GamiConATX '26 is co-located with TechLearn.Â
Register at TechLearn for Super early bird pricing.
Use code: GATC for $150 off
Who Is GamiConATX '26 For?
GamiCon ATX 2026
AI + Game-Based Design for Real Learning Experiences
This is where serious learning design meets Austin’s creative edge.
Hosted by TechLearn, GamiCon ATX is a two-day, hands-on design lab for L&D professionals who are actively building gamified and game-based learning. This is not theory. It is a working experience where participants design, test, and refine real solutions using AI.
Across two days, participants will create narrative-driven scenarios, interactive challenges, feedback systems, and learner-driven pathways tied to real learning objectives. Every concept is applied immediately through hands-on build, peer testing, and iteration.
Day One is focused on design and build.
Day Two is focused on testing, refinement, and feedback.
An After-Hours experience continues the learning through gameplay and conversation.
Participants leave with draft designs, playable interactions, and reusable AI prompts they can take straight back to their work.
If your work helps people build better learning, faster and more intentionally, this is where it happens.
This experience is about doing the work, not just talking about it, and leaving with clearer thinking about what comes next.
đź“Ą Download the Brief to see why this event is a must-attend for learning professionals like you.
đź’Ľ Need approval to attend? Download a customizable letter to your boss to help make the case!
DAY 1: MAKE IT (From idea to working draft)
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Opening + Experience Setup
Day 1:Â THE FRAMEWORK
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
The Sententia Codified 5-Quest Model + Design Framing
Day 1: FROM IDEA TO EXECUTION
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
AI for Idea Generation + Vibe Coding Across Tools
Day 1: FROM CONCEPT TO PLAY
2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Build Sprint: Why Games Work
AFTER HOURS: STORY AND PLAY
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ULTRA SPECIAL EVENING EXPERIENCE
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CREATIVE THINKING LAB
Story Sparks + Unexpected Design
Featuring Rory O’Connor, Creator of Rory’s Story Cubes®
Step out of structure and into exploration.
This interactive lab uses story, randomness, and rapid ideation to unlock new ways of thinking, designing, and creating.
Come curious. Leave with ideas you didn’t expect.
Location: Off Site TBD
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
DAY 2: MAKE IT BETTERÂ (From draft to real-world ready)
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
AI Simulation Design + Interaction + Ethical Impact
Day 2:Â BUILDING THE SYSTEM
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Build a Game System with AI (GROW Model)
Day 2:Â MAKE IT REAL
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Application + Real-World Transfer
Day 2:Â MAKE IT REAL
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Application + Real-World Transfer
Day 2:Â SHOWCASE AND REFINE
2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Marketplace + Showcase + Feedback Loop
EMBEDDED BUILD COACHING
You’re not building this alone.
In addition to scheduled sessions, you’ll have access to on-the-floor design support throughout both days. You won’t be left alone to figure this out.
The Build Coaches will help you translate ideas into playable experiences, refine decision points, strengthen facilitation flow, and ensure your design reflects real-world application.
This is a working event. You’ll have support every step of the way.
BUILD COACH
Scenario Design + Technical Build Tools
BUILD COACH
Facilitation + Learner Engagement
NEW TO THIS?Â
Start here.
Explore these GamiCon Throwdown finalists and see what’s possible.
These are real projects built by designers applying gamification and game-based learning in real-world contexts.
Browse a few. See what stands out. Then come to Austin ready to build your own.
GamiCon48V Throwdown Winners: The Best in Play
BEST Overall Use of Gamification
Dr. Ana Garner
Michala Liavaag
Cybility Consulting Ltd
UK
Cyber Security Incident Response Team Experience
AÂ blended, gamified program that turns static incident response plans into live practice. It combines short e learning, an immersive cyber drill, and a structured debrief so leaders rehearse real crisis decisions in a safe space.
BEST Game-Based Learning
Moe Ash
The Catalyst
Egypt
PENTA: It Takes 5 to Ideate a Learning Game
A design thinking tool and framework for ideating serious learning games that drive real behavior change without needless points, badges, or fake fun.
BEST High Tech Use of Gamification
Thiago Barrionuevo
Cuboo
Brazil/Portugal
Survivors – Digital Game
Survivors is an online, cooperative decision-making game in which each player accesses a different screen with unique and partial information. To succeed, players must actively collaborate, share insights, connect clues and make collective decisions under time pressure.
BESTÂ Low Tech Use of Gamification
Jak Kahn
Jolina Kahn
Management Strategies
PhilippinesÂ
Monsters and Heroes
A reflective card game that helps individuals and teams surface unproductive “Monster” behaviors, activate their inner “Hero” strengths, and build stronger relationships through courageous, collaborative conversations.
