NPL Convention 2026: BloomingCon
BloomingCon, the 186th National Puzzlers’ League convention, will be organized by Ember, joey, KayG, Qoz, and Willz in Bloomington, IN.
One year away: preview of BloomingCon 2026
We’re excited to see everyone at SPAMCon…and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to Bloomington, Ind., next year for BloomingCon 2026!
BloomingCon will be held July 9–12, 2026, in the Biddle Hotel and Conference Center in the historic 94-year-old Indiana Memorial Union building on the campus of Indiana University. The Biddle offers luxurious meeting and solving space at an affordable rate: $139 for a single room or $169 for a double. We are still finalizing the Con fee but expect it will be in the $200-$250 range.
The marquee attraction of BloomingCon is the Slocum Puzzle Collection at IU’s Lilly Library, just 400 yards from the Biddle’s front door. The collection’s curator is eager to welcome us, and the convention will offer a rare hands-on opportunity for a curated deep dive into a vast collection which normally is only available a few puzzles at a time. The Lilly is one of the world’s preeminent research libraries, and we are working with the librarians to arrange access to other notable holdings, from the papers of Kurt Vonnegut and Sylvia Plath to the original scripts of “Star Trek” to the first Superman comic book.
The Biddle itself has multiple restaurants, a bookstore, a bowling alley, a billiard room, and table tennis (no wonder Willz got his enigmatology degree here); you could have a full itinerary without ever leaving the building, but why would you do that? If you exit the Biddle’s south entrance instead of the north, you are 300 yards from downtown Bloomington, with bookstores, escape rooms and a wide range of international dining options within easy reach. Or stay on campus and explore the lush greenspace and trails, historic Beck Chapel, the I.M. Pei-designed art museum and more.
Indianapolis International Airport, voted the best airport in North America for a 13th straight year, is 45 miles to the north and offers an hourly shuttle which drops you directly at the Biddle’s front door. For those who prefer to drive, Bloomington is just off I‑69.
Much more information to come as 2026 draws closer. We can’t wait to welcome you!