12 players Simultaneously play chess against National Master Nolan Hendrickson!

All ages and skill levels welcome!

Compete against others in the amateur air hockey tournament! Don’t worry, the best in the world will be helping to run the tournament, not play in it!

Sign up at the Air Hockey area prior to the scheduled times. The tournament format depends on the number of players interested but has been single elimination in the past.

Games are played on available table, first to 7 points.

Presented by Evolution Gaming!

Beyblade is a battling spinning top toy line and franchise developed by Takara Tomy. In Beyblade, participants compete in battles between two or more spinning tops called Beyblades, or Beys. A Beyblade typically consists of multiple parts or layers, and players can combine layers to create their own combination of layers. The parts from each iteration of Beyblade are incompatible with other iterations.

Beyblade X is invading Midwest Gaming Classic again! There will be hands-on demos all weekend for the general public spreading the good word of the spinning top. Saturday is for proving your skills in battle through the FREE tournament with epic prizes from our friends at Evolution Gaming to those who come out on top!

How high can you score playing Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 blindfolded? They say a blind Pac-Man who sees is better than a sighted Pac-Man who is blind. We’re going to put that to the test in this blindfolded tournament!

Boop is a 2-player, abstract strategy game where players place wooden kitten pieces on a quilted bed board, trying to align three in a row to “graduate” them into cats. Every placed piece pushes adjacent pieces one space away—a “boop”—constantly shifting the board. The goal is to get three cats in a row to win.

2D Con is Minnesota’s Largest Gaming Event, a 3 day celebration of all things gaming held every summer. Join us for tournaments, concerts, live entertainment, special guests and all the gaming you can handle. Learn more at 2DCon.net

Catan (formerly The Settlers of Catan) is a popular 1995 strategy board game designed by Klaus Teuber, where 3–4 players (5–6 with extensions) collect resources—wood, brick, wheat, sheep, and ore—to build roads, settlements, and cities, aiming for 10 victory points to win. It is known for its variable board, trading, and the “robber” mechanic.

Coup is a fast-paced, 2-6 player social deduction card game where players bluff and use special character abilities to eliminate opponents’ influence. Set in a dystopian future, each player starts with two face-down cards (lives) and tries to be the last one standing by using, or lying about, having specific roles to steal, assassinate, or launch a “coup”

2D Con is Minnesota’s Largest Gaming Event, a 3 day celebration of all things gaming held every summer. Join us for tournaments, concerts, live entertainment, special guests and all the gaming you can handle. Learn more at 2DCon.net

Hey! Hey! Hey! It’s time to make some CRAAAAAAZY money! Are ya ready? YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH! Well, you won’t be making any real money, but cash is king in the world of crazy taxi. You’ll have 3 minutes to earn as much as you can in the game to become king of the cabbies! HERE WE GO….

For the FIRST TIME EVER AT MGC, take your standard legendary Halo video game and curse it…easy, right? If you think you can handle a rubber rifle while driving backwards better than your friends, this competition is for you! Ten seats, one winner! Tournament hosted by Guys Games and Beer!

Check out all the great content this amazing group puts together in their room, on Facebook, and Youtube.

You’ve got 5 minutes to collect as many bananas as you can from this super fun cartridge! The top four in qualifying will face off on in the finals to determine who is TOP BANANA!

The DrMC (Dr. Mario Championship) is extremely happy to return to the Midwest Gaming Classic for the DrMC Midwest Regional. The Dr. Mario competitive scene is in its tenth year, and we are extremely proud to host a regional tournament at one of the premiere retro gaming conventions in the country.

Competitive Dr. Mario is played on the NES/Famicom edition of the game. Early rounds will be played at Level 11/MED speed, and later rounds will be played at Level 14/HI speed. The tournament format will be a double elimination bracket. However, due to the possibility of single DrM matches lasting over thirty minutes, to ensure the tournament can be completed within our time constraints, this format will be modified.

Registration for the tournament is $10 and will be open between 10am and 11am on Sunday, April 26th. The tournament will begin at noon. Veteran DrM players will be seeded in this regional bracket based on their final place result at the 2025 DrMC Championship. Players new to the DrM competitive scene will be played randomly in the remaining slots.

In the “winner’s” bracket, players will compete in a traditional best-3-games-out-of-five match. To keep terminology consistent, the term “crown” will be used to substitute game, as Dr. Mario displays crowns to display the win count in the game display. Winning players in the “winner’s” bracket will advance in the bracket, losing players will be moved to the “loser’s” bracket.

