OtonaCon Board Game Convention

From 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 9th to 5p.m. on Sunday the 12th, board game lovers can gather at the Holiday Inn at 150 George Street North. The event features a 400-game library provided by The Boardwalk Lounge, a selection of board games available for sale, gaming tournaments, and play-to-win draws throughout the weekend.

Registrants who join play-to-win games will have their names entered into draws on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon for a chance to win the games they played. There are also prizes for tournament winners, in addition to door prizes available each day.

“We’re really happy with how OtonaCon has grown over the years,” said organizer Greig Ashfield, who founded the Peterborough gaming convention in 2016. “We’ve built up our community and made space for local game designers to bring their works in progress and get feedback. We’ve also increased the number of tournaments from just one or two when we started to several over the course of the weekend.”

He added that on Saturday local game designers will be onsite to instruct guests on how to play brand new games. Gamers will have the opportunity to try several out and give valuable feedback to assist designers with bringing the games to market.

“I try to be open and welcoming to everyone who comes in, and encourage attendees to teach games to others so that they can meet new people and form social connections,” Ashfield said.

Day and weekend passes are available for OtonaCon online and at the door. All-inclusive passes cost $90. One-day passes are also available for $35 on Friday or Saturday, and $25 for Sunday. Children attending the event with an adult can enter for $5.