David Dockter - Aug 8, 2004 3:20 pm (#13036 Total: 13259) Top Ten Outstanding con as always this year. Top 10: 10) Playing St.Petersburg and having Steve Brooks (the new BtB champ) tell me "The Observatory is a a great building...except in the hands of blind man {like me}. 9) Discovering that after all me years of college and study, Random Man (just playing your cards randomly) beat me at Just Us Chickens - which I think means my intelligence/strategy level is less effective than random 8 Getting the Chain Mail Lady Card from Sir Paul Gaberson - which turned out to be a BIG hit with the Dolan boys when I used it as my marker in Slapshot...it was also a nice "billboard" on the Pitch Car Friday Nite Track - went down very well with the participants 7) The strong slowing of us wargamers in the Euro titles...again. 6) Pitch Car Friday Night...played 4 hours in the dungeon - lots of flicking 5) 1776 ATTENDANCE UP 60% THIS YEAR....hits 16....6 hour rounds 14 games time 2....168 hours - I'll bet its in ....and Telling Mr. Cox about the 1776 attendance explosion 4) Liars Dice and Slapshot (always fun playing against the Dolan Boys their table - they play a black and blue game)...great events - poor Stuart Tucker - first bum out in LD this year 3) Maly walking up to the Pitch Car Friday Nite Races and making the bold statement that our track was a girlie mon 4 flick corse. A wager was demanded. $5 (but I offered double odds if he used the pink car instead of the black car). Not close. Definite 5 flick min track. 2) Paying Bill T (Martini Mon, nicknamed that by the Dolan boys)$20 at 6 AM Sunday morning to eat my selection of any two donuts (plus his breakfast sandwhich - in the order I specified) after a nite of BBQ, Flugeeees, and gaming - I choose that Strawberry covered thing and Jason (Black Speed Racer of WBC Pitch Car fame) recommended the chocolate covered Boston Chreme thing - I thought that would surely make Bill T loose it - not close - I think he could have even put down a slider or two from White Castle for desert. 1) The many new friends made - a real blast this year. Becoming more social every year - gonna by the must attend social event in the DC area now (ah, Lancaster, whatever - looking forward to the new locale except someone has to do a recon mission on finding a new BBQ place - the Pink Pig on York Road can't be beat). BIG THANK YOU to Don, the board and the GMs that made it another huge success. John Weber - Aug 8, 2004 11:13 pm (#13050 Total: 13259) WBC 2004 RESULTS FOR PRO AND SJU Wanted to be among the first GMs to file a brief report on the 2004 results -- these are from this year's PRO and SJU tournaments. As mentioned above, Barbara Flaxington was the winner of this year's Puerto Rico tournament, topping a field of 176 (down a bit from last year, but remember this year we went with three preliminary heats instead of four.). Second place went to David Platnick, who I understand also was runner-up in Princes of Florence, another popular heavy-duty Euro strategy game. Third was Jonathan Tivel and fourth was Aaron Buchanan. Final game scores were 40 for Barbara, 35 for David and 34 each for Jonathan and Aaron, with Jonathan's extra doubloons giving him the nod in the tiebreaker. Fifth place went to Arthur Field, the 2002 PRO champion, and in sixth was John Kerr, who had won the PRO tournament at PrezCon earlier this year. Barbara's advance to the final was highly unusual: with two seconds in three heats, she was the only alternate to make the elimination rounds. In the quarterfinal game, she won by the narrowest of margins: a one good/doubloon tiebreak, and in the semis she edged out Arthur by one point. Sad to report that last year's winner, Nick Anner, failed to defend his title. After two preliminary games, one of which he narrowly won and another in which he lost by 20, he was sitting on a -19 tiebreaker which would put him in danger of not being qualified had it turned out there would have been more one-game winners than slots. Fortunately for Nick (and Barbara as well), this was not the case, but nonetheless Nick did not get first or second in his quarterfinal which would have kept him going in the tournament. The GM also wanted to note an act of sportsmanship in the PRO tournament: while the rules allowed for those with three wins to gain byes to the semifinal round, one player with three wins (Phil Rennert) declined the bye, played and by only finishing second, lost his preferential seating slot in the semifinals. Thus, Phil, who had placed third in 2003, only placed third in his semifinal game and did not earn a repeat trip to the finals. Regarding my other event, the inaugural San Juan tournament (San Juan is a card game designed by the PR0 designer that is based on Puerto Rico) was won by Jeff Mullet, who topped a field of 123 (this in two heats) to follow up on his win in Attika and other recent tournaments in the past year. Jeff advanced to the four-player final with two other "CABBIES" (Nate Hoam and Alan Kaiser). Tom McCorry of GCOM managed to outscore two of the Columbus guys but was no match for Jeff -- final game scores: Jeff 42, Tom 31, Nate 31 and Alan 30. As in the past, I kept alot of statistics from the tournament and will hopefully have series replays for both final games (first time ever for San Juan) and hope to post it all some time at