WHAT IS LUDOPHILIA?
For any of you who have missed it until now, Ludophilia is the name we've given
to our annual 4-day boardgaming (and craft beer sharing) extravaganza in the
far northwest suburbs of Chicago! It's much too friendly and informal to
be called a "convention". It's just an excuse for friends and
friends-of-friends to get together in a large-ish hotel conference room with a
few hundred board games and have the chance to strategize, socialize, and relax
uninterrupted. Everyone brings favorite games (and beverages) to share,
and then it's open house at the hotel Thursday morning through Sunday
morning! Set up your own lodging plans if you want to stay overnight, and
everyone is mostly responsible for their own food and drink.
SAVE
THE DATE
The weekend for Ludophilia 9 will be Thursday,
May 16th through Sunday, May 19th, 2019. This is the
weekend that falls comfortably between Mother's Day and Memorial Day, so I hope
we're missing most of everyone's holiday plans. Mark your calendars
NOW! I'll be sending out a few reminders and additional information as
the time draws nearer.
We typically play from
8:00am until midnight-ish Thursday through Saturday, but we'll be packing up
around lunch time on Sunday.
WHERE?
We're at the same place
as last year, the Country
Inn and Suites, 600 Tracy Trail, Crystal Lake, IL 60014.
Phone: 815-477-3500. We're in their largest conference room, the Lincoln
Room, which has proven to be a nice size for most of the time. It's true
that we sometimes get a little crowded, but we do have some overflow space into
their breakfast area if absolutely necessary.
We've been on the brink
of actually needing a larger venue for the last couple years, but not enough to
warrant paying for a whole second room. However, I will say that if enough
people pre-register to make it worth considering, I will definitely look into
getting the room across the hall for Friday and/or Saturday night. For
this to be worth it, I would need a significant number of you to pre-commit to
being there on certain days, so please don't hesitate to pre-register (see
details below) if you're hoping for that!
ADMISSION COST
Once again, I'll be keeping the admission cost for everyone the same as it's
been: $10
per person per day (THURSDAY through SATURDAY). No charge for
Sunday, since it's really mostly a packing-up and saying-goodbye day.
That's just $30 for a long weekend of fun, free games, and beer. This is
strictly to cover our costs. If we collect the same amount as we have the last
2 years, we should be able to cover the cost of the room within our buffer.
You can start
registering now by sending me $30 via Paypal
to tempus42@yahoo.com. Be
sure to use the Family & Friends option to avoid fees, and be sure to
include a note with your name and the days you plan on attending.
Or you can send a check
to me at :
Brad Johnson
1517 Driftwood Lane
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
I can also accept cash
and check during the con, but booking early is the best way to make sure we
keep this thing running.
BEER!
I'm not sure if the main
reason to come to Ludophilia is the games or the homebrew. Most of you
probably know our brewer, Bill Dyer, has treated us amazingly well over the
years, providing a bountiful supply of his outstanding homebrew, now on
tap! He's certainly got a lot planned for this year as well, with his
current batches including Vanilla Bourbon Porter, Traditional German
Bock, Tequila Pear Cider, Blood Orange Ginger Mead, and an IPA To Be
Named Later. If you haven't tried Bill's offerings, then you are missing
out. As always, Bill brings this to us out of the kindness of his heart,
but I do encourage everyone who plans to partake to bring a little something to
show your gratitude -- a special beverage of your own to share with him (and
others), or a small donation to his efforts is certainly not out of place.
PIZZA! AND A
SPECIAL GUEST?
I do have a little money
in our slush fund, so right now I am planning on buying pizza for the group
Friday evening. I'm also in discussions to possibly bring in a special
guest member to grace us with his acclaimed talk "The History of
Beer" for entertainment and learning while we eat. PLEASE drop me a
note to let me know if you would be interested in such an event.
GAME LIBRARY
The game library
spreadsheet is up at https://tinyurl.com/ludo9lib. If you are planning to
bring games, please enter what you're bringing on the "Data Entry:
Bringing" tab so people can see what will be available and to help avoid
bringing unnecessary duplicates. If there's a special game you want to
play that you don't have, enter it on the "Data Entry: Requests" tab
to let others know you're looking for it. The file is pre-loaded with
what I am currently planning to bring as the base library, but this is subject
to change when I go to pack. If there's something on my list that you
DEFINITELY want me to bring, please put a note in the "Upvote" column
so I'm sure to pack it.
STAY TUNED
More details will
follow! Please keep watching your email and this blog.
I sincerely hope that you all can make it to
Ludophilia 9, May 16-19. Whether you can come for one day or the whole
weekend, I think you'll find it to be a good time. It's been really
excellent for the last 8 years with so many fun people coming from all over the
country (and Canada!) for some focused boardgaming! If you have any
questions or you'd just like to let me know your plans, please don't hesitate
to email! Also, if you have a friend whom you'd like me to add to the
invitation and notification email list, please send me their contact information!
