Gencon 2026:

Four Days of Games, Community, and New Adventures

Gen Con this year was a huge moment for Fawnalore.

For years, my brothers and I have been building toward this, and for the past several months we’ve been pushing hard toward Gen Con - refining mechanics, sourcing prototype components, working through bills of materials, raising enough money to buy full prototypes, imagining the universe beyond the table, and putting countless small decisions together into something people could finally sit down and play.

And then, suddenly, we were in Indianapolis—with prototypes in hand, dice bags packed, and an opportunity to share Fawnalore with fellow gamers for the very first time.

The road to the table

Bringing a game to Gen Con is not just about showing up with a box. It is the result of countless hours of work: testing and retesting mechanics, figuring out what makes each decision meaningful, identifying the components that bring the world to life, and learning what it will take to eventually produce Fawnalore at scale.

We also wanted to bring something personal for the people joining us at the table. Making dice bags, t-shirts and buttons for our playtesters was one small way to say thank you—and to share a piece of the adventure with the people helping us shape it. Chad’s basement was the natural place to make them of course, and thanks to Adriana, we were ready for the road.

Four days in the First Exposure Playtest Hall

At Gen Con, Fawnalore participated as game makers in the First Exposure Playtest Hall—and it was incredible.

All four days, we sat down with wonderful groups of players who gave their time, attention, ideas, and honest reactions to the game. They explored Fawnalore with us, asked great questions, found unexpected strategies, and offered excellent feedback that will directly help us improve both the game and the universe around it.

There is something special about watching people encounter a world you have spent so long building in your own heads. The moments of curiosity, laughter, tension, clever plays, and discovery reminded us why we are making this game in the first place.

Every session gave us something valuable to take home: a mechanic to sharpen, an experience to clarify, a story thread to explore further, or a new way of seeing the game through someone else’s eyes. We are deeply grateful to every person who played Fawnalore, shared feedback, and became part of this chapter of its development.

Learning from the industry

Gen Con was also an important step in the business side of bringing Fawnalore to life.

We had the chance to meet with vendors and production partners, ask questions, compare possibilities, and better understand what it will take to manufacture the game at a larger scale. Those conversations and subsequent dealings are crucial as we continue preparing Fawnalore for the road ahead.

Beyond production, we were energized by the sheer creativity and momentum across the board-game industry. Everywhere we looked, there were passionate players, designers, artists, publishers, and creators bringing new ideas to life. It is an exciting time to be making games.

A community built around play

One of the most memorable parts of Gen Con was the community.

More than 70,000 people from different backgrounds, places, and walks of life converged on Indianapolis with something powerful in common: a love for games, imagination, and being together. Whether people came to play their favorite classics, discover something new, compete, collaborate, cosplay, design, or simply enjoy the energy of the convention, the sense of shared excitement was everywhere.

It was an honor to meet fellow game makers, trade stories, share ideas and challenges, and learn from others walking a similar path. Making a game can be difficult, but Gen Con was a reminder that this industry is full of people who want to help one another create, grow, and succeed.

That feeling of community is something we want Fawnalore to carry forward—not only as a game, but as a world that brings people together around a table.

Thank you—and onward

To everyone who sat down to play, gave feedback, shared encouragement, talked with us about Fawnalore, or helped make Gen Con such an unforgettable experience: thank you.

This was our first time showcasing Fawnalore at Gen Con, but it will not be our last. We are returning home with pages of notes, new connections, bigger ideas, and even more excitement for what comes next.

And here's what excites us most: we've already been hard at work on updates and changes that came directly from what playtesters showed us. Some of the best ideas of the weekend didn't come from us — they came from the people who sat down at our table, and the game is going to be significantly better because of them. We can't share everything yet, but big improvements are on the way.

The journey continues—and we cannot wait to bring you along. See you at the table, friends!