In the interest of saving time, the loser’s bracket will consist of a sudden-death single crown match played at the same Level and Speed used by the current settings in the “winner’s” bracket. Both brackets will continue to advance in a traditional style until the winners of both brackets will play each other in the Grand Finals.

In a traditional Grand Finals, the winner of the “loser’s” bracket must win a full match to produce a Bracket Reset, and force a true final match. Due to time constraints, the disadvantage of the “loser’s” bracket finalist will be modified. The Grand Finals will only be a single match, but rather than a traditional DrM best-of-five-crown match, the “loser’s” bracket Grand Finalist will need to win four crowns before the “winner’s” bracket winner reaches three crowns.

The winner of the DrMC Midwest regional will get free admission to the 2026 DrMC Grand Championship, a slot in the 2026 DrMC Immunity Qualifying pool, and a cash prize.

The DrMC will provide NES controllers for players who do not have their own controller. Players may only use non-modified original NES controllers or reasonable non-modified clones. In the event of an unforeseen circumstance, DrMC tournament organizers reserve the right to make reasonable changes to any of these rules the day of the event.

Presented by Evolution Gaming!

Universal Century 0025 the United Federation of MGC has built a new colony! Some call it a house of cards while others call it a massive strategic victory! Flex your tactical muscles in this magnificent mobile-suit-modeled TCG. Pick pilot, unite with a unit, eliminate enemies to achieve victory!

Prizes for 1st to 8th place, 32 player cap.

• 1st: 24 packs
• 2nd 16 packs
• 3rd 8 packs
• 4th 8 packs
• 5th – 8th 4 packs

REGISTRATION BEGINS AT 6:00PM FRIDAY

Think you hat what it takes to be the best Hatris player in the world! Join us for the second annual Hatris World Championship at the Midwest Gaming Classic! Anyone is free to play this double elimination style tournament. Stop by before the tournament starts to sign up.

THE RULES:

Games will be played in Shop 0 / Stage 6. This is the first stage in the game with access to all six types of hats. Two players will play through this single stage, whichever player earns the higher score in the single stage will win the game. Matches will be a best 2-out-of-3 game contest to advance in the tournament. Cashing in helpers at the end of the stage will not be allowed. This will free up helpers to be used during gameplay without penalty on a player’s score. Use them or lose them. At the conclusion of the stage, leave your screen on the cash-in message until the conclusion of the match. As with Classic Tetris matches, the announcers and/or judge will relay the score info to the player who has not finished their stage. Players must wear a hat on their head during gameplay. Get as silly as you want without blocking your vision. Use common sense and don’t break Twitch ToS with your choice of headwear.

For those who are younger who want a chance to play in a totally fun air hockey tournament, this is for you! Stop to sign up before it starts to secure a spot, and then get the chance to go head-to-head with other kids in attendance at the show!

If you are 9 or under and want to participate in a pinball tournament, the Midwest Gaming Classic will have just what you’re looking for! Play in a pinball game to see who can get the best score to qualify! After qualifying, four finalists will compete in a head-to-head tournament like the full tournament and will receive certificates.Juniors may only enter twice times with their highest score counting. Qualifying is 11am-noon, finals at noon. Please note: We do ask that any child under the age of 10 ranked in the top 500 WPPR players to not participate in the Pinball Junior Championship. These players are still highly encouraged to participate in the Midwest Pinball Championships.

Hosted by EVO Gaming! (Further details coming soon!)

Prizes:

• 1st: 24 Packs
• 2nd: 16 Packs
• 3rd: 8 Packs
• 4th: 8 Packs
• 5th – 8th: 4 Packs

32 Player Cap

Snaking won’t help you in this Mario Kart DS Balloon Battle tournament! Tournament format (multiple rounds or round robin ) will be determined on-site depending on how many players participate. DS units will be on hand if you don’t have one handy. But if you do have a DS with Mario Kart DS, please bring it so we can accommodate as many players as possible!

Come see one of the most fun Cosplay contests around on Saturday night at the MGC Main Stage! Cosplayers of all levels are encouraged to join. Whether you’ve been crafting your costume for months, or you ordered it from Amazon last week, the MGC Cosplay Contest is a celebration of the characters we love. All costumes are welcome!

