Friends, it is hard to believe that two years ago this week many of you joined us at the NOVA Open’s 10th anniversary. To say it’s been a weird, tough two years is putting it mildly. Our hearts go out to everyone in the NOVA Open family who has faced hardship during these trying times.

The NOVA Open has always aimed to bring joy, camaraderie, and excitement to our community. And today we are excited to announce some new developments that will make it possible to bring the NOVA Open to you once again August 31st-Sept 4th, 2022!

As many gamers know, there comes a point in the life of any great system when you need to launch a new edition. We are excited to announce that the NOVA Open is entering into a new phase that we are affectionately calling “Second Edition”. As with any new edition launch some famous characters are retiring and new ones are joining all in the hopes of bringing an exciting, new version of the convention we all know and love.

When the NOVA Open was founded in 2010, the goal was to be the Premiere East Coast tabletop gaming and hobby convention by providing high-quality organized play, hobby seminars, and social experiences in a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere. Since its founding, the NOVA Open grew its mission and size thanks to the invaluable help of thousands of people: attendees, sponsors, vendors, and most of all our incredible volunteers.

Now, more than a decade after its founding, the torch has been passed to a new generation of Leaders, among them many familiar faces from the NOVA Open’s passionate volunteer corps.

As the NOVA Open moves into its Second Edition, a group of NOVA Open organizers has stepped up to lead the convention to ensure the continued growth and consistency of the NOVA Open experience. This change will allow the NOVA Open experience and legacy to continue while also bringing in passionate new team members and skills. The new team is committed to ensuring the core principles and mission of the NOVA Open stay true.

With that, we are excited to introduce the new members of NOVA Open: 2nd Edition leadership team who will be joining a host of familiar folks in bringing you the 11th NOVA Open August 31st-Sept 4th, 2022! 

Regards,

The NOVA Open 2.0 Team

OWEN BESTE, President

Has been a part of the NOVA Open since 2010 when it was his first ever tabletop gaming convention. Since then, he has served many roles at the NOVA Open; from running the 40k Narrative event, to exhaustively creating 3D floorplans of the Hyatt, to running Malifaux events. Owen is an avid gamer in all forms from PC gaming, board games, to miniatures games. In his day job, he is a senior manager at a DC-area tech consultancy. Now, as president of 2nd Edition NOVA, he looks forward to continuing the vision of making NOVA the best festival of tabletop gaming possible.

AARON STRAUS, Treasurer

AKA Cool Guys Nation, Aaron has been part of the gaming community since he was 11. He started his YouTube channel Cool Guys Nation in 2009 where he creates wargaming battle reports, and hobby tutorials. Aaron plays a variety of tabletop games from 40K to board games. He has experience with social media management and corporate operations.

TOM FRICTON, Secretary

A NOVA Open board member since 2019, Tom has been a life-long gamer. He loves the family aspect of the NOVA Open community and loves playing games with his kids. He has lived in Washington, DC since 2017. Tom has experience in public relations and military service. He is excited to continue to be a key part of the NOVA Open and its sponsorship of the NOCF.

REBECCA WYSOCKI, Assistant Treasurer

Rebecca started volunteering with her family at the Lorton terrain events in 2017. She has continued attending the terrain events, helped with registration, and attended NOVA Open conventions and seminars. She and her husband have supported the NOCF with donations from their business TNT Laser Works. You may have seen her at their vendor booth at the NOVA Open convention. She is an avid DND player and super Mom! She resides in Leesburg, VA.

BEN CASH, Chief of Staff

Ben has been part of the DMV gaming community for over 20 years. He has been part of the NOVA Open family in a variety of roles, from attendee to Kill Team lead to prize organizer to executive board. He has served as a play tester for Kill Team, 40k, and Malifaux, and has collected more armies over the years than he would like to admit! In his day job he is a research scientist and professor, as well as an amazing Dad. Ben continues to bring his passion, experience and influence to the NOVA Open.

STEPHEN DUALL, NOCF Liaison

Stephen is the founder and president of the Victory Gamers club of Northern Virginia and the lead for NOVA Open’s Kidshammer event. He witnessed the launch of 40k in the 80s! He now plays miniature games and RPG’s with his kids. He has been volunteering with NOVA since 2014 and continues to work hand in hand to support the NOVA Open and NOCF’s mission and all the good it has done.

BRIAN "BOZ" BOSWELL, Member

Brian has been involved with Warhammer 40k for more than 25 years has been a volunteer with the NOVA Open since 2017. He plays a smattering of tabletop games including almost all Games Workshop products, Malifaux, Star Wars Legion, Song of Ice and Fire, CCGs, and more. Currently lives in Evans, GA and is trying to build an active gaming scene in his new area. A Marine for many years, his current day job is a government contractor and his other day job is helping raise two toddlers (send help).

MIRANDA BOURKE, Member

Miranda AKA “WargamerGirl” has been part of the wargaming community since 2011. She started her YouTube channel Wargamer Girl in 2012 where she created wargaming battle reports. Additionally, she runs the tabletop gaming retreat Valhalla in the Fall each year in Utah and is familiar with the logistics of planning events. She is excited to bring her experience and expertise NOVA Open.  Miranda likes to encourage a variety of games, cosplay, lore talk, and all the convention revelry that keeps us geeks up into the wee hours of the morning.

MICHAEL SIBILIA, Member

Mike “Psybilliah” has been a persistent force in the MD/DC wargaming community for over 20 years. He has run the Infinity events at the NOVA Open since 2017 and was an attendee before that. Mike has grown the local wargaming community both in person and online, has been a brand ambassador and play tester, and has run many tournaments and events at local venues. Mike is a father of 2 and lives in Maryland. He has a degree in business management and experience in events management and sales.

CHRIS STOVER, Member

Chris has been an avid collector, painter, and gamer of miniature wargames since he painted his first blister pack of black orks with his dad at 6 years old. Since then, he’s travelled the world through the Navy and taken his love of gaming with him. After leaving the military and settling down in Northern Virginia, he joined with WargamerGirl to provide top tier terrain and narrative play for Valhalla Wargamers Retreat since 2015 and volunteered with NOVA Open Narrative since 2016. In his day job, he is a Senior Space Systems Engineer for a governmental space agency. He looks forward to the returning NOVA Open narrative family, with emphasis on thematic tabletop terrain and engaging narrative stories.

HUNTER WHITE, Member

Hunter is a long-time 40k player and was contributed to the development of the “Rangers” fantasy film with MiniWargaming.  Hunter has over a decade of experience in the insurance field and manages a commercial real estate firm as a career. Hunter is a husband and a father of 2 and lives in GA.

The NOVA 2.0 Team is looking to our community in hopes to raise funds for NOVA 2022 by collaborating with community leaders to host a variety of events both in person and online.