Every summer, there is an electric, completely irreplaceable hum that vibrates through the tabletop gaming community as Gen Con approaches. It’s the anticipation of new games, the strategic planning of schedules, and the beautiful realization that our annual pilgrimage to Indianapolis is finally upon us. While I am staying home this year to welcome a new addition to my family, my mind is still very much on the convention floor.

Not only surviving but truly enjoying a modern megacon like Gen Con requires more than just a badge and a dream; it takes a realistic strategy. As a former avid concert-goer who has survived over 400 shows and countless weekend festivals, and someone who spent a chunk of their youth navigating foreign transit lines while backpacking Europe, I have learned a lot about human endurance. Leisurely as gaming may seem, a convention is a physical marathon masquerading as a holiday.

Here is my boots-on-the-ground blueprint for setting your physical and structural foundations before you ever step foot inside the convention center.

The Physical Baseline: Endurance, Sleep, and Packing Light

You will often hear veteran convention-goers throw around the "4-2-1 rule"—four hours of sleep, two meals, one shower. Honestly? I don't follow it. I personally need at least six hours of sleep to function, and while I’m a proponent of basic hygiene, you have to know your own body and limits. Because I know how completely exhausting an event like this can be, my preparation starts days in advance as if preparing for a triathlon. In the 48 hours leading up to the convention, I aim for eight to ten hours of sleep a night and actively calorie-load. You will likely run a calorie deficit once you're on the floor (I definitely do), so fuel up early.

Once the event kicks off, protect your baseline fiercely: I recommend getting a minimum of six hours of sleep a night, sitting down for at least two solid meals a day, keeping snacks on your person, and drinking more water than you think you need. I also carefully budget my caffeine: I usually start with a cup or two of coffee in the morning to wake up, and then allow myself exactly one Red Bull later in the day to power through the afternoon slump without giving myself heart palpitations.

When it comes to your gear, less is infinitely more. Back in my 20s, while studying architecture and working as an architect, I frequently traveled to and around Europe. I spent a fair amount of time backpacking across Germany, France, the British Isles, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and even parts of Russia. That chapter of my life served as a masterclass in two invaluable skills: traveling exceptionally light and confidently navigating completely unfamiliar places. On those trips, I managed everything with a single backpack; no rolling luggage, no checked bags.

I apply that exact same minimalist philosophy to gaming conventions. Despite being a bit of a dice goblin, I leave dice hoards at home, using digital rollers and life trackers on my phone instead. Besides, I am almost certainly going to buy new dice at the venue anyway, and need the extra room for souvenirs.

My next pro-tip is to use a packing checklist. Before packing anything, weeks in advance, start building it, and double-check it religiously. Trust me, as someone who has had the painful personal experience of forgetting crucial items going both directions. A solid checklist doesn't just ensure you arrive with everything you need; it's also a safety net making sure you don't leave your favorite phone charger or that new, expensive promo book behind in your hotel room when heading home.

And when I say check it for everything, I mean everything. (Clears throat... yes, that includes your physical badge). There is absolutely nothing worse than kicking off day one of your convention by standing in a massive, soul-crushing customer service line and paying a replacement fee because you left your badge sitting on your kitchen counter at home.

My last travel tip is to tightly fold up a lightweight canvas bag or two and tuck them into the bottom of your primary backpack. They take up zero space initially, but when you inevitably pick up a massive new campaign box or a stack of sourcebooks, you can pull them out to comfortably carry your new loot back to your room.

Navigating the Downtown Indianapolis Grid

Gen Con 2026 is an absolute titan, completely swallowing the Indiana Convention Center and the adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium. How you choose to interact with this massive geographic footprint will dictate your entire experience.

Many attendees choose to commute into the city each day, but dealing with morning car traffic, expensive parking lots, and waiting around for crowded shuttles can take a huge mental toll before ever getting to the table. On the flip side, the hotels physically attached to the convention center via the skywalks are incredibly convenient, especially for late-night gaming, but they are fiercely competitive to book and carry a massive premium.

My personal sweet spot is finding lodging roughly a mile or so away from the convention center. The walk to the venue gives me a chance to take in the city, people-watch other attendees heading to the event, and genuinely get hyped for the day. On the flip side, that 20-minute-long walk back at the end of the evening lets me decompress, clear my head, and wind down from the sensory overload of the exhibit hall. If you want to go this route too, you still need to book early because these spots fill up incredibly fast, but that daily walk is secretly one of the best parts of the experience. 

Furthermore, walking forces you to actually experience Indianapolis. Having traveled to Indy a handful of times for non-gaming trips, I highly recommend escaping the immediate vicinity of the convention center and exploring the local neighborhoods. The city's food and culture scene have a lot to offer when not viewed from the traffic jam of the morning commute.

Building Your Schedule

Once your badge is purchased and your tickets are booked, you should start planning your schedule. Many events book up fast, and I don’t recommend just winging it. However, packing your schedule back-to-back right out the gate is also not the best approach. I recommend leaving some time for planned spontaneity—wandering the floor, jumping into pickup game, random conversations with new friends.

My next tip when building your schedule is to implement a strict 30-minute buffer rule between every single event. The physical footprint of Gen Con is absolutely huge and not always intuitively arranged. A 30-minute buffer will allow you to navigate the main exhibit hall and the distant wings of Lucas Oil Stadium without needing to sprint from event to event. If this is your first time attending Gen Con, you may even want to leave more time as you learn the lay of the land.

Beyond navigational time, the 30-minute buffer allows for games that run over schedule, rules explanations that take longer than anticipated, and other things that pop up along the way. You will run into an old friend in the hallway, you will want to stop and admire an incredible cosplay, and you will need to unexpectedly detour to the restroom. Give yourself the grace of time, its a marathon, not a sprint.

The Vendor Strategy: The Lean Team Setup

Now I will fully admit, I have never tabled at Gen Con or anything close to its size but I have tabled at plenty of smaller cons in the past. If you are an indie creator exhibiting, the commercial opportunity is massive, but the physical toll is brutal. Burnout is your single greatest vulnerability, and trying to solo-pilot a booth is the definition of madness.

Never try to run a vendor booth alone; ensure you are operating with at least one or, better yet, two other people. Having a small, trusted team allows you to implement a fluid rotation so people can actually step away. You and your team members will need time to grab a bite, use the restroom, drop into an event they’ve been looking forward to, or just step outside for a breath of fresh air to recharge their social battery.

When the exhibit hall gets swarmed and your booth is suddenly crowded, a multi-person team allows you to divide and conquer so potential customers aren't left waiting around. During these peak rush hours, I highly recommend dividing specific duties:

• The Pitcher: One person focuses almost entirely on engaging the crowd, demoing the game or the products, and securing the interest.
• The Cashier: The second person focuses strictly on logistics—managing the point-of-sale system, handling payments, packing up the physical product, and keeping the line moving.

You don't have to keep these roles rigid all weekend, in fact it's probably best to rotate from time to time to keep things fresh, but being crystal clear about who is responsible for what at any given moment prevents chaotic errors, like accidentally handing over a game without processing the customer's payment.