We hope you’re all amped and getting excited for Gary Con XVIII—happening in less than 30 days! So, hop aboard the hype-train and read about some of the fun events in store!!
Tourneys & Iconic Events
We’d like to remind everyone to pay attention to the suggested skill level on event listings in TTE for Gary Con XVIII. If you can, familiarize (or re-familiarize) yourself with the game systems while preparing to chase down some glorious victory!
D&D 5e: Legends of Greyhawk
Love D&D? Wizards of the Coast has Legends of Greyhawk ready for organized play and there are not one, not two, but THREE (3) D&D 5e epics:
The Gary Con Gary Adkison Memorial Magic the Gathering Tournament (GCGAMMtGT) takes place to honor the memory and contributions to Magic: The Gathering by Gary Adkison, the father of Peter Adkison—the founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast:
Gather your team and overcome this mysterious maze of madness to survive this action-packed Castles & Crusades tournament scenario presented by Troll Lord Games for Gary Con XVIII:
Saturday at 10:00am-2:00pm – Event #1938 – Gary Con Open Tournament 2026: Mirror Mirror! w/ TLG
Sponsored and conducted by Troll Lord Games, the Gary Con Open has been a part of Gary Con since 2011. It serves as a celebration of Gary’s world-changing ideas while offering a fun, competitive time for all. Designed for teams of six (6) mid-level heroes, to weave an epic tale of adventure.
Participants will receive an email from TLG with more info 2-3 weeks prior to Gary Con.
Call of Cthulhu
Join the Call of Cthulhu, multi-table event put on by Jeff Richard, Claudia Loroff, and the Chaosium Team:
Saturday at 6:00-10:00pm – Event #2656 – The Raid on Innsmouth
Per Jeff Richard himself (yeah, we raided his social post to quote his words), “…this is a monster old school Cthulhu adventure. Because all the tables doing all the missions are linked and doing this simultaneously (with communications between tables using new exciting technology), this should be a complete blast… If you are a Call of Cthulhu fan and have never played this, SIGN UP! If you’ve always wanted to know what it is like to be a clueless, heavily-armed soldier headed into eldritch mysteries with only a few briefing documents, then SIGN UP!”
Pirate Borg
Take to the seas in the waterpark of the Timber Ridge Lodge for the Pirate Borg tournament and epic, brought to you by Limithron and Luke & Tyler Stratton:
Friday at 7:00pm-12:00am (midnight) – Event #2572 – Into the Maelstrom: 6-Table Tournament
Saturday at 7:00-11:00pm – Event #2578 – Pirate Borg Epic: Brethren’s Plunder
Legends of Roleplaying
Legends of Roleplaying celebrates the classics with an AD&D 1st ed. tournament:
Friday at 6:00-10:00pm – Event #2221 – Legends of Roleplaying Tourney: Caverns of the Witch Queen
Legends of Wargaming
Legends of Wargaming hosts their annual jousting tourney using the Chainmail system:
Thursday at 8:00am-12:00am (midnight) – Event #2500 – Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Tourney 1st Round
Friday at 8:00am-12:00am (midnight) – Event #2501 – Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Tourney 1st Round
Saturday at 8:00am-1:00pm – Event #2502 – Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Tourney 1st Round
Saturday at 1:00-6:00pm – Event #2503 – Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Tourney 2nd Round
Saturday at 6:00-10:00pm – Event #2499 – Legends of Wargaming: Gary Con Jousting Championship
We have two parts to the auction this year. We will be adding the Gary Con Silent Auction to our classic Gary Con Charity Auction for Gary Con XVIII! Both aim to raise funds to support Children’s Wisconsin as our charitable cause for 2026.
Silent Auction
From Thursday to Saturday we plan to feature five items at a time in approximately two-hour auctions across from the Gary Con Registration/Help Desk.
Thursday – 10:00am-8:00pm
Friday – 10:00am-8:00pm
Saturday – 10:00am-2:00pm
Charity Auction
The auction is scheduled on Saturday afternoon, March 21, 2026 at Gary Con XVIII in the lobby of the lovely Grand Geneva Resort & Spa.
The Cosplay Contest is back for Gary Con XVIII on Friday, March 20, 2026, with events spanning a few hours to allow ample time for judging, setup, and the show.
