About Gary Con
Gary Con is a memorial convention that began following the funeral of TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) and D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) founder E. Gary Gygax who passed away on March 4, 2008. His son, Luke Gygax, thought it appropriate to have a gathering in the American Legion Hall in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin—a place of fond memories for the Gygax family—to play games celebrating, commemorating, and remembering his father with family, friends, and colleagues. A guest suggested Luke make it an annual event, so the gathering was dubbed “Gary Con,” and it has since become one of the most unique gaming conventions held in the Midwest.
From heartfelt and humble beginnings, Gary Con has grown from about 160 attendees with zero scheduled events at the American Legion Hall in 2008, to over 3,000 attendees and more than 2,250 events scheduled at the Grand Geneva Resort in 2024.
Gary Con continues to grow, adding new game systems and diversifying offerings every year, yet the core reason for the gathering remains unchanged: it is a family reunion. However, it’s more than just a reunion of the Gygax family—Gary Con welcomes the broad family that is the gaming community “home” to Lake Geneva, where it all started in the 1970s, to celebrate the life and works of E. Gary Gygax.
“…the gaming community made me realize that my dad, Gary Gygax, had a huge impact on many people—something I hadn’t fully comprehended before then and wouldn’t truly appreciate for some time yet… I wanted to celebrate his life and [the] good times we shared… I can speak for my brothers and sisters when I say it is cathartic to host such a wonderful gathering. You all have helped us transform what would normally be a sad time of mourning and dour remembrance into a lively celebration of our father’s life, the strength of our community, and the great new heights that lie before us all.”
– Luke Gygax, Gary Con X Event Guide, 2018
Gary Con attendees gather each year to share their interests, hobbies, and passion for gaming with one another by exchanging daring stories, playing fantastic games, and overcoming epic encounters—it is our hope that gaming will continue to bring people together and unify them through their shared experiences in worlds of adventure, imagination, and wonder for the foreseeable future and beyond.
“There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you’re involved in, whether it’s a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.”
– Gary Gygax
What is Gary Con?
Gary Con is an annual game convention celebrating the life and works of Gary Gygax, the Father of Role Playing Games. We do this by doing what he loved so much in life—playing games!
The Progeny of E. Gary Gygax
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Ernest “Ernie” Gary Gygax, Jr. “The First Adventurer” (1959-2025)
Ernie was the first person to ever play Dungeons & Dragons, along with his sister M. Elise Gygax, when their father play-tested his brand new rules set with them in 1973. Like his father, E. Gary Gygax Sr., Ernie was an avid gamer—from miniatures, card and board games to role-playing games—he emulated that love of gaming and camaraderie from childhood to his last days. Ernie play-tested numerous D&D scenarios with his farther, created iconic characters like Serten and Tenser, adventured through Castle Greyhawk, was there to test out Metamorphosis Alpha when James Ward created it, and was the first manager of the Dungeon Hobby Shop as a teenager. It is at “the Dungeon” where he created his beloved Hobby Shop Dungeon that he would entertain and confound gamers for decades. Interestingly enough it’s also where Luke Gygax played his first magic-user, Zorko as a lad of no more than 7-years of age. Ernie moved up the ladder at TSR, Inc eventually to VP of Creative for the nascent D&D Entertainment Corp where he worked on the D&D cartoon, Sagard the Barbarian pick your own adventure books, and numerous other projects that didn’t make it out of development—something very common in Hollywood.