my website at http://home.earthlink.net/~jcw222 On a personal note, I had a great time again this year and am working on catching up on the lost sleep, especially after staying up til about 2 AM Saturday to contest the Adel Verpflichtet final where I'm proud to say I picked up third place plaque right behind two good gaming buddies, Marc Houde (who won) and Tom DeMarco (in second). After missing out on the chance to play in this event the past few years, it was alot of fun even though I was very tired and did not always make all the right decisions. Hope to see you all next year and hopefully even sooner at this fall's second annual EuroQuest con. Richard H. Berg - Aug 9, 2004 5:43 am (#13051 Total: 13259) "I'll try to be nicer, if you try to be smarter" Again, thanks to Don G for a well-run conventiuon . . . I always found the staff at Marriot's Hunt Valley very nice. The head of conventions even went and found "my chair" (which had disappeared) . . . I don't play tournaments, I go mostly for "business' purposes. One interesting bit, at least to my eyes, was that the "dog-and-pony" show games - those yet to be published, brought for testing and show-and-tell - appeared to be more interesting than the ones actually being sold (new). Not overly thrilled about Lancaster (Amish area food is the poster boy for Quantity = Quality) - I drive, from Charleston SC, and it's just a longer drive - but it gives me greater incentive to stop both ways now at the Kenmore Inn in Fredericksburg, a delightful place. Good convention . . .great people . . . RHB Jeff Evich - Aug 9, 2004 5:54 am (#13052 Total: 13259) 75th alternate for the Carcassonne Semi-Finals at WBC 2004 Brief AAR Decompression continues, so a brief AAR... RECON was a big success with 36 ASL fanatics showing up for a weekend of nonstop action. The pre-con format was well received and feedback was very positive. I've already begun fine tuning the format for next year. The balance of the week was filled with a mixed bag of tournaments, open gaming, and socializing with friends old and new. Managed a second place finish in E&T and a semi-final appearance in PRO (much too the delight of David D.). Other tournament fare included Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, and RA, while open gaming selections featured St. Petersburg and Power Grid. Thanks to all the RECON attendees, all my opponents, Don and all the members of the board. Looking forward to Lancaster already. Jeff Randy Cox - Aug 9, 2004 7:08 am (#13057 Total: 13259) Brief recap from two events: Superstar Baseball: Chris Palermo, who posts here from time to time, finally got the monkey off is back (finished second last year and makes the elimination rounds most years). His All-Time All-Star Atlanta/Milwaukee/Boston Braves topped newcomer Ken Richards' Houston Astros 2-1 in the final game. Niekro, Spahn, and McMahon bested J.R. Richard in the pitching duel. Earlier highlights included a 13-inning game with a walk-off Willie Mays HR, a walk-off grand slam to win one for Houston, and a no-hitter (albeit with 7 walks) by Herb Score for the Cleveland Indians. Attendance was up to 22 this year, which won't nearly get it back into the Century. And a special thanks to Greg Schmittgens and the team buttons he supplied (and he advanced to the playoffs to boot). Facts in Five: I had playtested six rounds (30 categories) a few days before the con and the best score, total, was 262. That was a bad sign, since a single round can accumulate 250 points. So I retooled and added and deleted categories to try to make the grids easier. Nonetheless, after one round (categories were Retired Hurricane Names, US National Parks, County Names used in 10 or more US States, Dr. Seuss Books, and Constellations from the U Wisconsin Bayer List; letters were A-C-G-H-M), there was much moaning. I'm not sure that anyone topped 100 in that round and most scores ranged from 2 to 44. That's not so good. So, after peeling tomato skins and other rotten fruit off my cloths, we proceded to somewhat easier rounds and by the time we got through the four preliminary rounds, the leader and eventual champion, Doug Hoylman, had over 400 points. The fifth round did shuffle the fifth and sixth places, but Doug bested all other scores in the final frame to extend his lead. Final round categoreis: People Who Have Walked on the Moon, National Flags with only one star, Top 100 English Language Novels-20th Century, Top US Grad Schools, and Pampered Chef kitchen/cooking products. Letters: A-C-I-M-S. Attendance was down to only 31 (thanks, Puerto Rico, for competing with this time slot) and I'll gladly pass the torch for this one next year (Winton can't-remember-last-name has volunteered to take over if Richard wants to pass). All in all, it was a fun-filled 42 hours. Arrived at 4 on Friday and got to play Hols der Geier, the next Ticket to Ride, and the new Balderdash. Then got up at 5 the next day and had breakfast (the free internet hookup was available at that time, by the way) and made it to SSB setup by 7:30. First arrival was around 8. Between SSB and FI5 (that's about 4:15 until 6:45), got in Cluzzle (good game) and Scrabble. After FI5, it was Ticket to Ride, Alhambra, and another Balderdash. Then, caught a ride with Bob Cranshaw back to RI, avoiding that whole airport thing. Many thanks to Bob for the