I missed last year’s annual board game soiree with the Magnificent Seven, so I was excited for this year’s get-together. Dirk was hosting in Carthage, so in the spirit of these sorts of things it became known as Carthage-Con. It’s a long drive from Montana to Missouri, but I enjoy a good road trip so I loaded a stack of games into Nebula and headed east.
Aron couldn’t join us this year because his wife Deb is continuing her fight with cancer, but Omaha is right on my route so I dropped in for an evening. It was good to see them and chat for hours about her struggles, their family, and the perspective they’ve gained through this experience. Deb is in constant pain but always has a brilliant smile.
To my surprise and delight, Aron’s mom Nancy happened to be visiting on the very night I was there. I haven’t seen her since my late teens, and it was awesome to catch up a bit. The Magnificent Seven spent a lot of weekends at her house.
Once everyone arrived at Dirk’s house, we went to work. The games came out and we plowed through one after another. We delved into caverns and fed our dragons in a game of Wyrmspan:
We planned an overthrow of the Cuban government in the 1960s in Cuba Libre:
We collapsed quantum wavefunctions in the brilliant trick-taking game Cat in the Box:
We took submarines into the ocean depths in Endeavor Deep Sea:
We even explored the South Pacific as Polynesian tribes in Utu:
There were plenty more– these are just some of my photos. Between all of the planning and strategy, we joked and laughed, told stories and remembered good times. It’s always a treat to spend a long weekend with my best of friends.