Warhammer and miniature gaming convention Adepticon has been named a finalist for the 2024 Diana Jones award for ‘excellence in gaming’.
Described by the organization as the “largest and most energized wargaming convention in the world”, miniature wargame con Adepticon competes with the likes of United Paizo Workers and designer Ami Baio for the gaming Nobel Prize. The winner will be announced in Indianapolis at Gen Con on July 31.
Awarded to the game, person, or thing that has “best demonstrated the quality of ‘excellence’ in the world of hobby-gaming in the previous year,” the Diana Jones award has been presented annually since 2001.
Recent winners have often included games or organizations that further some social cause. For instance, last year’s winner was the tabletop RPG Coyote & Crow, made by Cherokee designer Connor Alexander, which imagines a world without colonialism.
And in 2022, one of our favorite DnD writers Ajit George took home the prize. As well as his DnD books, he was praised for his activism and work “to change the trajectory of the community”. You can see what we thought of George’s recent writing in our Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel review.
Adepticon is up for the award partly due to its growth – from 110 people in 2003 to 8,000 now – and partly due to its “efforts to support multiple charitable causes”. This is done each year through a raffle, and in past years Adepticon has supported veterans, children’s hospitals, and autism advocacy.
While it’s host to plenty of different miniature wargames, Adepticon is well known for being one of the biggest events on the Warhammer calendar.
Loads of upcoming models are shown at its preview show, for instance this year we saw these awesome new Chaos kits. Since 2021 (Adepticon 2020 was canceled for obvious reasons) Warhammer has also held Golden Demon contests for painting miniatures at the convention.
Who’ll be deciding if Adepticon is the best ‘thing’ in gaming this year? The Diana Jones judges are anonymous, but according to the award’s website, they are “a group of over 50 tabletop games industry professionals that includes game designers, publishers, creatives, and consultants.”
For more of our great content, check out the best miniature paintbrushes – or find out about the best hobby tools.