We award 9 prizes total, a Best of Show Award, plus 8 open categories decided by the judges. All participants need to register as contestants during the day. Click more information below for full Cosplay Contest Rules.

Want to be a contestant? This year, we’re pre-judging the entrants to help ensure the smooth operation of our tournament! Stop by Cosplay HQ next to the American Pinball Main Stage. Judging is Saturday from 12pm-2pm and 4pm-6pm. Then return at 6:45pm near the Main Stage to be ready for the finals!

Pre-judging Categories (10 points each)

Craftsmanship/ Quality – Level of complexity and skill required to construct, diversity of materials used, how much of it is custom made

Accuracy/ Novelty – The degree to which the costume is true to the source material, or to which a unique portrayal is given

Time/ Effort – Amount of time dedicated

On Stage – Presence, demeanor, crowd hype, performance (if applicable)

Put your speed cubing skills to the test in this competition that is officially sanctioned by the World Cubing Association! Because this competition is sanctioned by the WCA, you will need to get up to speed on the rules and regulations which can be found here.

There are four official events (3×3, 2×2, Pyraminx, and Clock) so be sure to pack your cubes on Sunday if you want to participate. No advance registration is required and first-time competitors are welcome. For specific information and updates watch the competition page.

REGISTRATION HAPPENING NOW

• Open division tournament limited to 96 players. 48 players per qualifying session.
• The qualifying sessions will be held on Saturday at 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM.
• A player can only play in one qualifying sessions, not both.
• Players will be sorted into sessions via IFPA rank & notified two weeks prior to the event
• If you have a special need to play a specific session (i.e working the event, children, etc.) please reach out to Rachel directly at [email protected].

PLEASE PURCHASE YOUR MGC TICKET ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE IN THE 9:00 AM GROUP.

REGISTRATION HAPPENING NOW

Whether you are brand new or experienced, this tournament is for you! Bring your constructed deck and play against others.

First Place: Box of Void Within
Second Place: 12 packs
Third Place: 12 Packs
Fourth Place: 8 Packs
Fifth Place: 8 Packs
Sixth Place: 8 Packs
Seventh Place: 6 Packs
Eighth Place: 6 Packs
Ninth-Sixteenth: 2 Packs
Seventeenth & lower: 1 pack

The warp whistle won’t help you here, Fred! Get the highest score you can in this challenge reminiscent of the original Nintendo World Championships. You will have six minutes to:

• Get 50 coins in Super Mario Bros.
• Get 25 coins in Super Mario Bros. 3
• Get the highest score you can in Dr. Mario before the time runs out

Highest score from this savage competition wins and becomes the MGC Remix Champion!

Enter the dark arena and prove your mastery in the Path of the Necromancer Tournament. Wield your own constructed Hero deck and battle for glory, powerful prizes, and your place among the champions. No entry fee—only the strength of your deck and the cunning of your strategy will decide your fate.

Check out Path of the Necromancer‘s official site.

Join our Path of the Necromancer tournament and compete for awesome prizes—there’s no entry fee; just bring your own pre-constructed Hero Deck to play.

Check out Path of the Necromancer‘s official site.

Golf… with pinball machines? It’s a fun way to play! Each game has a goal, and you get one “stroke” for each ball you play on your way to get that goal. You may have to play two games to score high enough, or you may get it on your first ball! As always, play as many times as you want, as long as time allows! All entries must be COMPLETED by 11:30 pm. In the case of a tie for first, those players will move to a single ball play-off at that time, with the winner placing top! Top 4 winners receive a trophy!

Catch all the Pokemon card action you can handle courtesy of The Mana Vault!

FOR PLAYERS OF ALL SKILL LEVELS! Decks for the purpose of learning or playing in this event will be supplied, you do not need to bring your own.
Please arrive BEFORE the start time!

PRIZES AND RAFFLES! Free Booster Pack for Entry in each event, Raffles prizes for all, and bonus Prize Packs for each game you play and
win. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!

Presented by Warpstorm Games!

Game: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Format: Official Pokémon VGC Doubles

Regulation: Regulation H

Rules Reference:

https://play.pokemon.com/en-us/resources/rules/?category=vgc

Player Cap: 64 players

Entry Fee: $20 on-site entry

Equipment: Players must bring their own Nintendo Switch system and game copy, Players are strongly recommended to bring a battery pack to ensure their Nintendo Switch remains charged throughout the event.

