This year, Geeks a Gogo made it's first trip to Adepticon. This was the 17th year for this event, and we regret not attending sooner! Adepticon is a tabletop war gaming convention that is held in Schaumburg, IL, and it is one of the most notable conventions of its kind in the world. The main focus of this convention is tabletop war gaming, complete with miniatures and terrain. This includes games such as Warhammer and Warhammer 40K, Battletech, Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: Armada, Malifaux, War Machine, and many others. The event has been growing every year, and saw upwards of 8,000 people in attendance this year.
We at Geeks a Gogo regularly attend events like Gen Con and Gary Con, that have a large tabletop war gaming presence. However, this event is nearly all wargaming, and it was amazing to watch some of the tournaments, even just to take in the scope of the tabletop scenery and massive collections of beautifully-painted miniatures. Not to say that tabletop gaming was the only thing happening--there were role-playing games, such as Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Through the Breach, Warhammer Wrath & Glory, and Dungeon Crawl Classics. As well, there were some tabletop card games, such as the Legend of the Five Rings card game, Fates of Madness, and Legends of Draxia. The event had something for most tabletop gaming fans.
One of the biggest draws of the event is the amazing artwork on display. Adepticon features the Crystal Brush competition--one of the most prestigious miniature painting competitions in the world--and the pieces on display were truly amazing. The competitions for terrain-crafting was just as breathtaking, with displays of war-gaming terrain that were beautifully imaginative, and breathtaking in scale. Even relatively casual gamers who came with their Warhammer 40K armies typically fielded dozens of miniatures in beautifully built sci-fi and fantasy settings as players battled each other for the tournament top prizes. There was even a cosplay contest, which has been growing over the years and offered some really great prizes.
We at Geeks a Gogo, being the well-rounded geeks that we are have dabbled in a bit of wargaming in the past--mostly Warhammer 40K. This event made us want to jump right back into it. We couldn't help picking up some minis from the vendor floor on on Sunday, as well as some terrain for use in war and role-playing games. This was a great place to pick up some minis, tabletop terrain, and specialty gaming items, typically at pretty decent prices, with a lot of vendors offering convention deals.
This was an amazing event, and we had a great time here. Even if you don't want to commit to buying a badge, the event is open to the public for those who want to shop at the vendor floor, watch some gameplay, or take in some of the sights. We're definitely going back next year.
