<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nGothCon was started in 1977 by Arne Husberg and HG Wessberg under the name KONVENT'77. The first year the convention had 20-30 visitors and was held in the Aquarium at FFS Student Union on G\u00f6tabergsgatan. War games and miniature battles dominated while there was the opportunity to try out role-playing games in the form of Dungeons & Dragons and an introduction to Go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The convention continued under the names KONVENT'78 & KONVENT'79 and with similar attendance figures. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons made its debut with a brand new Monster Manual at KONVENT'78. KONVENT'79 saw the board game Junta make its debut and become a popular feature. Organizers were Mikael B\u00f6rjesson, Anders Blixt and Tommy Johansson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1980, the name was changed to GothCon and the convention then had around 80 participants. <\/sup>Mikael B\u00f6rjesson created the first Dungeons & Dragons tournament in Sweden and Anders Blixt was the main organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDuring GothCon's first 18 years, the convention was organized on and off in coordination with several different associations, including Bifrost, Chaos Apes, FUSK, GKF, Goblin, Sqvadron and Ygdrasil, as well as the company Titan Games. David 'Zeb' Cook attended as a guest of honor at GothCon XIII (no. 13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>GothCon's modern form \u2013 GothCon 18-35<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nGothCon XVIII (no. 18) was the first convention officially organized by the GothCon Association. This was also the year when GothCon was first held at Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet, the convention's home town for the next 30 years and until today. The association's first chairman and convention general was Jacob Hall\u00e9n. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
GothCon XIX-XXII (no. 19-22) had over 1000 participants. Magic: The Gathering made its entrance and lairs became a permanent feature at the convention. Organization and procedures were streamlined. At the anniversary GothCon XX, Steve Jackson was the convention's guest of honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GothCon XXIII-XXXV (no. 23-35) were organized under different leadership at Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet and a couple of nearby schools. GothCon now featured some of Sweden's largest events, including the card game Magic: The Gathering and the miniature games Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. On the 30th anniversary, the now classic metal pins with the year's logo were introduced, which for a long period were also used as admission tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each convention gets its own, unique logo, but the association <\/em>GothCon always uses the same one, and this logo began to be used at GothCon XXVI (No. 26). <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe chairmen and convention generals during these years were: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Jacob Hall\u00e9n (XVIII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anders Qvist (XIX-XXII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Claes Sundstr\u00f6m (XXIII-XXV)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Birger Hanning (XXVI) <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tobias Eliasson (XXVII-XXIX)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anna Lundin (XXX-XXXII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anna Colliander (XXXIII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Morgan Johansson (XXXIV-XXXV)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>The 40th Anniversary and Covid-19 \u2013 GothCon 35-4<\/strong>9<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn the years leading up to the big 40th anniversary, the convention had around 2000 visitors and the convention was characterised by innovative thinking and expansion of premises. In addition to an extra building being added in the form of gymnasiums at Landala Torg, the food selection at the convention was expanded, a cosplay competition and the \u201cnerd feminist\u201d meeting place Isis were arranged. At GothCon XXXVIII (no. 38) the first musical at GothCon was arranged when a performance by A Shoggoth on the Roof<\/em> was set up by the association ShowGoth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n2016 was dominated by the big 40th anniversary, GothCon XL, when everything was supposed to be extra big. A world record was set in the famous board game Carcassonne, the convention offered more events than ever before, and Chalmerspyrot participated and organized fireworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the years following the XL convention, extra focus was placed on creating safety at the convention and refining the association's bylaws to reflect its values. GothCon XLI (no. 41) saw the first Megagame at GothCon when Game Makers Malm\u00f6 hosted Watch the Skies. Podcasts also became an increasingly important part of the convention during this time, and today GothCon is visited by nearly 20 different gaming podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit Sweden and with barely a month left until Easter when restrictions on crowds were imposed, the board decided to cancel a convention for the first time in the association's history. GothCon XLIV (no. 44) was thus cancelled in 2020, but was instead organized in 2021, with the same numbering. The association chose not to cancel two conventions in a row and instead organized a 'digital' convention in 2021 with live-streamed miniature games, digital versions of card and board games, lectures and Q&A sessions over Discord. The venue was Redbergsskolan in Olskroken, Gothenburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
XLV (no. 45) was a traditional GothCon again. The convention returned to Hvitfeldtska Gymnasium and a great focus was placed on being able to hold a traditional convention under safe conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead of XLVI (no. 46), the German DreieichCon was made GothCon's official sister convention and the association chose to further refine its statutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At GothCon XLVIII (no. 48), the convention finally reached about 2,500 visitors; the same visitor numbers as before the Covid 19 pandemic and the convention had thus officially recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chairmen and convention generals during these years were: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Alexander Hallberg (XXXVI-XXXVIII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Emma Carlstr\u00f6m (XXXIX-XLI)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hampus Nordin (XLII-XLIV)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pontus Wolke (XLIV-XLV)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hampus Nordin (XLVI)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nina W\u00e4ngberg (XLVII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Chairman: Adam Eismark \/ Convention General: Hampus Nordin (XLVIII)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Chair: Liliana Vega Blom \/ Convention General: Filip Gunnarsson (XLIX)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>GothCon and this year's convention promoter<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSince 2016, GothCon has been giving out an award to people who are considered to have contributed to promoting gaming conventions in Sweden. Nominations can be made by the entire association and the winner is chosen by GothCon's board. Previous winners are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Anna Erlandsson (2016)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Gold & Lead (2017)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anders & Tove Gillbring (2018)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Robert Jonsson (2019)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tomas L\u00f6\u00f6w (2020)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Svartviken Roleplaying Podcast (2023)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Theban (2024)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Lindberg Family (2025)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Lena Svensson (2026)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>GothCon's annual auction<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nEvery year, GothCon arranges an auction where visitors can sell their old games, accessories, books, etc. GothCon charges an administrative fee for each auction that is donated to charity, and both individuals and stores can also choose to have certain auctions go entirely to charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At GothCon XLVIII (no. 48), 15,716 kronor was donated to the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation, which was a record. The following year (no. 49), the record was broken by almost 6,000 kronor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Notes & Sources<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThanks to Jacob Hall\u00e9n and various other old veterans for info about the convention's first years. Thanks also to alexandria.dk for their well-sorted archive of Nordic gaming hobby history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n