Gen Con event registration is a single moment in May that decides much of your August. Thousands of ticketed events go on sale at the same time, the popular ones sell out in minutes, and the people who did their homework get the seats. This guide explains how the system works, what to do before the day, and what to do when your first choice is already gone.
Everything here is based on Gen Con’s own published rules. Where the show has not posted next year’s dates, we say so.
How does Gen Con event registration work?
The order of operations is fixed and the dates move by a few days each year.
- Badges first. You cannot buy a single event ticket without a badge. Gen Con’s help center puts it plainly: you must have already purchased a badge to purchase event tickets.
- The event catalog publishes. About two weeks before registration, the full list of events appears on gencon.com. In 2026, the catalog went live in early May and registration opened May 17.
- You build a wish list. From the catalog, you add events to a wish list, in priority order, up to 50 events, per Gen Con’s help center. The How to Find Events page explains the catalog.
- Registration opens at noon Eastern. For 2026 that was May 17 at noon Eastern. You submit your wish list yourself. The system does not submit it for you.
- Tickets land in your cart. Whatever is still available goes into your cart on hold. You check out, pay, and the tickets are yours.
After that first rush, tickets stay on sale right through the convention, online and on site. Plenty of good events have seats left in August. The scramble is only for the famous ones.
What is the wish list, and why does order matter?
The wish list is your plan, written down before the system is under load. When registration opens, your list is processed in the order you ranked it. Each event is checked for availability and for conflicts with what is already in your cart. If it fits, it goes in. If it is sold out or overlaps, it is skipped and the system moves to the next one.
Three consequences follow from that:
- Put your must-haves at the top. Not the most expensive, not the longest. The ones you would be sad to miss.
- Stack alternates right below. If your first-choice Friday 2 p.m. RPG is gone, you want a second Friday 2 p.m. choice next on the list, not buried at number 40.
- Watch for overlap. Gen Con’s rules say tickets cannot be obtained for another event at the same time. Two events that overlap by fifteen minutes will block each other.
The best wish lists look like a schedule with backups, not a shopping list.
What should you do the week before?
The week before registration is when the real work happens.
Read the catalog with a filter. Sort by day, then by the game systems or categories you care about. Gen Con’s catalog has thousands of entries; reading all of them is a way to lose an afternoon.
Check the event length. A four-hour RPG slot at 8 a.m. and a two-hour board game demo at 10 a.m. look fine on paper and collide in practice.
Budget by ticket, not by badge. Most events cost $2 per two hours of play, more if the organizer adds supplies or prizes, and some are free. Twenty events at a few dollars each adds up. Decide the number before you see the cart.
Coordinate with friends. Most events let you buy about two tickets, and some allow more, so one person can grab seats for a pair. But if four of you want the same table, you need to split the work and all hit the same slot.
Log in early and test your account. Expired cards and forgotten passwords cost people their first choices every year.
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What happens at noon?
Expect a slow few minutes. Submit your wish list once and wait for it to process; wish lists are handled in the order they are received.
When your wish list processes, look at the cart immediately. Tickets stay in your cart for two hours, but check out right away anyway. Pay first, admire later.
Then go back and look at what you missed. The catalog shows remaining ticket counts. Many events that “sold out” in the first wave get seats back as people trim their schedules over the summer. Check again in June and July.
What are generic tickets, and are they worth buying?
Generic tickets are Gen Con’s standby system. They cost $2 each, and the help center compares them to carnival tokens or in-game gold. They can be used in place of an event ticket, but they do not guarantee a seat.
Here is how they work in practice:
- Show up about ten minutes before an event you want but do not have a ticket for.
- If a ticket holder does not appear, or the organizer has extra space, you hand over generics equal to the event’s price. A $6 event takes three generics.
- Some events are listed as generic-only and never sell advance tickets at all.
- Unused generics can be returned for system credit, good for a future Gen Con, before the show closes Sunday afternoon.
Generics turn an empty slot into a chance. For a popular game with a long line of hopefuls, do not count on them. For a Thursday morning demo or a big open-table event, they work often enough that most regulars carry a stack.
| Ticket type | Price | Guarantees a seat? | Refund rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event ticket | Usually $2 per two hours; more with supplies or prizes; some free | Yes | Refundable with a 5% administrative fee, or returned to system credit at no fee |
| Generic ticket | $2 each | No | Returned for system credit, no fee, before Sunday close |
What are the common mistakes?
A short list, each learned the hard way by someone.
- Treating the wish list as optional. People who browse on registration day get what is left.
- Overbooking. Back-to-back events in different buildings with no walking time. The convention center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and the hotels are farther apart than the map suggests.
- Forgetting meals and the Exhibit Hall. If every daytime hour is ticketed, you will never see the hall. Leave a half day open.
- Ignoring refund dates. Gen Con’s badge page lists the refund deadlines each year; event ticket refunds to a card carry a 5% fee, returns to system credit are free, and tickets are only good for the year purchased.
- Buying for the famous name only. Some of the best Gen Con memories come from a small-press RPG with four strangers at 9 p.m., not the headliner.
A simple strategy for first-timers
If this is your first Gen Con, here is a plan that works.
Pick two anchor events per day, no more. One in the morning, one in the afternoon or evening. Put those eight events, with one backup each, at the top of your wish list. Fill the rest of the list with cheap, short, interesting things you would be happy to get and fine to miss.
Leave Saturday afternoon open for the Exhibit Hall and the open-gaming area, where no ticket is needed. Bring ten generic tickets and try one standby per day.
You will come home with a schedule you actually kept, and a list of games you want to play again. That second list is what the weeks after Gen Con are for. For everything outside the ticket system, see our first-timer’s guide and the packing list.
The game is the reason. The people are the point. Event registration gets you to the table; who sits across from you is the part you cannot plan.
FAQ
When does Gen Con event registration open?
In 2026 it opened May 17 at noon Eastern, with badges on sale from February 8. Gen Con posts each year’s dates on gencon.com and in its help center; the 2027 show runs August 5 to 8. Gen Con has not announced 2027 badge, housing, or event registration dates yet; in 2026 it announced them in mid-January.
Do I need a badge before I can buy event tickets?
Yes. Gen Con’s help center states you must already hold a badge before purchasing any event ticket.
How many events can I put on my wish list?
Up to 50, according to Gen Con’s help center. Check the cap again each spring. Rank them in priority order, because they are processed top to bottom.
Can I get into a sold-out event with generic tickets?
Sometimes. Arrive about ten minutes early with enough $2 generics to cover the event price; if there is a no-show or extra space, the organizer can seat you.
Get the registration reminder
Every spring, we send one short note when the Gen Con catalog goes live and another the day before registration opens, with a wish-list checklist. Subscribe to The Ludarium newsletter and you will not miss the noon rush. We are building a game lounge in Indianapolis, which makes Gen Con week our home turf.
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