This year is a truly special year for the HBMO. In the last decade we have outlasted ups and downs of the gaming industry, navigated the loss of dear friends and organizers like Jeff Zandi and Ian Jasheway, survived a global pandemic, and grown 886% since our year one event. All of those things have presented challenges we never thought we would face when we sat down and planned the first HBMO in 2013. Doing all of that as a nonprofit with zero paid employees makes even more proud because it means we have had the tremendous support of players, sponsors, and volunteers to pilot us to success!

All of those above things made it even more important that the playmat for 2024 be special. We wanted to put forward several elements to not only embody what we’ve done, but where we are going! As the HBMO grows and expands, we wanted the elements to be represented artistically.

First, this year’s mat was hand-drawn by Studio Aries owner Carl Braun. He has a deep connection to the gaming industry from his years as the Creative Director at Score Entertainment, developing trading card games such as the Original Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha, Bleach, and several more! Carl also has a deep love for hand drawn art, especially comic art. He has gone on to work at companies like Panini America and Funimation, and now owns a studio publishing his own comic book series. Besides his accolades in the industry, Carl is also deeply connected to the cause behind the HBMO and has wanted to be involved for years! This presented a fantastic opportunity to get him involved!

The design of the mat symbolizes several things. The main element showcases a creature D&D players should be very familiar with! It was important to show a representation of different games this year as we will be adding multiple other TCGs and gaming events to our schedule in 2024 and years to come! The iconic D20 symbolizes so many things… It is the starting life total in Magic the Gathering. The dice itself showing a 20 is famous for the “Critical Hit” in Dungeons and Dragons. Last, but certainly not least, it’s our little nod to the next decade of the HBMO (we look forward to decade number two).

In addition to the focal elements on the art, there are other important factors not as easily noticed. The first being the night sky, representing that it’s always darkest just before the dawn. We also adapted a logo specifically for our 10th Anniversary event to commemorate a decade of building an all inclusive and welcoming community of gamers from all over the country! Finally, we added the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline icon so that no matter where you play, you can help spread awareness about suicide and make sure the resource is in the hands of the most players possible.

There are several ways to secure your mat in 2024:
1 – Sign up for the VIP package. This year only 25 are available and you will get an exclusive stitched edge version of the playmat.
2 – Prize Wall. Play in side events all weekend long to earn prize chips and cash them in on the prize wall for the regular version of the mat. (limited quantities available)
3 – Silent Auction. There will be one stitched mat in the silent auction on Friday evening at the Opening Ceremony, and one stitched mat on the silent auction running through the weekend in the main hall.
4 – Volunteer. All of our volunteers will receive a regular version of the mat.

Looking for a different way to get the art? How about a T-shirt? This art will be featured on our 2024 event shirt available in limited quantities for purchase or on the prize wall!

By the way, did we mention that Carl Braun will have a booth and can sign your playmat?! Also, for you original art collectors, the original hand-drawn and inked art will be floating around and obtainable at the event!