"Historicon vs a big English one :-)" Topic

Hi Everyone, I was recently informed that Historicon averages about 4000 visitors over 4 days.. if the number is roughly correct, Do the Historicon leadership say if thats the same 4000 people visiting each day or 1000 different gamers turning up each day?

Just why is the event held over 4 days, is it because theres so much to see and do it takes 4 days to view it all or is it 4 days due to competition games etc?

How does Historicon visiting numbers compare to the GB convention Salute ( if Salute is still the largest )

Its just that I live in west Wales and im interested in visiting Historicon, really just because its something to do. when most Brits think of something going on in America you always get the image that it must be big, but 4000 people over 4 Days doesnt seem that large.

And with the price of public transport or Fuel costs along with parking in the UK it would not cost that much more to fly to the states and as I said its something to do :-)

Regards

Daryl

The figure is the total for all days with dealers #'s included etc. It is asight to see and the # of dealers and games are great there is something for all . You better bring a bit more to spend Also the "bring and buy " is an interesting venue.
Do visit

If you want large just go to Gen-Con or if you would prefer fewer RPGs and more historical miniatures try Origins. Origins had almost 12,000 attendees. Gen-Con is even bigger.

Flying into Historicon is probably not that bad. You would take an international flight to Boston or NYC and then a domestic to Harrisburg, PA. It is about a 45 minute journey via rental car from there to Lancaster. I found it pretty easy to navigate, though the traffic flow in Lancaster is probably the exact opposite of what you would expect considering it is still Amish country.

Historicon is fun. I would highly recommend it.

--Peter

If your coming from the UK you have better and bigger shows over there.

I thought the English ones were bigger, I used goto the Big London conventions, and I felt like a damn sardine, and you know anything English just has to be boring... did I just say that? I been in Wales too long.

Thx for all the info guys...

Regards

Daryl

I've been to GenCon, Origins and Historicon. In my opinion, if you're only (or even mostly) interested in historicals, don't bother with the others and just go to Historicon. I've got some pictures from this year's at link

The biggest differnece between American and European conventions is the games. In general a lot of the people that attend American conventions go to play games. Hence the 3-4 day durations. When I was younger I could go to a 3 day con and play 8 differnt games each for 4-6 hours. My one and only visit to a convention on the other side of the pond resulted in buying 4 buildings and leaving after about 40 minutes. I would have liked to play, but it just wasn't a option.

BlitzKreigpainting: if you make it to historicon...go to Tony Wang's (right across the street pretty much) to eat. Best chinese food in the area. Hope you can make it, its a great time.

Corp Commander: Traffic flow in Lancaster county good? HAHAHAHAHA. Thats as funny as shopping next to the Amish at Walmart (which I do regularly).

Salute is better for shopping, Historicon for gaming, in my opinion. You can usually find a few games to play during the three days of Historicon. Gettysburg, Valley Forge & the ACW museum at Harrisburg are close enough to visit either going or coming from Historicon. It's a good show, although the venue is a bit dingy. That could be a topic in itself.

Shopping with the Amish at Walmart isnt as funny as the huge vans that pull up out front and seeing them all pile out at once.

BlitzKriegpainting, if you go to Historicon and fly into NYC or Boston, consider taking the train to Lancaster. That way you won't have to rent a car and figure out how to drive on the wrong side of the road.

I've been to Colours in Reading and to Historicon. Keeping in mind it was the early 90's that I attended Colours and 2001 that I went to Historicon, I would have to say that Historicon was the bigger of the two. By a magnitude of at least x2, possibly x3 or x4. That is in both dealers area and gaming.

I don't know how Colours ranks in the UK gaming scene. At the time I thought it was pretty big. Walking into the Dealers room at Historicon just blew me away however....

Howard

Actually you can fly into Lancaster as there is an airport there.

Or you can fly into Harrisburg,,,,,,,,very nice airport,,,,,,,,thats where I go then I jump into the rental car and fight the traffic,,,,,,,,,,laughing out loud,,,,,,,WHAT traffic?,,,,,,,,,,,,never see any,,,,,,,,,,,,

take care

larry huber

Lancaster is only a 75 minute, $24 USD train ride from Philly and there are a lot of trains. I'm flying in there from the west coast.

Did you just revive a thread dormant for 22 years?

Impressive!

Zardoz, I await your return to this thread in 2046.