Theme: Dungeons & Dragons.
Criteria: Accuracy, creativity, quality, detail, and fun.
Judges: Alicia Marie, Dan Ayoub, Anjali Bhimani, Monica Paprocki, and Todd Stashwick.
The Tower of Gygax returns for 2026!! This year our team of Dungeon Masters includes legends like Ed Greenwood, Skip Williams, Jeff Grubb, Douglas Niles, Mike Mearls, and Bill Fawcett, plus Special Guests including Todd Stashwick and Alicia Marie, as well as multiple gaming community and streaming guests and several other industry notables from our gaming friends at Troll Lord Games, Gooey Cube, and OSRIC.
For Gary Con XVIII, we have upgraded to THREE tables full of adventuring, with space for up to eight players per table. Sign up to see if you can survive the challenges!!
ToG Schedule:
Thursday – 1:00pm-9:00pm
Friday – 1:00pm-9:00pm
Saturday – 1:00pm-9:00pm
You can purchase custom Tower of Gygax merchandise this year at the Gary Con Registration/Help Desk, which will include a limited run of shirts and dice—so grab a set on your way to the tables!
Gary Con is a memorial convention originally dedicated to Gary Gygax, but has become a celebration of many lives well-played. Each year, we celebrate those who adventure with us and have a few special ways in which we can acknowledge and recognize those whom we have lost along the way.
Iconic memorial tributes that you can see and experience at Gary Con:
Table of Honor & Wall of Remembrance – Viewable in the Evergreen hallway upstairs in the Grand Geneva and proudly displayed throughout the convention.
Memorial Service – Event #670 – Go to the Main Lobby of the Grand Geneva at 9:00am on Sunday morning to join the Geekpreacher as we remember lost adventuring companions.
Heading up the hill for a jaunt? Check out the Trading Card Game area at the Mountain Top Ski Chalet! While you’re there squeezing in a couple games between your other events, make sure to visit Grognard Games and Oddwillow’s Game Haven our fantastic TCG exhibitors!
We’re excited to have you shuffle over, take a seat, and play some games with us!
The free on-campus shuttles operate between the Grand Geneva Main Entrance and the Mountain Top Ski Chalet every 20 minutes.
Side Quests
Still struggling to find things to do to fill your time? Go browse some of the fun “Side Quests” that are on the docket for Gary Con XVIII!
Grab a card from the Deck of Gary things to test your luck, Draw Your Weapons with Titmouse, play a Stern D&D pinball machine, visit the Legends of Wargaming room for a history lesson and some classic fun, paint a miniature with The Army Painter—there’s so much to do if you’re looking for a way to spend your downtime!
Luke Gygax’s next deadly challenge awaits in the Opal Obelisk! Rogues’ Gambit drops you into Okkorim for a fast hook adventure for any 5E group—go check it out on the Kickstarter page!
Will your adventurers make it out alive or will they suffer an early end? Find out by backing the project and playing the adventure—there are only a few days left!
Happy holiday season, we’ve got some important updates including shuttles, parking and events.
GCXVIII Shuttle Service
Sponsored by VISIT Lake Geneva (VLG) and Noble Knight Games!
This year Gary Con has coordinated shuttles to-and-from a few key locations in Lake Geneva to offer hourly service for Gary Con XVIII.
The daily shuttles, running Thursday morning through Sunday afternoon, are expected to offer service starting at the Lake Geneva hotels around 7:00am, and to end service for the day with the last shuttle leaving the Grand at 12:00am (midnight) for one final drop-off at the hotels on the route. Estimated arrival time at the Grand Geneva will be approximately 10-20 minutes before the top of the hour.
We plan to share complete route maps and hourly schedules on our website soon, but the hotels serviced by shuttles are listed below…
Bus Route (A):
Grand Geneva ➡ Cove/Harbor Shores (Lake Shore Dr.)
*There will be an additional stop at the Geneva Lake Museum between the Mill Creek Hotel and Grand Geneva stop, planned twice daily Thursday through Saturday at ~1:30pm (13:30) and ~6:30pm (18:30).
