Board Game Days 2026

BGD Overview & Mission:

Board Game Days 2026 is Knoxville’s premier tabletop event, hosting 4 days of gaming at the historic Mill and Mine by the Board Game Days 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization.

Our mission is to strengthen the community fabric and promote lifelong learning through interactive tabletop board gaming. Throughout the BGD convention we develop critical thinking, strategy, literacy, and social skills through hands-on teaching, and we foster game design as a creative art by hosting events (like "Design and Dine") for local creators to playtest and develop new prototypes. All operations ensure no private inurement, and all assets are permanently dedicated to our exempt public benefit mission.

What you can expect:

Through our generous donors this year we are excited to be able to giveaway a game to each of the first 400 attendees to collect their badge at registration! We also have a table full of play-to-win prize games, a large board game library to freely borrow from, and free drawings for several significant giveaway items throughout the event. All attendees are welcome to reserve seats at our various scheduled events

RPG GMs that want to host one-shot campaigns are welcome to schedule sessions at our dedicated RPG tables and should email us to get a discount on their badge as well.

Likewise, we have two dedicated Social Deduction Rooms, and several open game tables that any attendee is welcome to reserve to teach others their favorite game.

Game designers are welcome to set up at any of our open gaming tables throughout the convention for as long as they are actively soliciting players or playing their games, you may also reserve a specific open gaming table if you want to ask players to sign up first and should definitely join us for the Design and Dine playtesting event with food included Thursday night included with your badge!

LOCATION:

The Mill and Mine

227 W Depot Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917

Street parking is available along West Depot Avenue and surrounding streets. The closest public parking lot is under the I-40 overpass at the corner of E. Magnolia Avenue and Williams Street. The lot is a 3-5-minute walk from the venue. Check out this Downtown Parking Map for more options.

DESIGN AND DINE EVENT

• Thursday, October 15, 2026 - 5pm-10pm

Designers and Publishers meet up at the RED Gallery in Old City Thursday night to playtest their games, socialize, and enjoy a catered dinner from Good Golly Tamale. This event is included with the Designer and Publisher badges. Anyone is encouraged to purchase the one-day badge for this part of the event to joining in the game development process and eat with us!

CONVENTION HALL HOURS:

• Friday, October 16, 2026 - 12pm-10pm
• Saturday, October 17, 2026 - 10am - 10pm
• Sunday, October 18, 2026 - 12pm-6pm

By The Numbers

• Target Attendance: 400 unique tabletop gaming enthusiasts over three days.
• Simultaneous Gaming Capacity: 22+ dedicated open gaming tables providing 178+ seats in the main hall.
• Specialized Programming: A dedicated RPG Mezzanine and private Social Deduction rooms for immersive, small-group play.
• Resource Library: A curated collection of hundreds of titles available for checkout and Play-to-Win prize giveaways.