Charitable Direction Update; Updated NOVA Primer Incoming; Long Day at Storage - TERRAIN GALORE

Just a quick update; the NOVA is finalizing the formation of a charitable foundation. This will enable attendees, sponsors, staff, etc., to cross all the appropriate i's and dot all the appropriate t's toward generating funds in support of two charities; Fisher House and Doctors Without Borders.

We're looking into a couple of broad, community-inclusive activities to support kicking this off. Additionally, the NOVA will be formalized as a non-profit in every sense; all resources will go to the cost of the convention, and to charity. In addition to being a fun time focused on expanding and celebrating our shared hobbies, attending and participating in the NOVA will also go directly and entirely toward supporting tremendous causes that benefit both our country and the world at large. Here's hoping we can build some serious momentum toward that goal.

We spent a bunch of time in the storage facility yesterday properly inventorying and making sure our terrain was in-tact. We re-sorted it by table settings, to make set-up and break-down a lot more streamlined than it's been before, and to keep all our terrain better organized.

We'll be working on MULTIPLE TERRAIN LAYOUTS for the 2013 GT (and possibly Invitational). This will alleviate one of the issues arising with the format, where veteran attendees were learning to game the fixed terrain layout.

By altering the layout on ALL tables over the course of the three days, we'll be leveraging off-GT-hours to adjust terrain, but maintaining an even playing field across all tables for each round. You'll get greater terrain variety, and while all players will know the 2-3 layouts they COULD see, they won't know until go-time which rounds will be paired with which terrain layouts. The result should defuse the ability to game a fixed terrain layout, improve variety, and still maintain fairness and evaluativeness for each round.

Look for our final primer with more concrete rules and practice missions sometime this week.

On Forgeworld, your options for input will be narrowed to "NO" Forgeworld in the GT/Invitational, or "Unique" for all FW in the GT/Invitational. So far that's how the many responses from primer testers has leaned, and we'll continue to playtest and solicit feedback for about one month after the Feb 1 open to registration. Final ruling on whether FW/IA will be allowed in the GT will release by March 1. If you have strong feelings about it, let yourself be heard!

Speaking of terrain, some shots of portions of the crazy volume of it from yesterday's storage session ...

So much terrain ...

Wait now we have to repackage it all, but differently?

We kinda took over the entire storage facility

Streamlined and repackaged ... 40k+ square feet of convention in a box!