Event Schedule:

• 10:00 AM – 10:55 AM: Player Check-In
• 11:00 AM: Round 1 Begins
• 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Swiss Rounds (3 rounds total)
• 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Switch 2 Prizing & Event Wrap-Up

Prizing & Giveaways

• This event uses placement-based prizing.
  • The top ~25% of players after 3 rounds will have the chance to win a Switch 2.
• Pokémon-themed giveaways will be distributed at the beginning of each round prior to round start announcements.
• Each player will be given 1 booster pack of Perfect Order per match win. Even if a player wins 0 matches, they will receive 1 booster pack.

Event Details

• Matches are best-of-three
• Time limits enforced per official VGC standards
• Team lists required per Regulation H guidelines
• Judge staff will be present for rules enforcement and match resolution

Prizing Disclaimer

• No purchase beyond event entry is required to participate in the drawing
• Prizes have no cash value and are non-transferable
• Warpstorm Games reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to the event structure if required by convention operations

General Notes

• All events are fully staffed and managed by Warpstorm Games
• Demo sessions are free and open to all Midwest Gaming Classic attendees
• On-site sign-ups are used to ensure smooth scheduling and player flow
• Coordination with Midwest Gaming Classic staff will be maintained throughout the event

Free Rapid 5 round Swiss style tournament

All ages, All skill levels.

Trophies awarded

Saturday tournament check in at the Chess area in Tabletop Village (see Event Map) 5:00pm to 5:50.
Register for both Saturday Check in and Tournament

Sunday Tournament check in at the Chess area in Tabletop Village (see Event Map) 2:00pm to 2:50.
Register for both Sunday Check in and Tournament

In the FAR FUTURE of 2049, do as many stunts as you can in 5 minutes! The top four qualifying scores will face off in a single 5-minute stunt mode online, with the top score being declared the winner!

Sagrada is a 1-4 player competitive abstract game where players draft colorful dice to construct a stained-glass window on their player board, following strict placement rules based on color and number (shade).

2D Con is Minnesota’s Largest Gaming Event, a 3 day celebration of all things gaming held every summer. Join us for tournaments, concerts, live entertainment, special guests and all the gaming you can handle. Learn more at 2DCon.net

Speed Run Sonic Adventure’s first level, Emerald Coast, as fast as you can! The top four fastest qualifiers will meet on for a one-run showdown! 

Rolling around at the speed of sound got places to go gotta follow my rainbow!

Follow YOUR rainbow as you race to get the best time blasting your way through City Escape! The top three scores will face off on the stage to determine who is the fastest thing alive!

Whether you are brand new or experienced, this tournament is for you! Bring your constructed deck and play against others.

All prizing is in Beta Packs.
First Place: Box of Beta
Second Place: 18 packs
Third Place: 18 Packs
Fourth Place: 12 Packs
Fifth Place: 12 Packs
Sixth Place: 6 Packs
Seventh Place: 6 Packs
Eighth Place: 3 Packs
Ninth-Sixteenth: 2 Packs
Seventeenth & lower: 1 pack

Double your space invading fun with a friend! Take on Space Invaders as a pair, trying to get your best score possible on the Atari 2600.

It’s about time you showed up, Fox! Fly through this competition cart and blast your way to the top of the leader board! If you’re one of the top 4, you’ll have to do it once more in the finals, with the winner taking home the prize! Never give up. Trust your instincts. And always remember to DO A BARREL ROLL!

Pilot a giant Mech? Yes, please! Destroy other Mechs? Even better! For the FIRST TIME EVER AT MGC Guys Games and Beer will host a winner-takes-all tournament for 10 VIGs who want to play the Classic Steel Battalion!

Check out all the great content this amazing group puts together in their room, on Facebook, and Youtube.

Rules: 2 out of 3 rounds per match, 2 out of 3 matches to win.

Time: default

Race through level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. and reach the flag pole as fire Mario. If you don’t finish as fire Mario, then your time does not count! Ties will be broken by coins and score. The fastest four players will take to the finals, with the fastest player (by in-game timer) being declared the winner! In case of a tie, the winner is determined by coins collected and then score. And if no clear winner emerges from all of this, a two-man sack race will be held on consecutive Sundays until a champion can be crowned. We’re relatively certain it won’t come to sack races. Either way, on-site judges have final say.

