I’ll be at SXSW EDU 2026 in Austin, TX from Mar 9-12! Check out below for my schedule to stop by, say, hi, play a game, and get some advice on tabletop games for kids x EDU!

*Note that this year, advance sign up is required for many events due to the restructuring of the conference layout while the convention center is under construction. If there’s a session you want to attend, please make sure to sign up ahead of time!

Jump to:

• Tabletop Gaming Meet Up Series (Mar 9, 10, 11)
• Mentor sessions with Steph from TTRPGkids
• Tabletop gaming events of note at SXSW EDU 2026
• Find my book in the SXSW EDU bookstore!

Tabletop Gaming Meet Up Series

On March 9, 10, and 11, Chris Hopper and I will be hosting a series of gaming meet ups for educators to try out different types of tabletop games that they can use with their kids and classes!

Each afternoon, we’ll be focusing on a different EDU range with games to talk about and/or play with other edcuators as a fun and informative hands-on wind down at the end of your convention schedule for the day.

Sessions are as follows:

March 9: Games for pre-K to 2nd grade with a strong focus on social-emotional learning (SIGN UP HERE!)

March 10: Games for middle grades with a focus on developing literacy and STEM (SIGN UP HERE!)

March 11: Group game of Monumental Consequences for analyzing more complex question while praticing debate and getting perspective on historical events (SIGN UP HERE!)

All sessions are at 4pm in the Courtyard Marriott, Guadalupe room, and make sure to come ready to play!

Mentor sessions with Steph from TTRPGkids

The first day of the convention, I’ll be part of the mentor sessions schedule! This means that you can sign up to meet with me for a short time to make a connection and get some quick advice for whatever it is you’re working on!

I’ve done this before, and it is a great way to meet new folks and be able to help quite a few people in a short period of time. It’s kind of like speed dating but for mentorship, and I recommend trying it out for either getting advice from me or from the other mentors at SXSW EDU.

Make sure to sign up in advance here!

Tabletop gaming events of note at SXSW EDU 2026

There’s ~300 events going on at SXSW EDU, and I’ve been seeing tabletop games trickle in over the past few years! For this time around, keep some of the events listed below in mind while making your schedule! Events with an asterisk (*) are ones that I’m part of and are listed above.

March 9

2pm: Level Up! Role-Playing Games for Wellbeing in the Classroom (Workshop)

3pm: The Kids Table Live-Play: SEL, D&D, & Kids! (Live Show)

*4pm: Tabletop Gaming for Pre-K Through 2nd Grade (Meet Up)

March 10

9am: The Thinking Game (Workshop)

*4pm: Tabletop Gaming for Middle Grades (Meet Up)

March 11

*4pm: Tabletop Gaming for High School & Young Adults (Meet Up)

Find my book in the SXSW EDU bookstore

This year, you can find my book, Making a Tabletop RPG for YOUR Particular Kid, in the SXSW EDU bookstore, located in the Hilton Austin Downtown!

This guide is a step-by-step of how to make a tabletop RPG that really hones in on what your individual kid (or class) wants in the game and needs from the game. There’s a section on applied gaming in there as well with some ideas for using in EDU once your game is made!

I created this book to be a kind of quickstart version of all of the information I have across the TTRPGkids site, and I hope it can be a great guide for some fellow educators and parents out there looking to introduce TTRPGs to their kids and classes!

And with that, I hope to see you soon at SXSW EDU!!

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