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Category: PTKS

The Potomac Tea & Knife Society was founded in 1997 by a small group of gamers in the Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD area. Since then, we have grown to over 70 members, and usually 7-15 of us get together once a month or so for some gaming activity.

PTKS was originally formed as the result of several people trying to get a group of 7 players together for some face-to-face diplomacy. Face-to-face being the endangered species that it is, the Founders turned to the Internet to find folks like them and, frighteningly enough, found some. PTKS has since grown at a brisk pace and is now widely recognized as one of the most robust and active local Diplomacy groups in North America.

PTKS gets together about once a month on average, for Diplomacy and other games. There are often other games going on; some of our other favorites are The Settlers of Catan, RoboRally, BloodBowl, Carcassone, Titan, and Titan: The Arena. Diplomacy variants are not uncommon.

Locations vary but are always in the Baltimore-Washington area. Normally, folks will bring their beverage of choice. Sometimes we're relatively tame, while sometimes truly astonishing amounts of beer and/or rum end up missing at the end of the day. We'll usually have food delivered at some point. Some hosts or their spouses enjoy providing vast quantities of food. Gaming generally starts around 10:00am and runs until the last folks leave (anywhere from 6:00pm to all night long).

Each year, we crown our Champion at our convention, Tempest in a Teapot. Tempest has grown dramatically since its birth as a housecon in 1999. In 2003, Tempest hosted DipCon XXXII, and in 2005 Tempest hosted World DipCon XV.

Membership fees vary from year to year and are always nominal. Some members choose to make larger contributions, as well. We work hard within a very small budget to try to put forth a quality product. Of course, anyone is welcome at our regular games. The primary vehicle for working out schedules, game details, etc. is our List Server, although we are working to provide a Web-based system for scheduling on this site.

Overall, we have a pretty loose organization. You can view our IP_Charter.doc, By-Laws, or see information on our Executive Board.

There is currently an amendment to our Charter under discussion, and you can review that amendment here.

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Stay in Touch

Mailing List: You can join our mailing list at this link. We try to keep most of the traffic on-topic, but it does wander a bit sometimes, especially into the areas of hockey and college basketball.

Meetup: You can find many of us (and help schedule a game) at the Potomac Tea and Knife Society Meetup Page.

Local Game Stores

The Family Game Store: Located in Historic Savage Mill, MD, The Family Game Store carries many fine games, and hosts game events most Friday and Saturday evenings.

Dream Wizards: Located in Rockville, MD, Dream Wizards is a strongly community-oriented game store which often hosts games and tournaments.

Labyrinth Games: Located downtown DC, Labyrinth hosts many games and has a great selection.

House Games

We are always looking for new players to show up at our house games, which are typically open to both members and non-members. We also are always in need of hosts for house games. If you are interested in either role, contact either the Director of Competition or the Minister of Propaganda, or just keep an eye on our Calendar of Events.

Join the Club

Membership has its privileges - mainly, it's what enables us to keep up a web page, assist people hosting games, acquire prizes for our events, advertise for new players, and generally keep the club running. Face it, we're a hobby club with a fairly limited membership, limited cashflow, and lofty goals. As such, membership dues and donations from generous souls are our lifeblood. Becoming a paid member entitles you to participate in elections for leadership of the group, either as an elector or a candidate, qualifies you for certain awards given out by the club, and provides a discounted admission rate to various events throughout our year. Donations are similar, except the only tangible benefit they give you is the warm fuzzy feeling of having helped keep the hobby afloat.

PTKS 2009 Membership ($25)

 

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Captain

Rick Desper

Germantown, MD

 

Vice-Captain

Jeff Ladd

Silver Spring, MD

 

Minister of Information*

Brent Waddington

Washington, DC

 

Director of Tournament

Lori Wheeler

Laurel, MD

 

Treasurer

Joseph Wheeler

Laurel, MD

 

Board Member At-Large

Peter Yeargin

Sterling, VA

 

Board Member At-Large

Jason Mastbaum

Clarendon, VA

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Category: PTKS

The Potomac Tea & Knife Society is the premier metropolitan DC group dedicated to the play of Avalon Hill's Diplomacy. Founded in 1997 by a small group of local gamers, we now have more than 50 regional gamers who get together semi-regularly for gaming sessions, help players contact each other, run online games, and host Tempest in a Teapot, the main DC area Diplomacy tournament which is part of the Eastern Swing and the Grand Prix.

PTKS averages about one house game a month, where we typically average two games of Diplomacy, as well as whatever other games people wish to bring and play. Some of our favorites include Bang!, The Settlers of Catan, RoboRally, BloodBowl, Carcassone, Dominion, Here I Stand, Ticket to Ride, Imperial, Agricola, Titan, and Titan: The Arena. Diplomacy variants are also not uncommon. Game locations vary but are always in the Baltimore-Washington area.

If you are interested in our game or in our group, feel free to check out our website, and join our mailing list. We'd love to have you join us in exploring this fine game, and maybe enjoy a few rounds of other, lesser games. We do have to warn you: to a Diplomacy player, all games become Diplomacy, so if you've never been lied to and betrayed in a friendly game of Monopoly, are you in for a treat!

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