After his father lost TSR, Inc and control of D&D, Ernie returned to Lake Geneva to try his hand at a variety of occupations. Ernie’s love of gaming and experience made him a natural to manage the Game Guild, Margaret Weis’ hobby shop. He would run massive AD&D games in his Hobby Shop Dungeon for the patrons, from young kids to middle-aged gamers. When the “new” version of D&D at the time (3.0) was released, Margaret wanted him to run a campaign using that system. Ernie loved AD&D and exclusively DMed it for most of his life. He didn’t have a desire to learn the new fangled 3e, so he roped Luke Gygax into DMing the weekly game at the Game Guild. As a result, Luke and Ernie created a new adventure campaign that was later published by Troll Lord Games as The Lost City of Gaxmoor, which has been reprinted for Castles and Crusades as well as D&D 5e. Ernie worked on several adventure game products throughout his life from play-testing iconic modules to publishing The Haunted Halls of the Beggar King, and the Marmoreal Tomb, as well as a children’s book, Sammizowa and the Dragon. Ernie’s legacy is the pure joy and camaraderie he inspired while serving as Dungeon Master for all who graced his table. He welcomed all gamers to join him and freely shared his passion for gaming.
Ernie was a passionate person with a big heart which was apparent by his great love of animals. He had several furry companions over the years that he treated akin to family members in some ways. He enjoyed taking long walks near the Hillmoor Golf Course with his dog. It was his love of animals and the green space to enjoy with them that led him to meet the love of his life, Donna. They bonded over the effort to keep Hillmoor a green space, and before long fell in love. They eventually married in September 2025 and shared the last several years of his life together happily.
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Heidi Gygax Garland is the daughter of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator and father of role-playing games, Gary Gygax. From a young age, Heidi played D&D with her dad, siblings, and friends. She worked at the early Gen Con conventions in concessions and the TSR booth. Later she honed her career skills working in the Gen Con marketing department and at the Dungeon Hobby Shop before moving into a career in jewelry manufacturing and retailing.
After 30+ years in top management for a fine jewelry chain headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, Heidi returned to Lake Geneva where she and her husband Erik design, author, and publish games—nine (9) games have been published under their company, GAXLAND, to date. Check out their first family board game, Dragon Derby: The Sport of Wizards, launching on Kickstarter April 1st!
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Cindy Gygax, the fourth child of Gary and Mary Gygax, was an official game tester and collator in the early days of TSR, as well as a concession stand employee at the early Gen Cons. Her father credited her with naming Dungeons & Dragons. Ms. Gygax and her husband owned and operated their own restaurant for many years before raising their three children. Afterward, she taught English as a Second Language classes for several years. Currently, she is retired and resides with her family in Southern Wisconsin.
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Luke Gygax is the son of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator, Gary Gygax, as well as Founder of Gary Con®. He literally grew up at the gaming table with the designers that built the foundation of the RPG industry—many of whom come to Gary Con. He played the iconic character Melf of the Green Arrow, whose name remains on spells into the current version of D&D and even appears in the popular video game Baldur’s Gate 3.
Luke has authored several role-playing game accessories over his lifetime including Legion of Gold (TSR, Inc), The Lost City of Gaxmoor (TLG), The Dread From Geneva Lake 1 and 2 (Gaxx Worx), Call of Cthulhu modules set at Gary Con®, and recently The Oculus of Senrahbah series (Gaxx Worx) set in the city of Chentoufi in the world of Okkorim© fantasy setting.
Luke is working on new D&D 5e scenarios for the World of Okkorim©, previewing material through his Patreon (patreon.com/GaxxWorx), and his latest Kickstarter project is underway now! The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx is an enthralling and lampoon-y adventure and campaign homage to his father, Gary Gygax. If you want to ask him about it, he will be appearing as a guest at several conventions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of D&D and showcase his products as he carries on his father’s legacy. Otherwise, you can ask when you see him walking around at Gary Con!
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Alex Gygax, the youngest of Gary’s six children, began his journey into role-playing games at the age of five, embarking on adventures during his father’s work breaks. As a youth Alex spent his weekends with Ernie at Margaret Weis’ shop, The Game Guild, where he would help out around the store and play games all day. He later became an integral playtester for much of Gary’s Legendary Adventure series. Alex continues to promote Gary’s legacy and contribute to the gaming community while walking in his father’s and brothers’ footsteps spreading the joys of gaming at Lake Geneva Games.