Let’s just get right into it. Gen Con cost me and my husband $1,000 to attend. That’s two 4-day badges and five nights in a hotel, plain and simple. No gas. No food. No souvenirs. Just the price of being there.
$360.80 for the badges. $629.88 for the hotel. That comes out to $990.68, close enough to round up to a nice, terrifying $1,000.
And that doesn’t even touch the other money we spent to get there. Gas, food, and all the little bits and bobs added up to around $400 more. So really, this trip cost us close to $1,400 when it was all said and done.
Was it worth it? I asked myself that question the entire time I was there. Let’s break it down.
What Even Is Gen Con?
If you’re new to the tabletop world, you might not know that Gen Con actually got its name from the Geneva Convention. The very first one was held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and they shortened it to “Gen Con.” Now it’s held annually in Indianapolis, and it’s the largest tabletop gaming convention in the United States.
We’re talking big numbers here. More than 74,000 people showed up this year. There were nearly 28,000 individual events happening across four days, everything from tournaments to demos to full on role playing campaigns. Vendors had more than 3,000 games on display, and that’s barely a dent in what’s out there.
I read somewhere that BoardGameGeek has over 150,000 games cataloged. I had no idea the hobby was this massive until I walked through those doors.
The convention brings in something like $80 million to the Indianapolis area every year, just from people eating out and booking hotels. That number doesn’t even count what people spend on the games themselves.
Next year is Gen Con’s 60th anniversary. And yes, we’re already planning to go back…but we’re going to do things differently. More on that in a moment. Let’s first look at how the funds for this year stacked up.
Breaking Down the $1,000
My husband and I went to Gen Con for our 20th wedding anniversary. Nothing says “romantic getaway” quite like standing in a convention hall for four days straight, right? But that’s exactly what we wanted. It was so “us-coded” it felt like fate that our travel day there literally fell ON our wedding anniversary.
Here’s how the badges and hotel broke down:
- Two 4-day badges: $360.80
- Five nights in a hotel: $629.88 (We stayed at Red Roof Inn because they are the most accommodating for our Pampered Pomchis)
- Total for badges and lodging: $990.68
On top of that, we spent roughly $400 on gas, meals, and random extras during our trip. So if you’re planning your own trip and budgeting just for “getting in the door,” know that the real number will end up being higher once you factor in food, travel, and any souvenirs you pick up along the way.
The Math I Was Doing the Whole Drive There
I’ll be honest. On the drive up, I kept running the numbers in my head. A thousand dollars is a lot of money. My husband and I talked it through in the car, and one thing kept coming up. For that same amount, we could have bought 10-20 board games instead. Maybe more.
So which one wins? A bunch of games we could play over and over for years, or four days at a convention that would be over before we knew it?
There’s no easy answer. I’m the kind of person who thrives being around other people who love the same things I love, so my answer is going to be a little biased. But I also think that’s worth admitting up front. If you’re someone who gets more joy out of owning things than experiencing things, Gen Con might not hit the same way for you.
One thing I didn’t expect going in was how much this trip would spark ideas about doing more gaming closer to home. More on that later too.
Getting There and Getting In
We drove up on Wednesday, July 29th, which happened to be our actual anniversary. We checked into our hotel and immediately went to pick up our badges.
Quick tip if you’re planning your first trip: you might want to choose will call over having your badges mailed to you. We’d been having mail issues at our house, and there was a rumor going around that if your badges didn’t show up, you’d have to pay full price again to replace them. Not worth the risk.
The will call line wrapped around the inside of the building. I mean it wrapped around every hallway. It looked like it would take hours, but the whole thing was surprisingly well organized. We were in and out in under an hour.
Parking is its own adventure. If you’re going Monday through Friday, the public parking facility across from the convention center is reserved for state employees only. That knocked out our first choice completely. My advice? Leave earlier than you think you need to, and have a backup parking plan ready to go.
Some folks swear by parking apps, but we opted to not use those this time. Might change our mind next time. We’ll see though because I heard a lot of folks using apps spent way more than we did…
What the Days Actually Looked Like
Once we had our badges, we spent that first evening just getting the lay of the land. We walked through the convention center, over to the J.W. Marriott where more gaming events were happening, and through the block party.
We also had one of the worst meals of ever that night. We tried some noodles that looked and smelled amazing. They were not amazing. I talked to other people in line who felt the same way. Lesson learned. Don’t judge a food stand by its aromas. Ha!
Thursday was when things really kicked off. We spent the day walking through the exhibit hall, seeing games laid out and set up in person for the first time. That’s something you don’t usually get to do when you’re buying board games online. You just see a box and some photos. Here, you could actually see how a game looked on the table before deciding if you wanted it.
I also discovered there are fitness themed tabletop games. One guy had built workouts around a Dungeons and Dragons style theme, and it got me thinking. I’ve already started building a fitness game with my instructor Rhonda using a deck of cards, and after seeing this, we’re adding a set of dice to the mix too. I’ll share more about that soon in our fitness community for our Movers and Shakers.
