Side Quests & Bonus Events
We have some awesome side quests and bonus events that are typically cool options to include in your Gary Con schedule if you have free time. A lot of folks put some hard work in to make these things available to attendees—and we are glad to include them in our list of things to do and see!
2025 Exclusives
Shadowdark RPG: Everything You Want to Know
Presented by The Arcane Library!
Wednesday @ 8:00pm-10:00pm(ish) in Swinghurst.
ENnie Award-winning creator of the Shadowdark RPG, Kelsey Dionne, will be discussing Shadowdark, her journey as a game designer, and the ongoing Kickstarter campaign for Cursed Scrolls 4-6.
Sweet Cheeks Face Painting
Presented by Gary Con XVII!
Thursday-Saturday @ 12:00PM-5:00PM in the Westgate Hallway, Table WGH-005.
Free, kid-friendly face-painting by Sweet Cheeks Face Painting!
CHAOSIUM AFTER DARK PARTY
Presented by Chaosium! Event 1407*
Friday @ 10:00PM-12:00AM (midnight) in the Lobby.
“Join the Chaosium Team as they celebrate their 50th anniversary on Friday night at Gary Con. They will have two barrels of Spotted Cow and Jeff Richard playing music—expect to hear some great David Bowie and Iggy Pop songs!”
*NOTE: Depending on demand and popularity, a ticket on TTE does not guarantee entry. This event will not block you from signing up for overlapping events.
Opening Ceremony
Under construction!
Deck of Gary Things
Test your luck against Luke Gygax to win prizes or an ignoble end!!
If you don’t have guts, you’ll never have glory—so why not risk it pulling from The Deck of Gary Things?! Maybe you’ll win a free badge, or maybe you’ll be compelled to volunteer some time to the convention. Anything could happen!
E. Gary Gygax Lifetime Achievement Award
Gary Con presents the E. Gary Gygax Lifetime Achievement Award annually to recognize the recipient as a person who has had notable contributions to the gaming industry. Gary Con CEO, Luke Gygax, and his wife, Bouchra Gygax, award this honor personally to show their appreciation and respect for the work the recipient has dedicated to keeping the spirit of gaming alive and thriving in our fantastic gaming community.
The most recent recipient of this award at Gary Con XVI in 2024 was Mike Pondsmith, best known as the creator of Cyberpunk and as the founding publisher of R. Talsorian Games.
Hawaiian Shirt Picture
Co-founder of D&D, Gary Gygax, was often seen sporting a Hawaiian Shirt. To honor his memory, many attendees wear Hawaiian shirts on Saturday and gather to be part of the annual Hawaiian Shirt picture.
Sport your Hawaiian shirt and join us at 2pm on Saturday in the Grand Geneva Lobby to be part of the annual picture!
Don’t have something tropical and fantastical? You can stop by the merch booth to grab last year’s Beholder Hawaiian Shirt or this year’s NEW Dragon Hawaiian Shirt or even both! After this year, neither shirt will be available for purchase again
As just one of the ways to thank our special attendees, special Hawaiian shirts are available to our Diamond and Platinum badge holders. Check in your swag bag for your shirt.
Board Game Library
There are nearly 300 games that will be available at Gary Con at the Board Game Library. To view the complete list of games that should be available, including details like number of players, suggested minimum age, and estimated game time, please visit InnRoads Ministries Boardgame Library list on TTE!
If there’s a game you love that isn’t listed and/or you’re interested in contributing a board game donation to our library, please e-mail [email protected]. We appreciate your support in improving the collection of board games available in our library.
The fabulous folks of InnRoad Ministries who coordinate this fun library do it to be of service—since that’s what it’s all about for them. You can learn more about the Ministry here!
You can click the dropdowns below to browse our quick reference list for the games library.
Paint-and-Take
Sponsored by The Army Painter and Steamforged Games!
Paint-and-take and related events are scheduled to occur in the Grand Ballroom Foyer. Visit our paint-and-take area Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9:00am-5:00pm, where you can take a moment to slow down, introduce color and style to a miniature, and let the paint dry!
Official Paint-and-Take Events for GCXVII (2025)*:
Thursday –
- Event 1587 – 9:00 (2 hours): Miniature Painting for Beginners
- Event 1588 – 14:00 (2 hours): Miniature Painting for Beginners
Friday –
- Event 1595 – 9:00 (2 hours): Miniature Painting for Beginners
- Event 1596 – 14:00 (2 hours): Miniature Painting for Beginners
Saturday –
- Event 2560 – 10:00 (1 hour): Intro to Fanatics
- Event 2561 – 13:00 (1 hour): Speedpaint
- Event 2562 – 15:00 (1 hour): Intro to Fanatics
*All events times are shared in central time to align with convention/venue local time.
Legends of Wargaming
Under construction!
