This blog is being initiated as a new feature at the EQ website in order to better communicate with EuroQuest attendees. Posts by your 2023 EuroQuest Convention Director, John Weber, will appear here in inverse chronological order, with the newest item at the top. To view older posts, all the way to the initial post, scroll down to the bottom.
All enquiries should be addressed to jcw222@comcast.net. Any and all feedback is encouraged and appreciated!
December 31, 2023: With the year drawing to a close, it is time to close a chapter by announcing that I will be turning over the reins as EuroQuest Convention Director starting in 2024 to Bob Oliver, who has already served admirably as Game Days Coordinator, GCOM Vice President and, this past EuroQuest, as the Front Desk Coordinator. I still plan to be involved in many aspects of the convention, and want to acknowledge the excellent support I have had from others in the GCOM gaming community. I am particularly pleased with the results of our move to the new location (the Crowne Plaza Annapolis) over the past two years, as the attendance figures have been much higher than I would have predicted for both 2022 and 2023.
November 19, 2023: The 20th anniversary EuroQuest is now history. Pleased to report that we had a nice increase in attendance, from 275 last year to 310 in 2023, including over 100 first-time attendees. We have already booked the hotel for a return stay next year, dates are November 7-10, 2024, so mark those calendars now!
November 7, 2023: Less than 48 hours to go before the start of this year’s convention, which is the 20th Anniversary edition; the very first EuroQuest took place in 2003. The printing of the program booklets should be done some time today, and many of us plan to be at the hotel for setup starting around 5 PM tomorrow, although the supplies and the games library may not arrive until around 7 PM. A quick check of the listing for the Auction Store reveals over 850 items. For those staying at the hotel who have booked in our room block, don’t forget to request your tickets for the free breakfast for two when you check in!
November 4, 2023: Pleased to report that our final number on pre-registrations (which closed on October 31) topped out at 227, which augurs well for overall attendance this year. With a decent walk-in, we should exceed last year’s total attendance of 275 and also have a decent chance to hit the 300 number. Good thing we contracted for all that extra space this year!
November 3, 2003: The final version of the master schedule has just been posted. It includes all the latest in terms of special events and game demos, and it also has specific room assignments for several of the tournament games (some will take place in the Prince George Room across the hall from the main ballroom), and you can see how the hotel will be buzzing* will all sorts of activities utilizing all the meeting room space available on our peak day, Saturday, Nov. 11. See EQ_2023_Master_Schedule-v4.pdf (euroquestcon.com) for all the details.
Asterisk (*) – bad pun on my part, as one of the hot new games, Apiary, is near the top of the Saturday schedule with a 9:30 AM demo time.
November 2, 2023: The list of game titles for the popular Play to Win prize drawing has just been posted. Some 20 titles in all to choose from! To see the list and view all the details, go to Play to Win – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com).
November 1, 2023: Pre-reg deadline expired yesterday, but it looks like we should have plenty of space this year to accommodate walk-ins. A quick check shows that we already have nearly 500 entries for the Auction Store. Still plenty of room and time for more, although it’s likely that the number of entries will be capped at 1000, but, until then, entries can be accepted as late as Friday, November 10.
Was browsing BoardGameGeek and noted that, of the 25 biggest “movers” (in terms of increase in ratings) over the past week, nine are recent Essen releases slated for our Saturday night prize drawing: namely, The White Castle (#2), Nucleum (#5), Apiary (#6), Rats of Wistar (#9), Evacuation (#10), Planta Nubo (#12), Kutna Hora: City of Silver (#13), Evenfall (#17) and Forest Shuffle (#24). Good to see that EuroQuest is on the cutting edge of featuring new games once again.
October 29, 2023: Busy times preparing for this year’s EuroQuest, just sent out a final reminder with the pre-reg deadline coming up in a few days. Also, a minor amendment on the list of Essen games for the prize table: Ceres and Path of Civilization will not be prize table games, but 10 other Essen releases plus Apiary will; we expect to have demos available for those two games and several of the other Essen releases. On the plus side, however, we will have three new games from Asmodee North America, including the big box Ticket to Ride: Legacy game (the two other titles are Archeos Society and Waterfall Park). Look for these on the Saturday night prize table (moved back to 9:30 PM this year), along with a few surprises.
October 24, 2023: Pleased to announce that new page is up on the website, and it features several game designers who will be running demos of games that have been recently released, are about to be released, or in the pipeline (signed with a publisher). Scheduled demo times are listed for Friday, Saturday and Sunday demos. Check out Game Designer Demos – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com) to learn more.
