What is Norcon
Norcon is the Premiere Northern California wargaming event.
Every year wargamers from all over California converge on Redding's "" park for two days of wargaming.
All gaming systems are allowed. Events and tournaments are scheduled for all major gaming systems.
2013 will be Norcon's fourth year. This year's events are going to be bigger and better than tht previous year's events.
Each event is listed in the green menu bar near the top of this page. Click on any game type to see the associated event information.
Norcon was started by several hard core gamers from various groups. These groups include G3 Productions, Brotherhoodofmutants.com, and Tempest in a Tea Pot.
NorCon 2014
July
25th - 27th
NorCon 2013
NorCon 2013 on The IC Podcast
NorCon announced on the Independent characters podcast. Carl and Geoff took time out to annouce NorCon and discuss the events listed.
NorCon 2010
Redding Searchlight Article about NorCon 2010
The war games were on Saturday at Caldwell Park in Redding. Nearly three dozen war game aficionados have been gathering since Friday at the Caldwell Recreation Center to do battle. Like the days of past when children would play with plastic army men, these grown-up men — all would-be generals, admirals, star fleet commanders and boots-on-the-ground grunts — are keeping that spirit alive. For these war games certainly have a retro feel, although most of the model figurines used by the players have a science fiction or Lord of the Rings theme to them. A lot of the players make, as well as paint, their own pieces. Unlike graphic and sophisticated computer games, these war games were without blood and gore, although one wouldn’t think so based on their names, such as Warhammer, Blood Bowl and Flames of War. Dice, as well as measurement tapes, are staples in these games and players say they have more freedom than playing what’s programmed into a computer game. “(The games) are like Risk for adults,” said Redding’s Joel Moore, whose Tempest in a Teapot gaming club is co-sponsoring the three-day gaming convention, dubbed NX Norcon 2010, which concludes today. The other two sponsors are the Gothimos Game Group of Redding and the Chico-based Brotherhood of Mutants. George Markham, 38, of Redding said he was not a member of any of those three groups. “I’m an independent contractor,” Markham quipped as he arranged his miniature World War II tanks, soldiers and other pieces of the Flames of War game that were laid out in front of them. Markham, a disabled Army veteran, has been playing these war games since he got hooked on them through an Army buddy while stationed in Washington in 1991. The father of three girls, ages 16, 11 and 9, Markham said his daughters are itching to play the games, but he wants them to wait until they are a bit older so they can better appreciate the intricacies of the games. “It comes down to tactics, strategy and a roll of the dice,” Markham explained. “I want to wait for (his daughters) to get more mature.” Before he was married, he said, playing his war games was much more than just a hobby, adding they gave him an excuse to get together with his friends. He still enjoys that social aspect of the hobby, although he said some players take the games much too seriously. “Some people get way too competitive,” he said. © 2010 Record Searchlight. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
NorCon 2010
Channel 24 coverage of NorCon 2010
Dozens of game enthusiasts gathered in Redding this weekend to put their imaginations and strategies to the test. These aren't your typical board games. They come with complicated story lines, and an all out meeting of the minds. "It's a different version of chess. It's a strategy game. It prompts you to think. It's very much critical thinking, putting together army lists is very much strategy," Grant McMasters said. Dozens of fans gathered at Norcon in Redding over the weekend to play table top war games with themes ranging from World War II to futuristic battles between soldiers and mythical creatres. "Along the same lines as people getting together to play golf or pool on the weekends. We've been getting together since high school to miniture war game," Anthony Hanner said. Unlike many board games, most table top war games require players to build their own army piece by piece, and develop strategies to defeat their opponents. "I try to put in two hours a night painting minitures, modeling, reading rule books and staying up to snuff on the rules," McMasters said. While some enthusiasts enjoy the strategy of winning the war, others take pride in modeling their soldiers to capture people's imaginations. Often spending more than a dozen hours on each figure. "So much of it is having a beautiful army set out on the table with a lot of really nice terrain, really helps your imagination picture a real battle take place," Joel Moore said. Enthusiasts say war games have come a long way since the days of Dungeons and Dragons, and most games can be played in a couple of hours. That helps attract people from all walks of life. "A number of years ago I had my own game store and my customer base was everything from a city official in Chico, to a member of the police force, fireman, local business owners and of course college kids," Hanner said. If you are interested in the mini war games, several teams play in weekly matches