
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.
2022 Gaming Hoopla Recap

We raised $37,068 for Aurora Cancer Care!
We are utterly and completely awed by you all. Even without our full compliment of attendees, we still blew past our previous donation record by over $10,000! The entire Hoopla staff is humbled and incredibly proud to be a part of this generous and caring community. By the numbers for this year:
And if we tally up our donations from the last five Hooplas, we have given Aurora Cancer Care over $126,000!
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!
We are utterly and completely awed by you all. Even without our full compliment of attendees, we still blew past our previous donation record by over $10,000! The entire Hoopla staff is humbled and incredibly proud to be a part of this generous and caring community. By the numbers for this year:
- Badges - we sold 369 badges (compared to 235 in 2021 and 550 in 2019)
- Silent Auction - a new record with 1,626 lots, and another new record of $3,812.50 raised for the Hoopla!
- Big Ticket Donation - We had another big ticket donation of $10,000!
- Outside Donations - Another $2,600 came from donations made through the Hoopla's website
- All together, we wrote a check to Aurora Cancer Care for $37,068!
And if we tally up our donations from the last five Hooplas, we have given Aurora Cancer Care over $126,000!
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!
- To Kristen Chenoweth from Aurora Cancer Care, for telling us about precision cancer care, robotic surgery, and other cutting edge advancements at ACC.
- To Charles Boyung, for programing and maintaining our auction and library software
- To Ken Lewandowski and Vicki McKinley, for running their Hoopla in Space Mega Tournament
- To all VIGs - for always going above and beyond!
- To all 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
- To our Volunteers, for helping to run the library, silent auction, and registration desk
- To Colosseum Game Store - for providing some excellent shopping as our exhibitor
- To Lovin Oven Cakery - for donating a huge pile of cookies for the VIG reception
- To the DoubleTree Hilton - for tirelessly working to provide us with our gaming venue
- To the Hoopla staff - who work long hours without pay to give you the best gaming weekend of the year!