Qualify by taking on one of the courses in the iconic Super Mario Kart for the SNES and being one of the top four qualifying scores! The top four scores at the close of qualifying are invited to return at 1pm for an incredible head-to-head Battle Mode challenge! The fourth seed will battle the first seed and the second and third seeds will duke it out in a best two-of-three to determine who the final two are, before facing each other!

Go bananas and get the ball rolling to get as many points as you can in this Gamecube classic, and you’ll get the prize!

The winner is the the baller who can rack up the most points in a single run by collecting bananas and hitting the target for the most points.

Choose your fighter! Amiibo! Show us your moves and cheer your amiibo on as it battles other amiibo competitors in the 9th annual MIDWEST AMIIBO CHAMPIONSHIP! Start training now and bring your best amiibo to this single elimination tournament! Ready? GO!!!!

Amiibo figures must be formatted for SUPER SMASH BROS ULTIMATE. Figures from Smash Wii U won’t work.

• Single elimination
• Rounds will be 3 minutes with 2 stock
• Click here to see match settings
• One entry per player
• All amiibo released by Nintendo are allowed
• Only officially licensed Nintendo Amiibo will be admitted (No NFC Cards, Power Discs, or any other unofficial technology)
• Sign up begins 30 minutes prior to the start time

Grab your claw and take to the web as you set out to score at least 10,000 points in Tempest 2000 as quickly as possible! Participants will start at the level select screen with the first web on the screen, and will then start their timer and work as quickly as they can to accumulate at least 10,000 points. Switch levels or play the first one, shoot and Super Zap until you reach the target score, and then you can stop your timer. The person who can do it the fastest, wins!

This is the Classic Tetris World Championship Midwest Regional! Competitors will play NES Tetris A-Type and try to get the highest score possible. Saturday, 10am – 8pm.

Entry fee is $20, winner receives a portion of a community funded prize pool!

Register for the tournament here https://www.start.gg/tournament/ctwc-midwest-regional-2026/details

• 10:30am-11:30am | Qualifying Session 1 (Walk-ups welcomed before 10:25am)
• 11:45am-12:45pm | Qualifying Session 2 (Walk-ups welcomed before 11:40am)
• 1:00pm-2:00pm | Qualifying Session 3 (Walk-ups welcomed before 12:55pm)
• 2:30pm-8:00pm | Tournament

Compete to win one of the Power 9 – an Unlimited Timetwister (approx value $4,000) – in this Magic: the Gathering cEDH tournament hosted by our good friends at The Mana Vault. Entry is included free with your paid admission to Midwest Gaming Classic 2026! Dankey Kang did not take over our website; it’s not a typo, it’s not an error, and not a joke. Your ticket to MGC is a ticket to this cEDH tournament with phenomenal prizes!

256 Player cap.

Full details and registration can be found by clicking here.

Beat level 1-1 in Super Mario Bros. 3 as fast as you can. ¡ɹǝlloɹʇuoɔ uʍop ǝpᴉsdn uɐ ɥʇᴉʍ Ahem. I mean, with an upside down controller! In case of a tie, the winner is determined by coins collected and then score. Judges have final say.

The dungeon is shrinking. The cubes are closing in. And the hunt has begun.
Viva La Dungeon is a dungeon-crawling battle royale where four champions enter the crypts and only one will survive.
Loot the dungeon, spend Kaos, and command the mighty d20 as you fight to become the last hero standing.

The last player standing in each session will face off against former Viva Champions on the Tabletop Stage Sunday at 1pm for a chance to win a POD copy of the game!

Batter up! How often can you get the words Home Run to appear, and how far can those shots go? That’s what we’ll be finding out with our Home Run Derby contest from Wii Sports! Winner scores the most home runs out of ten. In the likely case of a tie, total feet of all home runs will serve as the tiebreaker!

It’s time to d-d-d-duel!!! EVO gaming presents this standard Genesys format tournament for the Yu Gi Oh card game!

Prizes include:

• 1st: 24 Packs / 1st Place Trophy
• 2nd: 16 Packs / 2nd Place Trophy
• 3rd: 8 Packs / 3rd Place Trophy
• 4th: 8 Packs
• 5th – 8th: 4 Packs

Standard genesys format.

100 Points

• No pendulum or link monsters
• No forbidden or limited list
• Balanced point-based deck-building system you control
• 32 Player cap

PLAYERS WILL RECEIVE A FREE PROMO PACK UPON ENTRY!