Hi, Train Gamers!
Empire Builder: Europe Kickstarter Launching Tomorrow!
Breaking news from our friends at Darwin’s Toys – the Kickstarter for Empire Builder: Europe launches on October 22. That’s tomorrow! It should go live around noon Eastern time. There will be a $5 discount on the first two days. Check it out at Empire Builder: Europe by Mr. B. Games — Kickstarter.
Railcon 2024:
We’ve wrapped up a fabulous Railcon 2024, just yesterday! We had 101 attendees – a new record! We set several other records and crowned a first time National Champion! Below is a summary of the Railcon results, plus some info about upcoming Regionals. All aboard!
Would Phil Cottrell repeat as National Champion? Would Roger Jarrett make it a 2024 trifecta after winning Origins and Gen Con this summer? Nope, and Nope. As so often happens, the Puffing Billy tournament came down to the top table of the Eurorails final, with Trella Bromley, Jeff Jackson, Charlie Rucker and Jon Lundy competing (on too little sleep, of course). Jeff won the game, and Trella’s fourth place wasn’t good enough for her to repeat as National Champion. When the Euro-dust settled, our new first-time National Champion is… Charlie Rucker! Congratulations, Charlie!
Charlie ended with a solid victory margin at 16.3. Positions 2-4 were a very tight race, with first-time attendee Adam Bromson in 2nd at 16.09, Trella 3rd at 15.99 and Jeff in 4th with 15.98. The rest of the top ten were Mark Liberman, Jon Lundy, Tricia Hermon, Jen McConnell, new TGA member Chris Wildes, and Andi Wynn. Overall an impressive 20 players managed to get their five category wins.
The Challenger class (which goes to the highest ranked player who has never won a major championship) was decided early in the weekend. Adam Bromson came out of the gate at his first Railcon with an impressive series of qualifier wins and two finals wins on the first couple days. He actually spent most of the weekend all the way at the top of the Puffing Billy standings, only slipping to 2nd late Saturday night. Chris Wildes also had an impressive performance that would have won some years. Others in the Challenger top five (all with five category wins) were Peter Orlowicz, Steven Bill, and Mike Britton.
As for the Iron Man, a record ten people played at least one game in all nine categories. That isn’t required, but it’s worth noting. It was an impressively close competition with not one but two players posting wins in all nine categories. The winner was Adam Bromson at 27.11, followed closely by Mike Britton at 27.08. The rest of the top ten were Jon Lundy, Andi Wynn, Bob Rich, Peter Orlowicz, Anthony Medici (last year’s winner), Charie Rucker, Mark Liberman, and David Belew.
The full Railcon results will be posted on our website in the next few days.
Special Note: If you attended Railcon, you will receive a survey soon. Please take a few minutes to complete it.
And if you didn’t attend Railcon, start planning now to be there next year! We hope to announce firm dates and location soon.
Upcoming Regionals:
If you’re looking for a chance to play train games sooner than that, here are a few upcoming options:
— Euroquest Annapolis MD (confirmed) November 7-10, 2024, conductor Pierre LeBoeuf. Details at EuroQuest – Nov 7-10, 2024 Annapolis, MD
— PAX Unplugged Philadelphia PA (confirmed) December 6-8, 2024, conductor David Belew. We could use some more help at this one! Details at pax unplugged – Search
— Chattanooga (TN) Rail Gaming Challenge (confirmed) January 16-19, 2025, conductors Amy Beery and Jeff Jackson. Details at Chattanooga Rail Gaming Challenge
See the TGA website for the latest information we have on all the above and more.
Finally, for those of you who keep meaning to renew your membership for 2024, it’s not too late. Or consider splurging on a TGA Lifetime Membership ($500) and you can ignore all these messages in the future. They make great stocking stuffers!
Hope to see you at one of the Regionals, otherwise you’ll hear from me soon.
Ken Bachman
TGA Secretary