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Gaming convention planned to honor Gygax

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Photo by Gazette file photo

Lake Geneva's Gary Gygax, who authored many game novels.

LAKE GENEVA — Gary Gygax loved sitting on the wrap-around porch of his Lake Geneva home playing games.

Gygax, founder of Gen Con and co-creator of the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, died March 4, 2008, at age 69. He left behind family, friends and a legion of devoted fans.

But the Gygax family didn’t want the tradition of getting together, playing games and sharing stories to end. The Gygax children last year started Gary Con, a now annual gaming convention to honor the gaming giant.

Gary Con is slated for Friday, March 19, through Sunday, March 21, in Lake Geneva.

The Gygax children held an informal convention after their father’s funeral in 2008. Hundreds of people attended. They dubbed the event “Gary Con” and decided to organize a formal convention in 2009, said Gygax’s daughter Elisé Gygax-Cousino.

“We thought it would be kind of like old times to have a gathering every year to remember him,” she said.

In 1967, Gygax founded Gen Con (short for Geneva Convention) in Lake Geneva. The convention now is recognized as one of the longest running and most prominent gaming conventions in the world.

In 1974, Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons, a game of medieval characters and mythical creatures in which players create fictional characters to carry out adventures using a set of complicated rules. The game spawned a wealth of copycats that are among the most popular among gamers.

Gygax also was a prolific writer and penned dozens of fantasy books.

Gary Con is not like the big gaming conventions, said Gygax’s son-in-law Bill Cousino.

“It’s getting back to the basics of gaming,” he said. “It’s just about playing games and having fun.”

Gary Con does not feature gaming-industry exhibitors or vendors; it is totally dedicated to games, Cousino said.

Convention attendees can expect to pick from among dozens of gaming events slated for play, he said. They also can expect to run into a few well-known figures in the gaming world, including game creators who might be at the convention playing their own games, he said.

A documentary filmmaker, who is working on a film about Gygax and the origin of Dungeons & Dragons, will be filming at the convention, too, Cousino said.

The Gygax children are expecting hundreds of people at Gary Con next weekend. About 175 people attended the event last year, and more than 250 are expected this year.

“It’s comforting to see all those people and to see some of those old faces,” Gygax-Cousino said. “It makes it seem like Dad is still around.”