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 50 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 Charter, or see information on our Executive Board.