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Gen Con is the one of the largest and most prominent gaming conventions in North America. It was founded in 1968. Gen Con 2002 brought in about 26,000 attendees; which makes the convention similar in size to E3, Dragon Con and Origins. Gen Con is currently held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Gen Con UK conventions have also been held in the UK in a variety of cities. Gen Con Paris was held in France in April 2006 and again in 2007.
The convention features a large exhibit hall filled with game publishers, artists, and related businesses. It is a popular attraction and is frequently very busy.
Gen Con began in 1967 as an informal gathering of war game enthusiasts at the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin home of Gary Gygax, later termed "Gen Con 0" A year later, Gygax organized the first formal convention at the Lake Geneva Horticultural Hall with roughly 100 attendees.
Gen Con's name is a derivation of "Geneva Convention," given the convention's origins in Lake Geneva. The name also is a play-on-words, as the "Geneva Conventions" are the name of a set of important international treaties regarding war and the earliest Gen Cons had a focus on wargames.