October 18, 2023: The identity of the dozen Essen games we plan to have on hand has been revealed. All credit goes to Tom McCorry, who has picked up these games for us and will be returning to the States with them soon. Along with a 13th title (Apiary) that we are obtaining stateside, these games will reside in a special New Games Library (apart from the main game library) and available to be checked out during the convention, many will have scheduled demos (to be announced in the coming weeks), and then they will be part of the Grand Prize Drawing on Saturday night. Here’s the list of Essen titles (many of which have been at or near the top of the BGG “hotness” list in recent days):
Ceres
Evacuation
Evenfall
Footprints
Forest Shuffle
Kutna Hora: The City of Silver
Nucleum (Hot New Wild Card game, along with Apiary)
Path of Civilization
Planta Nubo
Rats of Wistar
The White Castle
World Wonders
October 16, 2023: Pleased to announce that the “Bring and Buy” Auction Store has just gone live, and we are now accepting submissions. Any questions should be directed to Eric Hymowitz at hymie@nasalinux.net. See /index.php/eq-presents/bring-and-buy-auction-store for details.
October 10, 2023: Planning continues apace for this year’s EuroQuest, which incidentally marks the 20th anniversary of the very first EuroQuest back in 2003. The schedule for all the main tournament games has been posted. See /index.php/schedule for details.
The Wild Card games for this year have been chosen. Two titles (Apiary and Nucleum) have been designated as the Hot New Games in the Wild Card. Former main event games such as Egizia and Power Grid can be played in the Wild Card. Both of the two recent iterations of Great Western Trail (Argentina and New Zealand) are grouped as a single title. Perrianne Lurie will sub in for Chris Wildes (who has a prior commitment and will miss this year’s EQ) as on-site coordinator. Read all the details at /index.php/gaming/wild-card-tournament.
Finally, for all you game designers out there, Break My Game has set up a sign-up through Eventbrite with no fewer than 11 (!) time slots available for organized playtesting. We will have six tables set up in the Montgomery Room (across the hall from the main Arundel Ballroom) for their use. See the “Designer’s Den” page or follow this link: /index.php/previous-years/2013-2/euroquest-presents/designer-meet-greet
September 22, 2023: The latest report from the hotel indicates that our room block is now over 95% booked. In particular, just about all double rooms have been accounted for, and only a handful of Kings might still be available. The hotel has indicated that it is unable to offer us any additional rooms inside the block. If anyone is able to book outside the block before the specified cut-off date in our contract (October 8), albeit at a higher rate, let me know and I will endeavor to get you in at the group rate. If anyone who has booked a room is looking for a roommate to share expenses, let me know and, of course, if you are interested in staying at the hotel and have not been able to reserve a room but willing to share a room with another attendee, let me know as well. No promises, but I will do the best I can to assist.
September 15, 2023: Again, apologies for not keeping this blog as up to date as I would like. Alot has been happening this week. We are pleased to announce that Game Kastle (based in College Park) will be appearing as a new vendor at EuroQuest. This is in addition to Canton Games (who will be returning for their 15th year) and Fiat Lucre, publishers of Annapurna (who will be back for a second time). Break My Game will also be back and offering sign-ups for scheduled playtesting of games. Finally, just checked yesterday and our room block is now over 80% full. I expect it is likely to sell out again this year and, if that happens, efforts will be made to add more rooms, but there is no guarantee as we began with more rooms in the block this time around compared to 2022. Tournament game schedules are in the process and should be finalized by October 1 or thereabouts, and we expect to be able to provide a nice selection of games from the Essen Spiel in Germany for the non-tournament crowd to feast on.
August 25, 2023: Checked with the hotel this week, and it turns out that our room block — which contains more rooms than 2022 — is already over half full. Last year the room block was close to full by early to mid-September, so for anyone planning on coming and staying at the hotel, you are encouraged not to wait until the last minute!
August 20, 2023: Things have been quiet here recently, but please be advised plans are moving forward for this year’s event, and expect some major announcements in September. Speaking of September, I would recommend to everyone’s attention a new event that GCOM is holding set to take place Saturday, September 9, at the Odenton Masonic Temple (same location as this year’s Game Days). The event is called the New Games Extravaganza, and it will feature scheduled demos of 10 recent releases that are candidates in voting for a GCOM New Game of the Year. In addition, we expect to have around a dozen game designers vying for top honors in a Game Design Competition. Anyone attending who participates by either (a) voting for the Game of the Year or (b) submitting feedback forms to the game designers will be eligible for a prize drawing! Details and pre-registration is available at https://nge.gamesclubofmd.org.
July 26, 2023: Apologies for not remaining as vigilant as one would like in updating this blog, but please be advised that plans are being made for another exciting EuroQuest in Annapolis again this November. The first cut has been made with respect to the main tournament games, and Ark Nova has been added to the list, and Castles of Mad King Ludwig is back for a second stint as a main event. Unfortunately, this means dropping one main event, and in this case, that game is Power Grid, but Power Grid will be on the agenda as one of the games that can be played in the Wild Card competition. We are anticipating adding some new special events as well, and look for announcements in the coming weeks.
