Historicon is the largest

gaming convention A gaming convention is a gathering centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three business days long, and often held at ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

devoted to solely historical

miniature wargaming A miniature wargame is a type of wargame in which military units are represented by Miniature model (gaming), miniature physical models on a model battlefield. Miniature wargames are played using Toy soldier, model soldiers, vehicles, and arti ...

. It is sponsored by the

Historical Miniatures Gaming Society The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (or HMGS) promotes the hobby of historical miniature wargaming in the United States, as a registered non-profit charitable and educational foundation. Chapters The organization consists of a loose-knit grou ...

, a nonprofit organization. The ''Wall Street Journal'' has described Historicon as the "mother of all wargaming conventions." Typically, Historicon is a four-day convention held in July each year since 1994. Thousands of miniature gamers and military history enthusiasts gather to play in hundreds of tabletop games, tournaments, and demonstrations. The convention is accompanied by a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

of used gaming items and accessories, a large dealer hall offering new merchandise, a series of seminars and training sessions, painting competitions, and similar events. The majority of events are history-related, with the remainder being fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, or horror miniature games. Each year, Historicon has a different theme and focal point (such as the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), and many games and supporting events are geared around the theme. Awards are presented to the Best Theme Event, as well as best games in specific time slots and other honors for particularly popular or impressive games. Historicon-2015-photos-4

Historicon was held in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, at the Lancaster Host Resort, a hotel located on

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

in the heart of

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

and Amish country for many years.

History

For many years it was held in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

. In 2012 it moved to

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

at the Fredericksburg Expo Center, a convention center a mile from

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

, the main highway on the East Coast of the United States. In 2018 Historicon moved back to

and was held at its previous home, the Lancaster Host Resort (now known as the Wyndham Lancaster Resort and Convention Center). In 2019 Historicon was held at its new home, the Lancaster County Convention Center. In 2020, HMGS cancelled all of its conventions, including Historicon, due to

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In 2021, HMGS was again unable to hold Historicon during the usual mid-July timeframe; however, instead of cancelling again, they held it in mid-November, replacing the Fall In! convention that usually occurs at that time. The 2022 edition of the event was held at the Lancaster County Convention Center.

Convention dates and themes

July 22–25, 2004 — "D-Day: 6 June 1944 and the Liberation of Western Europe"
July 21–24, 2005 — "The Age of Fighting Sale"
July 20–23, 2006 — "Africa's Independence – The Wars of Africa" 1905–2006
July 26–29, 2007 — "The Wars of South Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, India and Pakistan, 1800–2007"
July 24–27, 2008 — "The World on Fire – The first world war: The Seven Years and French & Indian Wars, 1754–63"
July 16–19, 2009 — "Ride to the Sound of the Guns… – Napoleon's 1809 Campaign and the Spanish Ulcer"
July 8–11, 2010 — "Pike and Shotte: Seventeenth Century Warfare" 1600–1699
July 8–10, 2011 — "Brother Against Brother: The American Civil War" 1861–1865
July 19–22, 2012 — "Colonial Warfare, Imperialism and Gunboat Diplomacy, 1836-1937"
July 18–21, 2013 — "American Civil War, 1863 – the Year of Decision"
July 17–20, 2014 — "Big Wars, Little Soldiers – World Wars throughout time"
July 16–19, 2015 — "End of Empires"
July 14–17, 2016 — "Cavalry, Mounted warfare through the ages"
July 13–16, 2017 — "100 Years of Tanks"
July 12–15, 2018 — "Wars of Conquest and Those That Lead Them"
July 11–14, 2019 — "Extreme Terrain Edition: Jungle Warfare"
July 8–12, 2020 — Cancelled due to Covid restrictions
November 10–14, 2021 — "Aircraft of War: Balloons, Bombers, Helicopters, and more..."
July 20–24, 2022 — "World in Conflict: Italy" July 19–23, 2023 — "America: Expansion and Civil War, 1789 to 1897"

References

External links

*
A Tribute to John Hill: Historicon 2015
{{coord, 38.31576, -77.50779, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-VA, display=title Gaming conventions Trade shows in the United States Tourist attractions in Fredericksburg, Virginia