Updated May 30, 2025
Games Club of Maryland Policies

General Policies

If you are attending a GCOM paid event with badges, wear your badge where it can be seen. Paid events are membership-only events, and your badge is your admission pass to event activities. Badges may not be shared under any circumstances; a badge is valid only for the person to whom it was issued.

We collect your information to allow GCOM committee and staff to provide you with better services. Your personal information will be kept confidential and we will only use it in connection with this and other GCOM events. Within the practical limits and resources of a non-profit volunteer organization, we will observe international best practices for privacy as well as transparency in relation to information storage and privacy policies.

We must retain records relating to membership, event registration, and attendance in order to track financial transactions and to maintain our insurance coverage. Member financial payment information such as credit card numbers do not come to us through online payment systems (PayPal and Square); such information is handled exclusively by the online payment service. Other than these obligations, we will remove any information about them from all of our public-facing website pages within 30 days of receiving a written request from the member.

By purchasing a membership or attending a GCOM event, you acknowledge that photographs or screen captures of GCOM event participants may be taken by the Official GCOM Photographer during the event, and GCOM may use these photos for promotional purposes. GCOM cannot guarantee that a member will not be photographed as part of event activities. If you have a significant justification for requesting a 'blackout' policy for your likeness please contact us prior to the event.
 

Policies Regarding Event Registrations and Personal Emergencies

The leadership of GCOM is committed to dealing fairly with all members and participants in GCOM activities. We realize that personal emergencies may prevent you from attending events for which you have registered and paid. If you find yourself in such an unfortunate circumstance, please refer to the following guidelines:

GCOM Partner Events

GCOM sponsors many events yearly with partner organizations. Examples are Games with Trains, DeRail, and the Hawkland Game Festival. GCOM does not control registration or set policy for these events. If a personal emergency prevents you from participating in one of these events for which you are registered, please contact the controlling organization for guidance. If you do not know whom to contact, feel free to consult with the president of GCOM.

GCOM Main Events

GCOM puts on many events each year that are totally under GCOM management. These include Game Days, the Family Picnic, and EuroQuest. If you have registered for one of these events and are unable to attend, contact the event director. We are unable to provide cash refunds; however, the event director may authorize a credit for you covering the amount of your registration. You may use this credit to register for future events or to pay club dues. If you must leave an event due to a personal emergency, make sure to contact the event director before leaving. The event director may authorize a credit in the amount of the registration you were unable to utilize.

Policies Regarding Transmittable Disease and GCOM Activities

The leadership of GCOM is committed to the health and safety of our members and event participants. Accordingly, we establish the following guidelines for easily transmittable disease. To determine what constitutes such a disease in a given instance, please consult with the appropriate location host, event director, or the president of GCOM. GCOM decisions in this regard will be guided by public health data and expert advice when available.

GCOM Partner Events

GCOM sponsors many events yearly with partner organizations. Examples are Games with Trains, DeRail, and the Hawkland Game Festival. GCOM does not control registration or set policy for these events. Please contact the controlling organization for health and safety guidance. If you do not know whom to contact, feel free to consult with the president of GCOM.

GCOM Main Events

GCOM puts on many events each year that are totally under GCOM management. These include Game Days, the Family Picnic, and EuroQuest. If you have registered for one of these events and are suffering from an easily transmittable disease, do not attend. Contact the event director as soon as possible. The event director may authorize a credit for you covering the amount of your registration in accordance with the GCOM policy on registration fees and personal emergencies. You may use this credit to register for future events or to pay club dues. If you develop signs or symptoms of an easily transmittable disease while participating in a GCOM event, please leave immediately. Make sure to contact the event director before leaving. The event director may authorize a credit in the amount of the registration you were unable to utilize. The event director or GCOM president can require any person whom they feel represents a danger to participants to leave any GCOM event. Repeated incidents may result in persons being barred from GCOM events.

GCOM may institute special requirements for registration and participation in GCOM events if public health concerns warrant them. These include masking and vaccination mandates.

GCOM Gaming Locations

Hosts of GCOM gaming locations should use the above policies as guidelines for their gaming sessions. Hosts may institute masking, vaccination, or other requirements for their locations if these requirements do not conflict with existing GCOM policy. Hosts have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health and well-being of gamers. This includes cancelling sessions or finding a substitute host if the regular host is ill with

an easily transmittable disease. If the gaming location is a private home, the host should cancel if a resident of the home has an easily transmittable disease.

GCOM members, and participants in GCOM gaming sessions, should take reasonable precautions for the health of other persons. Participants should not attend gaming sessions at GCOM locations if they are suffering from easily transmittable disease.

If a particular gaming location becomes a regular site for the spread of easily transmittable disease, GCOM may consult with the host to help institute healthier practices at the location. If the problem continues, GCOM may disaffiliate from that site.

GCOM Policy on Notification of Exposure
If the leadership of GCOM discovers that participants in a GCOM event or a gaming session at a host location have been exposed to an easily transmittable disease, the leadership will make every effort to notify all attendees of the exposure and to keep them updated until all cases of the disease are identified and resolved. The leadership will be guided in this by respect for privacy and personal health information, and will not use names or personal health information in these communications unless given specific permission to do so.

Code of Conduct

By attending a GCOM event, you are agreeing to follow our Code of Conduct. Code of Conduct violations that are not resolved at events will be investigated and resolved by the Board of Directors.

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The Games Club of Maryland is the sponsoring organization for this Event. The Games Club of Maryland observes the laws of the USA, the State of Maryland, the local jurisdiction, and the rules and bylaws of the Games Club of Maryland.