Events

Our theme this year is “Learn a new game.” So in addition to the usual small tournaments and Auction Store, we will also offer many opportunities to learn a new game – and meet new people!

Tournaments

Azul (Saturday, 10am)

Up to 16 players at 4 tables will play the standard Azul base game. The winner of each table will advance to a 4-player final immediately afterward. If we have at least 8 players, this game will award Meeple League points. 

Tichu  (Demo – Sunday, 10:30pm, Games begin- Sunday 11am) 

Submit a team of 2 to play in this tournament. The GM will try and help any single players find a partner, where possible. Partners will stay together throughout. This will be a single-elimination format where teams who win will advance to the next round. 

The GMs will explain “The Legend Dan Passing Convention” prior to the start of the game. This convention standardizes table talk and helps avoid arguments. 

Cascadia (Sunday, 10am)

Up to 16 players at 4 tables will play the standard Cascadia base game. The winner of each table will advance to a 4-player final immediately afterward. 

TTR World Maps (See schedule for heat times)

In each of 3 heats, players will be assigned to play one of the Ticket to Ride versions (such as Switzerland, Iberia, Africa, India, UK, etc) Since most people are not familiar with the versions, this will be a coached event. Each table will take time to learn your assigned version before beginning to play. This is a great chance to try out other versions of TTR! After the three heats, the top 4 players will advance to a final game on Saturday night.  

If we have at least 8 players, this game will award Meeple League points. 

Kudos to Scott Saccenti for creating this format. 

Party Games

(Fri & Sat, 9:30pm)

On Friday and Saturday nights, join us for your favorite fun, light games, including Cross Clues, Just One, Code Names, Cheeky Monkey, and many more! 

Mega Civ

(Saturday March 29, 9 am – midnight)

Mega Civ is an epic game that takes up to 18 players and will take ALL day Saturday. New players are welcome as the mechanics are easy to learn. There will be a demo on Friday March 28 from 6-8pm.

Map choice will be determined after the GM knows how many people are available to play. 

Please sign up in advance by emailing Jamie Tang if interested. If possible, Jamie will try to accommodate walk-ins who check in with her by 9 am Saturday. 

Learn and Play

In a Learn & Play, an experienced volunteer will teach you the rules of the game. Afterwards, the volunteer will help get the players into a full game. If more than one copy is available and there is enough interest, two games may be started. If you are familiar with the game, it’s ok to join in once the demo has finished. 

Feature: 2-Player Games

Many GCOMers have asked to learn more 2-player games to play at home. Here’s a chance to learn many classic and new 2-player games in one weekend. 

• • • Codenames Duet (Fri, 2pm)
    • King of Tokyo Duel (Fri, 2pm)
    • Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth (Fri, 5:30pm)
    • Knarr (Fri, 5:30pm)
    • Forest Shuffle (Sat, 1:30pm)
    • Lord of the Rings: Journey in Middle Earth (Sat, 1:30pm)
    • Splendor Duel (Sat, 3:00pm)
    • Lost Cities (Sun, 1pm)

Feature: Hot New Games

Here’s your chance to finally learn those new games that everyone is talking about. We’ll include a few games that came out at last year’s Essen, as well as others from 2023 and 2024.

• • • Fromage (Fri, 3:30pm)
    • Finspan (Fri, 7pm)
    • Apiary (Fri, 7pm)
    • Wrymspan (Fri, 9pm)
    • In the Footsteps of Marie Curie (Fri, 9pm)
    • Arcs (Sat, 6pm) (May be canceled, looking for replacement GM)
    • Sea Salt & Paper (Sat, 8pm)
    • Rock Hard (Sat, 8pm)
    • The Other Side of the Hill (Sun, 10am)
    • Harmonies (Sun, 1pm)

Feature: You might have missed them

And finally, a few more games that are recent, but we can’t really call them new. 

• • • Thunder Road Vendetta (Fri 12 noon)
    • Dune Imperium (with expansions) (Fri, noon)
    • Cascadia (Sat, 3pm)
    • Heat: Pedal to the Metal (Sat, 6pm)
    • Doomlings (Fri, 5pm)

Play with the Designer

GCOM loves to have designers at our events! Join the designer to learn and play a couple of rounds of their game. John Weber will assist in both demos and will be available to answer questions after Bill has departed. 

American Mogul (Sat, 12-1:30) Join designer Bill Crenshaw to learn American Mogul, which is the follow-up to 2013’s Global Mogul, using the same core systems and adding more to it. This new game plays 1-4 in a brutally tight action-selection game. 

King’s Coalition (Friday, 5pm) Learn this hot new card game from designer Derek Croxton and play a round or two. The top players advance to a final at 6pm. Derek will have jester promo packs to hand out to all players (until they run out). 

Scare Coins (Sat, 11 and 3:30) Designer Gregory Gray will teach this fun two-player game where you try to outplay the other person.  Choose from two animals.  Whatever you pick will scare, or be scared by, the other person’s animal.  The top players will advance to a final game at Sat, 7pm. We’ll also be using the game to determine start players in our tournaments. 

Playtesting