FYI, this convention is being run next month in Minnesota and includes in-person tournaments for the board game.
https://gamezenter.com/daysofice/
It is at the Gamezenter, which is owned by Christian T. Petersen (https://gamezenter.com/about-us/), who designed the 1st edition of the board game. One of the events involve a fun play session with Mr. Petersen. There will be tournaments for the board game (both AFFC and base 6 game) as well as tournaments for other games as you can see at the convention website. There is also the opportunity to learn to play the games, meet some other designers, trivia, etc.