Gaming

Welcome to the information page for the Gaming Hall at FanimeCon 2026! We are happy to announce our offerings this year!

Gaming Area Web Pages

Tournaments: We have tournaments for various Nintendo Switch, PS5, arcade, and trading card games (TCGs). We’ll also have tournaments for both beginner and advanced Mahjong players!

Indie Games Showcase: Local game developers will grace the Gaming Hall to showcase their very own independent games in our Indie Game Dev Showcase area!

Art Lounge: New to FanimeCon this year, we have partnered with PaperDemon Art RPG to bring an art experience for you in SJCC Room 232! Get inspired with one of our scheduled art events or just come chill and socialize with the creative community. Materials will be provided, but you’re welcome to bring your own! Visit https://www.fanime.com/gaming/art-lounge/ for details and a list of events.

Gaming Stage: The Gaming Stage is the place to be for live action on the big screen! Watch our tournament finals, game nights, and special Maid Cafe events!

Prize Wall: Earn special Gaming Hall tickets and trade them in at our Prize Wall to collect cool prizes! You could also enter the daily prize giveaway! We will do a draw on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10:00 pm and Monday at noon! Look for signs in the Gaming Hall for participating activities. Tickets must be spent at the Prize Wall on the day they’re earned. Speak to Gaming Hall staff if you have any questions.

Location and Hours

San Jose Convention Center – Hall 3
Friday: 12:00 pm – 11:30 pm
Saturday: 12:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Monday: 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Gaming Hall Rules

Attendees must follow the FanimeCon Code of Conduct at all times in the Gaming Hall.

Location Rules

The Gaming Hall is a harassment-free zone. Please be a good human being!
- If you feel unsafe or need to report a problem, please flag any FanimeCon staff member and they can assist you.
- If you are unable to flag a FanimeCon staffer, please contact ConOps.
- ConOps is located in the Hilton San Jose Hotel, San Carlos Room (second floor).
Gaming Hall staff reserve the right to ask attendees to leave the Gaming Hall due to safety concerns and/or potential Code of Conduct violations.
- This extends to our events and tournaments, and in particular, “unsportsmanlike” conduct and event disruption.
- This can result in being removed from the current event or tournament.
- Additionally, attendees can be banned from participating in future gaming events.
Staff reserve the right to call convention center security if required.
Please do not tamper with or move any equipment, tables, chairs, or barriers.
- Please inform Gaming Hall staff if there is a malfunction or non-optimal gameplay on any equipment.
- Please also do not attempt to fix the problem yourself. We have qualified staff available to troubleshoot problems.
Events and Tournaments
- All events and tournaments are free of charge.
- Sign-ups and information are located at the Gaming Hall staff desks.
- Please arrive at least 15 minutes before any event for check-in!
- If you are unable to participate after sign-up, please return to the relevant department’s tournament desk and inform staff.
- Any input device for tournament use may be subject to inspection by a tournament organizer (TO) to ensure competitive integrity.
Food and Drink
- No open food or drink is allowed at any Gaming Stations, such as any arcade, tabletop gaming table, or eGaming location. Sealed food or drink containers are permitted.
- Please only consume any food and drink purchased at the concession stands in the designated eating areas.
Room Capacity
- Games Management reserves the right to limit capacity at any time to enforce safety protocols required by the venue.
- Please cooperate with our staff if we have to limit capacity.
Prohibited Items and Actions
- E-cigarettes and vaping devices.
- RC vehicles and drones of all types.
- Hoverboards, skateboards, bikes, and scooters. ADA-compliant movement assistance items are allowed.
- Money matches/gambling-like activities with real money.
- Unsafe movement or crowding actions.

Events and Tournaments

We are proud to present the following events in the Gaming Hall, as presented by our partners! More information on the tournaments is available on the individual Gaming pages and on the FanimeCon Gaming start.gg page.

Policy

Tournament sign-ups will be available on the day of the tournament in the same room where the tournament is scheduled to take place. Please check the locations for each tournament carefully!
Tournament sign-ups will close an hour before the tournament start time.
Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPGs) sign ups will be at https://apps.fanime.com/2026/tabletop/. In some cases, if the event does not fill up to capacity at the start of the event, the event host may allow drop-in participants. Speak to the event host at the start of the event!
Signing up for a tournament or an event does not guarantee you a spot in the tournament or event. Please show up at least 10 minutes ahead of time for check-in.

