The 24th-annual Gamicon, the biggest and longest-running gaming convention in eastern Iowa, will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 210 S. Dubuque St., Friday through Feb. 22.
The event will feature card games such as Magic the Gathering, such table-top games as Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinders, board games, and video games to play with other conventioneers, including older Nintendo consoles and PlayStations 2 and 3.
A costume contest will be held as well: Attendees are encouraged to dress up as anyone they want to — from their personal role-playing character to popular movie and game characters — and have their pictures taken. On Saturday evening, a winner will be announced and will receive free tickets to Gamicon 2016.
“This is Gamicon’s first year of hosting a hall costume contest, so we’re eager to see what creative costumes our attendees can dust off,” said Ryan Smith, a member of the event’s planning committee.
The costume contest will not be the only opportunity to win prizes and express creativity, Smith said.
“We’re very excited for the King of Tokyo tournament, where the last man standing wins a special edition space penguin,” he said. “We all also run our own personal favorite games, so getting a chance to meet new people who love what you do is amazing.”
Vendors will have booths set up throughout Gamicon, selling table-top game dice and other products for those looking for souvenirs. An auction will take place Saturday morning, which, in the past, has included games, role-playing equipment, miniature player figures, and related items.
Gamicon will also spotlight two special guests. The first is Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games, an online store dedicated to retro, pen and paper role-playing games of the ’90s.
The other guest is Iowa’s Tony Walpole, a fantasy and science-fiction artist who has worked on projects such as Marvel’s Captain America: Winter Soldier, various manuals for Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinders, and the Forgotten Realms.
Registration fees are $15 for Friday, $20 for Saturday, $10 for Feb. 22, or $25 for the entire weekend, with registration available on-site during the event.
GAMING