Hello! Game-itoba is Winnipeg’s, premiere tabletop games convention dedicated to all types of tabletop gaming.

Game-itoba is a volunteer run, non-profit organization dedicated to all types of tabletop gaming, including board games, card games, role playing games, and miniature games.  We aim to support the tabletop gaming community in Winnipeg and Manitoba, as well as local and Canadian tabletop game developers. We also to partner with local groups, stores and conventions to bring you the best Game Masters (GMs) possible to help people learn new games and hobbies.

Follow @gameitoba on Facebook or Instagram or check out our website at www.game-itoba.ca.  Or come look for us at our own annual convention in January, or other major conventions in the city (including), Ai-Kon, Keycon or Winnipeg Comiccon.

At Our Convention

Our main convention is 3 days (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) of board, card and roleplay gaming in January, and we have some great features to offer attendees.

Scheduled Games, are in many ways the heart of our convention experience.  Members of the community as well as our own demo team offer to run specific games starting at set times (or ‘slots’), that you can sign up to play at the convention or in advance.

The play experience is generally accessible to people who have never played the game before, so it’s a great way to learn a new game.  It is also a great way to play a favorite that perhaps doesn’t get to the table with your regular group.  It’s can also be a great opportunity for you to volunteer to GM (game master) for us and share your love of a game to new people.

Our schedule runs the full breadth of tabletop games; typically with hundreds of scheduled board games, plenty of opportunities to play in TTRPG (great for people who want to try it out or the forever gm who just wants to play) or play in a miniatures game (with somebody else doing all the hard work of painting them).  We even have opportunities to try your hand at a tabletop game related craft like paint and take miniature painting, or scenery/accessory making.

Play to Win & Tournaments are also a typical part of our scheduled games, with prize support provided by publishers, vendors and our convention organisers.

Our Games Library (or Vault) contains at least 500 games provided by ourselves or one of our partners, that you can check out & play in one of our open spaces.  We even have volunteers on hand to help you pick out the perfect game.  For our Open Gaming spaces, we even provide table markers so you can indicate you are looking for extra players, because we all know that 2-5 player game is just better with 3 than 2.

Local Developers are often out in force at our event.  We make a point of including as much local and Canadian game content as we can, with local game designers and publishers with us all weekend often looking for your help in playtesting their next game.  If you are interested in the design process it’s a great opportunity to discuss their experience, as well as for designers to compare notes and ideas in person.

And of course we also invite Vendors to join us, with a strong emphasis on Winnipeg’s great FLGS (friendly local games stores) as well as locally designed/produced gaming and nerd accessories.

With Our Partnerships

We have ongoing relationships with many Winnipeg conventions and frequently partner with other events and organisations to provide a games area for their event.  Here we typically bring a tailored games library and plenty of volunteers to help people get started on what could be their first experience of modern tabletop games.

Convention attendees are welcome to pick up and play (select a favourite from the library and ask for help if they need it), get recommendations from our volunteers for a game on a general theme or style, or even get help with a game that one of our demo team volunteers is experienced both playing and teaching.

We love introducing new people to the world of tabletop gaming and tailoring the con library to match the theme of the event.

Questions, comments, ideas?  Email us at info@game-itoba.ca