Schedule

Note: Schedule is subject to change. Gaming Hall staff and partners will work on updating our schedules and the FanimeCon Gaming start.gg page to reflect the latest information. Talk to a Gaming Hall staff member at the con for the most up-to-date information!

Friday, May 22, 2026

Arcade

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Dance Dance Revolution (Standard Lvl 9-12)
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Love Live! After School Activities Qualifying Round (μ’s/Aqours)
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dance Dance Revolution (Great Attack Lvl 12-15)

Art Lounge

10:00 am – 11:00 pm: Open Free Draw
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Let’s Draw Original Characters
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Intro to PaperDemon Art RPG
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Let’s Play PaperDemon Art RPG
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Let’s Draw Original Characters

eGaming

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
9:00 am – 1:00 am: Mario Kart 64 Time Trials
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
3:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Guilty Gear Strive

Gaming Stage

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Top 8
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Guilty Gear Strive
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Guilty Gear Strive Top 8
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Rock Band Freeplay
10:00 pm – 11:30 pm: Fanimaid Presents: Silent Cleaning

Tabletop Mahjong

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Learn to Play Mahjong

Tabletop Trading Card Games (TCGs)

10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play Gundam
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play Lorcana
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play Magic: The Gathering
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play One Piece
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play Pokémon
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play Riftbound
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Open Play MTG Commander
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm: MTG Commander
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Nexus Night (Riftbound Tournament)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: MTG Commander

Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs)

10:00 am – 12:30 pm: D&D Oneshot – Frieren Beyond Journey’s End
1:00 pm – 3:30 pm: D&D Oneshot – Dungeon Meshi
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Trouble Brewing
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm: KonoSuba TTRPG
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Trouble Brewing
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Sects and Violets
9:30 pm – 1:00 am: One Piece 7th Sea TTRPG

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Arcade

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
9:00 am – 8:00 pm: Pokémon Pro Pinball Tournament
9:00 am – 8:00 pm: Dungeons & Dragons Pro Pinball Tournament
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Dance Dance Revolution (Standard Lvl 13-16)
11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Pump It Up Speed Tournament First Half
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Love Live! After School Activities 1st Round (μ’s Songs)
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Pump It Up Freestyle
3:30 pm – 9:00 pm: Pump It Up Speed Tournament Second Half

Art Lounge

10:00 am – 11:00 pm: Open Free Draw
10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Let’s Develop Original Characters
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Intro to PaperDemon Art RPG
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Let’s Play PaperDemon Art RPG
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Let’s Play PaperDemon Art RPG

eGaming

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: 2XKO
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Tekken 8
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Gaming Stage

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: 2XKO
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: 2XKO Top 8
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm: Tekken 8
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm: Tekken 8 Top 8
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Mahjong Exhibition Game
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Rock Band Freeplay

Tabletop Mahjong

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
11:00 am – 12:30 pm: Learn to Play Mahjong
1:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Riichi Mahjong Beginner Tournament

Tabletop Trading Card Games (TCGs)

10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – Gundam
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – Lorcana
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – Magic: The Gathering
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – One Piece
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – Pokémon
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Learn-to-Play – Riftbound
10:00 am – 8:00 pm: Open Play – MTG Commander
10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Lorcana Core Tournament
11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Nexus Night (Riftbound Tournament)
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm: One Piece Tournament
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: MTG Commander
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Pokémon Tournament
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Maids the Gathering

Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs)

10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Sects and Violets
10:00 am – 12:30 pm: D&D Oneshot – Dungeon Meshi
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Bad Moon Rising
1:00 pm – 3:30 pm: D&D Oneshot – Frieren Beyond Journey’s End
3:30 pm – 7:00 pm: One Piece 7th Sea TTRPG
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Trouble Brewing
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm: Blood on the Clocktower: Trouble Brewing
7:00 pm – 11:30 pm: Goblin Slayer TTRPG

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Arcade

9:00 am – 1:00 am: Open Free Play
9:00 am – 8:00 pm: Pokémon Pro Pinball Tournament
9:00 am – 8:00 pm: Dungeons & Dragons Pro Pinball Tournament
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Love Live! After School Activities Final Round (Aqours Songs)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm: Dance Dance Revolution (Shuffle Mod Lvl 11-13)

Art Lounge