March 25, 2023: Pre-registrations for EuroQuest 2023 are now available, as are hotel rooms. Simply click on the links to the left labeled “Register Now” and “Hotel Info” for more details. We have increased rates slightly this year in order to cover higher meeting room costs, but the Supporting Member discount has been increased from $10 to $15 for all four days. Hotel guest room rates have gone up as well, but those staying at the Crowne Plaza will be entitled to free breakfast for two each day, thus adding significant value to compensate for the increased guest room rates.
March 5, 2023: One of the concerns expressed by attendees at last year’s EuroQuest was that space became tight, particularly on Saturday, our busiest day, with tables needing to set up in the hallway. Well, for 2023, the good news is that more space will be available, both for all four days, but particularly on Saturday, when we will have access to the Queen Anne Ballroom near the front of the hotel, in addition to three smaller side rooms, for a total of approximately 10,000 square feet of meeting room space. See Maps & Floor Plans – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com) for details.
January 30, 2023: Great news! Plans have been finalized with the hotel for EuroQuest 2023 to make a return to the Crowne Plaza Annapolis, again a four-day event on Veterans Day Weekend, running from Thursday, November 9th through Sunday, November 12th. The hotel has agreed to make more space available this year, particularly on our busiest day (Saturday), so things should be a bit less crowded than last year. Look for future announcements and registration information in the coming months. Meanwhile, 2022 information will remain posted on this site.
November 18, 2022: After cross-checking some walk-in registration forms, I am going with an actual attendance figure of 275 for this year’s EuroQuest.
November 14, 2022: As they say, EuroQuest 2022 is now history. A whirlwind of activity spanning four days of wall-to-wall gaming (plus an extra fifth day — Wednesday — devoted to setup for those of us on the planning side of things). Overall attendance exceeded all expectations: adding together walk-ins with pre-registrants, we had a total of 288 people; however, actual attendance comes in at around 272 given that a few of the pre-registered people did not show up.
For me personally, the highlight has to be meeting and defeating Obsession game designer Dan Hallagan at his own game (and I was not the only one to do so: Melinda Ashton edged me out for first by a few points and then crushed me and two others with a resounding victory in a second game the following day). Also, will always remember the fun and excitement of this year’s prize drawing, welcoming some 15 game designers plus a record number of six (!) vendors.
Finally, thanks to all the volunteers who helped out — most are mentioned in the convention program booklet but today I want to give a shoutout to three in particular who did yeoman work manning the front desk: Lisa Kleist, Jason Martin and Michael Smith. Jason and Michael were first time EQ attendees who stepped forward to help where help was needed most, and I want to acknowledge Lisa as the well deserved winner of the prize drawing for a free admission to next year’sEuroQuest or Game Days (her choice).
November 8, 2022: T Minus 2 and counting! Getting down to the wire now, with less than 48 hours until we officially open the doors at 9 AM Thursday. Several years ago at EuroQuest, we had something called the “Director’s Choice” where the Convention Director elected to demo a new or newish game of particular interest. While I am not going by that moniker this year, my personal choice of the standout Essen game this year is Lacrimosa, and I was pleased to pick up a copy after learning that our guy in Essen was unable to obtain one (there was reportedly a two-hour line at the manufacturer’s booth to buy the game). The game tracks the efforts to complete the final Requiem of composer Wolfgang Mozart, and check out the amazing box art and other information on BGG here: Lacrimosa | Board Game | BoardGameGeek The demo will take place at 5 PM Friday in the New Games Library area near the front desk.
November 7, 2022: Just got in a quick update on the status of our Auction Store. So far, there is a list of over 300 games that have been registered thus far, and the list is growing as of this writing. Again, the Auction Store will take place on Saturday, in the larger of the two side rooms (Prince George), and details are posted here: Bring and Buy / Auction Store – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com)
November 7, 2022: Less than 72 hours until the convention kicks off at 9 AM Thursday morning. Just a heads up to everyone, when you check in at the registration area, you will receive a badge, a program booklet, a badge holder (if requested, but feel free to bring your own) and, importantly, a ticket that you will mark with your name and badge number and place in a receptacle that we will use for both the Early Bird Thursday night prize drawing (at 9 PM) and the Grand Prize Drawing on Saturday (at 7 PM). You must be present and have a valid badge for that particular day to be eligible to win, and anyone who wins a prize on Thursday will be thrown back into the drawing for Saturday. Only one entry per person, please.
November 6, 2022: Five short days until the start of the convention, and demos of eight different Essen games are now on the schedule, see a list of all eight broken out on a separate page of the website here: Play Essen Games
The Play to Win titles are listed here: Play to Win
Things are shaping up for a great EuroQuest, with a variety of different events for both the non-tournament and tournament gamer.
