Update on $300K in gaming cards stolen at Gen Con 2023

A robbery which saw $300K worth of Magic: The Gathering gaming cards stolen at Gen Con 2023 took place on the Wednesday 2^nd August 2023, the day before the popular board game convention started. With numerous vendors hurried setting up their stands in preparation for the event, it’s believed that the thieves brought in a pallet jack that left them lift the entire stack of product, blending in with the rest of the people moving product around the convention floor.

Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, and strategy games. 

Since news broke of the theft at the covention, there has been a major update in the Gen Con robbery story, as the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are allegedly looking to bring two charges to two game designers. No new leads had been announced until very recently, when CCTV footage emerged that showed two people walking into a hotel with a similar looking pallet whilst wearing a custom-printed t-shirt advertising an independent board game. 

When the news first broke, many were worried that this product included the limited stock of Lorcana, but it has since been stated that the products stolen were instead from the recently released Magic set Commander Masters, where single booster packs could go for up to £60 each - and most sealed boxes of boosters being priced over £300.

The game in question was 2015 tower-defence card game “Castle Assault”, designed by TJ Dunbar and Pearson Giaume, who both bear a striking resemblance to the people recorded in the CCTV.

IMPD have said to be in communication with both Dunbar and Giaume’s attorneys and are looking to present the case to Indianapolis prosecutor’s office ‘in the near future for charging consideration.’

Whilst this is purely speculation, if the heist was done by two game designers it would explain how they were able to originally gain access to the venue, though outside of monetary value it’s bizarre why this particular product was targeted.

As this news is ongoing and no confirmed charges have been brought just yet, we will update it as soon as there are any developments.