Circle DC 2025 Wrap
Our latest convention is in the books.
Circle DC 2025 is a wrap! The main venue was the DC History Center with games also being played at the Belmont-Paul House and the Supreme Court Historical Society. We also had VIP tours of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Folger Shakespeare Library as well as a lunch at the historic Gadsby’s Tavern in Old Town Alexandria. Despite some logistical challenges from the new Administration, I felt really good about the convention and I think most everyone had a great time.
The convention broke even financially. We received $29,533 in ticket sales and our venue costs (DC History Center, Astro Beer Hall and DC Rental) were $26,141 for a small profit of $3,392. However, this does not include the roughly $3,000 in miscellaneous costs but at least we did not lose money like in 2024.
In our effort to improve Circle DC each year, we sent out a survey and exactly 100 people completed the survey. Here are the results.
Not surprisingly, about half of the attendees were locals - but I know we had folks from Canada, England, Germany, Kosovo, Lithuania and Scotland.
I completely agree that Circle DC should remain a three-day event, with some small pre-convention activities on Thursday.
I think the DC History Center is the best venue we have had to date, but I really like being at a different venue each year. We will never be at a Quality Inn in Fairfax - we are a DC-based company and this is a DC-based event. But I understand that a small fraction of our attendees are focused on the gaming.
I tend to agree that Circle DC has the right mix of prototypes and published games.
We had originally planned more off-site gaming events but we had to pull back on this. I would love to, for example, play Terraforming Mars at NASA Headquarters. My hope is that DC settles down a bit and we can expand the off-site gaming.
Again, we had to pull back on some of the tours and not everyone is interested in the tours. I noticed that locals tend to be less interested while visitors from outside the region are far more interested in these tours. We will continue to have these tours as I think they are one of things that distinguishes Circle DC from other conventions.
A majority of attendees are willing to pay a higher price and I think a higher price next year is inevitable - it just remains to be seen if that higher price is $125 or $150. We will set aside some tickets for high school and college students at a 50% discount.
What is Circle DC doing right that you would like to see us continue doing?
Respondents repeatedly noted the friendly nature of the convention, the diversity of games and gamers, the daily raffle, and the significant number of historical game designers. People also like the size of the convention and we are going to cap registration in the future to 300 - anything bigger and it loses the quality that makes it so special.
What can Circle DC do to improve for future years?
The two main complaints centered on the venue and on the ticketing system. The venue was not perfect - it closed at 8pm, it was a little warm, no food or beverages in two of the rooms. Nor is the ticketing system perfect - tickets got scooped up pretty quickly and some folks felt left out. Also, we need to do a better job of clarifying what space is available for open gaming. All stuff we will work on for next year.
Overall, the convention was a success. It took a lot of people helping - my wife and daughter, Jason Matthews, Volko Ruhnke, Tory Brown, Thomas Haver, Talia Rosen, Graham Pizzi, Greg Prickman, Kathleen Donahue and her staff from Labyrinth, all the staff at the DC History Center, plus everyone that just stepped up when a need arose. It really is my favorite event of the year. I look forward to seeing everyone next year!
Great event! Love it every year. Wonderful folks. I would not, however, flinch at expanding it a bit, if facilities/costs permit. I myself have two gaming buds who have decided to come next year. More light and electrical outlets would help as well, plus, of course, permission to bring in refreshments. You might consider 'meet the designers' talks as ticketed events, as well, and encourage more designers to come. Finally, I'd prefer a bit more emphasis on wargames, but of course, everyone has their personal preferences. Thanks again and see you next year, TimSmith
Sorry I missed it but hope to be back next year. looks like another fantastic show Kevin!