INDIANAPOLIS — The games, colorful clothing and large crowds of Gen Con are back in Indianapolis.
The annual event is expected to bring in $77 million to Indianapolis. It ranks in the top five for largest conventions by attendance, according to Visit Indy.
When Gen Con comes to town, Good Games — a board game business in downtown Indianapolis — gets busy.
"It's right up there with the Christmas season, as far as the amount of people that come into our store, probably faster passing," said Good Games general manager Robert Tierney.
The store is already full of people playing games and reuniting.
"A role-playing community, dragons, that sort of thing," Tierney said. "So these do get all involved in little adventures. You're basically telling storytelling cooperatively."
Gen Con is an event geared toward board game lovers.
"Whether you're into board games, into role playing games, trading card games, miniatures and then extends out into comics, anime, you know, all the sorts" said Gen Con spokesperson Stacia Kirby.
Indianapolis has hosted Gen Con since 2003. Last year, the city signed a contract to keep it in Indy until 2030.
It's not just Tierney's store that is gaining popularity. Down the street, District Tap Downtown is also gearing up for lots of hungry convention attendees.
"There aren't many restaurants in this area, so we get filled up pretty quickly and it's very, very busy," said general manager Brent Drescher.
He said his restaurant is packed from open to close and accommodates guests of all ages. Drescher did, however, have one request for those who are dining in.
"We aren't a very big restaurant, so we try to get people in here as quickly as we can, but those have to be a little bit patient," he said.
Gen Con will bring lots of friends together across our downtown, many meeting up at the daily block party outside of the Indiana Convention Center.