BEST Use of Narrative
Paula Yaovamal Uebunkul
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Senior HR Learning Designer
Thailand
BLACK HOLE: Mission Through the Unknown
A strategy-driven leadership simulation that immerses executives in high-stakes decision making under uncertainty, revealing the real consequences of people's choices on trust, sustainability, and organizational survival.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE: BESTÂ High Tech Use of Gamification
Tom Zacharski
Brian Slattery
Teamwork Unlocked
Singapore
Submerged - Escape Room
A high-stakes submarine escape room experience that uses immersive puzzles and structured debriefs to reveal team roles, strengths, and performance gaps, transforming how teams collaborate under pressure
GamiCon48V 2026 Is a Wrap… and It Was Our Best Yet
We’re hearing it again and again: “Best GamiCon ever.” And honestly… we felt it too.
Get every session, every insight, and every moment from the 48-hour experience.
Use code PLAY50 to save 50% for a limited time.
What Made This Year Different
Yes! We were live online for 48-hours. Yes! We circled the globe 2x with phenomenal speakers and dynamic learning. AND, this year, the experience went deeper.
The Arcade wasn’t just a side activity, it became a space for real experimentation.
The Throwdown Showcase raised the bar again with bold, creative work from finalists around the world.
And the Talent Exchange? That may have been one of the most important additions we’ve ever made. Real conversations about careers. Real opportunities. Real connection between people who are hiring, building, and growing.
This wasn’t passive learning.
This was a working event.
Missed It? You Still Have Access
If you couldn’t join us live, or if you were there and want to revisit the sessions you missed, you can now get full access to the complete GamiCon48V recording library.
Every session. Every insight. Every moment.
And because we want this work in more hands, we’re offering:
50% off with code: PLAY50
Fueling the Future: Meet Our Sponsors
Sententia Gamification
A global leader in gamification and game-based learning for adult education and corporate Learning & Development, Sententia is the only company to codify the gamification of corporate training and adult education. Through certifications, consulting, and immersive learning experiences, Sententia helps organizations design engaging programs that motivate learners, strengthen capability, and improve performance.
Training Magazine
Training magazine advocates training and workforce development as a business tool. They are the industry standard for professional development and news for training, human resources and business management professionals in all industries.
BLUERABBIT
BLUERABBIT is a gamification platform designed to support engaging learning experiences for Learning & Development professionals. The platform enables organizations to design interactive journeys, challenges, and social learning experiences that motivate participation and reinforce learning outcomes.Â
Rippily
Rippily is a collaborative learning platform designed to support interactive workshops, training sessions, and learning experiences. Built for facilitators and Learning & Development professionals, the platform helps teams create engaging activities, capture ideas visually, and support collaborative learning design in real time.
Koru Consulting
Koru Consulting partners with organizations to design meaningful learning experiences that strengthen leadership, collaboration, and performance. Their work focuses on learning design and Learning & Development strategies that help teams build practical skills, improve communication, and create more engaging learning environments.
Thinking Cap
Built for training teams who expect more from their LMS
Whether you're managing compliance, selling courses, or rolling out internal training across departments, Thinking Cap helps you do it your way. You get real flexibility, clear control, and support that sticks with you.
Knowledge Force Consulting
Strategically-planned learning and development that improves performance and helps organizations strengthen capability through strategic Learning & Development, performance consulting, and learning design. Their work focuses on aligning training with real business outcomes, creating learning experiences that build practical skills, improve performance, and support continuous professional growth.
Acorn Training
AÂ Singapore-based Learning & Development provider focused on professional skills, leadership development, and workforce capability building.
innoGREAT
If you want to teach innovation, you have to be innovative. This interactive workshop-in-a-box that unlocks your unconscious thinking; enabling deep and fast breakthrough change of any scope and scale!Â
The Catalyst
A learning design consultancy focused on creating & designing compelling learning experiences and high-impact learning programs that help organizations strengthen leadership, collaboration, and performance. Their work blends experiential learning, thoughtful learning design, and practical Learning & Development strategies to create programs that build real capability and drive measurable results.
GamFed TĂĽrkiyeÂ
The TĂĽrkiye chapter of the International Gamification Confederation (GamFed). The organization promotes the use of gamification and game-based approaches in learning, business, and community engagement.
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RINGORANG
Ringorang helps turn learning into action. Using short, game-based interactions delivered over time, the platform reinforces key concepts, strengthens retention, and supports real behavior change on the job.
Just Released:
The Sententia GameChangers Report 2026
Your guide to the trends and insights reshaping learning. The Sententia GameChangers Report brings together research from across the industry to help you understand the forces driving change in 2026. Inside, you’ll find the biggest shifts in AI, skills, and workforce expectations, along with Sententia’s perspective on what they mean for learning designers. This is the foundation for the conversations we’ll be exploring at GamiCon48V 2026.