lift. Ewan - Aug 9, 2004 7:55 am (#13059 Total: 13259) Another brief AAR Well, I got crushed. Squish. The slightly longer version? Nick Benedict repeated as Britannia champion, and congrats to him. The usual excellent tournament and level of camaraderie produced finalists of Nick, myself, David Yoon, and Ralph Gleaton - one of the Greenville crowd and this year's dark horse. Nick managed to convince the table that (i) he was not a threat, and (ii) I was winning, with the predictable result that the Danes ate up my Angles and then joined the Saxons in forming defense against the Normans; end result a fourth place finish some 30 points behind the (very close) other three. I hate playing Blue . A similar story in AoR: the five finalists were myself, Steve Simmons, Bret Mingo (all three last year's finalists also), Ted Mulally and Bill Crenshaw, the dominant AREA #1. Steve took the place of Harald Henning, who was unable to finish his Adv Civ game within the 9-hour slot to make the final - Ted actually put himself into chaos in Adv Civ in order to come over! This time the evil svengali was Bill, who convinced the table that (i) he was not a threat and (ii) I was winning... so I was taken completely out and spent the last twwo turns reading a book (!) while everyone else played with huge amounts of money. I got some small measure of revenge in hitting Bill with the fairly ineffectual Civil War/Alchemists' Gold combination, and Steve made a very strong comeback on the basis of a huge amount of patronage money and some Silk payouts to pip Bret at the end. Congrats to Steve also (and thanks to Jim Jordan and Ken Gutermuth, the two GMs). This was the first year that a guy I had never met walked up to my AoR table, shook hands, and said "So I hear you're the guy to kill." Guess I need to wear a disguise next year, not that it's going to help in the finals! The rest of the week was great, of course - learnt Hannibal (thanks, Derek Landel and Stuart Tucker), played Robo Rally, got my baby fix from Edison (!!), managed to fit in Union Pacific and merchants of Venus, didn't bother to eat or sleep. Roll on next year. [I've been going to Historicon for several years at the Lancaster Host. It's not as nice a hotel as the HVI, but it's a lot better as a convention site. Maybe too big for the WBC's current size, but that doesn't seem a real problem. The only downside is transport, as the board noted: poor air accessibility, poor road accessibility (Rt. 30 is a low speed limit, cop-infested route). Paul Weintraub has promised a restaurant guide, though, which wwould be a plus ] Anyway, thanks again to my opponents - gracious and charming to a pperson - to all the old friends I get to meet again, and to the new ones I just made this year. And as for Nick Benedict, who is now ahead 2-1-1 in our britannia final scores.... I'll be back . Arthur Field - Aug 9, 2004 8:28 am (#13063 Total: 13259) Finals Several finals went late. I think Attack Sub was the one, but also Circus Max probably went late, Goa must have if the semi didn't start until noon. Also Acquire. Finals take a lot longer than games. We started the Mexica final at 7:20 AM and ended at 10: 15 or so. We then immediately started the Tikal final and it went until 1:40 and only ended because I pleaded to get going because I had a plane. Ironcially, had the PRO final been a 5 player game (which I am strongly advocating from here on) I would have been in that too. And, I qualified for Goa. And the Auction final was scheduled for 9 AM on Sunday, too. We had to move that one to 7:30 AM on Saturday. So, my prediction that the conflicts in semis and finals were a problem proved true. Conceivably, I and some other people, were in 5 finals all scheduled for the exact same time. (Any time on Sunday is pretty much the same time.) Now, I know few people sympathize with my plight, but I was not the only one affected. And, I believe people don't play in heats if they don't think they can play in the semis or finals. Deconflicting these things will allow more people to play and qualify and move on. And, regardless who it is, if you qualify to be in the finals, you should be able to play in the finals and NOT have to make a choice. The GMs need to recognize a 2 hour game is going to take 3 hours in the finals. It just moves slower. So scheduling Tikal at 9 AM and PRO at 11 AM theoretically should work, and it does in heats, but not in finals. Fortunately, I got considerable support for my scheduling notions. I talked to many people who are in favor of deconflicting and I will have the stats from all the surveys (100s of responses) soon. Don G is also very much behind the concept and wants the GMs to work together to schedule and has indicated he will publicly endorse this effort of mine. I think it will have both grass roots and management support and now encourage next year's GMs to work together. Arthur Martin Sample - Aug 9, 2004 8:30 am (#13064 Total: 13259) " Kent , meltdown is one of those ugly buzzwords . I prefer to use the term ' undesired fission surplus' " - Montgomery C . Burns Coussis First of all , my condolences once again to John Coussis . Now, let me praise him once again for his running of the Atlantic Storm tournament . I wish more GMs would follow his example of how to get a tournament up and running quickly and efficiently . For those