Circle DC: 2026 Wrap, 2027 Vision

2026 Wrap

Circle DC 2026 is in the books. For those interested, Brant Guillory posted great coverage over at Armchair Dragoons with a bunch of wonderful photos, including this sweet picture of our Star Wars: Rebellion set.

The convention was a financial success. It had total income of $50,100: 275 badges for $38,450; 38 dinner tickets for $6,650; and two $2,500 dinner sponsorships. Thank you WehrleGig and Volley & Thunder! Labyrinth Games and Puzzles was a non-financial sponsor and, of course, Fort Circle backstopped the event.

The convention had total expenses of $43,883: DC History Center at $23,000; DC Rental (extra tables and chairs) at $2,133; Queen Vic at $750; Rooster & Owl at $16,000; and miscellaneous expenses of $2,000. This meant a profit of $6,317 for 2026. The goal is not to make a profit, but it was nice to partially offset the $13,000 the convention lost in 2024.

The convention was a massive gaming success. The concentration of brilliant designers in the historical gaming space all converging on DC is simply awesome. Walking around, I got to see dozens of interesting new games being taught by the designers and developers. I was thrilled to teach both First Monday in October and The Halls of Montezuma AND run a tournament for Hunt for Blackbeard. If you are excited about historical gaming, SD HistCon and Circle DC are simply must attend events. I was also heartened by the number of younger people, including about a dozen college students, who attended.

The dinner was quite enjoyable. Where else can you drink a “Mark Herman” with Mark Herman, a “Night Witch” with David Thompson and Liz Davidson and a “French Kevinty-Kevin” with me? The food was good, too.

The convention was not perfect, of course. The dispute between the DC History Center and the Apple store limited our available space - and thus increased the noise in the spaces that we did have. The venue also has some quirks that not everyone appreciates. We saw a marked decrease in participation from our Canadian and European friends - only two Canadians and four Europeans, compared to the nearly dozen of each in the past. And, of course, Washington, DC remains an expensive location for our out of town guests.

2027 Vision

We want Circle DC 2027 to build on the best of the previous four conventions but also to break new ground. To start, we would like the convention to move to a four-day format from Thursday to Sunday, with Thursday including a schedule of academic and industry panels and seminars. With a four-day convention, we can also expand the number and type of tours - next year we are looking to add the National Museum of American Diplomacy, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the National Air and Space Museum, a tall ship cruise, and much more.

We would like to see an increased presence from European publishers and designers - hopefully the political climate next year will allow for that. We were thrilled that both Devir and Sound of Drums were able to join us this year as both Americans and Europeans benefit from this cross Atlantic engagement. However, we still want to keep the convention small - this year had 275 badges purchases, but between no-shows and single-day badges, it was effectively a convention of 225. We would like to cap next year at about 320 badges, meaning a convention feel of about 260. But that leads into the discussion of venue.

I love the DC History Center. The staff are wonderful. The natural light is amazing. The building is truly historic. But it is not a perfect venue. If the dispute with the Apple store is resolved AND we have access to the basement space then we will likely return. But I am actively looking for different options. One would be to host at Union Station - between the Columbus Club and the Presidential Suite, we could comfortably host 300 participants. Of course, I will continue to look for other venue options. But to be crystal clear, we will never host in a Hampton Inn in Fairfax. We are a DC company and we host a DC convention at a DC venue.

The final question is what weekend should we hold the convention? GAMA Expo is in Baltimore, April 25-29 - an intriguing option would be to host Circle DC on April 22-25, so publishers and designers could attend both as one trip.