Community is at the core of our business, and in the six years since we opened shop at our original Seattle location Mox Boarding House has become a gathering place for board gamers in the Puget Sound region and beyond. We refer to it as a “campfire” around here; folks from all over coming together to share in the experience of gaming. We pride ourselves on community-building, and last weekend we once again had the chance to bring together local gaming luminaries to raise funds for a worthy cause!

On Sunday, May 21, 2017, we hosted a comic-themed charity board game event called The Gauntlet: Infinity. The Gauntlet is a yearly board gaming tournament organized by ENGAGE, Mox Boarding House’s charitable giving branch, and this year twenty game companies and community organizations sent teams of four to compete for glory and the Gauntlet trophy. In addition to practicing the various games that make up the Gauntlet tournament itself, the teams spent the six weeks leading up to the tournament raising funds which provided power-ups that could be used in the event, all while benefiting a local charity in our community. This year’s beneficiary was Treehouse, a Seattle-based group that supports foster children and their families.

At the center of The Gauntlet is a day-long tabletop gaming tournament that covers a variety of game styles and genres. This year, teams from places like Bungie, Monolith, Microsoft Studios, PopCap, and King games faced off against a field which included previous Gauntlet winners Wizards of the Coast and Paizo Publishing. Teams competed in a trivia portion that was created by Lone Shark Games, and played games of Caylus, Ponzi Scheme, and Captain Sonar. As if that diverse game lineup wasn’t enough, each year the Gauntlet features a surprise twist – this year teams were met with a special scenario for Captain Sonar which was designed and developed exclusively for this event. After all the dust had settled, the Gauntlet was won by a team from the community called “Except, All Substitutions,” a name they earned when they valiantly agreed to take the place of a team which had to drop from the tournament last year due to unforeseen circumstances. Their heroism warranted a spot in this year’s charity event, and (with more than 24 hours to prepare this time) they proved that they were a force to be reckoned with!

Ultimately, the event is more than a tabletop gaming tournament. All of these teams from around our community take this opportunity to turn their passion for gaming into a force for good. Since 2013, the Gauntlet has raised over $193,000 for Seattle-based non-profits, including Hopelink, YouthCare, and Child’s Play. This year’s tournament raised $138,000 for Treehouse, bringing The Gauntlet’s grand total to $331,000.

“The Gauntlet is our way of connecting gamers to causes that are meaningful to them,” said Lyla Ross, Program Manager for ENGAGE. “This year, we had the highest engagement from our teams – not only did they fundraise for six weeks, with tremendous results, but they also donated items to our auction and raffle and rallied their coworkers to participate in company matching. That brought in an extra $10,000 and helped us raise more money than we ever have in the past.”

As somebody that has seen the Gauntlet grow over the past 4 years, I am consistently overwhelmed by the generosity exhibited from folks around the community and from within our business. From top to bottom, the Gauntlet is a team effort that we all work together on. Whether it is a member of our restaurant staff volunteering to help coordinate team lunches, or members of our retail staff volunteering to stuff invitations, the Gauntlet is something that we are all incredibly proud to be a part of. Thank you for being a part as well!

Chris Rowlands
Community and Content Manager
Mox Boarding House

(This post contains photos by Charles Hildreth from Hildreth Photography and excerpts written by Hallie Santo – Community and Content Manager of Card Kingdom, our online MtG store!)