Wellycon

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Wellycon is New Zealand’s largest board game convention, held each year in Wellington on the King’s Birthday Weekend. It began in 2008 and has grown to attract hundreds of players, including more than 600 attendees in 2018 at Wellington Girls’ College. The event focuses on onsite game playing rather than trade, and it is run entirely by volunteers (about 150 helpers).

In 2025, Wellycon added a third half-day of play, running Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 3pm, because the venue was double-booked on Matariki Weekend. The format was popular, but it’s not yet clear if it will continue due to the extra work for volunteers.

Milestones and highlights:
- 2008: First Wellycon.
- 2018: Over 600 attendees.
- 2019: Four international game premieres for the southern hemisphere.
- 2018: Exclusive promo card for Raiders of the North Sea (Spiel des Jahres nominee).
- 2020: Main convention postponed to October; online event held via Zoom and BoardGameArena.
- 2021: Held in June with capacity limits and four half-day sessions; first National Catan Tournament begins (winner to Malta in 2022).
- 2022: Main convention postponed to October due to red traffic light status.
- 2023: Orbit Sessions launched (panel discussions, designer features, quizzes); Great Wellycon Sheep Trek with Amy & Llewe from Lego Masters NZ.
- 2024: Patron tier introduced with early venue access, gifts, Patron lounge; more tournaments, a mix & mingle area and a permanent dexterity-games area.
- 2025: Third half-day experiment; Fri/Sat/Sun 3pm end; continued evaluation by volunteers.

Founders: Andrew Rea, Ian Anderson, Ceedee Doyle, and Peter Freer. For more history, see wellycon.org.nz/history.