KantCon enjoys booth, staff, and support from TableTop Games and Hobby, Cardboard Corner Cafe in 2025

A staple of the Kansas City gaming community, TableTop Game and Hobby is a proud sponsor of the 2025 KantCon game convention happening this week, June 26 to 29, at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas.

Phil Kilgore opened the store in 1994 and relocated in the past few years to a new, even nicer location right next to the new Cardboard Corner Cafe, another KantCon sponsor this year. TableTop celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

Co-owner Walter Stewart says the store continues to offer a wider and wider selection of miniature games (like Warhammer 40K), tabletop role-playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder), adult- and family-friendly board games as well as an assortment of dice, related books, and more. But it also maintains a big service to the community with customer service and giving kids, teens and adults a place to share their love for the hobby.

“I remember when I was a 16-year-old coming in, and I would pester Phil to death,” Stewart says, remembering his past and current obsession with the Vampire the Masquerade RPG (now in a new edition he still loves).

“So, now when that little wee bairn comes into the store, and they want to talk about their Level 20 assassin paladin in detail and everything, it’s like, ‘Let’s do this kid. Love it. Tell me all about it.’”

Thanks to the Cardboard Corner Cafe next door, featuring fresh food and beverages, liquor for adults, a board game library, and a space for adults and families to enjoy fun, TableTop gets traffic from families who try and then want to buy the board games they enjoy at the next-door venue. Cardboard Corner Cafe is owned by Madeline and Chase Davis, and has since opened a Lenexa Public Market location.

But miniatures—buyable, paintable and customizable—in the form of Warhammer 40K and other smaller games “keep the lights on,” Stewart says. The store’s new location, like the old one, still features free space to game—miniature-moving, dice-rolling, or token-pushing.

“My favorite shelf, though, is the weird, indie RPGs,” Stewart says, highlighting Hamsters and Himbos, as an example, about hamster detectives of “unmatched thiccness.”

“People come in and say, you know, I learned to play Dungeons & Dragons, and we kind of want to branch out,” Stewart says. “Oh, sweet summer child, we have so many, and I’m so excited to share. I get to bring the games down and show them off.”

This year at KantCon, TableTop staff will be running games and managing the booth—full of weird, alternative games as well as best-selling board games and tabletop games.

TableTop is also providing support for raffle prizes and a discount to those who come into the store with a KantCon badge after the convention.

It’s years of people, both staff and customers, that make the store what it is, according to Stewart.

“We’ve been around for more than 30 years, and that means we have customers who came in when I was young, and now they’re older, and they’re bringing in their kids,” he says. “And we’re actually getting to that third generation, with kids of customers having kids.”

You can visit Tabletop Games & Hobby at its Kantcon booth and its Overland Park location at 9156 Metcalf Ave. Cardboard Corner Cafe is ready for your food, drink, and playing needs at 9240 Metcalf Ave. (right next door) and 9750 Penrose Ln.

BIO: Brendan Howard is a freelance writer, editor, and podcast host in the Kansas City area. You can learn more here.