Gen Con 2025: A Record-Smashing Celebration of Tabletop Gaming Culture

Indianapolis, IN - July 31–August 3, 2025

Gen Con, North America’s longest-running tabletop gaming convention, delivered its most triumphant edition yet. Drawing in a sold-out crowd of nearly 72,000 unique attendees, Gen Con 2025 outpaced all previous years in attendance, marking a milestone in its nearly six-decade history.

After about a 30-minute stressful drive around downtown Indianapolis, in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I finally found a parking garage that was not full. I got out of my car, and when I entered the street level, I was introduced to a sea of bodies that were all swarming in the same direction: towards the Indiana Convention Center. I entered the waves of people, and immediately saw that there were thousands of convention attendees, discernible by their lanyards and pre-purchased badges, and the excitement of the upcoming weekend bubbled up inside me.

When I got near the convention center, the vast amount of people hit me again, as the line for Will Call and Badge Purchasing was quite literally around the block! This was a line that people would be stuck in for hours before being allowed to enter the actual convention.

This is when I knew this convention was breaking records this year!

Unprecedented Scale and Impact

This year also saw unprecedented vendor participation, with over 595 exhibitors packing the bustling Exhibit Hall with everything from indie card games to pop-culture collectibles. Attendees responded in kind—taking part in nearly 30,000 ticketed events, ranging from tournaments, lectures, and workshops to the eagerly anticipated Costume Contest and Parade.

Beyond its cultural significance, Gen Con 2025 had monumental economic influence, generating an estimated $82 million for Indianapolis-area businesses—including hotels, restaurants, and local vendors.

What to Expect When Walking into the Convention Hall

I walked into the exhibit hall to a massive array of gaming companies that run the gambit of tabletop gaming, from board games to card games and some video games that were based off of tabletop games (Frosthaven has an early access PC game that I was able to playtest), and some board games that are based on famous video games such as Elden Ring the Board Game, with a new expansion coming soon!.

I saw so many vendors that it was almost intimidating, and definitely impossible to see everything in the 4 days of the convention. Part of the hall was constantly used for demos, Magic: The Gathering, and a variety of miniature-based games like War Machines. There was a constant buzz in the table areas throughout the whole day, as the hall was only open until about 10 PM each night.

After wandering around the hall, I was able to make my way outside the convention center, into the sweet smells of the food truck area. This area had two lanes of food trucks that all had amazing food for sale. These lanes had seating areas on both sides of the lane, so that if you found a great bite to eat, you had a place to park yourself and rest while eating too.

Once I had eaten my meal each day, I also made my way over to the Lucas Stadium. This stadium sported many separate rooms for demos, interviews, and some smaller campaign games. Outside of the various rooms, there was the actual field that had a flooring placed over it, so as not to ruin the turf, and here I found at least 100 tables that held a wide range of tabletop games being played. Most of these were ticketed events, one-shot campaigns, and Magic: The Gathering tournaments, among other games being played.

Towards the back of the stadium from the entrance, there was a cordoned-off area where attendees were able to pay a small fee and get a ticket for the full 24-hour pass to be able to access a gaming library. This was very similar to the gaming library found at Anime Central in Chicago, but the main difference was that this one actually had a fee to play the games, whereas the game library at Anime Central was free to get a game and play.

Overall, the wide range and vast amounts of things to see were a bit overwhelming and daunting to say the least, but at the same time, Gen Con 2025 lived up to the slogan of “the Best Four Days of Gaming”. While you may recall my article from last year’s Gen Con, this one will definitely go down in the history books as being a top-tier gaming convention for me!

Featured Vendor Highlights

Even with the spotlight on the broader event, several booths stood out for their creativity and community energy:

• Kess Games turned heads with their giant foam 20-sided dice tower, inviting players to roll for prizes and spreading playful, engaging energy through the hall.

• Loke Battle Mats impressed GMs and retailers alike with their modular Books of Battle Maps, featuring large, lay-flat designs for evocative RPG play.

• Mindware captivated crowds with Qwirkle Flex, which sold out during the event; staffer Justin Jenson stood out for his enthusiastic, helpful demos that helped new players dive right in.

• Phase Shift Games showcased Widget’s Workshop, pulling fans into demos of their inventive, family-friendly catalog.

• Rollacrit, as the official merchandise partner, delivered exclusive gear and creative demos alongside their Heroes of Barcadia expansion.

• Steve Jackson Games hosted spirited Munchkin sessions—including the U.S. National Championship qualifier—and brought their signature humor and community vibe to the floor.

• Weird Giraffe Games drew puzzle enthusiasts to Logic & Lore, a celestial-themed deduction game that ignited friendly strategizing.

  
  

Final Take: Gen Con at Its Finest

Gen Con 2025 wasn’t just another successful convention—it was a statement. With record-breaking attendance, booming exhibitor presence, and a powerful economic boost for Indianapolis, the event showcased the thriving heart of tabletop gaming.

Attendees left not only with new games and experiences but with memories of shared laughter, strategy, and spark—a resounding affirmation that The Best Four Days in Gaming™ are as vital and vibrant as ever. Indianapolis will once again host the event next summer, already contracted through 2030—a future that looks brighter and more expansive than ever.

If you get the chance to go, I will say this: buy your badge early, book your hotel just as early, and ensure that you take your time when perusing their event schedule. Make sure that you find time to hit all the places you want to see first, then know that there will be plenty more to see between events and tournaments. Then, make sure to have disposable income for this convention, because chances are you will be coming home with a bag full of amazing new games from some great creators, designers, and publishers!

Gen Con 2025 was an experience that I will never forget, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for next year!