that don't know, he closes sign ups on time, quickly counts the number of people, and lays out a corresponding number of index cards, face down, on the GM table . Everyone picks a card randomly which has the table # and seat # on it . They go to the table and start playing. The whole process takes about a minute. I was in 2 other MESE multi player events where the GMs took, IMO , too much time to seat people . One event started 20 minutes after the hour for only 30 entrants. I noted this on the GM feedback form .Unless a GM is seeding an event, John's method works as well as anything and is fast . Waiting for a GM to read off the list of 50-60 entrants over the din of the Maryland room is primitive in comparison and works no better. Dan Dolan - Aug 9, 2004 8:35 am (#13065 Total: 13259) That's right ... the Governors gay. Now what? Circus Maximus finished around 4PM I think. You can't blame late finishing events for people falling asleep on the drive home. It's up to the individual driving to be responsible. I'm glad everyone invloved is OK but I'm sure they'd tell you it was their fault not WBC's for the accident. On to happier stuff ... The lads and I along with adopted son for the week Ryan Myslinski made the trek to the HVI for it's last WBC. A great time was had by all and Ryan has assured me he's already planning to return next year. A convert. The week started off on a grand notw with a Championship repeat in the Elchfest event. 48 players this year, a new high!! Next year we top 50 and enter the Century!! Played in Title Bout and got crushed by Joe Frazier. But had a good time and will return again next year looking for revenge. Got to play in Superstar Baseball this year. This is an event I've been trying to get into for several years but due to scheduling conflicts never was able to. This year I managed to get in and I had a great time. I was able to advance into the second round with my All Time Negro team and I ran into the Pirates who lit Satchel Paige up for 6 runs in the first two innings and managed to hold off my charge in the 9th. A nice event that is probably going to cost me $100 to buy the game from Randy sometime in the future. Damn you Randy! Meanwhile the lads were cruising about till all hours wreaking havoc wherever they went and having a good time all the while. Both scored points for our team and we are in the running for the team event title. Got into some great open gaming with the usual crowd of open gaming misfits that inhabit the bottom of the escalator. Listening to Andy Maly try to convince 5 other people he should be involved in a deal even if he has absolutely nothing to offer was a thing of sheer beauty. Even if Greg Schmitgens managed to win by silently gathering all the money every time. And to poor Jeff Paull, try practicing next year. It's embarrassing seeing you sob after yet another pathetic attempt to regain your years past ELCHFEST glory. Already looking forward to next year. Thanks to Don and the Board for another great time. Is Monday going to be the WBC golf outing? What's the course like at the new place? John Coussis - Aug 9, 2004 11:02 am (#13078 Total: 13259) Be sure to catch the 2004 Rush tour. Coming to a city near you. Thanks to everyone First, thanks to Arthur, Marty, Brian, and everyone for your condolences. My girlfriend and I truly appreciate it, and again, I'm very glad I made it home in time. And now, thanks to everyone for your praise of my GM'ing of Atlantic Storm. I agree that it is simpler to get it started (as far as set up time) as other multi-player games (and I usually don't worry about making certain every table has a game since it is easy to borrow one from me or another person). However, I really think the other multi-player game GM's would benefit from the table/seat card system. The El Grande GM (forget the name) used it and he told me it worked great. Anyway, I had a great time and I wish circumstances were such that I could have finished the week, but what are you gonna do? Just gotta move on. I'm looking forward to more fun next year at our new home (although I still haven't figured out the best way to get there, although I do hear that there are direct flights from O'Hare to Harrisburg, PA which is closer than Philadelphia or BWI, gotta check it out). Michael Rinella - Aug 9, 2004 11:16 am (#13081 Total: 13259) "Make your move ..." [Vicious, Cowbow Bebop, Session #12] WBC AAR Tuesday was Barbarossa to Berlin. I was the Axis, game was an Axis concession Spring 1944. Wednesday Three rounds of Breakout: Normandy. Probably my weakest day of BKN ever, with two crushing losses as the Allies and one victory as the Germans. Thursday Another round of Breakout: Normandy and lost that one as the Germans on the final dr. BKN drew 30+ over the four rounds. Friday Four rounds of Monty's Gamble: Market-Garden. Won all four games, as the Germans, Allies, Germans, and the Germans in the finals, to win the wood. MGM drew at least 20. Saturday showed off two new designs at the MMP table all day. Any photos of me playing some Euro around 1am Sunday should be considered doctored. The computer terminal was something I checked out on Sunday morning, and I had no problems using it as much as I wanted. Vince Meconi - Aug 9, 2004 4:27 pm (#13093 Total: 13259) Pronouncing Lancaster/Gettysburg '88 GM Report I want to thank the