Set in 1891 on the shores of Lake Geneva, the adventure explores a narrative that blends Chaosium’s Lovecraftian storytelling with the roleplaying legacy of Lake Geneva, the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons. The project is part of Chaosium’s 50th Anniversary celebrations and highlights the shared history of the two companies in the tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) industry.

Luke Gygax, founder of Gary Con and son of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, commented on the collaboration:

Gary Con is a memorial convention that celebrates my father’s legacy and the enduring passion of the gaming community he helped create through Dungeons & Dragons. This year’s partnership with Chaosium as the Premier Sponsor of Gary Con feels like a convergence of history and creativity, bringing together two pillars of the RPG world to honor their shared dedication to immersive storytelling and imagination.

The 2025 contest received 348 submissions, setting a new record and surpassing the previous year’s 339 entries. Designers from 27 countries contributed to this year’s pool, reflecting the global reach of the board game design community. From these submissions, 21 finalists were selected, representing a wide range of themes, mechanics, and creative approaches.

The finalists include:

• Athenia by Mark Holmes: A real-time plate reconstruction game for 2-5 players.
• Babble by Jonah Kagan: A strategic word-building game where players collaborate and compete to construct a tower of words.
• Bearden by Keith Donaldson: A tactical dice-placement game focused on creating artwork.
• Branching Out by Jeff Grisenthwaite and Eliot Michaels: A cooperative game about growing a 3D bonsai tree.
• Chainbreakers by Kyle Cushman: A card-drafting and contract-fulfillment game centered on bike mechanics.
• Dot Com by Sammy Salkind: An app-assisted economic strategy game with a real-time element.
• Free Range by Pedro Ometto: A farming game about organizing chickens.
• Ice Hotel by Bob West: A game where players rescue luggage from a melting ice hotel.
• Indie Alley by Mallory Hinks: A competitive card placement game about promoting indie bands.
• Invasion by Amelie Le-Roche and Ashwin Kamath: A deduction and spatial puzzle game featuring Humans and Aliens.
• Kingdom on the Rise by Piotrek Chojnowski: A competitive kingdom-building game with a stacking mechanic.
• Molcajete by Hugo Labravo: A game about making salsa with elements of cooperation and sabotage.
• Pip It by Jay Bell: A light-strategy dice-tossing game.
• Produce Bazaar by Adam Eschborn: A strategic game set in a farmers market.
• Renaissance Fair by Leo Taylor: A park-building game about creating a modern-day Renaissance fair.
• Slam Quest by Jay Bucciarelli and Phil Gross: A cooperative game where players communicate by slamming cards.
• Slopeside by Scott R Smith: A game about building a 3D ski resort.
• Theology by Manoj Gedela and Sabareesh Mamidipaka: A worker placement and area control game featuring Ancient Indian Gods.
• Time to Line by Adam Zwain: A tableau- and deck-building game about attracting guests to an amusement park.
• Triptych by Brooks Barber: A trick-taking game with a shared slide puzzle.
• Wildcrafters by Katie Tam: A competitive potion-crafting game.

Pitch videos for each finalist’s game are available on the Cardboard Edison website.

In the next phase of the competition, the finalists’ games will be evaluated by a panel of board game industry professionals. Judges will assess the games based on criteria such as engagement, originality of theme and mechanics, replayability, smoothness of play, and fit for the target audience.

The winner of the 2025 Cardboard Edison Award will be announced later this year. Past winners have gone on to achieve recognition and success in the board game industry.

The show will feature a narrative centered around the Cthulhu Mythos, blending elements of horror, mystery, and interactive storytelling. Mark Meer, known for his work in Mass Effect, will lead the cast as the Keeper of Arcane Lore. He will be joined by an ensemble of performers, including Samantha Beart (Baldur’s Gate 3), Jasper Cartwright (The Re-Slayer’s Take), Johnny Chiodini (The Oxventure), Belinda Cornish (Dragon Age), and Josephine McAdam (L.A. By Night).

Michael O’Brien, co-producer of the show and a representative of Chaosium, stated:

This is something we’ve been cooking up since our hugely successful live shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year – in partnership with AEG, we’re excited to be taking Call of Cthulhu Live on the road

The tour will visit Birmingham, Brighton, London, Manchester, and Glasgow. Each performance aims to recreate the atmosphere of the tabletop game, with a focus on suspense and immersive storytelling.

Presale tickets will be available to subscribers of the AEG Presents newsletter. The presale period begins at 10am on Thursday, 27 February, and ends at 9am on Friday, 28 February. General ticket sales will follow, with further details to be announced.

