Nov 6-8, 2026
Lighthaven, Berkeley, CA

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I never met a game I didn't like

Metagame 2026

Metagame is a weekend conference devoted to games. We mean games in the broadest sense of the word: any experience that is designed to be played, as opposed to passively consumed. This includes board games, card games, videogames, tabletop games, LARPs, puzzles, rock climbing routes, and more. If building it involves asking the question “what would the consumer of this experience choose to do next?”, it's a game.

See what happened last year →

Attendees working on a giant jigsaw puzzle
The election game at Metagame 2025
A card game in progress
A group solving a crossword
A jigsaw sudoku puzzle
Evening games under fairy lights
Two players studying their cards over a game of Codex

Who will be there?

Speakers

Chris Grace

Chris Grace

Dropout

Caro Murphy

Caro Murphy

Cosmic Egg

Peih-Gee Law

Peih-Gee Law

REPOD

Tommy Honton

Tommy Honton

tommyhonton.com

Lexi Kohanski

Lexi Kohanski

Worlds to Come

Amy Schneider

Amy Schneider

Jeopardy!

And many more coming soon…

Want to speak or run a session? Submit a proposal →

Want to do more?

Get Involved

Metagame is made by the people who show up. Here's how to be one of them.

Run something

We want your games, puzzles, competitions, indie TTRPGs, immersive theater performances, tournaments, design jams, LARPs, trivia, crosswords, homemade meeples, chess variants, turtle doves, social deception experiments not yet ready for prime time, or things that defy all of these categories
Propose a session

Volunteer

Help out before or during the con by joining one of the volunteer teams:
  • Registration desk
  • Room check
  • Physical labor
  • Set design
  • Marketing
  • Speaker coordination
  • Megagame design
  • … and more!
Apply to volunteer

Sponsor Metagame

Put your name on the weekend. Sponsor benefits include:
  • Logo placement on the site, swag, and marketing
  • A booth at the night market / career fair
  • Tickets for your team
  • Main-room talk and office-hours slots
  • A custom-built branded event
  • … and at the headline tier, let's dream big
Sponsor tiers

Want to be a part of something bigger?

The Megagame

The game begins when you step through the gate, and runs all weekend. One part puzzle hunt, one part game gauntlet, one part interlocking story.

The Megagame is threaded through the rest of Metagame, with many puzzles and games making up larger games and larger puzzles. Anyone can play it, and anyone can help create it. We want puzzles! We want games! We want cryptic hints added to your session! More details in the proposal form.

Build part of the Megagame
Giant orange and blue chess pieces, a knight in front
A puzzle and game made of smaller puzzles and games. Made by… you?

Where is it?

Lighthaven Campus

2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Aerial view of the Lighthaven campus

Lighthaven Campus is a puzzle-seeker's paradise, with easter eggs wedged into every nook and cranny and games mid-play concealed behind secret doors.

Onsite housing is available for the weekend, so you can roll out of bed and into a game at any moment. Rooms can be booked directly with Lighthaven.

Book your room

What happened last year?

Highlights from 2025

Jay Dragon speaking into a microphone on an outdoor panel at Metagame 2025

Talks

  • Games and the World · Frank Lantz
  • PG's Playhouse: The Evolution of Escape Rooms · Peih-Gee Law & Tommy Honton
  • The Interface Is The Game · David Sirlin
  • So You Wanna Make a Tabletop Game: Designing for Mass Production and Working with Manufacturers · Rita Orlov & Spencer Beebe
  • Bleed at the Table: A Panel · Sylvan Lawrence, Jay Dragon & Jonaya Kemper
  • Will Shortz Q&A · Will Shortz
David Turner presenting from a lectern in the Lighthaven garden

Workshops

  • Build Your Own Escape Room · Bansini & Ursula Collins-Laine
  • How to Construct a Crossword · Adrienne Raphel & Natan Last
  • Playtesting and Game Design at Cards Against Humanity · Josh Dillon
  • Video Games as Alignment Benchmarks · Emmett Shear
  • Design a Board Game: Zo · Paul “Lorxus” Rapoport
  • TASK Party · Ursula Collins-Laine
  • Open HDMI Cable · lightning talks, hosted by Brendan Hurst
A crowd leaning over a long table of abstract games during the board game round robin

Games & More

  • Escape the Sudoku · Thomas Snyder
  • Two Rooms and a Boom · Alan Gerding
  • Utility Monster · Nick Ross
  • Jubensha: Tree Rings Murder Mystery · Scott Lininger
  • Mystery Manor · Marlee Honton
  • Sorcerority: A LARP · Alicorn
  • Board Game Round Robin · Sparr Risher
  • Night Market + Career Fair
Propose a sessionSee the full 2025 schedule

Ready to play?

Tickets

One ticket covers all three days. Early-bird pricing ends September 30.

Early-bird$425$325until September 30Standard$425
A limited supply of volunteer tickets are available. Apply to volunteerTicket price out of reach? Apply for financial aid

With gratitude

Our sponsors

Gold

Rogue Signal logo

Patron

Francisco San logoManifund logoOutside the Asylum logo

Interested in helping make Metagame 2026 happen?

Sponsor Metagame

But what about…

FAQ

When is Metagame?
2:00pm Friday, November 6th through 9:00pm, November 8th, 2026.
Where is Metagame happening?
Lighthaven
2740 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705Map of the Lighthaven campus
Is lodging available?
On-site housing at Lighthaven is now available. Book a room here. There are also plenty of hotels available in and around Berkeley.
Are meals included?
Snacks and beverages will be available for the taking. Food trucks will also be on-site with meals available for purchase.
Are tickets refundable?
You may request a ticket refund at the price you paid until 6PM Pacific on October 6th. After that, we will process on a case-by-case basis.
Can I transfer my ticket?
Yes, as long as your ticket wasn't a special personal comp. Email team@metagame.games if you'd like to transfer your ticket to someone else.
Can I bring my kids?
Yes! Children under 13 get free admission, and we will have free childcare and some children's programming available during the day. See the childcare page for more. If you have particular questions or concerns feel free to reach out.
Is parking available?
There is very limited street parking available by Lighthaven. We request attendees avoid parking on the streets in the surrounding two blocks, as this may upset our neighbors.
May I bring or demonstrate my own game?
Please do! Fill out our proposal form here to run a game, event, or session.
Is the venue accessible?
Some parts of the campus are easier to navigate than others. If accessibility is an issue for you, reach out to team@metagame.games so we can figure out how to make it work.

Have more questions? Email team@metagame.games.

When is what?

Key dates

  1. Today

    Sep 17

  2. Sep 30

    Early-bird ticket pricing ends

    Get tickets

  3. Oct 5

    Session proposals due

    Submit a proposal

  4. Oct 10

    Megagame proposals due

    Contribute

  5. Oct 15

    Childcare registration due

    Register a child

  6. Oct 19

    Financial aid applications due

    Apply for aid

  7. Oct 26

    Volunteer applications due

    Apply to volunteer

  8. Oct 29

    Ticket sales close

    Get tickets

  9. Nov 6–8

    Metagame 2026!

  10. Nov 9

    The Metagame team takes a looong nap

Want to keep up?

Stay in the loop

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