Welcome one and all, to the greatest day of games and giving on earth! You are invited to watch as gamers compete in thrilling feats of tabletop gaming and show off their pub trivia prowess for a great cause in this year’s Gauntlet!

On May 19, Mox Boarding House’s Engage committee will bring together gamers from far and wide and help them give back to our community, and this time The Gauntlet is heading under the big top with this year’s theme, Cirque! The Gauntlet will bring together twenty teams from around the Pacific Northwest in a six-week fundraiser, culminating in an all-day gaming marathon where they’ll compete in rounds of Parade, Photosynthesis, a special round of trivia and a showstopper designed to be a treat for participants and onlookers alike. They’re competing against each other for bragging rights, prizes and for The Gauntlet trophy.

But the trophy isn’t the real reason these teams are giving their time and effort, it’s the good this event can do. And The Gauntlet can do some serious good. We’ve set the challenge for our teams to collectively raise more than $70,000 for this year’s beneficiary, El Centro De La Raza. The staff at El Centro have been a pillar of the Seattle community since 1972, helping countless lives in some of the most marginalized and underrepresented populations. From child-care to job training and cultural exchanges, they’re helping create a more unified community and we’re so excited to show them the force for good the Mox Boarding House community can be. Fundraising started on April 8, and we’ve raised more than $40,000 so far, but we’ve got many milestones to go.

So, you’re thinking “This sounds amazing, but how can I get involved?” What a great question! The event will take place at Mox Boarding House Bellevue and we’ll have family-friendly activities to get in the Cirque spirit. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by for a great day of games and fun. If you can’t make it in person, don’t worry, the whole event will be streamed on Card Kingdom’s Twitch channel from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and we’ve got a special surprise for the stream, so don’t miss it.

All the info for this year’s Gauntlet can be found at The Gauntlet: Cirque!’s CauseVox page, and most importantly you can donate to your favorite teams and the more they raise the better chance they’ll have to bring home the trophy. The teams that raise the most money are rewarded with special perks and powerups to help them gain significant advantages throughout the day.

This year’s event is shaping up to be the best one yet, and May 19 can’t come soon enough. Keep an eye on the Mox blog and our Facebook and Twitter for more info and updates on our progress.

We’ll see you there!