BPA Board for moving the convention even closer to my home in Wilmington, Delaware. One hour and 20 minutes was entirely too long to drive to Hunt Valley, and now it'll be only an hour or so drive for me. (Ducking!) As somebody who was born in Lancaster, I want to advise folks to start practicing the correct pronunciation: it's LANK us ter, not the LANN cast er that I heard 100 times this week. I was delighted with the Gettysburg '88 turnout this year. No doubt this is one of the more obscure events at the WBC, even though it's been contested every year since 92. Last year we were down to 8 players and on the verge of extinction. At Bruno Sinigaglio's suggestion, we converted from single elimination to the flexible free form format, and 28 players entered, 6 more than the highest previous year. A total of 30 games were played, averaging about 3 hours per, including one 6:45 marathon that went to turn 22. Are 180 player hours enough to get GBG back into the Century? I confess to never having paid much attention to the Century formula. Whether or not we do, though, I think everybody was juiced up about the higher participation. Competition-wise, veteran Allen Kaplan won his 3rd championship plaque by defeating Ted Drozd, a 2nd-time entrant, in the finals. Allen got a little revenge over Ted, who upset him in the opening round last year. The GM got 3rd place and another long-time competitor, Dave Zimmerman, was 4th. Dave, a very good player, has made the final 4 five or six times without grabbing the championship. One of these years for Dave, I'm sure. The Union and Confederates each won 15 games. I haven't counted, but there weren't a lot of bids. I want to thank everybody who competed, especially some folks who went out of their way to play. Next up, an e-mail tournament, and we'll be back for more GBG at next year's con. As for the WBC overall, the games were great, seeing old friends and making new, greater. I'm already in withdrawal. I also highly enjoyed playtesting John Poniske's prototype Vietnam game. First time I ever did something like that. I generally take a while to warm up to new games, but I took an instant liking to this one. I wish him good luck in getting a game company (GMT?) to publish it. If he succeeds, I'll be buying right away. Craig Yope - Aug 9, 2004 8:10 pm (#13112 Total: 13259) First Timer! WOW!!! A hell of a good time. I am still trying to work through the all of the gaming information/experiences/memories that are clogging up my mind. A few anecdotes- -I am the guy who walked up to Ewan's AoR table and proclaimed that he was the one to target. That what comes from being good (and from having your picture in the yearbook and on the website). I hope to one day have the pleasure of being crushed at AoR by Ewan. -I was accused of being Bruce Monnin's friend as we sat down to play Naval War just because I happen to be asking him about the tomahawk he is holding in his CSW picture. We later teamed up to crush all and launched Bruce into the finals. -My roommate, Hank Burkhalter, talked me into going down to see what Slapshot was all about. I ended up sitting between Bruce Monnin and Ken Gutermuth. Craziness! Having never seen the game before, I still ended up playing Bruce for the chance to move on from our table. Damn overtime card choices killed me! -Stuart Tucker was nice enough to crush me in Football Strategy as a warm-up for his monumental second round defeat of Bruce "Five Time Wood" Reiff. That is just the tip of the iceberg as to the fun I had at WBC. I even won a game of Acquire just before I left the convention in which my opponents were Steve Packwood, Luke Koleszar, and I think Rich Atwater. There is hope for me yet. I hope to go back next year and continue making good gaming memories. Craig P.S.- Had I known Bruce, I could have dropped you off in Toledo for someone to pick you up. I had room for someone else and all there gaming gear. At least I could have been truthfully accused of being your friend next year after riding 8 hours in a car with you. Then again maybe not. Ric Manns - Aug 10, 2004 5:24 am (#13122 Total: 13259) Now on to the WBC's! WBC I had a great time....this week was wargaming week as I gave up Diplomacy for the first time in 10 years. We had a great turnout for both of the tourneys I ran and I finished third in Hammer of the Scots. I was able to win my first round of Saratoga and then at Eutaw Springs I met my demise as a British Cannon blew General Greene's head clean off. It was great though. My buddy and I then Saturday afternoon went to the Orioles game and it was a perfect night for a ball game. BTW War of 1812 drew 35 and Liberty had 44 for their tourneys. I believe that Hammer of the Scots was able to draw near 30 and Napoleon remained a trial at 8. Overall, attendance for the block games were up, I forget what Europe Engulfed drew. My experience with the staff was good as usual, but my wife who schedules conventions for a large international corporation said that HVI is not very nice (Her next convention is in Nassau at the Atlantis), but that Lancaster Host is a good facility. So, I had my last Ribs & Crabcake dinner at the Corner Stable. Bruce Reiff - Aug 10, 2004 6:29 am (#13125 Total: 13259) I'm Officially a Wargamer now.... My Top Ten From The WBC Here's my top 10 things from this year's WBC.... 10. Combat Password with the boys on the way to Baltimore. I have no idea how Bud and Mike beat Nate and Sean..... 9. During The Charles Roberts Awards the gentleman presenting them announced that Europe Engulfed won for best WWII game. Rick Young (the designer) comes up to accept and the gentleman says "and you are?". Had to chuckle on that one...... 8. Seeing Natey Boy holding hands, cheek to cheek all entwined with his new girlfriend. The grunting was a bit much though.... 