TL;DR: Join the Unofficial Dragon Con 2026 Challenge Hunt using the Thrillify app.
It’s completely free and running the entire con! Download the app and enter event code dcon26 to join. You can join now to get set up, but the Event officially starts on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET. Find us at the con for a free badge ribbon!
We Are Back for 2026
Last year was the first time we opened our Dragon Con challenge hunt to everyone, and it turned into exactly the kind of joyful con chaos we were hoping for. Dozens of teams joined, more than 1500 challenge submissions rolled in, and people kept surprising us with how creative, weird, funny, and committed they were willing to get.
If you missed it, or if you just want to relive the highlights, you can read the Unofficial Dragon Con 2025 Challenge Hunt results.
For 2026, we are doing it again. Same spirit, same free-to-play weekend hunt, and a bunch of new Thrillify features that should make the game feel fresh even if you played last year.
The Unofficial Dragon Con 2026 Challenge Hunt
We’re hosting another free scavenger/challenge hunt during Dragon Con using Thrillify, the app we built to make live challenge games easier to run and more fun to play.
Play solo or team up with friends. As you complete challenges, you’ll earn points, climb the live leaderboards, unlock new paths, and help create the recap videos everyone will see in the app.
You’ll find a mix of:
Photo challenges
Track down cosplayers, recreate memes, collect ribbons, and capture the best tiny slices of Dragon Con.
Video challenges
Start a dance line, film a crossover scene, capture chaotic con moments, or prove your team has no shame in the most useful way.
Trivia and text challenges
Prove your fandom knowledge, answer riddles, and spot the details hiding in plain sight.
GPS Location check-in challenges
Hit the Check In button when you’ve found the right spot to score points. Some check-ins will be obvious, while others hide behind a clue or puzzle you’ll need to solve first.
Survey challenges
Complete survey challenges and view live results to see what the rest of the con thinks.
Timed challenges
Short windows to complete a set of challenges before they disappear. Sure, finding a Spider Man cosplay is usually pretty easy, but can you do it in 20 minutes?
What Is New This Year
Thrillify has changed a lot since last Dragon Con, and this year’s hunt gets to use the fun stuff.
Event Chat and Submission Comments
We added Event Chat so everyone in the hunt has a shared place to talk, coordinate, ask questions, and celebrate the chaos as it happens.
We also added comments on challenge submissions, which means teams can react to the best moments, ask follow-up questions, and give each other the kind of encouragement that usually starts with “wait, how did you even do that?”
Reactions on Challenge Submissions
You can now react to challenge submissions in the feed. Give props to a great photo, reward a deeply cursed video, or help push your favorite moments toward the recap videos.
The submissions with the most reactions and comments will usually be the ones that end up in the daily and overall recap videos, so your reactions actually help shape the story of the event.
Quests
We recently rolled out Quests, and we’ll be making use of them during the hunt.
Quests let us unlock challenges by having teams complete other challenges first. That means the hunt can have little paths, stages, clues, and mini-races inside the larger game. You can work to be the first team to complete a quest and win the quest leaderboard, even if the overall leaderboard is still a brawl.
Power Play
Power Play will be enabled for this event.
As your team completes challenges, you’ll earn Power Points and fill your Power Play bar. Once the bar is full, you can activate Power Play and choose 1 of 3 random powers to help your team gain an edge.
Some powers help you score. Some help with specific challenge types. Some make the leaderboard feel a little less comfortable for everyone else. Use them wisely, or use them dramatically. We support both.
Automatic Recap Videos
Daily and overall event recap videos will be automatically generated and shared in the app.
Each recap pulls from the challenge submissions people engaged with the most, which means the funniest photos, best videos, weirdest ideas, and most-commented moments have a real chance to show up. If you want your team in the recap, make something worth reacting to.
Come Find Us and Get a Badge Ribbon
Throughout the con we’ll run a few timed, location-based check-ins.
Find us, complete the task, and we’ll hand you a badge ribbon!
Got a Challenge Idea?
We’ve got a lot lined up already, but we’d still love to include ideas from other con-goers too.
If you have a challenge you want to see in the event, email hello@thrillify.com. If it fits the weekend and stays respectful and safe, we’ll work it in and give you credit in the app if you would like.
How to Join
- Download the Thrillify app.
- Register and enter the event code:
dcon26. - Create or join a team. Play solo on your own team if you prefer.
- Wait for the event to start and then start tackling challenges, watch the leaderboard, react to submissions, and keep an eye out for quests, Power Play moments, and timed challenges!
The event starts on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET and runs through the end of the weekend, but you can join now to get set up and ready to go.
See You at the Con!
This isn’t an official Dragon Con event, just something we’ve always loved doing and want to keep sharing more widely.
Whether you want to compete hard, collect a few badge ribbons, make something ridiculous for the recap, or add some extra fun between panels, the Challenge Hunt is a fresh way to experience the con.
Register for free and join with Event code dcon26. We will see you there.