We're posting this on the Mayfair Games website shortly, but I also wanted to make this available to answer any questions folks might have directly:

We're gearing up for our Origins and GenCon events, and specifically The Settlers of Catan Worlds qualifier tournaments at Origins and GenCon, and the World Championship, held this year in the U.S. at GenCon. This is our list of dates and events to be aware of.

Our Western Canadian tournament was held last weekend (and congratulations to Olav Rockne, our Western Canada representative), but the Eastern Canadian World Qualifier will be held June 28 in Kingston ON at the Confederation Place Hotel. Start time is 10 am. For more information, contact info@minotaurgifts.com.

Origins will feature not one, but two opportunities to qualify for the World Championships! The usual Catan World Pre-Qualifiers will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 10 am (events 3179, 3696 and 4284, respectively). The semifinals (top players from all 3 days combined) will play at 10 am on Sunday, with the finals immediately afterwards.

In addition, as a thank-you to all of the players who have made this tournament as successful as it has been over the years, we've created a special opportunity for past winners to get a ticket to the Worlds. The Catan Masters Tournament will be held on Thursday at 10 am (same time and place as the Thursday Pre-Qualifier). This is a FREE ticket, available only to those who have played in a semi-final tournament in 2005, 2006 or 2007 at either Origins or GenCon. If you qualify, e-mail origins@mayfairgames.com and request an invitation. Seats will be limited, but we want as many of our past semi-finalists as possible to
play!

We will also be holding a Masters Tournament at GenCon as well, on Thursday (same qualifications as the Origins tournament). You may request both invitations together, or for just a GenCon invitation, e-mail gencon@mayfairgames.com.

The Settlers of Catan World Championships will be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 16-17, at GenCon in Indianapolis IN. Qualifiers from around the world will have a chance to play in this most prestigious Catan tournament. Watch for details on our coverage of the event from GenCon!

Finally, in addition to our usual slate of Catan and Giant Catan events, we're highlighting 3 events in particular at GenCon: our Wide World of Catan events. Ever wanted to play one of the out-of-print Catan Historicals, or perhaps try The Settlers of Nuremberg? These three events will thematically focus on some of the less-explored Catan games out there. WWC: Conquerors will be on Thursday at 9 am (event BGM01136), WWC: Builders on Friday at 9 am (BGM01137). and WWC: Disasters on Saturday at 9 am (BGM01138).

If you have any questions, feel free to speak up here, or contact us at origins@mayfairgames.com or gencon@mayfairgames.com!

Does this mean that there will not be a catan world championship in Essen this year? Or is this a america only world championship

We're not major league baseball. We are hosting the actual honest-to-gosh World Championships at Gen Con. The US players' loss is the Europeans' gain, as they get the flights over the Atlantic this year.

2009 tentative: North American Championships and European Championships separately
2010 tentative: Worlds back in Germany!

Alex Yeager

no, sorry, i think it is everybody's loss as this year for the first time is a usd1,000 fee per participant, which means many countries from europe and asia will not be able to afford to participate.

can someone tell us how many countries are sending participants to gencon this year? there were 25 countries in 2007 at essen.

Well I've qualified for this from Australia, and are planning to go. However I can't find **any** information about the finals at all, apart from that it will be at Gencon somewhere on the 16th - 17th August.

Do I have to register for Gencon? Do I have to enter a specific event? Which one? Where do I go? 30,000 gamers and 5,822 events (as at 29th July) is a pretty big group to search through! What time does it start? ...etc ..etc

Any idea when more information will be available?

Allow me to answer a few basics...

Gen Con runs Aug. 14-17. Hotel rooms for the participants open on Thursday the 14th, to give folks a couple of days to see the show (so yes, 4-day badges are provided). There will be a reception on Friday night for players and Mayfair folks, with the main day of competition happening on Saturday. This is an unticketed event; you won, so you're in.

More information about the specifics of picking up badges and meeting places and times will be sent to you shortly. In the meantime, if there are any other questions you might have, we'll do our best to answer them!

Thanks!
Alex Yeager
Mayfair Games

Thanks for the info Alex! I assume then that it's safe to book myself in for some other sessions on Thursday or Friday?

(not sure if I will do this yet - depends what else Indianna has on offer)

Thursday (depending on your travel) and Friday (up until late afternoon) are all yours. If you're looking to get out a bit, might I recommend:

http://www.eiteljorg.org/
A short 3-block or so walk from the convention center, it's a nice, tightly-themed museum.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_St...
A pleasant early-morning walk or relaxing leg-stretching during early evening.

http://www.indyzoo.com/
Another stop within easy walking distance of the convention center.

...and Circle Center (the mall and the downtown circle itself), the scenic downtown, and I hear there's a game convention in town, too. Might want to leave time for that....

Alex Yeager
Mayfair Games

Will there be any way (other than the Masters tourney you mentioned) for currenty year GenCon'ers to qualify for the weekend tournament?

Unfortunately, no. We just don't have the time to do a full tournament to get another person in; the Masters format at least allows us a "vetting" of sorts to quickly pull from an experienced pool of players that have proven themselves in recent tournament of this format.

Next year, for the North American Championship (Worlds skip a year, to return to Germany, though not Essen, in 2010), we envision a series of qualifiers at regional conventions which would allow entry into the NAC. We're going to talk details with the Catan LLC folks at Gen Con, so we hope to have more concrete information in place so that conventions that are interested in hosting a seat can do so.

Alex Yeager
Mayfair Games

Hi Alex!

I'm curious as to the format (rounds, # of games, etc.) of Saturday and Sunday at GenCon for those who qualify. Is that something you can post or direct us to a link?

Thanks! =)

We just sent out some info, but the short version: four rounds Saturday, top 8 move on to Sunday. Four make it to the final round, with a winner in hand by 2 pm or so.

That's the Reader's Digest version, at least...

Alex Yeager
Mayfair Games

I see that there will be no Catan WC in 2009. Does this mean that the WC is turning into a bi-annual championship, and that there will be European/North American championships in the years with no WC?

Also, do you know the date and venue for the 2009 European Championship yet? The earlier these things are announced, the better. There are many interested players and organizers all over the world, but we need time to plan national championships, sponsorship etc.

Good luck with the WC! Hope there will be a website with all results and pics afterwards, so those of us not there can get a feeling of the atmosphere.

hey alex, could you let us know how many countries will be participating this year at the catan finals?

also, are you going to post all the details of the finals like:
http://www2.herne.de/spielezentrum/SPZ-Engl/e-home3.htm

the german organizers did a fantastic job for several years, and had 30 countries in 2007.

I wonder want to know the things in Asia. How about the Asia championship?