7. Seeing Little Lisa's (Lisa Gutermuth) face after she won the Fomula Motor Racing Plaque. 6. Getting to play a game of Medici with my three year old daughter Victria "helping" me. 5. Having such a huge response and many positive comments for the game auction. Thanks to all buyers and sellers! 4. The semi-final game in auction with Ken Gutermuth, Arthur Field and newcomer from the Greenville Mafia. Had I beat Arthur, this would move up a couple slots..... 3. Playing the Liberty Final with last year's Ceasar, Nick "Death" Benedict at 1am Sunday morning while being serenaded by the piano and guitar outside the Maryland room. Got to try and stay up later more often. Damn 7am board meetings.... 2. The Liar's Dice game on Monday Night. Played with Don (yes, he did get in at least one game). I knocked out Don and it came down to me with one die and Natey Boy with four. No contest - Natey never had a chance... And my number one highlight... Having my wife (Royal Turf) and Daughter Nicole (Formula Motor Racing Jr.) in two finals simultaneously and pacing back and forth watching while trying not to let them know I was watching them..... Matthew Miller - Aug 10, 2004 1:10 pm (#13146 Total: 13259) "I don't dream. I plan." -- Giedre Miller (my wife) Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? Well, I had a great time at WBC. At least from Tuesday through Friday. Then, Friday night I had trouble sleeping (chronic insomnia), and Saturday morning, while setting up for a pick up game of Fortress Berlin, I suddenly found myself flat on my back being asked annoying questions like "What's your name?" and "Do you know where you are?" Couldn't answer any of them. Seems that, for the fourth time in my life, I'd had a grand mal seizure. I understand I got some assistance from a tall bald man in a Miami Fire Department shirt. I couldn't find the guy after I returned from the hospital a couple hours later. If anybody knows who this was, please give him my thanks and let him know I'm fine. The thing that's upsetting about this is that this is the first seizure I've had while I was enjoying myself. The other three all happened under conditions of enormous stress, and served as excuses to take a break. This time, I was already taking a break! Anyway, I'll be back to try again next year. This time, I'll be loaded up with Dilantin (an anti-seizure drug), and I'll pay a bit more attention to my sleep schedule. I got through three WBC's in the past without incident -- I should be able to do it again! -- Matt Arthur Field - Aug 10, 2004 5:09 pm (#13154 Total: 13259) AAR Arrived Tuesday early and very much appreciated the kind ovation given me in the auction when Bruce introduced me. Had the anniversary swim and hottub followed by the 5 PM Greenville Mafia meeting and toasting of those who have passed on from our group prematurely. We raise a flask to their memory every year, and it is the one drink I indulge in. Then it was off to Auction and Amun Re. Won both and enjoyed the games. Followed it with Win, Place and Show and watched that Singaglio fellow kick my butt. Great job. Bed around 1 Wed saw numerous games. Titan Arena began the day; almost forgot how to play; hadn't played since finals two years back. Won my heat. Also won a heat of El Grande in a photo finish. I was real proud of that, since I was only playing for fun. Won a heat of Tikal. Then it was on to the Auction semi-final. Bruce assigned tables. There were 16 winners. Ken said to Bruce he should just put me and Reiff and Ken at the same table and let us battle it out. No, said Bruce, it is going to be random. Sure enough, Ken, Bruce and me and Phil Yanov. We decided Phil was likely to win since the three of us were going to slaughter each other. Very nearly happened. For those of you who have never had the honor to be beaten by Ken or Bruce (i.e. played in a game with them), let me tell you, it is a challenge. Ken has a general idea of how much money you are hiding in the stash. Reiff knows to the penny. He is awesome. Winning that game, mostly through good fortune, was one of the highlights of my week. From there, it was on to UPAC to defend my title. Had 3 really good games and lost in the final to Luke Koleszar, a top flight gamer. Luke took the chancy "don't buy UP" strategy I recommended in my write-up 2 years ago. I fell for it and he managed to get more shares out. Well done, Luke. Got a second. Not bad. WBC 1st, EQ 1st, WBC 2nd. May retire. Ran over after and rolled my usual 0 in Greed. That took 2 minutes. Woke up Thursday exhausted. Started with a Mexica and won that. Then on to the Amun Re semis. I didn't enjoy that much. Paul Haynes threw himself on his sword in last turn to snatch my win. Nick Anner, the bane of my Euro existence, the spawn of David Dockter, Damian himself, beat me by 2 points as a result. In fact, Nick and I have become good 'friends' and I have