All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions

On this very special, very quick episode, your hosts Quarex and Ben remind you when and why you want to get your badges for Gamehole Con 2026... the badger mitzvah! Don't miss out on dancing the hora in Madison this October because you slept on buying your badge!

Everything you need to know to get ready for Origins 2026—just under a month away! Buy Night City 2045 and pick it up at Origins!Play in some great cyberpunk themed events! Attend the live play of Cyberpunk Red, featuring voice actors from the Netflix series!Buy your badge so you can get event tickets!Book your Southwest flight with code "SWABIZ"!Book your parking at the GCCC!Check out the special programming at Origins! Watch some events on stage!Compete in the Miniatures Painting Competition!Submit your items for the Origins Consignment Shop!And like/subscribe for more Origins content as we approach Origins 50+1!

On this episode, Quarex and Ben take stock of the best and/or worst afternoon in the Mays of Gen Con: Wishlistmas! How did your wish list process? And also: consider attending Game Market Indianapolis on Saturday night of Gen Con! Games so newly published you can taste the ink, from the names you'll get street cred for knowing now!

On this episode, your hosts interview Ben Reed, who is renowned as both a progenitor of the dungeon synth AND for being one of the 23 Mike Carrs of the JoCo Cruise. Listen in as he helps us understand gaming cruises through the JoCo lens.Get on a boat with JoCo Cruises (famously not a sponsor)Episode 117 of this podcast, when we last reviewed cruise consThe Raccoon Fink Bandcamp Page, where you can listen to Ben's latest dungeon synth stylings.And if you like watching videos, you can also check out pal of the pod Travel the Board in their three part series about their time on the Dice Tower Cruise!

Ahead of the upcoming wish list processing day, your hosts Quarex and Ben go through the highlights from the event catalog depending on your flavor of Gen Con.Session Zero offerings for all five days! Gen Con Opening CeremoniesThe Stink that can Drink!DiscWorld Adventures with ModiphiusTORG Eternity sessionsPlaytest For the Good of the Hive!One hour means twelve 5 Minute Dungeons!Sessions of Treat, Please!Get accused of Berrymandering!Roll a pack of Dragon Dice!Cast your Spellfire! Heighten the stakes with the Doomtown card game!Don't you dare give up the ship in Don't Give Up the Ship!Channel your orkish Ricky Bobby in Formula Waaaagh!What Makes a Color, anyways? They made True Dungeon affordable again! (Or least more affordable.)Play in room 1 or room 2 of Roll for Escape!Get your old-fashioned LARP on in Fallen London: Palimpsest!Your actual human children can craft all weekend with Motley Kids!Your actual human children can also enter the Costume Contest!Make some stuffies to take home from Gen Con!Watch a live play of Fiasco with the comedians from Gumption Improv!Roll a con save! (Convention not included.) Yes and this GM improv seminar onto your wish list!Close out Gen Con with a cozy puzzling event!AEG has a Big Game Night that is such value!Get your tickets for the Games Library at Lucas Oil!Play MetroRunner with the game designer!Play Coloroo with the designer, and ask your burning questions about the eBay game!Play DungeoNomics with the designer!Spend a thousand dollars to play D&D at St. Elmo's... again!Play D&D with GooeyCube's chief goomaster, Alphinius Goo!Run an hour gauntlet with the team at the Glass Cannon Network!And if you're looking to attend or play events that your hosts are involved with, you can check out the following events!Our Thursday seminar with the everything of the pod Matt Shoemaker that asks "What Will Conventions Look Like in 5 Year?"Our third annual Saturday night live recording, this time at the Regular Marriott. Ben's GM group has 8 interactive adventures for Shadowdark, Call of Cthulhu, and Root the RPG!

Over the weekend, Gen Con published its biggest ever day 1 event catalog — over 23,000 events! While our next episode is our summary of the events you want to check out, we wanted to release this episode on how to use your wish list ahead of Wish List Processing Day on Sunday, May 17!Search the official Gen Con event list!Use our favorite unofficial search tool, the Gen Con Event DB!What's you have put on your wish list already?

On this episode, Quarex and Ben interview Yoshi, the director of gaming of one of the oldest sci-fi conventions in the US... Balticon, the 60th anniversary that was held from May 22-25, 2026!Balticon website2026 Guests of Honor, including Jim Butcher and Andy Weir Gaming Track for BalticonConcert and Filk for BalticonBaltimore Science Fiction Society website, including the Balticon historyAnd check out Yoshi's Fabula Ultima livestream on Twitch!

On this episode, we are talking about a number of conventions in 2026 you can attend from May Day to Labor Day!May ConventionsEcclesiconBeefy Wizard ConRichmond OpenWagonconFurry Weekend AtlantaGeekway to the PainbowLexiconWest Wars ConventionGameface ConFargo CoreConBalticonKublaCon1d4conThy Geekdom ConConcoctionChupacabraCon Gaming ConventionBGG.SpringMayday!Protospiel OnlineSan Marino Game ConventionJugarxJugarOctogonesChaosium Con UKUK Games ExpoJune ConventionsDieCon North Texas RPG Con Quest Con Magstock Adventure Con CNY RPG Con Origins Game Fair MAGE Con Too Many Games MisCon Between Two Cons Göttingen Game Designer Convention Manchester Board Game Festival Game Con Canada TTOX Yeti Con Paris est ludique July ConventionsCONvergence Dice Tower East Roswell Galacticon CharCon Game Convention InConJunctionDream Con KantCon EGG Con Matt Con Historicon Gen Con Indy Otakon Southern-Fried Gaming Expo World Boardgaming Championships Berlin Con Animaritime KingCon! Tabletasticon  Conference of Wargamers Spielfest Vienna Diversão Offline August ConventionsPhoenix Con Flamecon Nashcon Epic Nerd Camp Hijinx Con Great Escape on the Lake Bit Gen Gamer Fest Farm to Tabletop Play Retreat Draconicon Brussels Games Festival Labor DayPAX West DragonCon Matsuricon SaltCON End of Summer Nova Open Council Con Splotter Con TCEP (Tad & Craig's Excellent Party), Alliance Open House Who's Yer Con Reaper Con Pacificon Game Expo GrandCon MAGE (Minneapolis Anime & Gaming Event) Tabletop Scotland

Can you believe it's already been 200 episodes? We can't, but we also recognize that a big occasion deserves a big celebration. Neither Quarex nor Ben could think of any guests more exciting to bring on for this occasion than Richard Denning and Tony Hyams, the organizers of the largest hobby games convention in England: UK Games Expo. We were blessed to have them join us to talk about the early days of the Expo, as well as having a chance to discuss the incredible growth they've experienced over the last 20 years. They also talk about why the 20th anniversary of their convention is not only just special but an expansion of what they've built over the last two decades. Check out the UKGE website! (link)Get your ticket for the best 72 hours in gaming! (link)Check out the events for the 20th anniversary convention! (link)Win Tony's Thousand Pound Giveaway! (link)Check out this year's merch for UKGE! (link)And if you can't make it this year, why don't you start planning to attend next year?!?