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Conpulsion

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Conpulsion
GenreGaming
VenueTeviot Row House
Location(s)Edinburgh
CountryScotland
Inaugurated1987
Websitehttp://www.conpulsion.org/

Conpulsion is the oldest gaming convention in Scotland,[1] hosted by the Edinburgh University Roleplaying Society (GEAS) annually in Teviot Student Union, Edinburgh. It predominantly features role-playing games and live action role-playing games, but also includes wargames, board games, collectible card games, and non-collectible card games. The convention also has a strong focus on giving money to charity, in a similar vein to many Irish conventions.

History

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Conpulsion began in 1987 as Dungeon Aid, in a nod to Band Aid and Live Aid, with the intent to raise money for charity through gaming. After the first few years it was renamed Big Con, then later Conpulsion in 1995. After growing gradually in popularity through the late 80s and 90s the convention moved from The Pleasance buildings to Teviot in 1999, where it has been held since.

The 2005 event played host to the launch of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition.[2]

In 2012, Conpulsion began "themeing" the event, starting with Apocalypse in reference to the Mayan Apocalypse predicted for December that year. This continued in 2013 with Espionage, 2014 with Innovation, and 2015 with Overboard. The 2015 closing ceremony announced the theme for 2016 would be Underworld.

Banquo Award

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Starting in 2004, and annually since 2007, Conpulsion has hosted the award ceremony for the Banquo Award, which recognises those encapsulating the "Spirit of Scottish Gaming".

Winners[3]
Name Year
Morgan Davie 2004
John Wilson 2007
Janet Kerr 2008
Malcolm Craig 2009
Sean Maguire 2010
Sandy Douglas 2011
Paul Bourne 2012
Craig Oxbrow 2013
Sophia George 2014
Gregor Hutton 2015
Iain Lowson 2016
Phil Harris 2017
Hugh Hancock 2018
Jon Hodgson 2019
Bez Shahriari 2020
Dave Allsop 2021
David Wright 2022
Tanya Floaker 2023

Griffie Awards

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Since 2012, Conpulsion has annually presented two awards for the best RPG and best Board/Card Game released in the past year, voted on by attendees.

RPG Winners
Game Publisher Year
Dark Harvest: Legacy of Frankenstein Cubicle 7 2012
Dungeon World Sage Kobold Productions 2013
Mindjammer Mindjammer Press 2014
Pirates & Dragons Cakebread & Walton 2015 (joint)
Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Chaosium 2015 (joint)
Board/Card Game Winners
Game Publisher Year
Ora et Labora Lookout Games 2012
Android: Netrunner Fantasy Flight Games 2013
Eldritch Horror Fantasy Flight Games 2014 (joint)
Mascarade Repos Production 2014 (joint)
Frankenstein's Bodies YAY! Games 2015
Astral Peace format 15 2016

Reception

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In a review of the 2014 Conpulsion in Black Gate, M Harold Page said "Conpulsion always feels like a place rather than a fleeting confluence of people, a home to anybody who knows that there are more kinds of dice than six-sided ones. I'll certainly be back next year and plan to spend as much time gaming as possible."[4]

Sources

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  1. ^ Jaen, Paco Garcia (17 April 2013). "Conpulsion". GMS Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Warhammer Pre-release at Conpulsion". 22 February 2005.
  3. ^ "Banquo Award Website".
  4. ^ "Convention Review: Conpulsion 2014 – Black Gate". 2 May 2014.
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