"Historicon's Glory Years?" Topic

When was Historicon at its best? I tend to think it was near 2000 or so when I first started attending. I just can't speak to what it was like before that.

Maybe Historicon has gotten better and I've gotten worse? I spose a case could be made that its best time is now? I can't make that one, though maybe you can?

Thought last year was best I been to

I attended 19 consecutive Historicons starting in 1984 as a vendor. After then a show every year or too. The Harrisburg shows were hectic and fun. The same for early Lancaster shows.

Do you want to do the poll by decades?

For me, the 1990s. I remember there being so many venders and some really great tables and games. Much reduced today.

I have hit every H-Con since it was at the Penn Harris. And with that said I would hate to try ad answer the OP's question. For me if I had a great overall time, it's a golden day for me.

Grimm

Every gamer who has been to any Historicon will have some or another subjective reason to the best show.

From an objective standpoint I think you'd have to choose the last few Historicon's before The Great Diaspora when attendance topped 3000.

We've been trying to get our feet back under us ever since.

For me, the 1990's with a long plateau afterward, but it's not a question with an objective answer. For some gamers, it's better now than it ever has been. The poll will tell us more about the average age and interests of TMP members than it will about the convention.

Flashman, the answer for "the best time is now" is roughly:
Cost doesn't matter.
"Fine dining" does matter.
Not going to buy stuff.
Prefer fantasy or SF gaming to historicals.

None of those are illegitimate preferences, and by those standards, 2024 was the best ever, and 2025 may be better still. They just aren't my preferences.

Bill, one excellent reason for sticking to decades is human memory. Few of us are going to remember a particular game, lecture or flea market down to the year, but we might approximate a decade. For that matter, I can remember things happening at the Host, but not whether they happened at a Historicon, a Fall In or a Cold Wars.

Anyone else?

Starting with the first convention in Lanham, the Viking Forge attended every Historicon for 25 consecutive years. After that we missed one every now and then. But when it moved to downtown Lancaster, we stopped going altogether.

We recognized that the move to the Marriott was necessary and still support the Board for doing so, but it wasn't worth the additional cost and extra drama for us to attend. So we decided to attend the Cold Wars and Fall-In conventions instead.

We agree with Rudy, Paul and Robert that the conventions at the Penn Harris and the first years at the Host were the best.

I went to it once with a buddy for one day. Whatever year that was.

My first Historicon was 1997. I remember Wargames Foundry was there as a vendor. I met Bryan Ansell there. Very nice man and easy to do business with. I remember him being especially patient with me as I tried to figure out a Roman army for DBA.

1990's

According to the archives, late 00s was peak attendance, and its been all downhill since.

I have been to 10 historicons.
I very much enjoyed the HOST Historicons.
Good trader hall and a good variety of games. Coupled with very nice weather.
More affordable for UK visitors in those years.
On site rooms were easier to book too at the host.

martin

I've been to six. The first was by accident when it was in eastern Washington/ Maryland. The high point was playing "Johnny Reb' under the author's guidance, Then there was 5 years in a row at the Lancaster Host in the late 80s/early 90s. I thought those were primo; great vendors, great games, an introduction to Yuengling, meeting Don Featherstone and interesting breakfasts at that weird little restaurant next to the Host. Golden years for me.

IDK life is change, by the end of the aughts the host was getting too crowded. I enjoyed the Fredericksburg HC, but they steadily year by year had the opposite problem. I like the first Valley Forge HC with the biggest dealer Hall ever. And the last Historicons in downtown Lancaster have all been great.

I remember a lot of great times in the 1990s and early 00s. I became a vendor in 2005 and it's been downhill since then, so it's clearly my fault. :)

My first two Historicons were at the Penn Harris and so they hold special meaning to me. Rooms and AC were terrible thought. I went every year from 1988 to 1995 (got married and had kids) and liked the Host venue until the early oughts.

I think that the quality of the games has always been high and the terrain gets better and better with each passing year, so I think that H-Con is near its best right now, in terms of the games and the tournaments.

I'm a little disappointed in the offerings in the Dealer Hall in recent years. It seems like there are more Sci-Fi and Fantasy products than historical products and there doesn't seem to be as much "new stuff" coming on the market these days. It might also be that I don't buy as much 'stuff' anymore as I'm in my 70s and I'm trying to dispose of wargame things rather than increasing my purchases.

I like where H-Con is going right now.

I've been to the Penn Harris. It was great because it was the first I'd ever been to. I like the current one. But for me, The Host was the best.

I can't really pick a specific year!

My first Historicon (though I didn't know it at the time) was a trip sponsored by the Smithsonian that a friend and I took and was in Lanham. We got a tour of the convention and then were able to play in an Alamo game. I was hooked. Attended more or less regularly after that and started running games at the Penn Harris. Favorite location is the Host, but the convention center in Lancaster is very nice.