Friday and Saturday were more of the same, working our way through the rest of the exhibit hall. I started paying attention to something I’d never noticed before: the artwork. Some of these games have absolutely stunning art on the boards and cards, and I found myself getting genuinely excited just looking at it.
By Sunday, we were done. We checked out early (even though it meant we were still out that night’s hotel fees!) and headed home so I could start recovering. Monday morning, I was back at the gym for Zumba and low impact cardio and toning, because apparently four days on my feet wasn’t enough movement for one week.
The Food Situation (Bring Your Own Next Time)
I’m not going to sugarcoat this. We ate terribly the whole trip, and it cost us a lot more than it should have.
We paid $28 for that first night’s nasty noodles. We paid $40 for two burgers and fries that were honestly some of the worst burgers I’ve ever had. When you get busy running from event to event, grabbing whatever food is closest starts to feel like your only option, even when you know it’s not a great one.
Next year, we’re bringing a cooler. Snacks, drinks, maybe even some simple meals we can pack ahead of time. It’ll save us money and probably a stomachache or two.
I’m not a diet girly and I don’t believe in restriction for the sake of restriction. But there’s a difference between enjoying food and just eating whatever’s fastest because you didn’t plan ahead. Next time, we WILL plan ahead.
More Movement Please!
Gen Con is definitely a walking event. A lot of walking. Between the convention center, the hotel, and everywhere in between, I recorded over 36,000 steps across the four days, and I know that number is low. I forgot to turn on my tracker more than once, including our very first night there.
I hit at least 10,000 steps every single day, and one day I broke 12,000 before I even remembered to check. Add in the stairs at our hotel, which didn’t have an elevator, and my body definitely knew it had been to Gen Con.
This mattered so much to me because a year ago, there’s no way I could have done this trip and enjoyed it the way I did. I would have been in pain the entire time, if I could have handled it at all.
Walking through that convention center, I noticed other attendees struggling. I talked to a few people whose ankles were swollen from all the standing and walking, and it took me right back to being that version of myself. I’ve been there. I know what that feels like.
This time was different because I’ve put in the work. I hydrated like it was my job, because trust me, you go through water fast when you’re walking that much. I wore my Asics the entire trip and tested Dr. Scholl’s sports insoles for a couple of days to see if they made a difference. Honestly, I couldn’t tell much of a difference with the Asics I had, so I saved the insoles for my Zumba shoes instead.
If you’re planning your first Gen Con and you’re not used to being on your feet for long stretches, start building that up now. It’ll change your whole experience.
An Interesting Twist…
After all that debate about board games versus experiences, here’s the kicker. We didn’t buy a single board game the entire trip. Not one. We only played two games total, a Dungeons and Dragons style game and a round of Star Realms.
So if you’re measuring the trip purely by “games purchased” or “games played,” it might sound like a bust. But that’s not where the value actually was for us.
The value was in the people. You can walk up to almost anyone at Gen Con and ask what their favorite game is, and they light up. They want to tell you. If you mention wanting to learn something new, people get excited to teach you instead of getting frustrated explaining the rules. That kind of energy is rare, and it’s contagious.
It also got me and my husband talking about starting a regular board game night closer to home. We already have friends who host game nights once a month, and honestly, that kind of regular connection might scratch the same itch Gen Con does, minus the flight and hotel bill. We’re looking into local game store event calendars now to see what’s out there.
So, Is It Worth $1,000?
For us, yes. But I want to be honest about the whole picture before you decide for yourself.
Remember, we spent closer to $1,400 for a five day trip. That’s a lot of money, and it’s not a decision to make lightly.
What you get for it is an experience unlike anything else. Tens of thousands of people who love the same weird, wonderful hobby you do, all in one place, all excited to share it with you. You get to see games in person before you buy them. You get to watch people demo things you’ve never even heard of. And if you’ve been working on your health like I have, you get proof of just how far you’ve come, one step at a time.
We’re already planning to go back for the 60th anniversary next year, and we’re doing it smarter this time. Better parking plan. Packed food. And honestly, if any gear or wellness brands out there want to sponsor a fitness minded first timer turned repeat attendee, my inbox is open. I’d love to partner with someone who wants to help more people move their bodies, even at a gaming convention.
A Few Quick Tips If You’re Going for the First Time
- Choose will call over mailed tickets if there’s any chance your mail could be unreliable
- Check parking restrictions ahead of time
- Leave earlier than you think you need to each day of the convention
- Hydrate more than feels necessary. You’ll need it
- Break in comfortable shoes before you go, and consider insoles if you’re prone to foot pain
- Budget for food separately from your badge and hotel costs, or better yet, pack some of your own
- Don’t stress about having a perfect plan. You genuinely cannot fully prepare for your first Gen Con, and that’s okay
Gen Con pushed me physically more than I expected, cost me more than I planned, and gave me more than I bargained for. I’ll take that trade every time.
Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today?
