Cancon, Canberra

Cancon is a tabletop gaming convention run by the Canberra Games Society. It's held every year at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC), in Mitchell, ACT, over the Australia Day long weekend in late January. The organiser describes it as Australia's largest and longest running tabletop games convention. The venue's listing for the January 2026 convention called it the 46th annual Cancon.

It's a mixed convention rather than a pure wargames show. Miniature wargaming is a big part of it, with tournaments for historical, fantasy and sci-fi games, but the same site also hosts roleplaying, collectible card game rooms, a board game library with more than 500 games, participation games, a poster competition and the Crimson Brush painting events.

Who runs it

The Canberra Games Society describes itself as devoted to the furthering of gaming in the Australian Capital Territory and beyond. Outside Cancon it runs regular club meetings, keeps scenery for members to use so visitors only need to bring their miniatures, and welcomes people to drop in and introduce themselves. A Cancon tournament ticket includes temporary club membership, so you can try a club night while you're in town.

How the site is laid out

Cancon spreads across several of EPIC's pavilions. At the January 2026 convention, the venue's listing put the trade stalls in the Budawang and Quokka pavilions, the Games Library in Budawang, roleplaying in the Snowy River pavilion and the wargaming tournaments in the Coorong and Fitzroy pavilions. The organiser also uses the Mallee pavilion and the Link and Convention areas, and publishes a map of who is where closer to the weekend.

Cancon 2027 runs Saturday 23 to Monday 25 January 2027. The status above reads Confirmed, which means the organiser has published these dates on its own site. Traders and games organisers set up the day before.

Opening times: Players and visitors from 8.30am, trade area closes at 5.30pm. The Games Library stays open until midnight on the first two days and until 4pm on the last day. Most tournaments finish somewhere between 5pm and 7pm each day, so if you're meeting a player for dinner, ask them when their last round ends.

Which day to go

All three days have the trade area, the Games Library and games to watch. The difference is the tournament list. On the 2027 list, most of the big wargames events run on the Saturday and Sunday, while a handful are Monday only, such as a themed Flames of War event, Dropfleet Commander, Adeptus Titanicus and a one-day Middle-earth event. There's also a Flames of War event on the Saturday evening.

If you're visiting rather than playing, Saturday or Sunday gives you the busiest halls and the most tournament tables to watch. The Monday is the last day, and the Games Library closes earlier. Check where the Australia Day public holiday falls this year: when it's the day after the convention, you can make a longer weekend of it.

Visitor entry: Free for spectators. The organiser encourages everyone to come in and look around: you can walk the trade stands, watch the tournaments and take a break in the Comfy Chair Zone without a ticket. Prices on this page are in Australian dollars, as the organiser gives them.

What costs money is taking part. Tournaments, card game events, roleplaying and the Games Library each have their own fee, listed on the organiser's page for that event.

Refunds and changes

Tournament tickets aren't transferable. For a refund you email the organiser with your original confirmation. The $2 ticketing fee isn't refundable, and from 1 January the prize pool part isn't either, so decide before the new year if you can.

Card or cash?

The front desk and the Games Library take card only, not cash, and that includes T-shirts and dice. Many traders do take cash, so it's worth having a little with you, but check with the stand before you count on it.

Exhibition Park in Canberra is at the Corner of Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue, Mitchell ACT 2911, just north of the city centre.

By car

The organiser's directions from Civic: head north on Northbourne Avenue (the Federal Highway) and turn left at the traffic lights onto Flemington Road. The main entrance, Gate 2, is about 200 metres along on your right. Right turns into the venue aren't always available, especially during big events. If that's the case, carry on to the second set of lights, turn left onto Stirling Avenue and go in through Gate 4.

Parking: Free parking at EPIC. EPIC says extra overflow parking may be available at the racecourse next door when the main car parks fill.

By tram

The light rail stops at EPIC & Racecourse, on Flemington Road. Walk towards Northbourne Avenue and cross at the traffic lights by Gate 2. EPIC's own page gives weekend trams every 15 minutes, running from 6am on Saturday until 1am, and from 8am on Sundays and public holidays.

