Every year, we have numerous activities running all around the clock during the weekend in between significant events and panels.
Keep an eye out on this page and our social media to see more announcements closer to the date.
Artist Alley
The Artist Alley is an area within the AVCon exhibiting floor where artists can display and sell their work. Artist Alley is designed to give both emerging and established artists a platform to sell their work and meet the public for an affordable price. AVCon prides itself on the quality and community of its Artist Alley.
The Artist Alley is open to any sole trader (or partnership) who creates their own creative artwork pieces, whether illustration, photography, or sculpture of crafts.
For any queries relating to artist alley at AVCon, please contact [email protected]
Panels and Workshops
Every year, AVCon hosts an array of exciting community and industry-led panels and workshops for all interests. Closer to the date we’ll start announcing more details on what panels and workshops will be running over the weekend.
For more details regarding when panels are running, check out our social media pages and Our Events page for schedule details closer to the date.
For more details about our Guest panels and workshops, check out our Guests page closer to the date.
Ichigo Ke-Ki Café
Be our guest! Inspired by the maid cafés of Akihabara, Ichigo Ke-Ki Café (いちごケーキ) is AVCon’s premier otaku dining experience. So escape the hustle-bustle of the busy convention atmosphere and join us for a bite to eat. Our cute and courteous maids and butlers are ready to entertain you, whether through their dance performances or by sitting down and playing a game.
This year’s service will be a pre-set menu with dietary options available – with one cover charge for your meal and drink. We look forward to serving you~
Exhibitors
From anime to video games, cosplay items to collectibles and more – our exhibitors bring the best of them all to AVCon.
As a large and established annual event, AVCon provides high-traffic exposure to an exhibitor’s target audience. Exhibitors receive a constant stream of traffic from festival attendees.
AVCon offers a variety of exhibitor packages to cater to all levels of business and provide excellent value in effectively reaching your target audience. In addition, AVCon can customise exhibitor packages to suit your needs.
A program with a complete list of attending exhibitors will be released closer to the date.
For any queries relating to exhibiting at AVCon, please contact [email protected].
Gaming Freeplay
The Gaming Freeplay area is a great place to hang out and take a break from your busy festival schedule. The Gaming Freeplay features all kinds of games, from the newest games to the classics. So if you want to check out a game you’ve not yet had the chance to play, warm-up before a tournament, or sit down with your friends and game, then head over to the Freeplay area.
Come to the Gaming Freeplay area on the festival day, search for a game you want to play. Then, our volunteers will set up your console station and play to your heart’s content.
Handheld Lounge
Feet feeling sore after walking around the convention floor all day, or want to hang out with your friends and play some handheld games? The Handheld Lounge will be your go-to place – returning after its success in 2019.
The Handheld Lounge will have comfy seats to lounge around with, plenty of beats from our guest DJs, and feature a bar open all convention long.
Retro Gaming
Continuing an almost decade long tradition, our friends over at Retrospekt are staples at AVCon. Retrospekt will be bringing their ever-popular interactive retro gaming museum and their retro gaming tournaments over the weekend.
Retrospekt will be showcasing the best of the history of gaming at the Retro Game Museum. For AVCon newcomers, you are in for a treat! Expect to see different desktop and handheld gaming machines from all previous generations of technology from the 1970s through the 2000s. Check out the catalogue of several hundred games available for free play. The retro gaming area will cater to all your retro gaming needs. Want to chill out? We have got beanbags, handhelds, and old gaming magazines to peruse. Want to get your groove on? We have got DJs/playlists full of tunes from games, the 80s and 90s, movies, and more. Arcade machines? Do not forget the tournaments!
Indie Games Room (IGR)
The Indie Games Room (IGR) is an Australian and New Zealand showcase of independent games, providing a platform to put indie made games in front of thousands of players.
The IGR has run alongside AVCon since 2008. Starting with only a handful of games, the IGR has grown alongside AVCon to have a massive display of games by local, interstate and international indie studios. Some notable games that have been shown in the IGR include Antichamber, Assault Android Cactus, Crabitron, Hollow Knight, Monster Truck Destruction, ScreenCheat, Submerged and Xenoraptor.
Our Indie Games Room
Previous Indie Games Rooms
Check out previous years Indie Games Room showcases at AVCon through the Indie Games Room website.
Games Stage
The Games Stage is a vibrant hub over the festival featuring a roulette of different content. It gives attendees the perfect opportunity to play and entertain audiences. Keep an eye out on this page to see what the Gaming Stage will bring to the festival closer to the date.
Tabletop Gaming
AVCon hosts the tabletop gaming area and expansive Board Game Library every year for all fans of board and card games. Our library is sure to include games for brand new players and material to keep even the most experienced community veterans happy.
Borrow a game from our collection to play with your friends, challenge all comers in your favourite card game, or join an RPG session run by one of our friendly volunteers. If you’re interested in trying out a new game but aren’t sure how to play, ask one of our volunteers, and they’ll help you figure out the rules and find opponents.
Keep an eye out on our social media for any future announcements for the Tabletop area.
Tournaments
Speed-Painting Competition
Both Saturday and Sunday of the festival will have a miniatures speed-painting competition. For more details regarding registering and judging criteria, see our Register page closer to the date!
Types of Games
Role-Playing Games
A role-playing game (RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making or character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.
Trading Card Games (TCG)
Welcome to the world of card games. At AVCon, we will running learn to play events for a multitude of games, including Yu-gi-oh, Magic the Gathering, and Cardfight Vanguard, to name a few. So have fun and test your mettle. Come down and learn a card game today.
Indie Table Top
If you love tabletop, come and join our local game designers as they show you finished and in-development games. From card games to miniature wargames, players of all kinds can experience
Australian made creations, presented by those involved in the development. Meet some of the people behind your favourite pastime, and show your support for our growing game design and publishing industry.