Tyler Davis
This last weekend marked the twenty-first annual Too Many Games Expo, one of the largest gaming conventions on the East Coast that still caters to the community first and foremost. Thousands braved the danger of rising summer heat for three days spent surrounded by one of the best distillations of gaming culture I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of. With open halls of specialized vendors, areas of free play, and guests there for the excitement of the convention itself, it was hard not to taste the magic—alongside the sweat—in the air of a convention that felt like it was made by fans, for fans.
That being said, this is by no means a small convention in the same way a darling gem like Zapp Con is. The con takes over the entirety of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and wastes no space. With multiple panel stages and three halls dedicated to different activities, it’s hard not to find your place within the wider frame of gaming culture the con attempts to capture. A slice of the hall is carved out—with full commitment—for tournament players, tabletop fanatics, independent developers, and free-range arcade play, on top of a massive space dedicated to a wide variety of vendors. A space that gives room to both local game stores and independent artists.
In those entertainment spaces, there were plenty of fun panels to sit in on, as well as a string of concerts that kept the energy flowing throughout the weekend. In addition to those panels, the tournament events and an especially electric wrestling match added to the organized fun of the event. It guaranteed a moment of scheduled recognition for every kind of fan, breaking up the potential anxiety of self-guided fun within the free-play spaces.
A large selling point for the convention is the air of community that surrounds it. Many of its guests are YouTube personalities who have blown up through their low-ground, community-building approach to games journalism. You won’t miss out on those larger, celebrity guests either, but they aren’t the main draw here. While I was too enamored with the rest of the convention to really get a second to interact with any of them, there was a genuine sense of excitement in the air as guys like James Rolfe, Wood Hawker, and the majority of the SpawnWave Media crew continue to take the time to make this convention feel as large as the corporate-driven convention slop that has taken over events like New York and San Diego Comic-Con.
At the end of the day, what makes Too Many Games stand out isn’t just its scale or its stacked guest list—it’s the unmistakable feeling that everyone there genuinely wants to be. Whether you’re hunting for a rare game, vibing at a ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ rock concert, or just soaking in the sights of passionate fans doing what they love, the convention offers a space where gaming culture can breathe without the weight of corporate polish. It’s messy, vibrant, and completely alive. And for a weekend, that’s more than enough to remind you why you fell in love with all this in the first place.
