World Boardgaming Championships - Game Convention

The World Boardgaming Championships, hosted by the Boardgame Players Association, is a great event for fans of wargames and designer games. The emphasis is very much on tournament play, although open gaming has grown in popularity in recent years.

The World Boardgaming Championships are held at the Lancaster Host Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The main convention takes place July 29 (Monday), 2013, to Aug. 4 (Sunday), 2013. Associated pre-con events will take place the weekend before the main convention.

Future dates: Aug. 4-10, 2014; Aug. 3-9, 2015.

The World Boardgaming Championships focuses primarily on two styles of games: wargames and designer games (also known as German-style games or Euro-games). Open gaming and an exhibitor hall are available, but the main focus is on tournament play.

The cost for 2012 was $20 to $100, depending how many days you registered for.

The Lancaster Host is also a hotel, with special prices for WBC attendees. Several other hotels are available nearby, including Continental Inn and Red Roof Inn. Old Mill Stream Campground is located about half a mile away.

Plenty of on-site parking is available at the Lancaster Host.

I have attended six World Boardgaming Championships (2005 through 2010), all at the Lancaster Host in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The organizers and volunteers do an incredible job of making sure that events run on time and as efficiently as possible.

If you're interested in tournament-based gaming, the WBC is the event for you. Many of the events are open to players with limited or no experience in the games being played, although some are recommended for expert players only.

There are also areas for open gaming, some game publishers have areas where they show off new and recent releases, game demos provide opportunities to learn new games, and a vendor room allows players to shop for games and related accessories.