Destin, Florida
October 21 – 24, 1999
I’ve never been very good at expressing myself in person, but I wanted to let you know what an amazing time I had at Gulf Games.
Last weekend was the the longest period of untarnished fun I’ve experienced in years. The games were great, of course, but more importantly the crowd you’ve managed to attract is a terrific group of people — fun, talented, patient, and not-too-serious.
I haven’t been to too many conventions, but none of the ones I did attend even approached the camaraderie that Gulf Games seemed to generate. Hopefully organizing it will always be fun for you, because it will be a tremendous loss if you ever decide to stop. I can think of very few people, let alone gamers, blessed with such infectious energy as you have, and I think that’s an important key to making Gulf Games different from just any other such gathering.
Lindsay and Karie are terrific girls, and I had a great time playing several games with them. Sorry (not really) about the Pit thing, but the parallels to the Mark-giving-Lindsay-Twitch story seemed so strong that the gift part just had to happen.
Although I never did play a game with Gail, I did get a chance to talk with her a bit, and found her absolutely charming. I’m sure you count yourself lucky to have a wife like her.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play many games with you — just a few turns of the Gothic Game, I think — but hopefully we’ll be able to rectify that in March. Chinatown, maybe? Derk Solko was already getting tired of it when I finally played my first game, and I’ve been aching to try it again, but somehow the thought escaped me last weekend.
Anyway, thanks again for creating such a fantastic experience, and I look forward to seeing you again in March!