Bus Route (B):
Grand Geneva ➡ Geneva Wells Inn
Geneva Wells Inn ➡ Lake Geneva Lodge
Lake Geneva Lodge ➡ Comfort Inn & Suites
Comfort Inn & Suites ➡ Fairfield Inn
Fairfield Inn ➡ Grand Geneva
We apologize in advance to people who have a disability/impairment that requires the aid of a motorized mobility device, as our shuttles for this year will not be able to adequately accommodate these needs. If you have any inquiries about our shuttle service and parking with specific ADA needs, please contact our Customer Service Team by clicking the link below.
This will be our first time utilizing a shuttle service—and we need your help to ensure it goes smoothly! Help us plan better by taking a short survey about your expected shuttle use. If you think you might use the shuttle, please spend a minute to help us better meet your expectations and avoid capacity issues.
The venue parking situation got tough in March of 2025. This year the Grand Geneva will charge for parking and using plate readers during the convention. The expected cost is about $10 per vehicle per day.
Logistically, for those paying to park, you will go to a website where you will either use a pre-paid parking pass* or pay for a single day of parking, then input your license plate number. There will be an abundance of reminders with links on our normal messaging you get with a link to remind you.
*Attendees must activate their parking each day and provide a license plate, even if they have prepaid.
At this time the following attendees are not expected to pay for parking, but will have to enter their license plate number into a form to follow parking procedures:
Guests of the onsite hotels (Grand Geneva Resort, Timber Ridge Lodge, Holiday Inn Club Vacations)
Game Masters and Special Guests running 8-hours or more of scheduled events [This estimate was a projection, but actual number of hours required will be more.]
Volunteers with accepted shifts of 8-hours or more [This estimate was a projection, but actual number of hours required will be more.]
Exhibitors
We will share more details on the website as soon as they are available. This is also new for the Grand and they’re trying to make it as painless as possible, but with growth comes adjustment—we highly encourage ride-sharing to the convention and making use of the free shuttles.
Partner Hotels
We have updated our Hoteling page on the Gary Con website to include images denoting if a location has service from the on-site Trolley (or step van) or the new off-site Shuttle that stops at the Lake Geneva hotels (explained in the details above).
We also updated who has spots in their room blocks based on our last check—so book with them now!
One of our newest Hotel Partners, The Cove, is running a special offer until December 31, 2025! For every $100 in gift certificates purchased, the buyer receives a bonus $25—so a $200 purchase would include a $50 bonus.
Guests will need to call to make reservations with The Cove. When calling, let the agent know you’re using a gift certificate and provide the certificate number so it can be applied at the time of your booking.
The Cove asks that you bring the physical certificate when you arrive, but it’s most important to providing the certificate number during the reservation call when you first make your booking.
To take advantage of the promotion, call The Cove at 262-249-9460 and make your purchase over the phone.
Gary Con XVIII Badge Update
Buy a badge to day to avoid disappointment later, as there are less than 150 Silver Badges remaining!
On January 1, 2026, after the release of the official GCXVIII Events Schedule, we will reassess our badge capacity based on the total number of submitted events. We never oversell badges at Gary Con, as we pride ourselves in exceeding expectations—to do this we keep our initial number of available badges a bit lower than expected game/table capacity until we’ve ensured the number of submitted events is adequate…
…and the events sure do look great this year (we’ve read them all)! We anticipate we will be able to add a limited number of extra Silver Badges to the pool when we release the official Event Schedule on TTE.
We’re using some new event spaces this year, which has allowed us to schedule even more events from our awesome Game Masters. This is going to be an amazing smorgasbord of every kind of RPG you can imagine—as always, but even more this time!! We have added…
…the Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark—where we’ll have Limithron, creator of Pirate Borg! We’ll call that area “Pirate Island.” Plus, we’ll also be utilizing the ten atrium areas near the elevators for additional scheduled gaming/event space.
…and the Geneva Lake Museum—is being tested to run a couple games in-town! In the Gygax Exhibit, there’s a gaming table where we’re going to play some D&D. It will start with Allen Hammack running Assault on the Aerie of the Slavelords!
As previously mentioned, the public release of the GCXVIII Event Schedule is January 1, 2026 at 12:00pm (noon) Central…
…but there’s still time to submit events!! Make sure you reference the available tables/time slots on Josh Popp’s favorite Gantt Chart!