November 5, 2022: Work on the program booklet was completed, and it is ready to go to the printers on Monday morning. For the New Games Library and the Grand Prize Drawing, we are up to 13 different titles from last month’s Essen convention, plus there will be many more games on offer, so next Saturday night at 7 PM should be an exciting time! Pleased to update the Play to Win portion of the website, courtesy of our Play to Win Coordinator, Jeff Thornsen, to announce some 16 titles on offer this year, via a partnership with the folks at Double Exposure Envoy. Still looking for a few volunteers to help out at the Front Desk, particularly for a 3-5 PM Saturday shift for which we are lacking adequate coverage at present. Also, it appears that a full 25% of pre-registrants will be first-time attendees at this year’s EuroQuest, including a majority of our record number of six vendors.
November 3, 2022: Final pre-reg numbers came in at 216, so now we are hoping to top things off with a strong walk-in contingent as well. Floor plan has been sent to the hotel that includes extra tables for overflow gaming if needed. Working on a 20-page program booklet for all convention attendees, and it looks like we will have a really great set of games for the Grand Prize Drawing this year.
November 1, 2022: Well, this is a big day, final day to pre-register before the deadline which is Midnight tonight. Checked out our storage unit to assure an adequate set of supplies; although transmission levels for the county in which the convention is set to take place are rated “Low” (and have been for some time), we will have a supply of KN-95 masks on hand for anyone who wants them. We plan on doing setup on Wednesday night, so anyone coming early is welcome to pitch in and help.
October 31, 2022: One more day to the final pre-reg deadline, and I am pleased to report that approximately 200 people have signed up for this year’s EuroQuest, a nice rebound from last year’s Pandemic-driven decline. Looking forward to an exciting convention and frankly, it looks like things could get a bit crowded on Saturday, particularly if we have strong walk-on numbers as in past years.
October 30, 2022: Just got word that another of the “hot” new Essen releases, Lacrimosa, is on its way. This title, which focuses on the career of Wolfgang Mozart, was on many Essen “hot” lists, and there was reportedly a two-hour line on the first day of the convention for people looking to score a copy, so we are fortunate to announce it will be part of the New Games Library and the Saturday night Prize Drawing.
October 29, 2022: Got to give a big shout-out to the Father-and-son duo of Bob and Max Jamelli, both of whom have been attendees at EuroQuests past, passionately promoting their Lords of Baseball prototype in which players are put in the role of a big league baseball manager in the early 20th century. Well, this week, after over a decade, their dream became a step closer to reality as their game debuted on Kickstarter and, as of this writing, after less than three full days, they have amassed over 400% of their initial funding goal. Congratulations, Bob and Max, and Max should be on hand, hopefully with his game, on Saturday of EuroQuest.
October 28, 2022: A reminder that a Special Guest at this year’s EuroQuest will be Dan Hallagan, designer and publisher of the popular game of Victorian England called Obsession. Dan will join us for just one day, Saturday, and his schedule that day is roughly as follows:
12-1 Meet and Greet (chat with Dan, have him sign your copy of the game)
1-3 Game Designer’s Forum
3-6 Play Obsession with EuroQuest attendees
I am going to be a bit selfish and reserve one of the seats in the 3 PM Obsession game for myself. Depending on interest, we may have some kind of a raffle like drawing for the other seats in what is projected to be a four-player game.
October 27, 2022: A quick update on the Game Designer’s Forum, set to take place at 1 PM on Saturday. Mike Mullins will be serving as moderator for this year’s Forum, and he has selected the following discussion topic: “The Changing Landscape of Game Design and Publication” All EuroQuest attendees are welcome to attend, and it will be in the smaller (and quieter) of the two smaller side rooms (the Montgomery) room.
October 26, 2022: Time to spill some beans and announce the other Essen releases that will be on hand (in addition to Tiletum, the previously designated “Hot New Wild Card” game. These are, in no particular order: Hamlet, Woodcraft, Revive, Starship Captains, Terracotta Army, Genesis Project, Air Mail, Autobahn, Flamecraft, Virtu and Skymines.
October 24, 2022: The sixth and final vendor for this year’s EQ will be Kadon Enterprises, an award-winning Maryland-based designer and producer of puzzle games that has been in business for over 40 years. Kate Jones and Elijah Allen will be running a vendor table at all four days, and we are pleased to welcome Kadon back to EQ after an absence of over a decade.
October 23, 2022: The Hot New Wild Card game will be Tiletum, one of the new Essen releases. We have a couple of copies expected to arrive from Europe that will be available for play during the convention, and one of these will be available (along with several other Essen releases) to be claimed as part of our Grand Prize Drawing on Saturday evening.
