Uwe Mathon, SUNFLOWERS Support Dep., reports:

Langen/Nettersheim. A great number of PC gaming fans turned up at an PC network gaming convention in the picturesque German "Eifel" region in order to pay honour to their favourite and most beloved computer game: "ANNO 1602 - Creation of a New World". An entire hall had been rented and offered plenty of room for all those enthusiastic gamers who initially got to know each other through a "ANNO 1602" discussion board in the Internet. This fact might have been one of the reasons why most of the gamers present just called each other by their self-created nicknames already known from the discussion board: "Norton, Peach, and Push" are just few of them.

Yet, the tension rose, because people were excited about whom they would finally meet in reality, from face to face. If you now assume that the majority of the attendants were all freaks, who aren't interested in anything else but computers, you would absolutely bark up the wrong tree. It was a very mixed bunch of people you could meet there: from airline stewards via the database specialist to housewives with children. Anyhow, everybody present had something in common, it was their enthusiasm for "ANNO 1602", and therefore a lot of tricks, advice and experiences were exchanged amongst them.

After hours which seemed to have rushed by in just a few seconds, SUNFLOWERS organised a little raffle, where "ANNO 1602" in different language versions, "ANNO 1602" mouse pads, shirts and many other merchandising articles were given away. Afterwards, the gaming and the fun went on until early in the morning, when only physical exhaustion marked the limit of the event.

Some quotes from "ANNO 1602" fans:
"'ANNO 1602' is the first game to have a sensible manual since the invention of computer games."
"In general I'm not a computer gamer, but 'ANNO 1602' converted me into one!"
"'ANNO 1602' is an addiction of my delight."