Gamicon, an Iowa City gaming convention, has started its annual series of events at the Coralville Hyatt Regency from March 6-8. This marks 35 years since it was founded in 1991 and brings in hundreds of people across Iowa each year.
In the first three hours of March 6, which will run from noon to midnight, the convention gathered more than 660 attendees and 31 vendors who will be present through the weekend. Roughly 30-50 volunteers sign up every year to set up, install signage, organize the auctions, and help vendors.
Gamicon Co-founder Nigel Ray said the creation of Gamicon was his partner, Ahmad Abdel-Hameed’s idea. Abdel-Hameed and Ray were members of the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students, a club at the University of Iowa that ended in 1989.
“At that time, our larger parent group, the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students, was running a science fiction convention. And Ahmad thought, we should do a gaming convention too,” he said. “He talked to the Science Fiction League about sponsoring us, and we started doing it.”
Their first event welcomed 75 people, but it grew rapidly, reaching over 200 people in the first two years.
Ray said he and Abdel-Hameed were fond of role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons — or D&D — and Call of Cthulhu, which inspired their collaboration. Since then, Gamicon has changed, and most of the games played by attendees are board games rather than role-playing games.
However, he said board games have become popular among younger people, but they need more exposure to Gamicon, especially as his crew is aging.
“Board games still seem very popular, and if you go to a game store, you’ll find younger people are still buying and playing games. So, it’s just a question of getting them notified,” he said. “If you look around the room, the people doing the work all have gray hair. You always need new blood, because people will get too tired to do things,” he said.
Iowa City City High School iunior Lucas Iverson was one of the few to participate. Iverson said he was introduced to board games by his dad, and ever since, they have played a large part in his life.
Iverson is a member of his high school game board club, as well as other game board groups across the Iowa City area. He and his dad have been to Gamicon for a couple of years and enjoy playing Twilight Imperium.
He also wishes that more young people were interested in board games.
“I definitely know a few people who are interested in board gaming, but not as many as I would like,” he said. “And if I could talk to a bunch of people my age about board gaming, I would say that it’s really a very inclusive space that has a place for everybody. And there’s definitely a game for you out there.”
Gamicon Event Coordinator Tim Rudzianski has been a staff member for over eight years, but has attended regularly since the ‘90s.
Throughout his time, he has seen changes in preferences among participants. He said that because board games have become more popular, the games played at the convention fluctuate, but it makes it more fun as there are new things to try out.
Rudzianski also believes that Gamicon should be viewed as a welcoming space for everyone of all backgrounds.
“We just want more people to come and experience the fun of playing board games and role-playing games,” he said.
Co-founder of Fallen Dominion Studios, Jon Lonngren, was one of the many vendors present. Lonngren and his other co-founders, Sean Howard and Sean Cahill, make various tabletop games that have sold in over 30 countries.
Fallen Dominion is an Iowa City-based company with popular games like Fallen Land and Crimson Conspiracy. Lonngren said their passion for board and role-playing games is why they founded the company in 2006.
Lonngren grew up playing D&D and other role-playing games and has helped sponsor Gamicon because it’s their home convention in Iowa City.
At the convention, he promotes Fallen Dominion Studios’ new projects, which include a new board game called Killchain, expansions to their existing game Fallen Land, and their five releases of D&D modules.
Owner of the LGBTQ+ operated Mystic Moon Shop, Jessi Knoll, said this was his second year at Gamicon. He also attends the AnimeIowa Convention, which has been hosted at the Coralville Hyatt Regency since he was 14.
His interest in AnimeIowa is what brought him to Gamicon as a vendor and to play board games. Knoll does gaming activities with his mom and cousin as well.
While he is the main artist, his mom also chimes in with crochet that he sells for her due to her disability. The shop also includes: keychains, stickers, and pins.
Knoll said Gamicon and AnimeIowa are spaces that help her connect with other game lovers, but he also hopes that more young people would participate
“Either way, there’s always already such a huge community here, but it’s always fun to see things grow,” he said. “I love to see it grow and get to be a part of it.”