October 21, 2022: Pleased to announce we are up to FIVE vendors for EuroQuest, no doubt a record number for EQ, and there could still be one or two more. We welcome Alpha Earl Apps, Coo’ Games and Palaver Games, all of whom are taking advantage of our Small Vendor program, and all of whom are appearing at EuroQuest for the first time this year. Simply click on “Vendors” at the left of the screen to learn about these new vendors and their products and convention hours (at EQ, each vendor sets their own hours).
October 19, 2022: And here’s a direct link to the criteria describing the type of game submissions that Office Dog is interested in: Submitting Your Idea to Office Dog – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com)
October 18, 2022: And here’s a direct link to anyone interested in signing up for one of six time slots for playtesting through the Break My Game group: EuroQuest – Playtesting Signup Tickets, Fri, Nov 11, 2022 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite
October 17, 2022: The “Designer’s Den” page of the website has been updated recently with some exciting news for game designers who attend EuroQuest. We are partnering with Break My Game to set aside several tables and no fewer than six three-hour time blocks for game designers to bring their prototypes for playtesting and feedback. Furthermore, additional information has been posted about Office Dog’s program to review game submissions through one-on-one meetings at this year’s EuroQuest with Studio Head Luke Peterschmidt. (Office Dog being a creative design studio under the corporate umbrella of Asmodee, one of the largest boardgame publishers in the world.)
October 10, 2022: Second post of the day and already, information posted yesterday is out of date: the list of Wild Card titles has been posted: Wild Card Tournament New additions this year: 7 Wonders: Architects, Ark Nova, Azul: Queen’s Garden, Carnegie, Dune: Imperium and Gutenberg. Yet to be named: the “Hot New Wild Card” game. Will it be one of these, or will it possibly be one of the new Essen releases?
October 10, 2022: Alot is happening and, with the start of the convention just one month away, I was able to send out another update via our group email system. For those who did not receive it, here is a link to the message as posted on BGG: EuroQuest 2022, Nov. 10-13 at the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis, MD | BoardGameGeek
October 5, 2022: Quick hotel update: our room block is full, although a few rooms might be available on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and recently one person who booked a room outside our block on Friday was able to obtain the group rate. However, other than cancellations, it seems likely that those seeking accommodations may need to look elsewhere. An alternate list of hotels has been posted at Alternate hotels – EuroQuest.
October 2, 2022: Haven’t posted here in awhile, but that doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been alot going on in terms of planning for this year’s EuroQuest. Today marked the conclusion of the first ever World Series of Boardgaming Tournament in Las Vegas and, while none of the participants from last year’s EuroQuest reached the semifinal round, I would note that one accomplished boardgame competitor who is expected to attend this year’s EuroQuest — Nick Henning — won two of the 16 “Ring” tournaments and, as of this writing, is still in the running for the Grand Prize of $25K there. The full schedule for the main tournaments for this year’s EQ is expected to be posted in the coming days, hopefully by the end of this week.
Coming up this week is the largest gathering of boardgame enthusiasts in the world, the Essen Spiel in Germany, and EQ will have one representative there who we are hoping will be shipping us some of the more popular titles direct from Essen for this year’s EQ. Too soon to predict what games we will have on hand, but look for an announcement in the coming weeks — these games will be available for all EQ participants in the New Games Library and will also be given away as part of the Grand Prize Drawing on Saturday night slated for 7 PM.
September 24, 2022: The Game Designer’s Forum page has recently been updated with information about no fewer than ten (!) designers who are expected to participate. Topic to be announced soon. Also, working up a list of alternate hotels (there are several to choose from) for those unable to get into our room block, which is currently full.
September 15, 2022: Got some good news recently that all game designer types might be interested in, namely that Luke Peterschmidt, an accomplished game designer in his own right, will be on hand this year, representing Asmodee North America in a new role as head of their new game design studio, Office Dog. Luke has informed me that he will be blocking out time to hear one-on-one pitches from prospective game designers, as well as giving out advice as how to refine/improve those pitches. In addition, expect to see Luke at the Game Designers Forum on Saturday, an event that Luke helped lead in prior years (along with Mike Mullins, who will also be back at EQ this year). So, a good opportunity for game designers to have your prospective product assessed by someone with many years of experience in the industry.
September 12, 2022: The latest from the hotel is that, as of last Friday, our room block (at least for Friday and Saturday nights) is full. While the hotel has let us know that adding additional rooms is unlikely at this point, those booking outside of the room block can still get the group rate. Details are posted under the “Hotel Info” page.
In other news, the special four-day Early Bird rates expired last week. However, we are accepting pre-registrations through November 1, and one-day registrations are now available. Click on the “Register Now” button at the left for details.
September 6, 2022: Pleased to announce that Dan Hallagan, whose self-published design, Obsession, was a big hit when it debuted at EuroQuest four years ago, is able to attend EQ for the first time. Look for Dan on Saturday the 12th, as that is the only day that fits with his schedule.
