Gary Con 2026 Review
A summary of all the excellent times I had at Gary Con XIX!
3/27/20262 min read
Gary Con 2026 Review
Hi there, everyone. It’s been a wild couple of weeks, but I just got back from Gary Con. This will be a relatively short post, but last weekend was an absolute blast. I met so many awesome people, played in (and ran!) some great games, and just enjoyed the excellent camaraderie. It really is a testament to the kindness of the gaming community that I can feel so welcome, even though I have only attended a few times.
Some highlights from Gary Con include:
My friend Bob’s Shadowdark game, in which my witch cast a rat swarm spell to disturbing effect. Also, releasing a bunch of evil pixies who were helpful (?) but extremely mischievous. Also, as stated on the character sheet, her rat familiar, Cotisa, is best girl.
A gritty and fun game of Deadlands set in the movie universe of Bone Tomahawk. We successfully rescued several kidnapped townsfolk, but at what cost? Psychologically, quite a lot.
A Savage Worlds superhero game using the Campaign City setting, where my speedster character definitely didn’t catch on fire and almost died while fighting a fiery supervillain, but did heal himself by accelerating local space-time in an awesome and totally comic book moment. Also, he had super-ADHD, because with great power comes great distractibility.
Lots and lots of amazing moments at my tables! At my ghost train game, Journey into Darkness, there were lots of fun and spooky interactions with the randomly generated rooms of the train.
Wonderful, friendly service from the staff at the Grand Geneva! Everyone there is super nice, and apparently, the Gary Con folks aren’t the worst either, so that’s nice.
Hanging out with the crew of Rough Magic Games! My tables were set up through them, and I got to spend some time with Christian, their CEO (Chief Executive Officer), and enjoy some tasty meals he and his company provided.
Most importantly, it was a chance to connect with my fellow gamers. Whether they were friends I look forward to seeing every year, associates that helped me get Ozymandias off the groups, or people I met at Gary Con for the first time (or some combination thereof), Gary Con is a great place to hang out with my fellow gamers.
So until next year, another fantastic Gary Con is in the books! I raise my glass to my fellow gamers, and hope everyone rolls many critical hits ‘till next year!
- Tanner
PS: I tried Malört for the first time, and while it wouldn’t be my first (or second) choice, it actually isn’t as bad as people say it is. Still, maybe it’s best to only drink that when I’m hanging out with friends from Chicago…
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