the utmost respect for his gaming abilities. (Course, he likes Jason, so that may not be a good sign.) If you are going to lose to a Wargeek, Nick is the guy you want to lose to. I think my score was close enough to take a 5th in Amun and get some team points. Things begin to blur around that point. I know I played in a Medici and tied for first, but lost the tiebreaker (which still doesn't make sense to me since it favors the guy who wasn't in the lead). I played in a Ra at some point and won that. It was fun. Nice guys at the table. I then won my first heat of Puerto Rico. Andy Greely (a very nice guy) and 3 newbies. I also played in a Pro Golf, which was lots of fun. Andy Lewis and wife, Debbie and Ken and Jason, all helped me since I can't actually see the card. I yelled Go for the Green once, but that was a mistake. Ended in the water. Should have laid up. Finally went to bed. Friday brought the Titan Arena and El Grande semis. First Titan. We needed a 4th at our board and an alternate said he would play but under no circumstances would he advance. He was just going to be a filler since he had a conflict. He confirmed this first to the GM and then to our board. Everyone in the room heard him. So we at the board agreed it was essentially a 3 player game and best person would take it. We ignored him and let him score whatever since it didn't count. He won. He then announced he had changed his mind and would stay for the final. I was fried. The GM agreed he could stay. That sucked. So much for that final. El Grande had to be better. Wrong. That was not a good game. Several of the players asked the GM to deconflict the boards. He refused. I thought that was a mistake. Too many teammembers in the room. Greenville alone had 4 of the 20. We voluntarily separated, but others didn't. My board had Jason and me and 2 guys from Wisconsin, same town, and a woman from TX? maybe. The guys laughed about colluding the whole time. It was awful. It was like watching volleyball from the wrong side. I protested immediately, but nothing was done. Jason was the real victim of this. He had a solid hope of winning, but they ganged up on him. Example, green and yellow are tied in green's Grande province giving them both second. Yellow removes his tying piece from the province to permit green to score both the first and his grande bonus. That sucked. Green wins game and goes on to place fifth in final by a wide margin. During the semi he kept saying he had just learned the game. These experiences felt dirty. It was one of the low points of the Con. Fortunately, I moved on to the very well run Battle Line. I blew threw my group of 4 with 3 wins. I got a bye into the second elim round and had the very great fun of matching wits with Stuart Tucker, the very first time I have played against him. What a fine gamer. And a really nice fellow. (Incidentally, all the teens thinks he is the bomb. He is really nice to them.) I won and went on to Jason Levine. That, too, was fun. I had to wait for Sean McCullogh to finish Liar's Dice, so I ran up and won a heat of Goa in a very enjoyable game, well run by Stan and David Fair. Back to find Sean, we played the Battle Line final at 1:30 AM. I won in a very close game. Sean played brilliantly. I just got lucky with my card draw. My wife was hugely excited I won Battle Line. I just felt relieved I got a wood, since Reiff was beginning to bust on me. Bought Sean a beer just before closing time. We got up at 7:30 to play the Auction final. That turned out rather weird, but I congratulate young Ray Stojkanis who won it. Somewhere in there I squeezed in two more heats of PRO, and got another first and a second and a bye into the semi-finals. I also managed to play a couple heats of Ticket to Ride which was great fun. Aaron and I were in the quarter/semi finals. Was funny. If either of us won, it went to a semi and we couldn't play in the final because we had to go back to PRO. However, if we lost that heat, it WAS the semi and then it simply went right to a final, which we could play in. So, if we advanced we couldn't play, but if we lost we could. Instead we just played a really fun game. We announced to the table that even if we won we wouldn't play next round. Eric H (great job) came over and said he fixed it so if either of us won, we would just be in the final. We both declined since we said we had told the table otherwise. Had the most fun of the Con, just laughing it up. Lost the PRO semi-final by 1 to Barb Flaxington. She is a fine gamer. I don't know how she got in the final rounds since she never won a single heat, but she went on to win the tourney anyway. I wonder why I bothered to win all those heats though, since 3 seconds still got you in. The good news was I got a 5th and didn't have to play in the final. Then it was the Mexica and Tikal semis. Got to bed at 12:30 Sunday morning since we agreed to start the Mexica final at 7:15. 