Where else can you meet famous board game designers like Elizabeth Hargrave and Jon Gilmour, and then walk 5 minutes back to where you live? If you are a Georgetown University student, the answer is Washingcon (which is actually held directly on campus). Interestingly, Georgetown currently doesn’t have a board game club (that will hopefully change in the next few weeks).

Anyway, after finding out that this convention was so close to me, I had to go. So, I neglected some homework to see what was up. One of the things that is very nice about Washingcon in particular is the fact that they have a free board game for every attendee. I got there extremely early (of course), and got first pick out of a pretty wide selection of new games. The one I picked in particular was Mars Needs Mechanics, which was an awesome surprise.

My favorite game I played at the convention though would probably have to go to Caverna. I really enjoyed the idea of being a dwarf mining into a mountain and then going on expeditions to find resources. The game seemed very balanced and it was easy to get into.

Some other highlights of the convention included talking to several prominent board game designers (who are pretty much celebrities in my eyes), and being amazed by how easy it was to approach them and strike up a conversation. I even got Jon Gilmour to try Daggers High, though we weren’t able to complete the game. Finally, I was pretty proud to solve a puzzle someone brought, and crack the code on this Cryptex:

Overall, I had a lot of fun over this convention, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is local and loves playing board games. Have you ever met any famous board game designers? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks for reading!