“...After all, the keynote is, that ‘Anything is Possible’, just that some [things] are more likely than others.”
- David Arneson
Welcome to the first ever Arnecon gaming convention!
™
Officially sanctioned by the Estate of Dave Arneson
Set in an intimate locale, Arnecon is a gathering honoring the creative genius of Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and his game group, The Blackmoor Bunch. It is a panoply of game experiences - featuring miniatures war-games, board games, and role playing games.
Come game with the people who were there when Role Playing was invented. This is shaping up to be the biggest meeting of the original "Blackmoor Bunch" in many years!
A celebration of the friendships formed through gaming - where everyone is welcome and "anything is possible".
Come, try a new game, make new friends, and explore the unlimited possibilities of gaming. Most of all - have fun!
October 20-22, 2023
Minneapolis, Minnesota
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minneapolis - Park Place
1500 Park Pl Blvd, Minneapolis, MN 55416, USA
SPECIAL GAMING & EVENTS SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
Click Here
Discount room rates for Arnecon attendees here. Limited availability - book soon!
Host an event at Arnecon 1! Event submissions are open!
Special Guests:
Malia Arneson - Dave Arneson’s daughter.
David Wesely - A half-elf in Blackmoor. Known for Strategos - An adaptation of Totten’s Strategos; The American game of war, The Braunstien RPG, Valley Forge, and Co-author of Source of the Nile.
David Megarry - The first thief character ever in a RPG. Known for creating Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game.
Paul Stormberg - Owner, The Collector's Trove, and Creator of the Legends of Wargaming & Legends of Roleplaying.
Ken Fletcher - Fur-Elf Hedge-Wizard & Bonsai-Cartooner. A staff artist at Dave Arneson's Adventure Games company, and sci-fi and fantasy fan (semi-retired).
Ross Maker - The worlds first Dwarf character in Blackmoor. Co-author of Source of the Nile.
Stephen Rocheford - The High Priest of the Temple of the Frogs, Owner of Lavender Magazine, Minnesota’s premier LGBTQ+ news source.
Gail Gaylord - The first woman to play fantasy RPGs. Known for having typed development drafts of Dungeons & Dragons for Dave Arneson.
Martin Noetzel - The Wandering Elf in Blackmoor and a keen fan of online RPGs.
More to come...
RPG's:
Braunstein, the first non military RPG David Wesely will referee a very large 22 player game. Set in a small Prussian town at the time of the French revolution, this character driven RPG is the very game which portends the invention of fantasy role-playing games.
Banania, a Braunstein Variant
Set in a fictitious south American country of the same name, where political upheaval has created a power vacuum and numerous factions vie for power. See if you can become the next ruler of the republic. Also refereed by David Wesely.
Castle Blackmoor
Paul Stormberg will be running a session of Blackmoor based on unpublished adventure design notes by David Arneson.
Castle Greyhawk
A deep dive in this nefarious dungeon using early design maps by Gary Gygax and original D&D rules with referee Paul Stormberg
Even more Blackmoor
See what it was like to play an RPG in the time right before the publication of D&D, in a dungeon that was created in 1973 by Greg Svenson. Game Masters D. H. Boggs or Griffith Morgan, co-authors of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg adventure book.
Board Games:
Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game
The game which helped formulate the dungeon adventure concept as seen in Dungeons & Dragons. David Megarry will give a presentation of his seminal game design that has sold millions of copies worldwide.
War Games:
Strategos N
Based on the game by the same name from 1880, yet converted for use with napoleonic miniatures, this is the war game which inspires the creation of further developments in the RPG genre. Ross Maker is preparing a large scenario with which to demonstrate the house war game of the Blackmoor Bunch.
Chainmail
We would be remiss if we did not include this medieval miniatures war game at the convention. A rule set by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren that played an important role in the development of Dungeons & Dragons.
Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame
A WWII naval battle using 1/1200 scale lead war ship models. The game is considered by many to be the inspiration for hit points in Dungeons & Dragons. Game Master: Griffith Morgan
More to come!!
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New! The PLATO Early Computing Room
Most of what has become an everyday experience for computer users originates on PLATO. We are very proud to bring the PLATO system to Arnecon.
In 1960 a large computer system was created with the goal of being a new way to teach. The system was dubbed, Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations, or PLATO.
By the 1970’s something strange and unexpected was happening at PLATO. Young programmers began to make games. It was a novel idea to take a boring computer network where people took classes & did homework and turn it into a place where people could go play and have fun.
Before long many amazing and creative game designs were appearing on the PLATO system. The first dungeon adventure games, 3D wire frame graphics games, and multiplayer team games.
Make sure to sign up for a demonstration session where you can experience what it was like to play computer games in the 1970’s (registration for sessions coming in September).
PLATO is now hosted at cyber1.org.
Pictured: A recent game of "Empire", released in 1973 (top) and "dnd", released 1975 (bottom).
