Gen Con opens in Indianapolis on July 30 — one month from today — and for four days the Indiana Convention Center becomes the closest thing tabletop gaming has to a world capital. Last year drew a record 72,000 attendees. This year’s lineup gives them good reason to return.
What Gen Con Is
Gen Con is the largest tabletop gaming convention in North America and one of the oldest anywhere in the world, founded in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1968. Today it occupies the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and several surrounding downtown hotels. Four days of ticketed events run alongside a sold-out Exhibit Hall where publishers debut games, hold limited sales, and take pre-orders. The schedule covers board games, card games, roleplaying games, seminars, and competitive play.
The convention skews heavily North American in attendance but draws publishers and designers from Europe, Asia, and South America. Many games making their English-language debut at Gen Con are already available in other markets, so the convention matters to the global hobby even for readers who will never set foot in Indianapolis.
What’s Debuting at Gen Con 2026
Avalon Hill is bringing Fury of Dracula: 5th Edition to the convention floor ahead of its September 1 retail release. The classic hidden-movement game pits up to four hunters against one player controlling Dracula, who moves secretly across Europe. The fifth edition adds updated components, a new hunter character based on Jonathan Harker, and a Quick-Play variant for shorter sessions. MSRP is $64.99.
Paizo is launching two titles on opening day: 13 Omens, a rules-lite horror TTRPG built around a shared D6 pool mechanic called Omen Dice, and a debut event for the Dungeon Crawler Carl Roleplaying Game. Both are physical convention releases tied to July 30.
Free League Publishing is also releasing Invincible: Superhero Roleplaying on opening day, designed by Tomas Härenstam and Adam Bradford and based on Robert Kirkman’s long-running comic series. Brotherwise Games will have the Cosmere RPG Stormlight Starter Set on the floor, a beginner-friendly 1 to 6 player introduction to Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive universe that requires no prior knowledge of the books.
If You’re Not Going
Gen Con does not run an official public livestream, but convention coverage is extensive across the four days. BoardGameGeek posts same-day previews, floor photos, and first-look reports, and most publishers push demo footage and unboxing content on their social channels from Thursday onward. Following #GenCon2026 is the fastest way to track new announcements in real time.
Games that debut at Gen Con typically reach online retailers within two to four weeks of the show. For readers outside North America, ordering directly from a publisher’s website after the convention is usually the most reliable path, and often faster than waiting for local distribution to carry new titles.
If You Are Going
The convention runs July 30 to August 2 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Four-day badges sell faster than single-day passes, and the official downtown hotel block closes quickly. Hotels outside the block with public transit access to the convention center remain a practical option for late planners.