NPL Convention 2026: BloomingCon
BloomingCon, the 186th National Puzzlers’ League convention, will be in Bloomington, IN, organized and hosted by joey, KayG, Qoz, Willz, and ESPN. If you have any questions about the convention, the con hosts can be reached at bloomingcon@puzzlers.org.
May 1: BloomingCon deadlines and airport bus info
The deadline for hotel room reservations at the convention discount price is June 8.
puzzlers.org/con2026/hotel
The deadline for con registration at the standard rate is June 22.
puzzlers.org/con2026/registration
(After June 22, the rate increases $50.)
Airport transportation
Go Express Travel has a great bus service which will take you right to BloomingCon! The bus drops you off and picks you up right next to the entrance to the hotel.
We have negotiated a significant discount on the airport shuttle bus, normally $38 each way. The discount is $11 per ride, in addition to the online discount of $5, lowering the rate to $22. You must book online by July 1 with Go Express Travel. puzzlers.org/con2026/airport
Click Book Now and then choose the Bloomington Airport Shuttle. Enter your travel date (make sure you don’t set it May or June by mistake). Select Indianapolis International Airport (IND) for Traveling From and I.U. Memorial Union for Traveling To. On the next page, where it asks for a “Number of Bags”, note that this is for additional bags beyond the allowed bags of 1 full size bag and 1 carry-on per passenger. Finally, on the Checkout page, enter the promotional code Puzzle2026 to get the discount. You need to make two reservations, one each way. Your credit card will be charged at the time you make your reservations.
Buses run every hour on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and every two hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
At the Indianapolis Airport, the shuttle picks up at the Ground Transportation Center located directly across from baggage claim area on the lower level of the main terminal in Zone 1 (see diagram)
At the hotel, the bus stop is in the circle drive, steps from the entrance to the Biddle hotel.
April 1: BloomingCon registration open
It’s April, and that means it’s time to start getting ready for this summer’s NPL convention. We are looking forward to seeing you July 9–12 and welcoming you to Bloomington, the Pride of Indiana! This year, Condé Nast Traveler and Travel and Leisure both ranked the Bloomington campus of Indiana University among the most beautiful campuses in the nation, with its collegiate gothic limestone architecture and natural features such as the Jordan River, Dunn’s Woods, and the arboretum.
In addition to our expansive official spaces in The Indiana Memorial Union, you’ll find a multitude of gathering spaces for puzzle-solving, along with half a dozen restaurants. Just off the campus, Bloomington’s west side is lively, diverse, and teeming with international cuisine and activities.
The Lilly Library
And then there’s the Slocum Puzzle Collection at the Lilly Library, which we’ve been telling you about. A number of exhibits will be available whenever the library is open. These include the Slocum Room, which is their permanent public exhibit; some public area exhibits the library is working on; and a special exhibition of the Kripke dictionary collection recently acquired by the Lilly. Those alone will be worth the visit for many, but there’s more. Our special access room showcasing some rare and interesting mechanical puzzles for hands-on play will be available Tuesday through Friday. Folks who want to get some extra time should consider visiting the Lilly on Tuesday or Wednesday. We’ll have details in May on how you can sign up for time slots.
Hotel reservations
Our hotel block at the Biddle contains two types of rooms. Rooms with one queen bed, for up to double occupancy, are $139 per night plus tax. Rooms with two queen beds, for up to quadruple occupancy, are $169 per night plus tax. Hotel tax in Bloomington is 13%. To make your reservation, go to puzzlers.org/con2026/hotel or call 800–209-8145 or 812–855-2536 and use the group code NPL2026. Our discount rates are good from Monday, July 6th, through Tuesday, July 14th. The deadline to get that rate is also June 8. For those driving, the guest parking fee is $6 per day, added to your hotel account. More information on transportation from and to the airport will be available in May.
Registration
The con fee for BloomingCon has been set at $270 for registrations made by June 22; registrations made after that date will be $320. You can register for BloomingCon at puzzlers.org/con2026/registration
Thanks and see you in Bloomington!