The Gaming Hoopla is an annual gaming convention, run by a cancer charity non-profit, and partners with Aurora Cancer Care.
Featuring: Tabletop board games, card games, miniatures, role-playing games, giant & life-size board games, tournaments, exhibitors, play-to-win events, silent auction, a HUGE raffle, the Hoopla games library, and much more!
With hundreds of scheduled events, as well as open gaming areas and a free rental library, Gaming Hoopla is an ideal place for boardgame hobbyists to play with friends and family, or meet new gaming buddies! We host games of all age levels and skill levels, genres and play types. Our game experts manning the Games Library can also help guide to a game that matches your experience, interests, available time, number of players etc.
Check out our Special Events page for more information on everything Gaming Hoopla has to offer!
The 2023 Gaming Hoopla will once again be held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Mundelein, IL.
The Gaming Hoopla is run under the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization known as the Hoopla Foundation.
Featuring: Tabletop board games, card games, miniatures, role-playing games, giant & life-size board games, tournaments, exhibitors, play-to-win events, silent auction, a HUGE raffle, the Hoopla games library, and much more!
With hundreds of scheduled events, as well as open gaming areas and a free rental library, Gaming Hoopla is an ideal place for boardgame hobbyists to play with friends and family, or meet new gaming buddies! We host games of all age levels and skill levels, genres and play types. Our game experts manning the Games Library can also help guide to a game that matches your experience, interests, available time, number of players etc.
Check out our Special Events page for more information on everything Gaming Hoopla has to offer!
The 2023 Gaming Hoopla will once again be held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Mundelein, IL.
The Gaming Hoopla is run under the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization known as the Hoopla Foundation.
Why We HooplaPersonal stories of board games and cancer from Hoopla attendees and staff
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Location and Accommodation InfoDoubleTree by Hilton in Mundelein, IL
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2023 Gaming Hoopla Recap
We raised $40,197 for Aurora Cancer Care!
15 years ago the Hoopla began with only 28 attendees and 1/3 of those were staff! Here in 2023, the entire Hoopla staff is humbled and incredibly proud to be a part of this generous and caring community that we have all built together. We are honored to continue to support cancer charities through the shared joy of tabletop games! By the numbers for this year:
- Badges - we sold 491 badges (compared to 369 in 2022 and our high water mark of 550 in 2019)
- Silent Auction - a new record with 2,157 lots, and another new record of $5,896 raised for the Hoopla!
- Events - over 113 event judges ran 400 scheduled events!
- All together, we wrote a check to Aurora Cancer Care for $40,197!
And if we tally up our donations from the last five Hooplas, we have given cancer charities over $166,000!
A Big Thanks
Any convention is a group endeavor, but as a charity and non-profit, we especially rely on the kindness and generosity of many groups and individuals to help us run such a successful event!
- Very Important Gamers - who go above and beyond with their support by donating extra for their admission badge
- Volunteers - for helping to setup on Thursday night and run the library, silent auction, and registration desk
- Event Judges - the Hoopla wouldn't be the powerhouse event it is today without the packed events schedule, and the time, creativity, and kindness of all the folks running those events
- Individual donors - those that donated games for the library, made cash donations, or other donations of any sort
- Staff at the DoubleTree by Hilton - They worked hard to provide us with a clean, comfortable space and quick responses to anything we needed.
- Jennifer Benanti from Aurora Cancer Care, for telling us about cutting edge advancements at ACC.
- Charles Boyung - for programing and maintaining our auction and library software
- Ken Lewandowski and Vicki McKinley - for running their Wild Hoopla Mega Tournament
- Double Exposure, and their rep, Mike Wilson - for running the Illinois State Championships and for the donated games for the Plan and Win.
- Colosseum Games - for once again being our game store of choice and or their support.
- Local Business Sponsors - Color Ink, Balsitis Contracting, and Lovin Oven.
- Board Game Industry Sponsors - BoardGameGeek, Czech Games Edition, Meeple Source, Bezier Games, Gamelyn Games, AllPlay, Eagle Gryphon Games, Underdog Games, Genius Games, Rio Grande Games, Cheap Sheep Games, Noble Knight Games, Chicagoland Games, Tracey Boards, and UnboxBoardom.
- Your Gaming Hoopla Staff!
