Gary Con XVIII

Gary Con XVIII

Welcome to Gary Con XVIII

From nostalgic dungeon crawls to cutting-edge indie game systems, Gary Con offers a unique opportunity to honor the roots of tabletop gaming while embracing its ever-evolving future.

Gary Con is more than just a gaming convention—it's a heartfelt tribute to Gary Gygax, the father of role-playing games and co-creator of D&D, and a celebration of the community he inspired. Held annually in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (the birthplace of RPGs), Gary Con began as a memorial gathering of friends and family and has grown into a vibrant event welcoming gamers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels.

Welcome to Gary Con... where friends come to play and we celebrate adventure together!

Badges

You'll need a badge to attend the convention and to get Event Tickets to games and other scheduled events.

Badge sales are now open!

Buy Badges

Event Submission

Game Masters form the backbone of any game convention. These are folks just like you who willingly share their love of gaming with others and help us all have a great time.

Submit Your Events!

Submit Events

Event Ticketing

Once you have a badge, you'll need Event Tickets to the scheduled events (games, seminars, etc.) that you want to join; most are free, some have an additional cost. Event Tickets will be released weekly in 2026 by badge type, starting Saturday, Jan 31 for Diamond Badges. See the chart below to find out when you can get your Event Tickets.

For full details on the process see: Event Ticketing

Badge Price Ticket Release Early Hoteling Description
Silver $135 2/21 N Admission to all 4 days of Gary Con
TCG $50 2/21 N Admission to all 4 days of Gary Con. Includes Event Ticketing for TCG games only and holder may join any game at the Mountain Top Ski Chalet accepting walk-ups, plus access to the Exhibitor Hall
Gold $285 2/14 N Admission to all 4 days of Gary Con, Gold Swag Bag, Early Event Registration, Early Badge Pickup
Platinum $850 2/7 Y Admission to all 4 days, Early Hotel Registration, Platinum Swag Bag, VIP Reception (Thursday 8 pm), Early Event Registration, Early badge pickup, Renewable Platinum
Platinum Non-Renewable $685 2/7 Y Admission to all 4 days, Early Hotel Registration, Platinum Swag Bag, VIP Reception (Thursday 8 pm), Early Event Registration, Early badge pickup. Non-renewable badge
Diamond $2000 1/31 Y Admission to all 4 days, Premier Hotel Reservation, Premier Event Registration, Early badge pick-up, Diamond Swag Bag, Diamond Dinner (Thursday 6 pm), VIP Reception (Thursday 8 pm), Renewable Diamond
Diamond Non-Renewable $1750 1/31 Y Admission to all 4 days, Premier Hotel Reservation, Premier Event Registration, Early badge pick-up, Diamond Swag Bag, Diamond Dinner (Thursday 6 pm), VIP Reception (Thursday 8 pm), Non-renewable badge
Spectator $40 n/a N Access to the Venue for all 4 days of Gary Con, including Exhibitor Hall, but does not allow playing games (including scheduled, walk-up, and non-ticketed events)
Youth Silver $25 2/21 N Ages 12 and under. Admission to all 4 days of Gary Con
Hero of the Realm $2100 2/14 Y Admission to both the Incarnate Tournament Sunday to Wednesday and Gary Con, Hero Swag, Hero Mixers, Food Vouchers (Mon & Tue), Early hotel registration for the whole week, Early Event Registration for Gary Con, Early Badge Pickup.

Explore Okkorim

Looking for more of Luke Gygax's adventures in the Okkorim setting? Check out the newest Kickstarter, Rogues' Gambit—a cunning adventure for levels 5-7!

You can be among the first to see Luke Gygax’s next awesome adventure. Rogues' Gambit leads your party into the Opal Obelisk where a simple job unravels into a deadly challenge crafted by a ruthless wizard who's enjoying every moment of the chaos he has created. Click the image for the Kickstarter page.

OkkorimKS

Key Dates

Convention Hours and What’s Happening at Gary Con can be found on our website:

Convention Hours & Daily Schedule

Date Event
Monday, September 8, 10 am Central Hoteling Opens
Monday, October 6, noon Central Early-Bird Event Bonus Period closes
Monday, December 1, noon Central Event Submission Ends *
Monday, December 1, noon Central Pre-Sales Merch Ends
Sunday, December 21, noon Central Event Submission Reopens *
Thursday, January 1, noon Central Event Catalog Becomes Viewable
Saturday, January 31, noon Central Diamond Event Ticketing Opens
Tuesday, February 3, noon Central Volunteer Portal Opens
Saturday, February 7, noon Central Platinum Event Ticketing Opens
Saturday, February 14, noon Central Hero of the Realm & Gold Event Ticketing Opens
Saturday, February 21, noon Central Silver Event Ticketing Opens

* Event submission ends when organizers feel they've reached capacity. Submissions may re-open if space is available.

You can find all the details you need about the convention on our Official Site


Connect with Gary Con...

Discord

...on our Discord!

Come to play, ask questions, and hang out!

Facebook Group

...on our Facebook Group!

Join the group on FB, where a lot of our community chat happens.


Follow Gary Con...

Facebook Page

...on our Facebook Page!

Follow our official FB page for updates and info!

BlueSky

...on our BlueSky Page!

Follow our official BlueSky page for updates and info!

X

...on our X Page!

Follow our official X page for updates and info!

Twitch

...on our Twitch Channel!

Watch our live games and seminars when they stream!

YouTube

...on our YouTube Channel!

Watch content in our video archive for Gary Con!

Policies

Click here for more on Gary Con Policies!

Registration

Badges Tickets

Merch Sales

Suspended

Event Submissions

Submit Events
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Exhibitor Applications

Exhibit

Dates

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Time zone: America/Chicago (UTC {{ '2026-03-19 13:00:00' | timezone_offset: 'America/Chicago' }})

Location

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Venue

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa

7036 Grand Geneva Way, Lake Geneva, WI 53147, USA

Time zone: America/Chicago (UTC {{ '2026-03-19 13:00:00' | timezone_offset: 'America/Chicago' }})

  Driving Directions

  Web Site

  (262) 248-8811

The Grand Geneva Resort is a AAA 4 Diamond Resort located at 7036 Grand Geneva Way in Lake Geneva, WI. Watch for announcements on Room Reservation opening up in September. For best results use the Travel & Hotel page on the Gary Con Website to book your room for Gary Con.

Hotels – Gary Con