Castle Con Returns to Rochester with Expanded Miniature Painting Programming

Back for its second year, Castle Con will transform downtown Rochester into a four-day hobby weekend focused on play, learning, and painting. Game Haven is hosting the convention across the Chateau Theater and the Kahler Hotel from Thursday, January 22 through Sunday, January 25, 2026, with an expanded slate of programming that foregrounds miniature painting alongside broad tabletop offerings.

The convention program includes open gaming with more than 250 games, expanded Learn to Play sessions, developer panels and workshops, a jigsaw puzzle contest, board game tournaments, and a fundraising silent auction. Hobby programming explicitly lists miniature painting classes and workshops, signaling a deeper commitment to hands-on technique sessions in areas such as basing, blending, and brush control for both novice and experienced painters. For painters looking to sharpen zenithal priming, glazing, or edge highlighting, the event promises a mix of classroom-style instruction and open studio time.

Holding events across a theater and hotel gives castle painters room for multiple hobby tables and demonstration spaces, which improves accessibility for painters who want to work on pieces between panels or during open-gaming breaks. The convention’s scale - 250-plus games and expanded learning tracks - also creates more opportunities for cross-pollination with board gamers, designers, and developers, which can lead to commission work, local collaborations, and new club memberships.

Practical details are straightforward: Castle Con runs four days at the Chateau Theater and Kahler Hotel in Rochester, MN. Ticket pricing and the full event schedule are posted on the convention website. Bring your usual kit - brushes, paints, primers, varnish, and a few test minis for wet blending practice - and plan for classroom formats as well as open hobby space. Expect both beginner-focused Learn to Play sessions and more advanced workshops that concentrate on scale-specific techniques and conversions.

For local painters and visitors, Castle Con’s expanded programming means more structured learning opportunities than last year and a denser weekend of hobby content to dig into. Whether you want to brush up on fundamentals, try a new technique, or network with nearby clubs and stores, the convention offers a practical, community-focused weekend. Check the event site for class sign-ups and the detailed schedule to map out which painting sessions fit your goals.