A Brief History of Con

1988 - an auspicious year, a year of great and new beginnings, a year that the University of Guelph will never forget.

It was April Fools Day and Creelman Hall, one of the epicentres of the University of Guelph was bustling. There were people everywhere, the scraping of chairs and the low him of voices filled the air.

It was the first Gryphcon - a board, strategy and RPG collaboration between the Guelph Adult Gaming Association (GAGA) and the University of Guelph's Games Club.

Since then, Gryphcon has expanded from Creelman Hall to the University Centre. To include card games, RPGs, LARPs, electronic games, movie showings, vendors, artists, miniature games and the after Gryphcon celebration along side the board games, strategy games and original RPGs.

GryphCon was a part of the Community outside of Campus as well as on campus, bringing two worlds crashing together for a weekend of carefully controlled and wonderfully GM'd mass mayhem.

To this day Gryphcon continues this tradition of a larger sense of the gaming community - the new and the experienced, the young and the younger.

Gryphcon has also expanded beyond Guelph - reaching across local cities in the Greater Toronto Area to bring in players from beyond the 49th parallel and beyond Ontario. We have expanded modestly, but proudly as a convention where one need not fear to tread.

This is gaming history that has been 23 years in the making. Including a huge list of people who have supported Gryphcon from near infancy to the small and mighty con we all know and love today.

What is the Games Club and why do they host Gryphcon?

The Games Club has been a large part of the University of Guelph Campus for more than 30 years! And if that isn't enough of an awesome achievement - they've been hosting Gryphcon for 25+ years as well!

The Games Club functions on campus but membership isn't limited to students. They run their own games on campus which includes most of the games you see at Gryphcon.

The Games Club can be found on the second floor of the University Centre in room 224 - right beside the big mural labelled "The Black Hole" they share an office with the F.L.A.S.H. (Fantasy Literature Anime Sci-fi Horror) Club - making your visit to the University a one stop Geek Culture experience!