TTRPGkids recap of Origins 2026
If you couldn’t make it to Origins Game Fair in person but want to see what was up or are just curious about getting a different perspective on the event…. check out my recap of Origins 2026 here!
Game-Based Education and Therapy Conference (GBET) at Origins 2026
First up, I’m covering the Game-Based Education and Therapy Conference (GBET) that was put on by GAMA and organized by Gaming the System(s), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping others learn about applied gaming.
This conference was nested inside the Origins convention and featured dozens of talks by researchers, educators, and therapists all working in the applied gaming space. The game content focus spanned between board games and tabletop RPGs while the application focus spanned between educational and therapy use. Presenters included folks like Adam Davis, Carolyn Noe, Jaclyn Lewis, and Zach Reznicheck, in addition to the Gaming the System(s) team of therapists and educators.
I helped out by facilitating two of the meet ups, one covering early education and the other covering higher education, and, beyond that, I attended some of the presentations too. Each was informative, well thought out, and engaging, and it was clear that the presenters were not only knowledgeable about their work but passionate about it as well. It was legitimately inspirational to hear from so many others who were using games to help people in so many ways, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to expand on what I know about the applied TTRPG space and get some new ideas to try out in my games with kiddo and in the sessions I run with tweens. I also made a lot of really cool connections while at the conference and am excited to keep the conversation going.
Basically… if you plan on going to Origins next year, I would highly recommend checking out the conference, and, if you’re a teacher, librarian, or therapist who may be able to use games in your work… talks count towards continued educational credit requirements, so you might be able to get Origins covered for work too.
Vendor Hall/Booth Tour at Origins 2026
I toured the Origins Vendor Hall like I usually do, but this time, I did little video interviews with folks who had booths with all-ages TTRPGs at them! I had wanted to dabble a bit into making video content for socials, and I thought that letting people share about their games would be a good debut since that’s largely what TTRPGkids is about.
I only featured booths that had TTRPGs for kids since finding that niche of game-type can be a bit hard in the big hall, and… it worked! People stopped me a few times during the convention because they saw the videos! And they went to the booths and got games from the creators I highlighted!
I said hi to Gene Koo (Sticky Doodler), Snowbright Studio, Spilled Coffee Creatives and More Blueberries, 9th Level Games, Indie Press Revolution, Van Ryder Gamers, and Wet Ink Games who ALL had some form of all-age friendly TTRPG available!
It was nice getting to see some familiar faces around the hall and also meet some new folks while doing this… and I am really glad this ended up creating some bridges between people looking for all-ages TTRPGs and vendors who had them.
You can check out some of my videos from the convention here on the TTRPGkids instagram page!
Kid’s Room at Origins 2026
Origins typically has a kid’s room run by Motley Kids that’s full of crafts, games for kids, and a designated space where younger players can have their own space. I didn’t spend a ton of time in there this year because I was dashing between other events and did not have kiddo with me, but I did stop by to say hello, and I wanted to show that it is there and available.
When I have brought kiddo to conventions, it is SO IMPORTANT to have a designated kid space so they have time to wind down and get space for activities that are just for them. Motley Kids puts on a solid kid’s room, and I’m grateful that this space exists because I do think it is quite a lifeline for both the kids and parents who attend the convention.
Panels, Storytime, and TTRPG Creator Meet Up at Origins 2026
I also ran a couple of indpendent events: a panel about how dayjobs have impacted TTRPG careers and a meet up between indie TTRPG creators.
And I helped SHE with some of their events: a panel on inclusive GM’ing and two storytimes for little kids!
You can find all the details in one of my previous posts here to see what these all were, so I’m just going to kind of go over the highlights in this post.
First, for both panels, it was GREAT getting to chat with other people in the TTRPG space and share our experiences with the audience. I met some new folks, reconnected with previous convention friends, and really enjoyed getting to talk with convention-goers. In both panels, we had some great audience questions roll in, and it was kind of cool to see how panelists with similar backgrounds (i.e. three of us on the dayjobs panel have had teaching jobs) but got there in totally different ways and had massively different take-aways. I’m grateful to all who both attended and presented.
For the creator meet up, this was my third time setting something like this up (previous Origins 2025 and Pax U 2025), and it is just so much fun to get to meet others who are also making fun games. I had some great conversations, met some fellow Michigan creators, and picked up contact info for quite a few indie publishers that I want to check out work for.
Lastly: storytime for little kids! There was a pretty good turn out for both rounds with the chaos being barely contained (so… it was contained but got the wiggles out for all the kids). Carolyn from SHE read a few books, I read some of my StoryGuider books to kiddos, and I even got to play “Loc Yes Monster” with them (this is a little game I bring to conventions, publishing in progress, where I say YES to everything the kids want in the story but make it slightly off until they figure out the magic word). Short game sessions and chaotic storytimes like this are one of the joys of conventions for me, and I loved getting to see the kids excited and playing along. It’s one of those parts of the con that takes energy but fills the heart, and I’m glad I did it.
Games at Origins 2026
I got to try out SO MANY games! I won’t go over all of them, but some highlights are:
Checking out Garden Dragons by BA Games during media preview night – this game was a super cute board game about dragons and flowers and gardens that should be coming out soon!
Trying almost every card game by Kawaii Lab Games during media preview night – the art here was GREAT, and I really liked how these card games were easy to pick upand learn. I gended up getting a few of them, and kiddo has LOVED them so far.
Playtesting a new game by teacher Andy Charlton as part of Unpub – this TTRPG is called Table Fable, and it was designed to draw kids in, let them start playing right away, and keep the whole table engaged in the storytelling process. I gave some feedback on colorblind accessibility, which the creator was really receptive to, and I’m super exctied to see this come out soon.
Playtesting a new game by therapists Andrew Harris and Grant Sparks – I cannot remember the name, and I know it is in the early stages, but I LOVED it. Our group got a bit silly while still staying on track, and I tried to break the mechanics (it is a playtest after all) by making Bakugo from My Hero Academia, and it still worked really well (actually was spot on).
Getting the rundown on all the EDU and TTRPG aligned card games at Looney Labs (I have MANY I’m trying at home now and you can see them in the photo at the very end).
And… that’s a good transition into the ones I brought home.
Many of these are review copies or gifts from folks, some are games or puzzles I bought because I wanted to play them with kiddo or kiddo requested them, and… I also won a raffle. So, I will be VERY busy trying these out and letting you know either here (for TTRPGs) or through Gaming the System(s) (for EDU board and card games) about all the ones for kids and educational use!
Well, with that, thank you for checking out my recap! I hope this helped you find some useful information about the convention, and I’m looking forward to sharing another recap like this with you for GenCon 2026 and next year’s Origins Game Fair too! Stay tuned for more, and happy gaming!!
If you liked this post, make sure to subscribe to the TTRPGkids monthly newsletter to stay up to date on the latest reviews, tips and tricks, game and podcast list updates, and more! Thank you for playing tabletop RPGs with your kids and sharing this awesome hobby with the next generation!