroes) and Elven Banner adventures. Minifigs - 15mm Samurai figures. Nova Game Designs Inc. - Ninja and Samurai books for Lost Worlds roleplaying game. Pacesetter Ltd. -Aliens for Star Ace role-playing game and Timetricks for Timemaster role-playing game 96-page books, Deathwatch on the Bayou for Chill and Terrible Swift Ford for Timemaster adventures. Palladium Books-European Castles book, and Monsters & Animals for the Palladium role-playing game. Phoenix Publications - Quill & Scroll gaming fanzine. Polk's Hobbies -Simulation Games' Norge and Rommel. Rafm Company, Inc. -Shadows and Steel Set, Conquistador Dwarves, and Wizard's Adventure Party 25mm figure sets with mini- scenarios (a lot of value in a box). Ral Partha Enterprises- 25mm Draco Dracorum (a beauty!). The Ship Shop -Battleboards (terrain squares). Sky Realms Publishing -Boxed 2nd edition of Jorune role-playing game. 25mm fantasy miniatures line. Steve Jackson Games Inc. -Man to Man, for Gurps Car Wars expansion set # 7. Stone Mountain Miniatures - 15mm British Colonials, Seven Year's War, and Campaign figures from England. TAG - 25mm TOON miniatures. Tekumel Games-Flamesong supplement for Empire of the Petal Throne role-playing game. Timeline Ltd. -Operation Lonestar adventure for Morrow Project. TSR Inc. -Book Ill of the Dragonlance Chronicles, Game Buyer's Guide (a price book for collectors), Tl-T4 Temple of Elemental Evil adventure Wargames (Dallas) - 15mm ancients miniatures from England and Dragonroar role- playing game (a neat idea!). The banquet was well-attended. The banquet food was ... well, banquet food. The Strategists' Club Awards were: Outstanding Board Game: British Rails (Mayfair Games Inc.) Outstanding Role-playing Game: Chill (Pacesetter Ltd.) Outstanding Game, Open Category: Shogun (card game) Outstanding Game Play Aid: Dragonlance series (TSR Inc. Well-deserved for the monumental undertaking) Outstanding Miniature Figure Line: Dragonlords (Grenadier Models Inc.) Winners of some events are listed below; others were not available at the time this was written. Miniatures Best of Show: John Knox, Orcus figure Historical: David Hoopock, Macendonian pikeman Monster: Lynn Roth, Troll Special Masters: Judy Brown, Yugoslavian six-piece set Fantasy Diorama: Robert Cumming, "Into the Fire" diorama General Diorama: Karl Kochuar, "The Promise" shadowbox GenCon Sanctioned Tournaments AD&D Masters Tournament: Bob Argent, Randall Lemon, Kelley Foote, Jeff Martin, John A. T. Vaccaro RPGA Snow Crystal Tournament: Don Herz , Les Holm, Wes Meador RPGA D&DO Skip Olsen, Brian Leikam, Linda Rastle Star Frontiers Tournament: Kenneth Ritchart, Kelley Foote Top Secret Tournament: Kent Martin, Steve Glimpse, Don Bingle Marvel Super Heroes Tournament: Chris Gandt, Scott Costello, Tom Alexander, Dave Johnston, Vincent Fruge Temple of Elemental Evil Tournament: Chris Gandy, Carl Johnson, Kent Martin, Blake Woodside, Rembert Parker Back to Table of Contents -- Game News #10 To Game News List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1985 by Dana Lombardy. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com