A convention held in Winnipeg over the weekend gives tabletop game designers a chance to crowd source their new products. 

JimCon is in it's 7th year in Winnipeg. 

The annual event gives people a chance to play tabletop games they enjoy with new people, and it also gives local game developers a chance to put their new ideas to the test. 

"We have 12 new games organized by Winnipeggers this year," said Organizing Committee Member Michael Hofer on Saturday afternoon. "Winnipeg has a vibrant game design community and we have a number of companies here that have games released to market." 

"We also have a few designers with games in the prototype phase and this gives them an opportunity to get some feedback from people who didn't have a hand in the design and gives them a chance to further refine their product." 

Hofer says the convention has seen an increased interest over the past number of years. 

"Last year we were at about the 450 range which we're tracking to at least meet that this year," Hofer said. "Our first year we were at around 300 or so, so we've seen growth pretty consistently." 

Hofer says JimCon has a huge variety of tabletop games for people to try, and that doesn't just include mainstays like Monopoly and the Game of Life. 

"You have pretty much anything under the sun," Hofer said. "We have classic like Settlers of Catan to newer games or really old classics like Crokinol."

"If there isn't anything that interests you on the tables we have over 500 games in our library, so you can sign those out and just play with your friends or random passersby." 

JimCon runs every year in November and Hofer says he hopes it will continue to gain interest. 

"It's done nothing but good things for the tabletop community in Winnipeg," Hofer said. "It's an opportunity to see people we don't see often and to meet new people."

Hofer says this year's convention saw people come from as far as Saskatoon and Minnesota to take part.  

This year's event was held from Nov. 17-19 at Bronx Park Community Centre. 

For information on next year's event, visit jimcon.ca