Here’s the Latest: PLAAY-Dot-CON 2023 Update!

Well, we've still got more than five months to go until our meet-up in Denver, but as we all know, time will pass QUICKLY! We promised a PLAAY-Dot-CON 2023 update in mid-February, and here it is!...

We've been adding guests since our last update, we're now closing in on 50. We've just gotten confirmation that AFR's Steve Tower will again be "in the house!" He'll, of course, have his ukulele in tow for the seventh inning stretch of the HISTORY MAKER BASEBALL Tournament, and we're planning to have him host one of the game events as well, TBD.

We've been in touch with our hotel liaison at the Hilton Garden Inn Highlands Ranch, and it looks like room bookings are a little behind pace this year. It's important that we book at least 70% of our room block at the discounted rate, which translates to about 20 rooms. So far, we have about half that. If you are planning to stay at the convention hotel, it would be a big help for us if you could book sooner rather than later (payment won't be required until after your stay, in July). Otherwise, we'll have to reduce our room block so as to avoid penalty fees. If you need us to re-send the link for the room discount, just let us know via e-mail.

We will once again have the spacious ball room for our event, with areas set up for game-playing and speaker seminars. While it's technically a two-day event, July 28th and 29th, the fun will actually spread across five days. Here's how the schedule is shaping up--remember, this is still tentative, and some of the event slots are "to be determined" (we'll ask for some input shortly)...

Wednesday, 07.26.23

• Early-Bird Activities: Last year we had a little more than a half dozen folks who arrived on Wednesday--we arranged an impromptu dinner meet-up and hotel lobby game session. Planning to do the same this year.

Thursday, 07.27.23

• Pre-Con Picnic at Redstone Park, 5-8p: We'll provide the food, feel free to bring something to share if you like--beverage, dessert, side-dish--or, just show up hungry, that works, too! Mingle with PLAAY gamer convention-goers, "veterans and "rookies." Last year, we played an encore live version of Fury Football during the pre-con get-together, kids vs. adults. Maybe this year we have a spontaneous Fury Hardball game--I think it would be fun!

• Open Game Play at hotel, 8p-???: Plenty of game space for whatever you want to get on the table, solo or with friends.

Friday, 07.28.23

• Registration, 9a: Pick up your lanyard, program and raffle tickets and get ready to have fun!

• PLAAY Games PLAAY-around, 9-10a: As in past years, we'll have tables set up with all of the PLAAY and PLAAY NOW games, hosted by people who own/play the game (early registration for the hosts). So if there's a game you've always wanted to check out, here's your chance to see it demonstrated by a "veteran!" (NOTE: we need volunteer hosts, so if you're willing to spend a half hour or 45 minutes explaining a game, please let us know!)

• Let's PLAAY Tennis Doubles Tournament, 10a-noon: Pick your partner and let 'er rip in this "final set" accelerated single-elimination tournament, with raffle tickets for the top finishers and a free copy of the printed, boxed tennis game for the finalists!

• Lunch, noon-2p: There’s plenty of great eating destinations within walking distance of the hotel (details in your program)!

• HMB Express Time Machine Tournament, 2p-5p: A convention staple since we first started doing conventions (2018), we'll again conduct the tournament in "express mode!" It'll again be "BYOT" (bring your own team), any officially published PLAAY release is eligible, except for the Cooperstown or All-Time-Franchise Great Teams. Yes, Baseball America teams ARE eligible!

• Dinner, 5-7p

• SEMINAR: Sports Board Games "How We Got Here" with Glenn Guzzo, 7p-8p: The original "Strat-O-Matic Fanatic," Glenn has been involved with the sports board game hobby since the 1960s and has met and worked with many of the icons of the hobby, including Dick Seitz, Hal Richman, Jim Mickey and more! He'll share personal reminiscences, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and lots of interesting history of the hobby, with a Q&A segment following the presentation. You won't want to miss it!

• Game Designer/Guest Showcase, 8-10p: As you may know from past conventions, the designer showcase features sports games of ALL kinds, not just PLAAY games. This year, Glenn Guzzo will host Strat-O-Matic baseball, Geoff Giordano will host APBA football, and Mike Fitzgerald will host a segment with his new game, "Score Cards." Al Wilson is working on a baseball companion to Fast Drive Football, and the plan is to get that on the game table Friday night as well. And that's just the TIP of the iceberg! (We have some super secret PLAAY Games options as well, which we'll have more info about soon!)

Saturday, 07.29.23

• SEMINAR: Sports Board Games "Where We're Going" with Geoff Giordano, 9-10a: Sort of a “Part Two” to Glenn Guzzo’s segment the night before, Geoff's well-known in the APBA community, and has his ear to the ground for all the current sports board game trends. Where will the hobby be in five years, ten years, beyond? This will be a 30-45 minute presentation, with a Q&A session following.

• (Morning Events Options), 10a-noon: This part of the program is still in flux. Among the options we are considering are...

(Idea 1) Horse Racing Games Block: We'd explain and play a number of different horse racing games, perhaps a series of three or four races (each race a different game) on which participants could place bets and win raffle tickets.

(Idea 2) Sports Game Antiquities: This might be a single featured game, or possibly a choice from multiple games.

(Idea 3) Game Creation Laboratory: This would be a two-hour segment on the basics of sports game design. We had something similar (abbreviated) during our online convention in 2020, we could perhaps expand on that, or maybe even cooperatively design a game, with everyone getting the finished print files afterward. For anyone interested in making their own games (and who if us isn't, right?) this could be really fun and interesting.

(Idea 4) (choice of) Traditional Sports Game Segments: It's been a couple years since we had a Second Season (Express), Hockey Blast or Soccer Blast tournament--definitely do-able, if there's interest, we could even juggle the schedule to include an extra hour.

(Idea 5) ???: Do YOU have an idea, something you'd like to participate in, not listed here? Let us know!

• Lunch, noon-2p

• PLAAY Gamer Open Golf Tournament, History Maker Golf, 2-4p: Always a highlight of the convention! Like last year, you'll make your own card and we'll play two rounds (course to be determined). First round, play with whomever you want. Second round, we'll do a staggered start based on first-round scores, with the contenders going last! The top three finishers get raffle tickets!

• Raffle Prizes, 4-415p: We’ll have a GREAT selection of raffle prizes again this year, you'll print your name on your tickets and disperse them between the bins assigned to the prizes. Put them all in one bin to maximize your chance to win, or spread them out among multiple bins. Enter to win the prizes YOU want to take home with you!

• Dinner, 430-700

• Colorado Rockies Game, Coors Field, 6-10p: The Rockies are playing the Oakland A's, first pitch is at 610p so there's plenty of time to get to the ball park once the raffle drawings are done.

• (Game Event TBD), 7-10p: Again, we haven't decided what this will be, but we're leaning toward a traditional sports game segment/tournament, with attendee input the prime consideration! In years' past, we've featured an upcoming, not-yet-released game in this final segment (like hoops, in 2021), but we've also held bowling and dodge ball tournaments--let us know what sounds like fun! It's still early enough that we can easily plan!

Sunday, 07.30.23

• Again, there’ll be informal activities for those folks hanging out for the day, or even those with a later flight. Stay tuned!

That's what we have in place so far, we welcome your input. Please do consider booking your room early, if possible, it'll really help. Convention gear (t-shirts, hats, etc.) will be available starting in May. We'll have another convention update in May--sooner if there's something urgent to communicate. Looking forward to seeing you this summer!