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!
