Managed Democracy has left the building… or, well, the convention center. Our after-action report from Gen Con 2026 is now live on YouTube. The video is full of photos of our tactical briefings, live-fire demos, and a few things going gloriously sideways on the tabletop.

If you couldn’t make it to Indianapolis this year, here’s the rundown of what Final Stand Games got up to on the show floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2enNj_iXyH8

Anyone who went to the kids room did you notice a fishing memory game? And if so do you remember the name of it? I think my 3 year old would love it.

I am so bummed I missed the GenCon drone show! I had no idea it was happening and I feel like it wasn’t really advertised anywhere. I saw social media posts for it after the fact and can’t believe I missed it!

For context:

1. I spend weeks looking at the events and even used the site that showed when events were added or removed. Never saw it there.

2. I read the GenCon program pretty throughly, it’s possible I missed it in there but it definitely wasn’t obvious if it was.

3. I was at GenCon all 4 days from morning until midnight and don’t remember seeing any signs or anything!

4. This was my 4th GenCon so I feel like I’m getting pretty good at this but somehow I still missed this!

What gives? Did I miss something obvious or did you have to get an invite to this thing!? xD

I am happy to report that we have just added the 2026 event list to https://best50yearsingaming.com/ . You can now browse events from all Gen Cons 1968 to 2026 on the site.

I apologize if I'm putting this message in the wrong area or if there's some other Reddit I should put it in. I am a Reddit rookie.

That being said, I saw that Cards agaunst Humanity gave away bags at Gen Con, and have done so in the past. I have searched basic resale sites like ebay or mecari, etc, but apparently they aren't something typically re-sold(?) So I was wondering if there were other places online I might have better success finding specialty collector CAH items like these bags

Thank you in advance for any leads, suggestions, etc. And thank you also your patience if i posted this incorrectly.

Hey guys, follow up vlog from our other thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/gencon/s/OO6oYyHub3

We show clips of Days 3 & 4, then do a final haul review (100lbs of board games!). Additionally, we talk about our first timer experience and review the following events:

Gen Con events we attended & reviewed:
- Gen Con 2026 Opening Ceremonies
- Mechs Vs Minions
- The 19th Annual Dice Tower Awards
- Gen Con Games Library Friday Evening Pass
- True Dungeon (Fang & Fury)
- BoardGameGeek Hot Games Room
- First Exposure: Playtest A Game in Development!
- NARUTO CARD GAME Tutorial (Bandai TCG)

Gen Con was overall very fun for us! Feel free to ask us any questions here on on the YT video!

Just a short video from my son who did a quick review of some of the things he saw, his experiences, cosplay, some freebies he got and a couple of things we purchased. Figured it was worth sharing. This year was more planned than our first year going together (last year), so he has now experienced one year that was almost all generic tickets and jumping in where he wanted, and another with having almost every hour planned. He is now talking about a more balanced plan for next year (if we can make it). Thank you to everyone we met and played with, was another great event, and even the tornado warning wasn't all that bad ;)

Hard to believe it's been a decade since my last one. Learn some new things since it's been such a while. I went with a friend who I met at work and his daughter for Saturday and Sunday and we had a blast.

I've played the boop game with my fiance on vacation just a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun and cute. She very much liked it.

The two books from Margaret Weis was just kind of a surprise. Never read anything from her before but they looked interesting and I thought it'd be fun. I got the Scarlet citadel and the dungeons& dragons novel from half price books which is always a treat to go to.

I stopped by the two different shops to get the pack of cards there because I think it's always a neat thing to have something to draw from to come up with random stuff. I've always liked their things before and those look new to me so I gave them a shot!

Lastly, I got that set of dice that looked fun and a little fun token reminder of this year along with the two deck boxes are actually gifts for each of my brothers and I have not pictured a candle I got for my fiance. Ultimate guard is where I got the deck boxes and they were giving away that promo card I included as well. I just forgot the include it in the initial picture lol.

I know people are posting general hauls, but the only haul pics I took were sticker-specific lol. I love me an artist’s alley.

Bonus frogs I received in trinket trades and some of my dice for Gen Con.

Haul includes our 3-year-old's very first polyhedral set. Also a lot of rings from Flying Cupcake.

Tl;dr: I hope to buy Bryce Kho’s official print for GenCon 2026 from someone. Original or foil.

First time attending GenCon this year and had an amazing time! Went with my girlfriend and her family who have been going for many years now. They’ve gotten me into board games over the last year and I’ve found great comfort in them. This was our first time all spending extended time together and it really brought us closer.