September 4, 2022: A few of you have enquired about the Auction Store for this year’s EuroQuest. It will take place on the Saturday of the convention, in the Prince George Room across from the main ballroom. Details are posted here: /index.php/eq-presents/bring-and-buy-auction-store
September 2, 2022: Quick correction on the last post: One-day registrations will be available starting September 7th. As I understand, the webstore will roll over from the Early Bird to the regular rates some time after midnight, Sept. 6th heading into Sept. 7th EDT.
September 1, 2022: With Labor Day weekend and the Early Bird pre-registration deadline approaching, we have decided to extend the deadline for the four-day special Early Bird rate an additional 24 hours, through Tuesday, September 6, to give everyone one last chance to sign up at the lowest rates. One day rates will be available starting September 6th as well, and after that, four-day pre-registration rates will increase by $10. An updated group email containing this information was issued a few hours ago.
August 27, 2022: Most recent update from the hotel is that our room block is 82% full. This means that we are down to just 11 rooms for the two most popular nights (Friday and Saturday). Anyone wishing to book a room is urged to do so soon! While the hotel has graciously added some rooms to our room block on at least three occasions thus far, they are under no obligation to do so.
August 22, 2022: Today, the registration page of the website (see /index.php/home/full-register or simply click on “Register Now” on the drop-down menu on the left) has been revised in three important aspects: (1) a schedule of admission rates going forward (including one-day registrations) was posted; (2) a much more specific and nuanced Covid 19 policy statement was added; and (3) a limited exception to the “no refund” policy was included for individuals who may have pre-registered but, because of Covid 19, been unable to attend. Basically, the full four-day admission rates will go up $10 across the board for a period from September 6 through November 1, after which higher at-the-door rates will apply. Those planning on attending for just one or two days would be advised to check out the daily rates, with Saturday being the most expensive, and Sunday (which is essentially a half day) being the cheapest.
With respect to Covid policy, the GCOM Board of Directors recently approved a much more detailed statement that reflects current realities and is focused on the CDC classification of the area in which this year’s EuroQuest will be held, which is Anne Arundel County, Maryland. While we recommend that everyone be fully vaccinated, this year we will not be checking vaccine registrations as was the case in 2021. Mask wearing will only be a requirement if Anne Arundel County’s status for vaccine transmission changes to “High” — it is currently at “Medium” and has been there for several weeks, which means mask wearing is optional but recommended for certain individuals.
Finally, out of concern for those who may have already signed up and then test positive for Covid and thus are unable to attend, the GCOM Board has approved a limited exception to our general “no refund” policy to allow for refunds and/or rolling over of admissions to a future GCOM event, including next year’s EuroQuest.
We are hopeful that clarifying the pricing going forward as well as the revised policies will encourage those who might be on the fence to take advantage of the opportunity to pre-register at the cheapest rates prior to expiration of the Early Bird discounted rates on September 5. Having an idea of potential attendance levels early on will aid us in planning and allocation of resources for this year’s event.
August 17, 2022: Just a quick announcement — once again, EuroQuest is pleased to partner with Catan Studios and serve as one of the qualifying tournaments toward the 2023 National Catan Championship. See United States 2023 | Catan Studio for further information; look for details on this year’s event at EuroQuest to be posted on this website in the coming weeks.
August 12, 2022: We are pleased to announce that a second main vendor has signed up to participate in this year’s EuroQuest. This is Fiat Lucre, publishers of the card game Annapurna, which will be featured, with demos, a likely tournament and prizes. Some preliminary details have been posted on the vendor page of this website.
In other news, our room block is now approximately 80% full. Will continue to check in with the hotel periodically; hopefully, they will add some more rooms as needed. Finally, a word to the wise: the cheapest pre-registration rate (only $12.50 per day, $10 per day for GCOM Supporting Members) is the Early Bird, and it expires soon (Labor Day, September 5th). So, sign up now for the cheapest rate!
August 7, 2022: Our most recent group email generated some positive results; notably, a slight bump in pre-registrations as well as more bookings in our room block. Our room block is currently around 75% full; this is after the hotel agreed to add several rooms on Wednesday and Thursday nights, given that most people are booking for three or four nights at the hotel. However, we urge everyone not to wait until the official cut-off date of October 9 because, if the room block is full and the hotel is unable to add more rooms, you may have to scramble around for alternative accommodations. We are closing in on an important milestone, as the Early Bird pre-registration deadline of Labor Day, September 5, is now less than a month away, and we are urging everyone to sign up to obtain the best rate. (Registrations will open up for single day admissions after that time, and, while four-day pre-registrations will still be available, the rates will be higher.)