By bus or taxi

There's a bus stop just outside the main gates, but routes vary, so check the Transport Canberra website before you travel. Taxis drop off and pick up at the main entrance gates off Flemington Road.

Staying over

The organiser's website has an accommodation page with flyers from local providers. The society doesn't charge for those listings or endorse any of them, so compare a few. It's a public holiday weekend in Canberra, so book early.

Wargames tournaments

The tournaments are the heart of Cancon for miniature gamers. The 2027 tournament list has about 29 events, ranging from big Warhammer events with well over a hundred players down to small rooms for niche historical rules. Here's how the list breaks down.

Historical: Advanced Squad Leader, AWRG Horse and Musket, Bolt Action, DBA, DBMM, three Flames of War events, Glory is Fleeting Napoleonics, Mortem et Gloriam and The LARD Zone for TooFatLardies rules.

Fantasy: Warhammer Age of Sigmar (Call to Glory), Blood Bowl (Capital Bowl), Bushido, Conquest, Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game (a two-day event and a Monday one-day event) and Warmachine.

Sci-fi and alternative history: Warhammer 40,000 (an Open and a Friendly), Adeptus Titanicus, Legions Imperialis, Infinity, Dropfleet Commander, Konflikt '47, BLKOUT, Broadside: Empires of Steel and an Atomic Mass Games minis area.

Not everything is a hard-fought competition. There's a Warhammer 40,000 Friendly that's explicitly not a tournament, the Bushido event is pitched as beginner friendly with starter warbands, and two of the historical events offer loan armies. The DBA event even names a junior champion for players under 18. There's a 21st Century Board Games competition too, for anyone in your group who prefers euro games.

Crimson Brush

Crimson Brush is the name of Cancon's painting events, and the organiser also mentions painting rooms on site. The categories, entry rules and hand-in times come from the organiser, so check the official site before you pack a model. Even if you're not entering, the entries are worth a slow lap.

Trade stands

The 2027 trader list shows about 85 trade stands, covering miniatures, terrain, games, dice and plenty more. At the 2026 convention they filled the Budawang and Quokka pavilions. The trade area closes at 5.30pm each day, earlier than the gaming.

Bring and Buy

There's a Bring and Buy stall where people sell hobby items they no longer need. The organiser's site doesn't publish its rules on the pages we checked, so ask at the stall about how selling works. As at most shows, the best finds tend to go early.

Games Library, RPGs and cards

The Games Library has more than 500 board games and, in 2025, just over 100 tables to play them on. It's open late on the first two nights. Roleplaying has its own area, and there are three collectible card game rooms, including one for Magic: The Gathering. Add the participation games and the poster competition, and there's plenty for anyone who doesn't paint or play wargames.

Food on site

At the 2026 convention there were canteens in the main hall and a food van court in front of the Fitzroy pavilion.

Tournament players. With events for ancients, Napoleonics, World War Two, fantasy and science fiction, Cancon is one of the big dates in the Australian competitive calendar. A couple of events on the list carry Australian national championship titles.

Painters. The Crimson Brush painting events are the draw. Thinking of entering? Our guides on how to enter a painting competition and what the judges look for will help.

Curious newcomers. Entry is free, so you can wander in, watch a few games and ask players about their armies. Participation games, the beginner-friendly Bushido event and the Games Library make it easy to try something new.

Families. The Games Library has its own under-12 prices, and the mix of board games, card games and RPGs means children who aren't into miniatures still have plenty to do. The organiser doesn't publish other age rules for visitors, so ask if you have a specific question.

Shoppers. Between about 85 trade stands and the Bring and Buy, there's plenty to browse even if you're not playing.

Travelling from the UK?

Cancon is a long way to go for a weekend, so most UK visitors fold it into a longer trip. Pack your army in a padded case in your hand luggage if your airline allows it, and remember that a tournament ticket still needs buying in advance, even from the other side of the world.

Details checked against the organiser's website in October 2026. Always check the official site before you travel. The tournament list, player packs, the Crimson Brush rules and the event map are all published by the organiser, so that's the place to look for anything this page doesn't cover.

Planning more than one show this year? Our miniature events around the world page lists the big shows by region. In Australia, Conquest in Melbourne is usually at Easter and MOAB near Sydney is usually on the October long weekend.