The collection includes Modiphius’ award-winning Fallout tabletop RPG, adapted specifically for Alchemy’s virtual tabletop platform. Players and gamemasters will have access to core and expanded rules, campaigns, adventures, NPCs, and a variety of gear for crafting and customization. The Alchemy Enhanced edition of the Core Rulebook enhances the experience with motion scenes, ambient sound loops, and an original dynamic score, designed to immerse players in the atmospheric world of Fallout.

Chris Eddie, CEO of Alchemy RPG, shared the motivation behind the initiative, stating,

“Seeing first-hand the devastation that many families have faced in our neighboring state of California due to the recent wildfires, we wanted to do something to help. So we partnered with our friends at Modiphius and Humble Bundle to put together a bundle that we think many will enjoy while supporting a fantastic organization providing meaningful help to those who have lost everything.”

The Humble Bundle platform allows customers to choose how much they wish to pay for the collection, with a portion of the proceeds directed toward organizations aiding wildfire recovery efforts in California.

The awards are open to TTRPGs released in 2024, with an exception for the Everlasting Fun Factory Award, which is open to games published in any year. Nominations can be submitted until December 31, 2024, using the provided submission form.

Award Timeline and Eligibility

• Nominations Close: December 31
• Awards Presentation: Saturday, February 22, 2025, at TotalCon

Any TTRPG available to the public in 2024, either for sale or free, is eligible. Submissions may include PDFs or physical copies, with no preference given to the format.

Award Categories

The Golden Fez Awards feature a variety of categories to highlight different aspects of game design:

• The Holy Hand Grenade Award for best new game mechanic
• The Pick Up & Play Award for easiest game to learn
• The Velvet Smooth Award for best design & production
• The Everlasting Fun Factory Award for best game published prior to 2024
• The Forge of Destiny Award for worldbuilding
• The Hack The Planet Award for most unexpected idea
• The Bucket of Blood Award for best combat rules
• The Golden Fez Game of the Year Award

Anyone can nominate a game, including creators, publishers, or fans. When a fan nominates a game, the rights-holder will be contacted to provide the necessary materials. There is no limit to the number of games that can be nominated, and duplicate nominations will not affect the judging process.

A panel of industry judges will review all submissions and select the winners for each category. Public voting is not part of the awards process. Submitters can indicate categories they believe align with their game, though the final category assignments will be determined by the judges.

For more information or to submit a game, visit the Golden Fez Awards Submission Page.

• DriveThruRPG Free Section: DriveThruRPG offers a vast selection of free TTRPG content, from full rulebooks to adventures and supplementary materials. It’s a great starting point for expanding your library without cost.
• Itch.io Free TTRPGs: A treasure trove for indie games, Itch.io has a wide selection of free and “pay-what-you-want” TTRPGs. It’s a great place to find innovative, community-driven projects.
• D&D Basic Rules: Wizards of the Coast offers the basic rules for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition for free on their website. Combine these rules with free fan-made resources and you won’t ever have to spend money on D&D.
• Pathfinder and Starfinder System Reference Documents: The SRD (System reference documents) for Pathfinder are Starfinder are available for free. These are the rules for the game and contain everything needed to play. Many other TTRPGs also offer SRDs.
• The Dungeon Master’s Guild (Free Section): Another excellent resource for D&D players, the Dungeon Master’s Guild has a wide selection of free adventures, supplements, and maps.
• Tabletop Audio: Perfect for enhancing the atmosphere of your game, Tabletop Audio provides free background music and soundscapes for a wide variety of settings, from fantasy taverns to sci-fi space stations.
• Dungeon Map Doodler: A free, easy-to-use tool for creating dungeon maps that you can use in your own campaigns. Great for GMs who want to create unique encounters without spending money on professional map-making software.

Free Miniature Game Resources

• One Page Rules: Offering streamlined rules for many different miniatures games, One Page Rules gives you everything you need to play, with rulebooks and army lists available for free.
• Terrain Tutorials: Many creators post free tutorials on how to build your own terrain pieces for wargaming using inexpensive materials. Channels like Black Magic Craft on YouTube can guide you through creating impressive terrain.
• Infinity (Corvus Belli): Infinity is a sci-fi skirmish game by Corvus Belli, and they provide free rules and army-building tools on their website.
• Mantic Games Free Rules: Mantic Games provides free downloadable rules for several of their games, including Kings of War, Deadzone, and Warpath. They also offer free army lists and scenarios to help players get started.
• Print Your Own Miniatures (Thingiverse): For those with access to 3D printers, Thingiverse has a huge collection of free, downloadable miniature files, from fantasy characters to sci-fi vehicles. This is a great way to expand your collection without spending on official models.
• Fan-Made Army Builders (BattleScribe): BattleScribe is a free, community-driven app that provides army-building tools for many miniatures games. While it doesn’t provide the rules themselves, it makes managing and building your armies a breeze.