Gary Con XVIII hoteling blocks open this Monday (September 8) at 10:00am Central Time. You can go to our Gary Con Hotel page to view our partner hotels. The online booking links will be available on that page on Monday at 10:00am Central Time.
You MUST use the PassKey link to make reservations at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa and the Timber Ridge Lodge.
You cannot book a room for the Grand Geneva or Timber Ridge via phone or their booking website. They will not accept reservations this way. You will be referred back to our PassKey link.
Please be aware that the Timber Ridge Lodge waterpark will be converted into additional event and gaming space this year for Gary Con XVIII, so the waterpark will not be available for swimming.
There are shuttles running non-stop onsite at the Grand Geneva Resort. Service runs between the Grand Geneva Main Lodge, Timber Ridge Lodge, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Villas, and Mountain Top Ski Chalet.
Gary Con celebrates the life and works of Gary Gygax, the FATHER OF ROLE-PLAYING GAMES. Now, you have the opportunity to support the completion of his work…
Castle Zagyg
Presented by: Troll Lord Games
Troll Lord Games, a Gary Con sponsor, is within the final 48-hours of their Castle Zagyg crowdfunding campaign; this is your last chance to claim a piece of TTRPG history!
Gary Gygax’s legendary dungeon is back in development. This is his magnum opus based on his original campaign. It needs your help to bring it to its full glory. Every pledge moves this project closer to unlocking never-before-seen material from Gary’s own notes—content that was nearly lost to time. Now is your chance to pledge!
If Troll Lord Games raises $550k before 10am PST on April 4th, they’ll release The Sun Circle Pamphlet, an exclusive look at Gary’s original vision for the legendary council of eight that maintains the balance of the world. If they push beyond that, they’ll unlock even more. The Sun Circle Magics, a treasure trove of spells and artifacts; the Sun Circle Miscellanea, packed with heraldry, hirelings, monsters, and more; and the Obsidian Octagon, an 8-level dungeon with eight (8) maps provided for seamless gameplay. Visit the campaign page to read more about these treasures!
This is history in the making, so don’t miss your chance to be part of it! Pledge now before time runs out and thank you in advance for being part of Gary Gygax’s gaming legacy!
Plan ahead for Event Registration! Many highly sought events will fill immediately, so prep your wish list now.
Event Registration Dates
The following dates are the days that event ticketing opens for the different badge levels. Make sure you know what kind of badge you have and plan ahead so you don’t miss it.
Diamond Event Ticket Sales Open:
Feb. 1, 2025 @ 12:00pm (noon) Central Time
Platinum Event Ticket Sales Open:
Feb. 8, 2025 @ 12:00pm (noon) Central Time
Gold Event Ticket Sales Open:
Feb. 15, 2025 @ 12:00pm (noon) Central Time
Silver Event Ticket Sales Open:
Feb. 22, 2025 @ 12:00pm (noon) Central Time
Ticketing Details
To learn about the Gary Con Ticket Release Process, TTE Waitlist, and other important ticketing details, visit our Event Registration page!
Event Schedule
Browse the Event Catalog* on TTE to see all the current offerings our excellent event hosts and great GMs have planned!
*We are still scheduling, so please remain calm and refrain from panic if you don’t see all the Gygax Society or Adventurers League events.
ATTENTION GMs
Event Submissions Reopening. Briefly.
We anticipate we’ll reopen TTE for event submissions on January 16 at 8:00pm Central Time. You can view the Gary Con XVII Event Grid to see times/spaces available for additional events. New events submissions will be scheduled on first-come-first-serve basis. Please be aware that updates on the grid may not be immediate.
To have your submission considered:
Find an open, green-colored spot in the grid where your event will fit.
Be aware that we cannot accommodate special requests.
Include a “Comment” indicating time flexibility to help ensure approval.
Watch our emails and social media channels for updates. Otherwise, click the button below to review the Event Grid and pre-plan the preferred times for your submission!
Greetings, adventurers! We have a bunch of announcements before badge sales and event submissions go live this weekend.
This email may contain: details about badges, an epic adventure-quest alert, GMing for goodness info, finding your name to reveal your true identity, seizing the loot, locating Luke, and how to seek the Sea Lich. Read on and adventure heartily!!
