Between 6000 and 8000 people were expected to attend Cancon, Canberra's tabletop gaming convention from Friday to Sunday.

The annual event catered for all ages and levels of passion and difficulty, from casual card and board games to elaborate competitions with carefully hand-painted miniatures.

The annual event drew visitors from across Australia and the world, keen to either play or check out the new and second-hand releases for sale at game stalls.

The main tournaments of the weekend were booked out by December, with competitors from America and elsewhere around the world taking advantage of the convention.

"We have a prize for the person who travels the longest distance to come here, and last year there was 50km in it between a guy from Norway and a guy from Scotland," Cancon organiser Tim Sleigh said.

"All of our tournaments are full, a lot of people go through the trade stands to have a look, so there's a lot of people here."

For some participants, like Epic: Armageddon players Sam Allan and Geoff Orton, the weekend was a chance to catch up with old friends and share their hobby.

"I've probably been playing this since I was in early high school, but haphazardly," he said.

"Most of the guys I'm playing this with are friends from work or other parts of life, so it's a bit of a chance to have a boys' weekend and catch up with people, rather than worrying about what we're actually playing."

For others, the event offered the chance to share their passion with loved ones, or introduce the next generation to tabletop games.

Ronald Yu from Gungahlin took his six-year-old son Chilok to the board games library, part of the convention allowing players to try out up to 250 games before buying them.

"We often play board games, we probably play once a week," he said.

"My favourite game is probably Ticket to Ride at home."

Cancon will continue on Sunday from 8.30am. Admission is free for the public to look around, but fees are charged for playing the games.