On Oct. 9-11, the Snake River Event Center will host The Idaho Convention of Board Gamers (ICON). ICON is for all ages, with general admission costing $30 for a one-day pass, or $50 for a full three-day pass.

A convention with a long history

Over 20 years ago, Josh Wheeler started ICON with little idea of what it would become.

Since those early days, ICON has expanded to a three-day event that has passed from location to location, until arriving at the current location of the Snake River Event Center.

ICON is now the largest board game convention in Idaho, according to Jonathan DeYoung, the event organizer. DeYoung now runs ICON with David Pruitt after the event became infeasible for Wheeler to run.

What is ICON?

ICON attendees can expect over 1,200 board games.

According to DeYoung, even if a participant doesn't know how to play a game, there are people at ICON to teach them. There will be many local vendors, including Game Grid, Binary Cocoa and Holidae Fun & Games.

A big draw for the event is the play-to-win program. Participants play one of the "play-to-win" games. Then participants enter a drawing to win that game. DeYoung and Pruitt said that people often walk away with the price of their tickets in board games.

Multiple tournaments are a part of the ICON event schedule, including Flip 7, Heat and Pokémon. There will be dozens of types of games, including social deduction, strategy and more. An awards ceremony will take place on Saturday

"The best way to attend ICON, especially if it's your first time, is to bring a friend with you," said DeYoung.

According to Pruitt, ICON is a place where participants can find people who can challenge the most avid board gamers.

ICON has offered a 25% discount for tickets for BYU-Idaho students using the code BYUIGames at TabletopEvents.