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EnglishWhat Events Can You Attend at Gen Con and How Do You Find Them?
Updated
Gen Con offers thousands of ticketed events across board games, card games, roleplaying games, seminars, cosplay, and entertainment, alongside exhibits from hundreds of companies. Most events require a separate ticket in addition to your convention badge, so the practical approach is to browse the official event catalog, filter by date or type, and buy tickets for your must-dos early—popular events fill up.
What Kinds of Events Are There?
According to Gen Con's own description, the convention is the largest and longest-running annual celebration of tabletop gaming culture, originating in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 1968. Its event programming centers on:
- Board games — scheduled play sessions run by exhibitors and independent hosts
- Card games — from trading card games to standalone card titles
- Roleplaying games — including organized play and one-shot scenarios
- Seminars — talks and sessions on gaming-related topics
- Cosplay — costume programming and related activities
- Entertainment — shows and other staged content
Beyond ticketed events, the Exhibit Hall lets you try games from hundreds of exhibiting companies, and the site's Video Library offers how-to guides and convention highlights that can help you preview what's worth your time.
How Do You Find Events and Plan a Schedule?
Gen Con's site organizes attendance around a few entry points: Badge Information, Hotel Information, and a Learn About Events section. The event catalog itself is where you search and filter by date, event type, or game, then build a personal schedule.
A workable planning sequence:
- Confirm your badge first. Events are ticketed separately, so a badge is the baseline for attending.
- Browse the event catalog using the "Learn About Events" path, filtering by the days you'll be present and the categories you care about.
- Buy event tickets for anything that's a priority. Treat ticketed events as capacity-limited—the site notes thousands of ticketed events, which implies each has its own seat count.
- Build your daily schedule around your tickets, leaving gaps for the Exhibit Hall and unstructured play.
- Check your ticket or sign-in method for each event before the convention, since procedures can differ by event.
A Sample Day Structure
| Time block | Activity | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | One ticketed RPG or board game session | Fresh energy for longer sessions |
| Midday | Exhibit Hall browsing and demos | No ticket needed; flexible |
| Afternoon | Seminar or card game event | Fits a shorter slot |
| Evening | Entertainment or cosplay programming | Often the social highlight |
This is a template, not a rule—swap blocks based on what the catalog offers on your dates.
What Should You Watch Out For?
- Tickets are separate from badges. Budget and plan for both; don't assume a badge covers event entry.
- Popular events are capacity-limited. The earlier you buy, the better your odds of getting the sessions you want.
- Verify each event's logistics. Ticket pickup or on-site check-in details can vary, so confirm per event rather than assuming one process.
- Leave slack in your schedule. Overlapping tickets and back-to-back sessions across a large venue are a common source of missed events.
Where to Start
Use the site's Badge Information page to secure attendance, then move to the Learn About Events section to search the catalog and purchase tickets. If you want a feel for the convention before committing to a schedule, the Video Library's how-to guides and highlights are a low-effort way to see what the four days actually look like. Gen Con returns August 5–8, 2027.