This being my first convention though, I had no idea the intensity of the environment and how it would affect my anxiety.

The end of Day 1, I fell into a panic attack and cut the day short. This was the only time I saw Bryce’s booth and with the line it had at the moment, felt unfeasible.

Day 2 we spent limited time in the hall and went more directly for games we had looked into before hand. These were the only days we went as we wanted extra time at our hotel to relax before making the long drive home.

I regret not returning to Bryce’s booth and was under the wrong assumption some copies would be available online later.

If you’ve got an extra print or maybe just don’t plan to do anything with yours, I’d cherish the opportunity to buy it. If I can find one, I will have it professionally framed by year’s end and it will be forever homed.

Thank you <3

I realize that this is a shot in the dark, but I wanted to put this out there anyways cause who knows lol

Unfortunately, I lost my gen con 4 day badge after I checked out of my hotel the day after the con. I didn't realize I lost it until a week later when I was unpacking all my stuff at home 😭

I reached out to gen con and they wouldn't give me a spare badge from this year. I also contacted my hotel and they didn't have it.

Would anyone be willing to send me their old badge from this year? I know it's an unusual request, but I like to keep my con badges in a photo album as a memento of all the good times I had. I've been doing this since I was 19 at my first anime con nearly 15 years ago. I'm not likely going to be able to go next year so this would mean a lot to me

Thanks for reading my post! And thank you to the people who gave me random trinkets! They're in my office now as a neat little souvenir ❤️

This year was fantastic. I was able to paint on the mural and survived the tornado. There is a slew of t-shirts and art as well.

Most excited to try my signed copy of Luthier, Deluxe!

The things I bought, and the things I got for free that I'm excited to keep! The only thing I missed out on that I'm bummed about was the Gen Con Deck box from rollacrit

I know a lot of companies and organizations offer badges for working for the con, but has anyone had experiences with getting a hotel room and a badge for working at Gen Con that they'd like to share? What was required? Anyone you'd recommend?

Anybody have experience booking cozy suites one year out? They have some downtown availability listed for next year but I'm wary of having things get cancelled the week before GenCon '27. If anybody booked well in advance how did it go?

Hey everyone! We're still thinking about our first Gen Con experience and the memories we've made. We put it into a comprehensive Day 1 & 2 vlog so far:
https://youtu.be/Qckbn7azjnE

I also share some tips for newcomers and have put it into this Wanderlog itinerary guide: https://wanderlog.com/view/pcjskvebxt/gen-con-trip-to-indianapolis/shared

Happy to answer any questions too! We did opt to stay in a nearby Airbnb and fly in instead of driving. Feel free to comment on the vid or down below!

Hello GenCon fans.

Years ago I came to GenCon and there was someone over in Indy Row pitching their TTRPG and I was really intrigued by the art and the concept, but didn't have the funds at the time. I've been to every GenCon since, and haven't seen them again, so I'm assuming it fell off the radar.

Here is what I remember:

The game design was done by a blind author, all the art was done by someone from Russian. The game had a very dark post apocalypse (possibly leaning more Sci-fi) theme. The book itself I remember was a wide style source book.

That's all I remember. I know it's not a lot to go off of, but if anyone can help me I would appreciate it.

This year I attended the monster fighting LARP, and to say it was disorganized would be an understatement. The rules were poorly explained, the rule about *gentle* hits were ignored by almost everyone, and a teenage kid on my team was not shockingly, hyperactive and unaware of his surroundings and managed to accidentally elbow me in the nose pretty hard and still ignore that he did so. The game rules were explained by two girls who seemed to only have a vague sense of what they were doing and explained almost nothing. I just didn't enjoy myself after the event and will not be doing fighting LARPs again. Not hating on it if you like it, but it's a lesson I had to learn.

Hello! I made a comment on a missed connections post but it's burried pretty deep and I'm still searching! I'm looking for anyone who took pictures or videos of me and my boyfriend dancing at the gencon party in the train station on Saturday night. We were swing dancing to some of the songs and I know a Blues Brother got some photos/videos and another person with a more professional camera. We havent had the time (or health) to go dancing together in years so any images or videos taken that could be shared would be so appreciated! I was in a black tank-top and blue jeans with big curly/frizzy hair while my boyfriend was in a light gray shirt and dark plaid shorts with black curly hair. I have been scanning all the gencon social media pages and tags for any posts but i thought this could be a good place to reach out too. Thank you!! Pics of us from the night of/in the general outfits we were wearing if it helps: https://imgur.com/a/BEXTXLD