Do you want to buy a badge?
Badge sales open on Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 12:00pm (NOON) Central Time. Be aware of the date, time, and time zone to plan accordingly.
One hour prior, at 11am Central Time, badge sales will be SUSPENDED while we get everything setup. During that time, using the “Buy badges here!” button below, you’ll be able to see the available badges on TTE: Platinum Non-Renewable, Gold, Silver, Youth, Spectator, and a special “Hero of the Realm” badge (scroll down for more info).
IMPORTANT BADGE SALES REMINDERS:
Buying badges is a 2-step process. If you don’t check out after adding a badge to your cart, you will LOSE it after about two (2) hours–it will then return to the pool of available badges.
If you have an issue with badge purchasing on TTE, let us know via the following outlets: (1) Discord help desk or (2) e-mail us at [email protected]. We’re online at the helpdesk during badge release.
You may think you have added a badge to your cart, but if it isn’t there when you look in your cart, you didn’t get it. Error messages that briefly appear are easy to miss.
REMEMBER Badges are a 2-step process. If you don’t check out after adding it to your cart, you will LOSE it after about two (2) hours. We mention this again because it’s important. Every year people ask why they did not get the badge they had in their cart and every year it’s the same reasons: (1) They never went to the cart to finish checking out, or (2) The badge errored out and didn’t add it to their cart in the first place. This is particularly common for Gold Badges, and we don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, so double-check your cart.
Join an assortment of adventurers in traveling through the editions of D&D in our Founders & Legends Tournament—Incarnate: Descent!
Returning Heroes, and newly minted ones, may purchase a “Hero of the Realm” badge on the Gary Con XVII TTE site. Your Hero badge includes access to the exclusive Founders & Legends Tournament consisting of four (4) sessions of up to 4-hours in duration with the winners playing in the fifth epilogue session, meal vouchers for breakfast and lunch Monday and Tuesday, social mixers Sunday and Monday night, select merchandise, and premieraccess link to the Grand Geneva hotel from March 16-24, 2025–so you can book your room for the entirety of the tournament and Gary Con.
GMs are the backbone of our convention. Event submissions open at the same time as badge sales, so have a look at the GM rewards and get hyped to run some games at Gary Con.
Last year, TTE changed how your name is displayed. If you’re a GM, you might want to think about how you want to appear in TTE, which may make it easier for players to find your events.
Click here for an overview of where you set your name(s) on the TTE site.
You can pre-order the Official Gary Con XVII shirt, metal dice, stadium cup, and event guide or buy them all in a single cost-saving bundle!
Chet Minton’s beautiful artwork will be featured on the shirt and event guide, the new-and-improved stadium cup (gets you free beer/soda during happy hour and provides discounts on beer/soda at the drink stations), and the beautiful Gary Con XVII metal dice set by Norse Foundry.
The above image is concept art and is subject to change.
Please Note: You must buy your badge before you can purchase merch. Pre-ordered merch must be picked up at GCXVII.
Keep your eyes open for Luke Gygax at the following upcoming events:
San Diego Comic Con – July 26-27 @ San Diego, CA
You can find Luke at the “Celebrating 50 Years of D&D” panel on Saturday at 10am.
Gen Con – Aug. 1-4 @ Indianapolis, IN
Luke will be attending as a Guest of Honor. You can find him running games, streaming D&D, and at seminars and meetings.
Dragon Con – Aug. 29-Sept. 2 @ Atlanta, GA
Luke will be attending as a Guest of Honor. You can find him running games and signing products.
Gamehole Con – Oct.17-20 @ Madison, WI
Luke will be attending as a Guest. You can find him running the Founders & Legends Tournament – Incarnate: Ragnarök, as well as at seminars, and gaming tables.
Lucca Comics and Games – Oct. 31-Nov. 3 @ Lucca, Italy.
Luke will be attending as a Guest of Honor.
Wrath of the Sea Lich Kickstarter!!?!
The Wrath of the Sea Lich, a reimagining of the hit series Oculus of Senrahbah, is a gritty adventure being reworked for the Shadowdark RPG. The prelaunch page is up so you can read about it and sign up to be notified when it goes live!
Use the link below to sign-up for project news and updates!