Our Tournament and Event Coordinator, Marcy Morelli, has reported that we now have GM commitments for all 15 main event tournaments, and work will begin soon on hammering out a schedule, as well as posting of event details for each of the tournament games — look for this to be completed in late September, with an eye towards have a final schedule posted by October 1. Another important deadline coming up is September 15, which is the deadline for vendors to sign up; thus far, Canton Games has signed up as our main vendor once again but, for anyone interested, check the vendor information; we have a Small Vendor package available that may be just right for you! We are also not forgetting the non-tournament players who are equally important to the convention, so planning is underway for some Special Events, Prize Drawings, new game demos, and hopefully, some “Hot New Games” from Essen as in prior years and, of course, you will find many of your favorites in the GCOM Games Library which will be available for all attendees at the convention.
July 24, 2022: Pleased with the fact that a second group email, in the form of an EuroQuest update, reached over 2,300 email addresses this weekend, using a consolidated list consisting primarily of prior EQ attendees and Games Club of Maryland members. Because we are using a new platform (Club Express), there may be a couple of bugs to be worked out, mainly regarding the “Opt Out” feature, but so far things seem to be going smoothly, and we are getting the word out. To anyone reading this who may not have received this latest message, the two key take-aways are: (1) A reminder that the Early Bird pre-registration deadline of September 5 is rapidly approaching (so sign up now to get the cheapeast rates!) and (2) our hotel room block is already over 60% full so, again, waiting until the last minute may not be a good idea. Other convention “news” in the update referenced the list of tournament games (see June 22 post directly below this one), as well as a list of other anticipated events and activities, including the following: the Wild Card tournament, the Harold Siegelman Trophy competition, the return of the Team Tournament, the return of Canton Games as our main vendor, the possibility of a couple of new vendors, and other Special events in the works, such as: a Catan tournament, a special Sunday morning event featuring some shorter games, the Play-to-Win and other prize drawings, possibly a Game Designer’s Forum as well as an Auction Store and a Mega-Civ event. Details on any and all of these, plus some other surprises, will be posted in the coming weeks and months leading up to November.
June 22, 2022: Subject to securing GM commitments, the list of main event tournaments for EQ has been finalized. Copying from a recent Facebook post by our Tournament Director, Marcy Morelli, here is the list:
Agricola
Great Western Trail
Power Grid
Terraforming Mars
Lords of Waterdeep
Puerto Rico
Ra
St Petersburg
Space Base
Stone Age
Ticket to Ride 1910
Thurn & Taxis
Wingspan
Azul
Splendor
We are currently working on filling all the GM slots and work on the tournament schedule will begin soon. Keep checking back here for the latest info!
June 10, 2022: Five months to go, and planning is continuing for this year’s EuroQuest. Our hotel room block has been filling up and is already almost half full, so I am urging everyone not to wait until the last minute to make their reservations. (If it appears the room block will fill prior to the deadline, we will make every effort to persuade the hotel to include more rooms, but there is no guarantee that this will happen.) Early Bird pre-registrations are trickling in, but the deadline is not until early September; expect to see reminder messages to go out before then, urging everyone to sign up early and get the best rate. Coming soon, we expect to see a list of tournament games (we are planning to have at least 15 scheduled tournaments, not counting the Wild Card and special events like the Catan Qualifier). Finally, I am making a concerted effort to invite game designers (and hopefully a few publishers) to attend, with an eye towards holding another Game Designers Discussion Forum on Saturday in one of the two side rooms across from the main ballroom.
May 10, 2022: Been slacking off recently as far as providing updates, so here is the latest. With the Early Bird pre-registration deadline still several months away, pre-registrations are dribbling in. More significant is the fact that our room block is almost one-thirds full, so waiting until the deadline in October 9 may not be a wise idea. (In the event our room block is full or close to full, we will of course request that the hotel expand the size of our room block, but no guarantees that this will happen.) Right now, it looks like we will have a second main vendor (in addition to Canton Games), and it’s possible there could be some smaller vendors as well. Have revised the vendor page to impose a September 15 deadline for vendors to lock down their spots by submitting partial payment, given that our floor plan must be submitted to the hotel in September. Finally, Tournament Director Marcy Morelli is reviewing data from prior EQs with an eye to developing the list of tournament games for 2022, and she may soon be seeking GM commitments, starting with incumbent GMs from last year.
April 13, 2022: Got our first large group email out this week, thanks to MailChimp, and the intent is to reach all prior EuroQuest attendees and spread the word. Received some favorable feedback already, a few more rooms booked at the hotel, and maybe even a few have pre-registered even though the deadline isn’t until September. Want to give a special shoutout to Steve Cameron of EPGS, who is getting the word out to all members of that group; even though it’s a slightly longer drive this year, we hope to see a strong contingent of Philly area gamers at EQ this fall. Direct link to EPGS website: EPGS | Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Society. We are also reaching out through Facebook, BGG and other social media so, again, I’m cautiously optimistic that we can have a bit of a “return to normal” after two really depressing years that I bet most of us would like to forget.