Special Events Schedule*
Time | Game | Game Type | Special Guest | Room | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Friday 10/20 | |||||
6 PM-10PM | Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg | RPG | Griffith Morgan, Co-Author “The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg”, CO-Director/Writer/Editor of “Secrets of Blackmoor”. | Temple of the Frog | Come play like it’s 1973. Based on early D&D playtest rules. |
6 PM-10PM | Blackmoor | RPG | Paul Stormberg, creator of Legends of War-gaming & Legends of RPG’s | Loch Gloomen | Played using original Arneson maps & design notes. |
Saturday 10/21 | |||||
9 AM-1 PM | Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg | RPG | D.H. Boggs Co-Author “The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg” | Temple of the Frog | Come play like it’s 1973. Based on early D&D playtest rules. |
9 AM-1 PM | Dawn Patrol (aka Fight in the Skies) WWI Aerial Combat | Wargame/Miniatures | Phil Grant: “King of the Elves” in Blackmoor | Strategos | Inspired by the 1966 film, The Blue Max, Dawn Patrol rules are considered to be one of many influences on D&D. |
9 AM-1 PM | Chainmail - Battle of the Hundred | Wargame/Miniatures | Paul Stormberg, creator of Legends of War-gaming & Legends of RPG’s | Strategos | Medieval combat rules by Gygax and Perrin. A major influence on the D&D rules. |
1 PM-5 PM | Braunstein | RPG | David Wesely: founding member of the MMSA, widely recognized as the creator of the first RPG. | Braunstein | Created by David Wesely. First played in 1968. The RPG that led to D&D. |
1 PM-3 PM | Dungeon! Board Game on Dave Arneson’s original gaming table | Board Game | David Megarry, creator of Dungeon! | Temple of the Frog | Play on Dave Arneson’s original gaming table with David Megarry, the creator of Dungeon!. Dungeon! rules heavily influenced Gygax when he was editing D&D. |
1 PM-5 PM | Dawn Patrol (aka Fight in the Skies) WWI Aerial Combat | Wargame/Miniatures | Phil Grant: “King of the Elves” in Blackmoor | Strategos | Inspired by the 1966 film, The Blue Max, Dawn Patrol rules are considered to be one of many influences on D&D. |
1 PM-5 PM | Strategos-N Napoleonic Miniatures Battle | Wargame/Miniatures | Ross Maker: Close friend of Arenson. Game author, historical miniatures expert and first person to play a dwarf character in D&D. | Strategos | The house rules for miniatures combat of the Blackmoor Bunch. A variant of the 1880 professional war-game rules by Charles A. L. Totten. |
3 PM-5 PM | Dungeon! | Board Game | David Megarry, creator of Dungeon! | Temple of the Frog | Play on Dave Arneson’s original gaming table with David Megarry, the creator of Dungeon!. Dungeon! rules heavily influenced Gygax when he was editing D&D. |
5 PM-6 PM | Malia Arneson book signing session. | Special Event | Malia Arneson, Dave Arneson’s daughter. | Blackmoor Castle | Malia Arneson will be signing your old books with new Dave Arneson signatures (there’s a fun story behind that one) |
5 PM-6 PM | Tonisborg Authors Book Signing | Special Event | Greg Svenson, D.H. Boggs, & Griffith Morgan, Authors. | Blackmoor Castle | Bring your book + books will be available for sale. |
6 PM-10 PM | Greyhawk | RPG | Paul Stormberg, creator of Legends of War-gaming & Legends of RPG’s | Temple of the Frog | Played using original maps from 1973 using OD&D Rules |
6 PM-10 PM | Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame with 1/1200 Minitaures | Wargame/Miniatures | Griffith Morgan, Co-Author “The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg”, CO-Director/Writer/Editor of “Secrets of Blackmoor”. | Strategos | Rules released ca 1937. Many considered these rules to be the inspiration for HP in D&D. If you enjoyed “Star Fleet Battles” you’ll love Fletcher Pratt |
Sunday 10/22 | |||||
9 AM-1 PM | Melee & Mochas w/Morgan: | Wargame/Miniatures | Griffith Morgan, Co-Author “The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg”, CO-Director/Writer/Editor of “Secrets of Blackmoor”. | Dungeon! | Start your day with a fast-paced game of archaic man-to-man combat while sipping your coffee. Using Steve Jackson’s “Melee” published in 1977. |
11 AM-5 PM | Banania: Braunstein Variant | RPG | David Wesely: founding member of the MMSA, widely recognized as the creator of the first RPG. | Temple of the Frog | Created by David Wesely. First played in 1968. The RPG that led to D&D. |
1 PM-5 PM | PLATO Empire Battle | 1970’s Networked Computer Game | Griffith Morgan, Co-Author “The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg”, CO-Director/Writer/Editor of “Secrets of Blackmoor”. | PLATO | A big Star Trek-themed space battle w/people from all over the web |
*Times, dates, & places may change. |
Get your room now - there's limited availability of discount room rates for Arnecon attendees here.
Host an event at Arnecon 1! Event submissions are open!
Arnecon is a trademark of The Fellowship of the Thing, Ltd.