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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Heidi Gygax Garland is the daughter of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator and father of role-playing games, Gary Gygax. From a young age, Heidi worked at numerous Gen Con conventions even working in the TSR booth in her teens. Later she honed her skills working summers at later full time at TSR in the Gen Con department, Marketing, and at the Dungeon Hobby Shop. She introduced several of her high school friends to a life-long love of gaming, including her favorite teacher, now well-known author and game designer, Douglas Niles.
After 30 years in Hawaii working in upper management for a large fine jewelry chain, Heidi returned to Lake Geneva. She and her husband Erik Garland have published six adventures to date for D&D under GAXLAND (or on DriveThruRPG) and are launching GAXVERSE publishing and a podcast in the works, among several other projects launching in 2024. When not in her office writing and creating with their dogs Duncan and Thor at her feet, and office cat Mittens blocking her monitor, Heidi enjoys traveling, and creating culinary delights for her husband Erik and their daughters, Amelie and Zoe Gygax Garland. Watch for her upcoming projects, including Dining & Dragons – A Gygax Girl’s Cookbook coming soon! -
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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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More info coming soon.