Gamicon
Gaming convention in East Central, Iowa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gamicon is Iowa's longest-running non-gambling game convention in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and surrounding area. Gamicon alpha was sponsored by the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students (SFLIS). Gamicon later incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, and then merged with the Mindbridge Foundation. Each Gamicon was numbered using the Greek alphabet until Gamicon Omega. After that, the conventions were named according to their number on the Periodic Table.
| Gamicon | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Venue | Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center |
| Location | Coralville, Iowa |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1991 |
| Attendance | 797[1] |
| Organized by | Mindbridge Foundation[2] |
| Website | https://www.gamicon.org |
Gamicon Bromine will be held on March 6 - 8, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa.[3]
Gamicon features board games, card games, role-playing games, miniature games, and computer and video games Gamicon's attendance averages 500-600 attendees, and is the longest running gaming convention in Iowa.[4]
It is supported by the Mindbridge Foundation, which also supports Icon and AnimeIowa.[2]
History
| Name | Date | Guests |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha | 1991 | Roger Moore of Dragon Magazine |
| Beta | 1992 | Zeb Cook of TSR and Helen Cook |
| Gamma | 1993 | Erick Wujcik of Amber RPG |
| Delta | 1994 | Jonathan Tweet, RPG Designer |
| Epsilon | 1995 | Cathy Klessig of Phage Press |
| Zeta | 1996 | Richard Tucholka of Tri Tac Systems & Cathy Klessig of Phage Press |
| Eta | 1997 | Aaron Allston & Lester Smith |
| Theta | 1998 | James Ernest of Cheapass Games |
| Iota | 1999 | John Blaska, Dragon Epic |
| Kappa | 2000 | Chris Clark of Inner City Games Designs |
| Lambda | 2001 | Jonathan Tweet, RPG Designer |
| Mu | 2003 | Jolly Blackburn of Kenzer & Co. |
| Nu | 2004 | Shane Hensley of Deadlands |
| Xi | 2005 | Robert J. Schwalb of Green Ronin Publishing |
| Omicron | 2006 | Matt Snyder, Chimera Creative |
| Pi | 2007 | Luke Reed, Jerry Shomberg, Fantasy Flight Games |
| Rho | 2008 | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Sigma | 2009 | Brian Wood & Jeff Brawley, Hyperion Games |
| Tau | 2010 | King Zombie. Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
| Upsilon | 2011 | Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
| Phi | 2012 | Jay Tummelson of Rio Grande Games. Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
| Chi | 2013 | Clinton Boomer, RPG Writer. Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
| Psi | 2014 | Chris O'Neill & Dan Landis of Kobolds Ate My Baby! Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
| Omega | 2015 | Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games. Tyler Walpole, Illustrator[5] |
At which point we ran out of alphabet and moved to the Periodic table of the elements...
| Name | Date | Venue | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 2016 | Curt Covert of Smirk & Dagger Games. Tina Bongorno, Illustrator and Artist[6]. | ||
| Iron | 2017 | Ken Hite, Game Designer & Podcaster. Steven Groom, Miniatures Artist [7] | ||
| Cobalt | 2018 | Kane Klenko[8] of Renegade Games. Aaron Riley, Artist [9] | ||
| Nickel | 2019 | Cedar Rapids Marriott[10] | Stephen Buonocore[11], President[12] of Stronghold Games[13]. Terry Pavlet, Board Game Artist[14] | |
| Copper | 2020 | Cedar Rapids Marriott[15] | Clair Hoffman, D&D Adventurers League [7]. Steven Groom, Miniatures Artist[7]. | |
| Zinc | 2021 | VIRTUAL due to Covid[16] | ||
| Gallium | 2022 | Cedar Rapids Marriott[17] | Jon Lonngren[18] of Fallen Dominion Studios[19] | |
| Germanium | Feb. 24 - 26, 2023 [20] | Cedar Rapids Marriott[20] | Dexter Dakota of Barely Suitable Games | |
| Arsenic | Feb. 23 - 25, 2024 [21] | Radisson Hotel Cedar Rapids[21] | Nat Barmore, Co-Creator[22] of Dread. | |
| Selenium | Feb. 28 - Mar. 2, 2025[23] | Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center[23] | 797[1] | Scott Brady, Game Designer of Boop |
| Bromine | Mar. 6 - 8, 2026[3] | Hyatt Regency Coralville Hotel & Conference Center[3] | tbd | Kroze Kersky, Professional game enthusiast and Director |