April 10, 2022: A fun three days of gaming at GCOM’s other flagship multi-day event, Game Days, has just been concluded. Thanks to Convention Director Bob Oliver and all the organizers for a smoothly run event, the first one post-Covid. A special shoutout to Aaron Blair of Frederick, MD, who won the tournament and earned a free admission to EuroQuest 2022 in Annapolis this November. Congratulations, Aaron!
April 1, 2022: No April Fool’s joke, but just a friendly reminder that people have been starting to reserve rooms in our room block at the Crowne Plaza Annapolis. It’s still early and, as of my last check a week or so ago, our room block is only about 10% full. However, if you check on-line prices for this hotel, you will find that $129/night is a pretty good deal, so I urge people to sign up sooner rather than later. Cutoff date for the room block is not until October, unless, of course, the room block sells out sooner.
March 20, 2022: Been slacking off on posting updates here, so I thought I would add a bit of background about the search for a new EQ venue that resulted in our decision to move the convention away from the Baltimore environs to a new location, that being the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Annapolis. The search began in earnest in late November 2021 through mid January 2022, and no fewer than 16 different locations were contacted, expressed interest, and a total of 10 of these resulted in on-site visits. However, serious offers came in from only three locations, as the others either (a) did not have space available in our time frame (late October to mid-November 2022) or (b) were unable to submit anything that could reasonably fit within GCOM’s budget. In the end, it came down to both pricing and availability, plus the proposal from the Crowne Plaza offered less downside risk that, in a post-Covid environment, was a major factor in our consideration. Although the 5,000 sq ft main ballroom is somewhat smaller than what we were used to in prior years (from 2010 through 2019) at the Doubletree in Pikesville, the fact that we were able to secure space in two smaller rooms across the hall for all days of the convention except Sunday made their offer more attractive than more costlier and riskier proposals from competing locations. Also, the group room rate of $129 per night is in line with recent prices and, for a location such as Annapolis, a bargain compared to most weekend rates of this and similarly situated hotels if you do some price checking online.
March 10, 2022: Pleased to announce that the Team Tournament will be back in 2022. No real changes from prior years, but check out the following link for details: Team Tournament – EuroQuest (euroquestcon.com)
March 8, 2022: Direct link to GCOM Webstore: GAMES CLUB OF MARYLAND – Web Store (gamesclubofmd.org) This is where you can purchase GCOM memberships and pre-register for EuroQuest and other GCOM events, such as Game Days coming up next month. Discounted rates are available to GCOM Patron and Supporting members for both events.
March 6, 2022: Pleased to announce that links to the GCOM webstore have been set up (check out the “Register Now” page), as well as links to the hotel room block (see the “Hotel” page), thanks to some quick work by our GCOM Webmaster and our contacts at the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis. Again, as in the last post, I recommend everyone to consider joining GCOM as either a Patron or Supporting Member to take advantage of discounts to both EuroQuest and GCOM’s other flagship event, Game Days, which is coming up in a little more than a month (April 8-10), see link in March 4 blog post immediately below this one.
March 4, 2022: We have settled on an Early Bird, Pre-Registration price for EQ 2022 of $50 for all four days, with the following special discounts available to GCOM members: $10 off (or $40) for GCOM Supporting Members, and FREE for GCOM Patron Members. These discounts will be available through Labor Day (September 5) and, after that, prices will go up. We are in the process of setting up the GCOM webstore, so please be patient, it may take awhile, and links will be provided on the Registration page which we hope to update soon with the new information. In the meantime, we urge everyone to check out another great GCOM event, Game Days, which is a little more than a month away. See GCOM Game Days – hosted by the Games Club of Maryland (gamesclubofmd.org) for details. Like EuroQuest, there are discounts available for GCOM members, so now would be a great time to sign up and take advantage of these savings for both these events.
March 3, 2022: Putting on EuroQuest each year has always been a group effort. After the struggles due to the pandemic over the past two years (no live event in 2020, and limited attendance in 2021), we are hoping 2022 will be more of a “return to normal.” In that vein, after a hiatus of almost 10 years, I am back as Convention Director for 2022. I would not be able to assume these responsibilities without the assistance of Eugene Yee, who has agreed to serve as Assistant Convention Director, and Marcy Morelli, who has been doing an admirable job over the past many years as Event Director and Tournament Director. With the challenge of finding a new location out of the way, the three of us are committed to bringing as fine a boardgaming experience as possible for this year’s EuroQuest.
March 2, 2022: After spending most of the past few months seeking a venue for this year’s EuroQuest, we are finally able to announce that EuroQuest 2022 will be held at a new location, the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis, MD. More details to come as they are available, but the dates will be Nov. 10-13, and we have secured a guest room block with a rate of $129/night for singles and doubles.