I'm playing at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, Pa., for the next several days. As I checked in yesterday afternoon, the folks at the registration desk said that more than 1,000 people had pre-registered, a new record. Tournaments are the focus of WBC, and they are going on constantly. I tend to prefer more casual open gaming, and I played Taluva (players compete to control areas and build on an expanding landscape fueled by volcanoes) and Tongiaki (players compete to land on the most valuable Pacific islands) in the open gaming area before taking part in my first tournament: Ra, the best auction game ever. I managed to win the five-player game by collecting a nice assortment of monuments, which only score points at the end of the game and which players often underestimate the value of. I'm planning more open gaming today, but if I get there on time, I'll also play in the Formula Motor Racing tournament.

^{Image courtesy of Uberplay}