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Back for another convention, yes I have returned to the Midwest Gaming Classic for 2025 and have wonderful things to say. This post is a bit late, since the convention was, and typically is, in April, but it’s been a wild year with not much time to update my blog. So, here we go!

As you might recall, I posted about the Midwest Gaming Classic in 2024 in my article: Highlights From The 2024 Midwest Gaming Classic. I had an absolute blast and made a YouTube video about the whole thing. It’s a large retro gaming convention and trade show held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the spring where you can play free arcade games, buy games and collectibles, and see all sorts of neat geeky entertainment like live game soundtrack performances and tabletop games.

Not only is this a really cool convention, but it’s basically the biggest retro gaming convention in North America, give or take, with Portland Retro Gaming Expo nearby in the lead.

This year was just as amazing as the previous year if not so more, and I cut no corners in exploring everything the convention has to offer. Some highlights from this years show included:

• A DeLorean time machine & other vehicles
• Tons of vendors with awesome stuff
• The Atari Age booth with all sorts of vintage ATARI consoles (I bought a hat here)
• More arcade games and pinball games than last year on free to play
• A mini arcade museum
• A monster truck
• The console modder’s space
• An indie game developer section
• Live performance wrestling
• Lots of authors, artists, and video game celebrities
• Tabletop gaming in the basement with a new inflatable dragon mascot
• The World of Nintendo Museum
• Lots of talks, lectures, and panels
• Competitive gaming
• New friends, meetups, and social interactions

I really had a blast this year, especially with some of the new friends I met there. There is so much to do at this convention, that it’s really worth going if you live in the Milwaukee area or are able to make it via the many transportation options to the city.

I did not buy too much stuff from the vendors this year, since I was just sort of starting to get my retro gaming collection going as of April, but I did get some neat apparel and other trinkets. If I go again this year, I’m probably going to load up!

Probably Going Again

Anyway, most of the highlights are in my 2025 YouTube video (linked at bottom of article as well) or on my other article, but I did want to dump some photos here, since I have not shared many of these with the internet yet, so you’ll find that below.

I’m really thinking about going back this year for the third time, and the more I think about it, the more sure I am that it’s probably going to happen. I do recommend building your immune system for these types of conventions though, as I got quite sick with con crud this year, and I will probably avoid the drinking fountains. Still worth it. 😂

Anyway, it’s a great convention with a lot of passion behind it and some fun things to do. So, be sure to check it out, and if you see me there (if I’m not in disguise) be sure to say, “Hi!”

Photo Dump From the Convention

Oh, and here’s that YouTube video I talked about if you wanted to see that too!