Huntsville, Alabama
February 21 – 24, 2008
For now! A wonderful time with old and new friends. I can’t help but think events such as this don’t continue to succeed for no good reason. Thanks to the efforts of the originators–Greg & Gail, Ty & Shay and Ted & Jane–and the progressive contributors like the Watsons and so many others with each new edition, what a testimony to the originators and their “gamble” over ten years ago!
What does trouble me is why so many current members insisted on traveling hundreds of miles to repeatedly destroy humanity repeated times with pandemic diseases while there was a doctor in the house who did nothing to educate his fellow gamers on the proper methods. Thanks, Dale! But that’s just me.
It was great to see so many new faces and quite a few of the “old” ones (as Kayla likes to describe me). But what happened to Derk, the Rozmarieks, Susan Hendee (God only knows every other Hendee known to mankind seemed to be there. Just the guys! Is this a chauvinist kinda thing Leon, Peter and Andy?) We missed you Ty & Shay. Oh, by the way Kevin made it! And he looked great for all he’s been through. Health is important and gaming seems to heal in its own way. Vickie–a GG without Vickie!? It happened. Who would have thunk it? And so many others too numerous to mention. Please don’t let it happen again! (As if I have room to talk!) 🙂
Seriously, it was a great time with everyone who did make this one. Good job, Greg, Gail, Tim and in absentia Vickie and all the other contributors who took Vickie’s place (and that ain’t easy to do!).
Lenny Leo
Michelle and I had a great time once again. Thanks to everyone who helped to organize – your efforts are noticed and appreciated! It was great seeing our friends and making some new ones. Hopefully we will see you all soon.
Earl Bailey
Thanks you for including me in this wonderful event. You really went all out and it showed! I had a great time and met some really great people.
Stephen Avery
Just a note to everyone that we made it home safely. We had a SUPER time at Gulf Games. It was great spending time with so many folks, and I apologize to those I didn’t manage to spend much time or game with. Even though attendance at the winter Gulf Games is smaller than summer, it is still impossible to spend time with everyone. Sigh.
Again, Gail and I had a super time at Gulf Games, and treasure the friendship of each one of you. Thanks for helping make this a BIG success!
Greg Schloesser
Thanks so much for putting on such a GREAT event. Eric and I both had a wonderful time and everyone we met made us feel very welcome! Thanks so much to everyone. Hopefully we’ll get to spend time with you all again very soon. And without a doubt we will come next year if you’ll have us!
Cynthia Landon
Thanks to Greg, Gail, Tim, Jeff, Craig, Kim, James, Sandi, Frank, Stven, and everyone else that helped with the decorations/organization/contests/prize table and everything else. (For those that did not attend, Sandi’s “Reliquary of Rarities” AKA Box of unknown bits, was so tough that the winner only got 4 right. I knew none of them in the box and only one when I looked at them.)
Charlie Davis
I just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful utopian experience that is Gulf Games.
Jim Fairchild
Thank you, Greg, for such a wonderful event. It was great seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and just spending 3 days with some really awesome people.
Jon Theys
Thank you to everyone who helped organize the event! Vickie – We missed you!!! It was great seeing everyone (as usual!) and I had a really fun time!!
Stephanie Kelleher
Thanks everyone for a wonderful event. I had a great time.
Jeff Anderson
Thank you all so much for this weekend. It was my first Gulf Games; in fact, it was my first game convention of any kind, and it was like living in Candy Land for three days. Few experiences in life surpass expectation, but this certainly did. Everyone was terrific and I had such a fantastic time. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Sheila Morton
Marc and I just wanted to say thank you for such a great week! We had a wonderful time. I was so pleased to see that Marc had such an enjoyable time as well. He especially appreciated the snacks. 🙂 (He doesn’t get game night snacks you see.) Anyway, I know there is a great deal of work behind the scenes to put on an event like this and we wanted to say thank you!
Alison Blake
Well said Sheila! Marc and I had a great time and this was our first game convention as well. Still didn’t play enough games though! 🙂 Thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcome. We look forward to meeting even more of you in Nashville!
Alison Blake
Yes, thanks Greg, Gail, and everyone else for making Cynthia and I feel so welcome. As much as we enjoyed BGG Con, I think Gulf Games is even more fulfilling due to the intimate nature of the event.
Eric Knauer
Eric’s comments are to the point. Greg, Ty and Ted founded a special invitational event based on getting families together. Public events can be great but will never compare to the intimate or family spirit that you will find a Gulf Games. There were very few kids this year but believe me, this is the most welcoming game convention for kids and parents you will find. Though it is not unique anymore, Gulf Games is the Granddaddy of family oriented game conventions. We are all lucky to be a part of it.
Charlie Davis
Thanks for coordinating a great weekend! Thanks to everyone else that helped with everything so Greg could game too. For Sandi’s “Reliquary of Rarities”, the only thing I recognized was my other hand.
Andy Hendee
Just to echo what Alison and Sheila said, I also had an excellent time this past weekend. Like Sheila, this was my first gaming convention, and everybody was very welcoming and friendly. I’m not sure if I’d be able to say the same thing about a larger, non-invitational event.
Thanks to everyone involved in organizing Gulf Games for all of their hard work. I’ve been involved with volunteer organizations in the past, so I know how difficult it is to put these things together. My hat is off to you all for a job well done.
Bo Link
I also have to chime in on how wonderful a time I had at my first Gulf Games. It was so great to meet & hang out for a weekend with such a friendly group of folks, and connect again with the few I had met before. As other first-timers have already said, everyone was so welcoming and open, it made me feel like part of the GG family right away. Thanks to Greg and the whole crew for organizing, decorating, and running the show.
Bay Chang
It was quite an awesome feeling to be a GG “virgin” and at the same time feel like I already knew so many people there from other gaming events or gaming groups in AL and TN. I had the chance to meet many new people and play many games that I had not planned to, which was great- these are games that I would probably rarely get to. To the ladies of the “Estrogen” Table…you are wonderful, I had a marvelous time chatting, laughing, playing, drinking (just a little!!), and eating chocolate and cheese.
Can’t wait to see you all again at other events and the next GG.
Lourdes Betanzos
We finally came back home Tuesday evening and I just wanted to add to the chorus of thank yous … THANKS! We had a great time at our first-ever Gulf Games. We spent the day after at the Space Center: who knew Huntsville was such a big deal? Germans did something besides board games??
Ravindra Prasad