Free Board Game Resources

• PnPArcade: With a regularly rotating selection of free print-and-play board games, PnPArcade is a great place to find unique, fun games you can print out and play at home.
• Board Game Geek Print-and-Play: In addition to user-made content, Board Game Geek has a thriving community of designers offering free print-and-play versions of their games. You can find a wide range of games, from simple card games to complex strategy titles.
• Print-and-Play Games on Itch.io: Just like with TTRPGs, Itch.io has a growing library of free or “pay what you want” board games. Many indie designers offer their games as print-and-play, allowing you to explore unique designs at no cost.
• Print-and-Play Dice Games: There are plenty of free, printable dice games out there that you can enjoy with just a few dice and some paper. Roll and write games have become especially popular, and many designers offer free versions online.

The event begins on Friday with a keynote speech by Elizabeth Hargrave, designer of Wingspan, marking PAX’s 20th-anniversary celebration. Over the course of the weekend, attendees can attend various panels, including a preview of the upcoming TTRPG Daggerheart, presented by Critical Role cast members Matthew Mercer and Ashley Johnson. Another panel, “Kurt Vonnegut’s GHQ: The Lost Board Game,” will discuss a rediscovered game by the well-known author, while “Athletes in Tabletop: Walking the Jock/Nerd Binary” will feature former NFL player Johnny Stanton and former professional fighter Tank Tolman.

Live entertainment includes Acquisitions Inc., a popular Dungeons & Dragons performance, and the first-ever concert at PAX Unplugged, featuring Jonathan “JoCo” Coulton and comedy music duo Paul and Storm on Saturday night.

On the show floor, major game publishers such as Games Workshop, Dice Throne, Ravensburger, CATAN Studio, and R.Talsorian Games will be present. Attendees will also have the opportunity to discover new games through the PAX Rising Showcase. Additionally, there will be areas dedicated to teaching games, playing classic board games, and participating in tournaments like the Omegathon.

Three-day badges are available for $91, with single-day badges priced at $43. Sunday Kids Day badges for children aged 7-12 are available for $14.

Among the notable endorsers are prominent figures from companies such as Xbox, Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Inc., and BoardGameGeek. These creators cited Harris’s leadership in economic policies, reproductive rights, and international relations as reasons for their support. They highlighted her experience and ability to unite people, referring to her as a proven leader who has a strong track record of getting results.

The group also praised Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, for his cooperative leadership style, which they likened to the collaborative nature of many games. His leadership in expanding social safety nets and his connections to the gaming community were noted, with some pointing out his personal interest in gaming.

In contrast, the group expressed concerns about the policies of the Republican candidates, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, citing their opposition to certain democratic principles and policies.

The endorsement encourages those in the gaming community to participate in the upcoming election, underscoring the importance of voting. This call to action is followed by a full list of the 750+ game creators and industry professionals who have joined this effort, including key figures from major companies in the gaming world.

A central feature of the event is the art exhibition titled “Gateway to Adventure: 50 Years of D&D Art”. Curated by D&D historians Jon Peterson and Jessica Lee Patterson, the exhibit will showcase works from the Koder Collection. It will include pieces by artists such as Keith Parkinson, Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, and Todd Lockwood, as well as the first variant D&D manual cover, designed by John Blanche.

As part of the celebrations, Lucca will name the underground of the San Paolino bastion in honor of D&D creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The dedication ceremony will take place on October 30, with city authorities and Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax, in attendance.

Throughout the event, attendees will have the chance to participate in various gaming sessions, panels, and workshops featuring notable figures from the D&D community. Artists such as Tyler Jacobson and Erol Otus will be present, offering discussions on the visual evolution of the game.

Fans can look forward to the release of a trade paperback edition, an immersive audio drama, and a tabletop RPG. These adaptations promise to extend the dark, gritty world of The Last Wardens in new ways.

Tishler and Sperl will make an appearance at New York Comic Con on October 18 at the Mad Cave Studios booth, where they will meet fans and sign copies of the comic.

Speaking on the new adaptations, Tishler expressed excitement about bringing the story to new mediums, saying it had been a long-time dream. Sperl, who is also known for his work on Bob’s Burgers and The Great North, noted how surreal it is to see The Last Wardens evolve into different formats, including an audio drama and a tabletop RPG.

The trade paperback edition, produced in collaboration with Mad Cave Studios, will be available starting March 11, 2025. That same day, fans will also be able to experience the first episode of the audio drama, produced by Encyclopocalypse Publications. Additionally, the tabletop RPG, developed by Studio Far Horizons, will allow players to explore the universe.

Alongside these expansions, Tishler and Sperl are working on a new graphic novel, Post Mortal, which will be published by Humanoids.