About KantCon
KantCon is a gaming convention for tabletop hobby gamers in the Kansas City area, created by tabletop hobby gamers in the Kansas City area. The only available gaming conventions and large gatherings of gamers in the Kansas City area are limited to the beginning of the year, and the end of the year, in March and November, respectively. As most gamers are increasingly busy, in school, or have children in school, there is a void of a centralized gaming convention in the summer months in Kansas City. KantCon will fill that void with three days of tabletop fun in the form of tabletop role-playing games, card games, board games, and miniatures games.
The first KantCon was held in 2009 at a home in Shawnee, Kansas. It was an invitation-only event born out of the organizer’s inability to go to Gen Con, the largest gaming convention in the United States held every August in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The name KantCon was decided on because the organizer couldn’t go to his yearly con. Therefore, his “Can’t Con” became KantCon.
Approximately 30 people came to KantCon 2009, and over $1,500 worth of products donated by participating gaming companies Wizards of the Coast, Rio Grande Games, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, and others were given away to the 30 attendees over the course of the weekend. Several games were run for those attending, and a fun time was had by all.
Everyone asked if it would happen the next year, so plans were made to open it to the public and to get a public venue to see if there was an interest in a summertime gaming convention in the Kansas City area.
On July 9-11, KantCon 2010 was held at the Johnson County Community College Regnier Center. Over the course of the three days, 110 gamers came from as far away as Mt. Gilead, Ohio to participate in role-playing games, card games, board games, miniatures games, and the kind of camaraderie that all gamers love and enjoy.
In the years since, KantCon has continued to grow, drawing attendees from as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia (that's in Canada, in case you didn't know).
Over $3,000 worth of donated product from various game companies across the world were raffled off and awarded to players at the convention, supplemented by vendors like Gamer Ground in St. Louis, Missouri, Secret Skeleton Miniatures from Lenexa, Kansas, and Black Blade Publishing from Wichita, Kansas who came out and sold miniatures, dice, books, and other products to convention attendees.
The convention has continued to grow ever since, with more events, more board games, and more fun!