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Previous Cons

Program and Activities

Official Non-Program Activities

Walkaround Puzzles

There will be several walkaround puzzles that will give you an opportunity to solve puzzles while walking around points of interest in Seattle. These puzzles are intended to be solved during the day on Thursday or Friday.

Wednesday Picnic

This year's pre-con picnic will be from 4 to 8 pm Wednesday at Seattle's Madrona Park.

Activities:

• Picnic dinner (provided by the con; you don't need to bring anything)
• A chance to reconnect with krewe that you haven't seen in a year or longer.
• Some large scale cooperative and competitive puzzle games.

Getting there: The park is about 3-1/2 miles from the hotel. You can get there in about 1/2 hour with the #2 bus which will take you directly to the park. The closest bus stop to the hotel is at 3rd and Pine, about a 4 block walk. You will need to cross 3rd Avenue to catch the #2 bus to the park. Madrona Park is the last stop on the #2 bus route. If you want to arrive at the start of the picnic, you should take the 3:35 bus. The King County Metro web site has both a map of the bus route and the complete schedule available. (The bus schedule will also be available at the hotel.)

The fare is $2.25 outbound and $2 to return (75c for under age 18; free under 5). You should plan to have exact change. King County Metro does have senior fares but those require a discount card which non-residents won't have. Note that the buses run more frequently at the times you are likely to go to the picnic (every 15 minutes) and less frequently at times you are likely to return (hourly) so you should plan accordingly.

Transit directions from Google Maps:

• From hotel to park
• From park to hotel

If you have not already told us you are attending the picnic, please send mail to conpac@puzzlers.org.

Madrona Park is located on Lake Washington, east of downtown Seattle. The park features a swimming beach and swimming platform, with on-duty lifeguards during the summer, so feel free to bring your beach gear. Please be warned that there is a breakwall with no railing next to shallow water in part of the park. Limited parking is available at the park on a first-come/first-serve basis: parking areas are noted on the park map (PDF File). We recommend that you do not drive. More park information, including directions to the park and photos, is available on the park's web site.

Underground Tour

The single most awesome Seattle activity (in Wombat's opinion, at least), is the Underground Tour, a rollicking historical walking tour that reaches back to Seattle's seedy early days and leads you through what used to be Seattle's ground level... until the streets were raised 10 feet! It's like an archeological dig into the ruins of a city that's still alive.

We've arranged a private tour just for Krewe, but you must sign up in advance to reserve your spot. The tour will be Thursday afternoon, starting at 3:30 PM in Pioneer Square. The tour lasts 1 hour. Pioneer Square is about a mile from the hotel, and the 229 bus covers most of the trip. You should assume a little over 2 hours including getting there and back. For those leaving from the hotel, we'll leave the hotel lobby no later than 3:00 PM.

Click here to get more information and fill out the form to join us.

Official Con Program

The official convention program is tentative. The final program will be available at con.

• Thursday evening: Official kickoff, puzzle games
  • Lexagon Mixer -- Dart
  • True/False Trivia -- Fraz
  • Over the weekend competition: RighTangles -- Story
• Friday afternoon:
  • American Cryptic Crossword Tournament -- organized by Hot, coedited with Trazom. With puzzles by Btnirn, Fraz, Mr. E, Quiz, Trazom, Ucaiomhu, Wheels. Followed by a panel discussion about the puzzles in the competition
• Friday evening: Dinner, puzzle games
  • Opposites Attract -- Uncanny
  • The Dashes Game -- Willz
• Saturday morning: Breakfast, business meeting, convention photo
• Saturday afternoon: Lunch, puzzle games and competitions
  • Three on a Match -- Noam
  • Vowelled Sets -- Bluff
  • Flat-solving Competition -- compiled by Saxifrage
• Saturday evening: Dinner, extravaganza (team puzzlehunt)
  • After Dinner Talk by Ken Jennings
  • Puzzle Extravaganza: Lots of Luck -- Ucaoimhu, T McAy, Spelvin, and Slik
• Sunday morning: Brunch, awards, closing ceremonies