GameHoleCon is a tabletop convention held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison WI each fall. We attended GHC for Saturday only, and this is our review.

Free Parking

One of the biggest draws for GameholeCon is the parking. If you’ve been to GenCon or another major event then you’re used to paying $25+ a day on parking. The Alliant Energy Center has nearly 6,000 free spots. There was ample free parking. This was a welcome change.

Food & Drink

This is one area that the con really suffered. The concessions in the AEC are limited. The food was expensive and they only carried Pepsi products. If you prefer or need to drink diet soda, then Diet Pepsi is your only choice. Diet Pepsi is somewhere between demon piss and gasoline. The con had a deal where you could get a refillable cup, but again a refillable cup of demon piss isn’t really a win. There were food carts outside the AEC, but the prices were high (I spent 5 dollars on a bottle of soda from a vendor).

If you attend you should know ahead of time, there are no restaurants close to the convention center.

Booze

The AEC sells beer in their concession area. This is a rare find at most cons.

Hotels

The hotels are close to the hall, but many require a short walk outside. This isn’t a bad thing, but should be considered because booking a room. The Clarion Suites is the onsite hotel with an enclosed walkway to the AEC. There were plenty of hotel rooms available for the con (another welcome change).

Vendor Hall

The vendor area is fairly small, but all the major names and usual suspects were in attendance.



Access to Industry Celebs

The most impressive aspect of this small con was the sheer number industry celebs that attended,, and how easy it was to approach and even game with them. On the one day we were in attendance we saw, Matt Mercer, Chris Perkins, Satine Phoenix and Matt Lillard.



In Conclusion

GameHoleCon has all of the features of a large con-True Dungeon, miniature painting, Adventurer’s League, Pathfinder Society, industry celebrity games (maybe more so than a large con). The staff was extremely friendly, and there was plenty of free parking. GameHoleCon is worth visiting and we will be returning.

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