Best 50 Years in Gaming is a game history project conducted over 2016 and 2017 to examine the history of the Gen Con gaming convention through its programs. Gen Con is one of the oldest gaming conventions in North America and certainly the largest. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the convention and we worked to put together an online database of all 50 years of programs from Gen Con’s history. An online database provides both scholars and casual users a more accessible way to use the data contained within the programs than their largely physical only form. A convention with as rich of a history as Gen Con provides us with key insight into issues related to popular culture, games, gaming culture and game conventions themselves.
Check us out at best50yearsingaming.com to learn more about Gen Con’s history and see what the past can tell us about gaming and game convention futures.