ABSTRACT
On August 23, 1969, the second annual Lake Geneva Wargames Convention – Gen Con for short – opened in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The convention was started the previous year by the International Federation of Wargamers (IFW), a hobbyist club established by Pennsylvania teenager William Speer in January 1966 as the U.S. Continental Army before changing its name in May 1967. The club sought to connect enthusiasts of miniature and tabletop wargaming, a hobby that made up for its small fan base through the fervent devotion of its adherents. As few cities boasted a large circle of wargamers, organizations like the IFW kept members abreast of new developments in the hobby, provided matchmaking services for play-by-mail games, and linked individuals who were interested in taking the hobby a step further and developing their own rules of play. 1
