ExileCon 2026 allows costume weapons, but every prop has to pass inspection. Replica guns, metal weapons, sharp points, and anything that fires a projectile are banned. Check your build before you pack it.

Grinding Gear Games has released the cosplay rules for its November 7 and 8 event in New Zealand. They cover how a prop is made, how much room it takes up, and what happens at the entrance.

Check the blade, tip, and moving parts

A wooden spear with a metal head still fails the metal-weapon rule. Replica swords, axes, daggers, and similar blades need nonmetal construction with blunt, rounded edges. Sharp points are out too.

Replica guns are banned outright. Props cannot fire projectiles, including Nerf and airsoft-style items. A bow or crossbow must have no string or one without the tension needed to fire. Replica arrows need no heads or soft, blunt tips.

Keep the weight and size manageable

GGG uses a Stone Hammer replica to explain the difference: actual stone is too heavy and dangerous, while foam and balsa wood are more suitable materials. That is construction advice, not automatic approval.

Staff can refuse oversized props if they obstruct other attendees or make it hard to turn without hitting someone. Check how much space your costume needs when you move, not just how it looks standing still.

An attendee wearing a bone-themed costume and carrying a staff at an earlier ExileCon.
Image: Grinding Gear Games.

Leave the inspection tag attached

Event staff will inspect every costume weapon and tag accepted pieces. Do not remove or alter that tag; GGG says doing so can lead to confiscation.

A prop that fails the rules may be refused entry or confiscated for collection at the end of the day. Staff still decide whether it comes inside, so do not treat a foam build as a guaranteed pass.

Large costumes can affect your seat

Stilts are banned. GGG also warns that large costumes may not be allowed in allocated seating for the keynotes on both days or Sunday's closing talks, where it expects the theater to be full.

Posing for an attack photo is allowed. Actually hitting another attendee with a prop, even a foam one, is not. Dangerous or aggressive behavior can get you asked to leave.

Before traveling, check the materials, remove functional parts, and make sure you can move around people safely. The useful preparation happens before the entrance inspection.