Rhode Island's CaptainCon hopes to continue growth in 2026
CaptainCon, the annual convention held in Warwick and focused on all things tabletop gaming, returns to the Crowne Plaza on Jan. 30.
Last year, I learned all about the event hosted by New England Privateers LLC.
The three-day event offers a jam-packed schedule of gaming tournaments, painting and costume contests, and raffles and giveaways.
CaptainCon has grown each year, attracting just over 1,000 attendees in 2025.
They hope to surpass that number this year.
"This is the first year ever that we have completely sold out our hotel block, which is an amazing sign as to the growth of the convention," says CaptainCon's social media manager, Tabytha Hartland. "We have grown immensely since the beginning with word of mouth allowing us to grow as a convention every year."
CaptainCon is also very proud of the charitable aspect of each year's event.
In 2025, attendees helped raise nearly $6,000 for Rosie's Place, a Boston-area community center that offers women emergency shelter and meals.
This year, CaptainCon wants to raise even more money, to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
In addition to the vendors and classes and gaming demos during the weekend, the big draw of Captain Con is ... the games.
Attendees can take part in any number of tournaments happening during the event, or free play games with others just looking to have fun.
There's a growing bank of games people can just pick up and try, and then some of those games can be won during the weekend.
New this year is a live "Dungeons & Dragons"-inspired comedy show, entitled "Let's Not Die."
According to Tabytha, "In this show, Trevor Dion, the gamemaster, will be guiding comedians through a one-shot taking place in Warwick, RI that's home to a hidden magical realm."
There's also a new seminar, focused on geek therapy -- two certified "geek therapists" will discuss how gaming can be used in mental therapy applications.
Similar to last year, some of the tournaments at CaptainCon will also serve as qualifying events for GenCon.
GenCon is the largest tabletop gaming convention in the country, held each year in Indianapolis.
CaptainCon will host the U.S. National Doomlings Championship Qualifier, the U.S. National Bicycle Spades Championship Qualifier, the U.S. National Bicycle Euchre Championship Qualifier, and the U.S. National Bicycle Hearts Championship Qualifier.
Winners get a four-day badge to GenCon, and a place in the event's preliminary rounds of competition.
It certainly sounds like there's even more to see and do at this year's CaptainCon than the 2025 iteration.
Tickets are still available for the three-day show, running Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick.
Individual and two-day tickets are also available.
Learn more at CaptainCon.com, as well as the convention's Facebook page.
