I do reserve the right not to include events that appear to be only very marginally relevant to RPG'ing, and I admit to some bias in favour of 'tabletop' RPGs. No offence or judgement is intended; it's just that I've only got so much space and time for this thing, and I feel entitled to my prejudices. I may mention some live-action events, but my coverage of those is probably all too patchy; LARP fans should search out specialist 'Web sites or magazines for more complete information.
I sometimes list some board game, wargame, and CCG cons and similar, lower down this page, for completeness. Anyone looking for a really complete events listing site should look elsewhere - say, upcoming.org, although that doesn't seem to have any games-related content at the time of writing this.
Calendar File Form: Roger Burton West has set up a site which converts this page to standard calendar file format, and updates that file periodically. See http://firedrake.org/infobot/ics/conventions.ics for this. Or - I'm told that by using webcal://firedrake.org/infobot/ics/conventions.ics instead, you should be able to "subscribe" to this calendar.
If you want your convention mentioned here, or you wish to correct my description of your event, PLEASE e-mail me with one or two paragraphs of information. Please mention events planned, whether or not there'll be space for trade stands, and expected numbers attending. HTML format codes in the text will be preserved, within reason.
19th-22nd November: Curious Consequences, at Naish Holiday Village, Christchurch, Dorset. The latest in a series of general RPG events at this venue, including Bizarre Consequences in 2008; see http://www.consequences.org.uk.
28th November: Dragonmeet 2009, at Kensington Town Hall, London. This is always one of the big events in the UK RPG calendar, with trade stands, panels, etc.; see http://www.dragonmeet.co.uk/ for details as they develop, and note that tickets are now available from Leisure Games.
5th-6th December: Ludicrus 09 (in Suffolk) has now been CANCELLED due to traders and demonstrators pulling out.
8th-10th January: Stabcon 2010, at The Britannia Hotel, Stockport. The latest occurence of this downright venerable twice-yearly British gaming institution; I don't have a lot of details yet, but it'll doubtless be the usual run-what-someone-brings board/roleplaying/card game event, with accommodation available in the hotel. E-mail bookings@stabcon.org.uk for booking information.
29th-31st January: Warpcon XX, at the student centre of U.C.C. Aras na Mac Leinn, Ireland, "with many of the events taking place here and other locations around campus". Described as a "friendly convention with a lot or a little of everything. Roleplaying, Wargaming, general sillyness...". Accommodation is available locally; see http://www.warpcon.com/ for details on that and other subjects, or e-mail one of the addresses at http://www.warpcon.com/?page_id=69.
20th March: Concrete Cow '10, at The Old Bath House, 205 Stratford Road, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5RL, from 9:00am-11:00pm, with first games starting at around 10am. Organised by Milton Keynes RPG Club; as they say, "Concrete Cow is a one-day RPG convention. We have a couple of traders, Guests of Honour, and lots of wonderful games run by you". See http://www.mk-rpg.org.uk/Concrete_Cow for more details, or e-mail concrete-cow-owner@yahoogroups.com.
26th-28th March: Travcon 10, at the Red Wings Lodge Hotel, Sawtry. "TravCon10 is a UK Traveller roleplaying convention being organised by BITS [British Isles Traveller Support]. It will be held near Sawtry (between Peterborough and Huntingdon just off the A1M)... There is space for about 30 attendees for a fantastic weekend of Traveller roleplaying. Information on the available games will be publicised over the coming weeks and we are looking for volunteers to run games." For more details, watch the BITS 'web site, or contact Andy at TravCon@bits.org.uk.
10th April: Dragonmeet Midlands, at the Derby Assembly Rooms, Derby. The second regional spin-off of the regular London-based event. "Dragonmeet Midlands promises a day packed with games for you to play ... Role-Playing Games - Board and Card Games - Collectible Card Games - Trade Hall - Live Action Role-Playing - Bar and Food." See http://www.dragonmeetmidlands.co.uk/ for details as they develop.
4th-6th June: UK Games Expo 2010, at the Strathallan Hotel and Clarendon Suites in Birmingham. Preliminary announcements only on this one so far, but this annual event is becoming quite significant in the UK calendar.
2nd-4th July: Continuum 2010, at John Foster Hall, at the University of Leicester. "Continuum is a games convention featuring, but not exclusive to, games and worlds created by Issaries Inc and Chaosium ... attendees can participate in traditional table-top role-playing games, board games, card games, freeform/LARP games (large and small), discussion panels, and all manner of general silliness." Costs: Early Bird Registration (15th November 2009 - 15th February 2010: £20. Standard Registration (February 16th onwards): £25. En-Suite Room per night: £45. En-Suite for 3 Nights: £120. Twin Room per night: £90. Twin Room for 3 Nights: £240
For more details, including how to pay, see http://www.continuum.uk.net - and there's also a Yahoo Group at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Continuum2010/ and a Facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=9.
11th September: Concrete Cow 10½, at The Old Bath House, 205 Stratford Road, Wolverton, Milton Keynes, MK12 5RL, from 9:00am-11:00pm, with first games starting at around 10am. Organised by Milton Keynes RPG Club; as they say, "Concrete Cow is a one-day RPG convention. We have a couple of traders, Guests of Honour, and lots of wonderful games run by you". See http://www.mk-rpg.org.uk/Concrete_Cow for more details, or e-mail concrete-cow-owner@yahoogroups.com.
25th-27th February: Redemption '11, at the Britannia Hotel, Coventry. "The Multimedia Science Fiction Convention"; "the seventh in the Redemption series of conventions. There will be panels and debates on all areas of science fiction, including books, comics, TV and film ... As at the previous Redemptions, games will form a major part of the convention. Role playing games and board games will feature alongside quizzes and competitions." Full adult membership is £50 for the weekend until August 31st 2009, then £55 until August 31st 2010, then £60 until February 11th 2011; there are cheaper concession and one-day rates, and of course accommodation is available in the hotel. See http://www.smof.com/redemption for further details and online registration.
19th-21st August: Consternation II, at Murray Edwards College (formerly New Hall), Castle Hill, Cambridge. The next British Roleplaying Society convention, following Baroquon, Rocococon, Conjuration, and Constitution, and also incorporating an Ars Magica "Grand Tribunal" meeting. No membership rates, 'Web site, or whatever just yet - it is still two years away! - but do make space in your diaries.
There are also numerous clubs and regular public games group meets, some of which come and go, some of which last a while. One regular meeting that may be of interest is that organised by Gameforce, who also run the annual Dragonmeet; they hold club meets in The Black Horse, 6 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1HH, on the third Sunday of each month, running 2pm-9pm. For details, contact Angus Abranson on info@gameforcehq.org, phone 020 8346 2327 (9.30am to 6pm) or join the Gameforce Community on Livejournal - http://community.livejournal.com/gameforce/.
For board games conventions, one place to look is the UK Boardgame Convention News mailing list; see http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-con-news/.
