TTRPGkids Gen Con 2026 recap
If you couldn’t make it to GenCon in person but want to see what was up, are maybe considering going to Trade Day next year and want to know what it’s like, or are just curious about getting a different perspective on the event…. check out my recap of GenCon 2026!
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Jump to:
- Vendor hall discoveries
- Kids room games and crafts
- Trade Day highlights
- Panels, presentations, and games
- Shows and events
- Where to next?
Gen Con 2026: Vendor hall discoveries
This year at Gen Con, my goals in the vendor hall were to meet up with friends, seek out the nominees for the “Best Family Game” category in the ENnies, and highlight other creators by doing mini interview reels.
I can happily say… this was a mission accomplished. I met with as many folks as I could find (and if I missed anyone, I am very sorry – that hall was VERY busy), found most of the family games, and ran nine reels to showcase the work of indie creators and folks doing helpful work in the TTRPG space.
Games showcased above are:
I also got to check out the IPR booth while squeezing between the absolute crowd of folks huddled around the booth looking at all the cool games there and was able to spot quite a few games and books that I’ve checked out on TTRPGkids (and even my own book) or that friends have made!
Games and books highlighted below include:
- Improv for Gamers
- Monster of the Week
- Monstrous Detectives
- Bonsai Diary
- Imagine Queer Worlds
- Break!!
- Making a TTRPG for YOUR Particular Kid
- Rolling With the Youth
- Jukebox
I did also pick up a few new games, like Adventures in Ank-Morpork by Modiphius because I love Discworld, and I’m more than a little excited for some of the new games that folks were showcasing, like Line by Line by CMU Press.
Gen Con 2026: Kids room games and crafts
The Gen Con kids room, run by Motley Kids, always has tons of great activities and crafts for kids to enjoy, and this year was no exception. They had bins and carts full of art supplies and crafting kits for kids to enjoy, and there were games, just for kids, running at several tables.
This year, I GM’d two sessions of “My First RPG” in the kid’s room, and it was a BLAST. For each session, I ran adventures from three of the StoryGuider books and had wildly different outcomes between the two groups. My first group had some older kids who were veteran D&D players in it mixed with the little kids, and they were pretty intent on having some kind of fight towards the end, but I think we got to a point where we wrapped the story and let each player headcannon the end how they wanted so the 4 year olds and the 9 year olds could leave with the story they each wanted.
The second group consisted of about six kids 7 and under who had not played TTRPGs before, and they were totally into sharing cookies with the Loc Yes Monster, saying please as the magic word, and making up silly names for things.
Honestly, while the first session was a bit more stretched from the intention of the event, it was kind of fun to see how they each handled the same stories but with different flair, and I’m glad I was able to introduce lots of kids to interactive stories, regardless of the tone it took. Overall, it was a great experience, and I would recommend GM’ing in the kids room to folks who want to help the next generation of gamers get into the hobby.
Gen Con 2026: Trade Day highlights
Trade Day at Gen Con is a day full of talks, seminars, and panels aimed at professional development and skill building for educators, shop owners, therapists, librarians, and other professionals who interact with games in their industry.
This year, I was part of a panel, run by Katie from Young Dragonslayers, that focused on how online TTRPGs can help improve accessibility for some players by allowing the use to tools like speech to text, group chat, and camera flexibility while also allowing players in remote locations or who can’t leave their homes due to disability to be part of a friend group.
I also got to attend a wonderful presentation by the Rice-Snow’s (their website is here) about Fun and Games with Topographic Maps that was full of some wonderful games that the pair of presenters had created and a great chat about using interactivity to learn.
Additionally, I got to chat with cool folks like CMU Press in more depth because they had a booth in the Trade Day hall (which is much smaller and easier to talk in than the main vendor hall). It was a good opportunity to say hi before the main convention hit, and I’m glad for having the opportunity to connect with other folks in the TTRPG x EDU and applied gaming space early in the convention. Lots of connections were made, and it felt good to do that in a more calm space.
Gen Con 2026: Panels, presentations, and games
In addition to the Trade Day panels/presentations above, I also attended a wonderful keynote speech by Carolyn Noe from Super Heroines Etc. about inclusivity in geekdoms. SHe was one of this year’s charity partners for Gen Con, which means that some of the donations that folks made while at Gen Con this year will go to help support the cause! Carolyn gave a fantastically heartfelt talk and deftly handled questions afterwards.
I was also in two other talks, one about creating accessible gaming communities facilitated by Chris Hopper, and one about how day job skills can impact (and help) with TTRPG careers that I facilitated! It was great being part of both and getting to hear from my fellow panelists while sharing some of my XP with the crowd too.
In addition to the games I ran in the kid’s room, I also ran a session of Princess With a Cursed Sword! It was a lot of fun turning this solo journaling game into a collaborative group storytelling activity, and it was fun getting to run a game not specifically for kids (this group stayed pretty PG but there were some dark turns). I loved getting to do this with a group, and I’m excited to eventually review this game on the TTRPGkids site too.
Gen Con 2026: Shows and events
I got to attend the 20 Sided Tavern show, which is an audience interactive show where we all vote on what kinds of moves the players on stage make as they roll dice and act out the game! It was a lot of fun, and also very funny, so I’m very glad a friend talked me into signing up at the last minute!
Then, thanks to tickets from The Kid’s Table DnD, I was able to attend the charity event, Sentinels of the Shieldless. This live actual play raised ~$30k for the Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina through auction items and letting the audience influence the game through extra dice, potions, and advantage rolls. It was a great show with some wonderful guest stars, and it supported a fantastic cause. I really enjoyed getting to go and support the org.
Where to next?
My next convention will be in October and may be Banned Together Book Fest (I’ve applied but haven’t heard back yet) in Michigan or it could be Gamehole Con in Wisconsin. I’ll have more details coming in the next couple months, so stay tuned!
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