3 of us were in both Mexica and Tikal events. Both Mexica and Tikal were very hard fought. Mario made a brilliant opening move which essentially won him the game later. Jack Jaeger and I slaughtered each other. Same thing in Tikal. I was first and Jack threw himself on another sword, amazing how many of them are lying around wherever I am, and he came in 4th. I came in 2nd. I was ahead in the last round, but he changed that. Jack may be the finest Tikal player I know. Harald Henning, a superb gamer, took advantage and won it. Harald 1, me 2, Davyd Field 3, Jack 4. Separated by about 7 or 8 points total. What a game. Mad dash to airport. Forgot sweatshirt. Didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. Thanks to all for a wonderful time. Arthur Vince Meconi - Aug 10, 2004 5:12 pm (#13155 Total: 13259) War At Sea GM Report Bruce Monnin of Minster, OH won his 3rd championship plaque last week. Bruce finished 6-1 and bested former champ Tim Hitchings of Newark, DE (5-2) in the finals. Bruce had not been a semifinalist since 1993 and Tim was back in the Final 4 for the first time since 1997. Third place went to defending champ Ray Freeman (Berkeley, CA, 5-1), the only other player to win 3 crowns. Ray was the only player to go 5-0 in the Swiss rounds. The GM, who hails from Wilmington, DE, lucked into 4th with a 4-1 record. AREA leader Jonathan Lockwood took the 5th and final plaque with a 4-1 log after losing a tiebreaker for the last semifinal slot. Both semifinals were tight affairs, with Bruce over Vince by 0.5 POC when with his last die roll he disabled the last convoy in the last sea area on the last turn. It doesn't get any closer than that! Tim edged Ray as both players ran into clock trouble. After Ray's concession we ran the clock down (it's a clock, not a digital timer) and counted 9 seconds left! Tim had only a minute and a half. In the final, Bruce erected the blockade on turn 1 and never let up. The remainder of the top 10 included Glenn McMaster (6th, 4-1), Frank Cunliffe (7th, 3-2), Joe Collinson (8th, 3-2), Dennis Nicholson (9th, 3-2), and John Elliott (10th, 3-1). Ray Freeman picked up the Best Allied Player for the 4th time, with a 5-0 mark, while Bruce Monnin grabbed his second Best Axis Player award at 4-0. Darren Kilfara, who made the trip to the WBC from Scotland, was our Rookie of the Year. The 52 entrants were an all-time high; 86 total games were played. The Allies won 53 games to the Axis 31, with 2 ties. 3 players bid for the Axis (including one bid of 3.5!), 63 bids were recorded for the Allies, and there were only 20 no-bid games, the lowest percentage ever. Mike Ussery is our sportsmanship nominee. In a close game, his opponent failed to sail key ships, but Mike allowed it after the clock was flipped. I think everybody had a good time! Tom McCorry - Aug 10, 2004 6:18 pm (#13160 Total: 13259) WBC AAR I went the long route this year: 8 Days of WBC gaming. I started out with the ASL Recon tournament. I started wargaming back in the late 70's (boy do I feel really old right now) with the SPI Blue and Gray Quads. I got hooked on the most addictive of wargames, ASL, when I attended the Origins Convention at Towson State College when ASL was released. My wargaming reached a zenith when I became an ASL playtester in Jim Stahler's group in Northern Virginia. Partisan, Red Barricades, Code of Bushido all absorbed a significant amount of my time, earning me a U.S. Sgt McCorry (8-0) counter in Gung Ho. For all of my Avaloncon and early WBC tournaments, I was a regular in the ASL Room (i.e. Hunt Room) from Thursday through Sunday. In 1998, I played in my last ASL tournament. In fact it was the last time I ever played the game. I went cold turkey into Eurogames and have rarely looked back since. The precon was a great way for me to try an old favorite without hindering my current favorites, Over three days I got to play 6 scenarios and enjoyed every one. I made a few 'rookie' mistakes and even managed one cheese win when I surrounded a victory hex with mostly broken units. Jeff Evich did great job in his rookie appearance as GM. We even got in a few games of St. Petersburg which became our 'relaxation' game in the evening. Tuesday brought open gaming and the inaugural Auction. Funny thing about the auction: my family arrived shortly after the start and insisted on going to lunch right away. By the time we got back, it was almost all over. I think it was a plot to keep my money out of Bruce's hands. Then again, with the strong sellers market, I may have been saved from doing something really crazy. Kudos to Bruce Reiff and the CABS gang on running a great auction. The 'real' WBC started Tuesday with El Grande against Mario Lanza, Davyd Field, and Lucy Martins. This has become my traditional opening game and as usual it was well fought. Mario managed to get a hold of some strong scoring cards early and held the lead most of the game. Davyd made a late charge but it was not enough to catch Mario. Tuesday finished with a game of Amun Re. I held a pretty strong position throughout the game but I succumbed by one point to Steve Cameron in the final tally. Not the best of starts, but to borrow a phrase "A day of gaming is better then any day in the office." Wednesday started off with Robo Rally. I enjoy the adrenaline rush and quick thinking required. The board proved to be very deadly and Jonathan Tivel finished on top with Bill Dyer in second. Next was a quick game of Carcassonne in which I got annihilated. Lisa Gutermuth played very aggressively and clearly showed the family gaming genes. Gangsters was the next game in the lineup. If there was ever a GM to emulate, John Pack would rank at the top of the list. He is passionate for his game, provides a lot of fun extras, and runs a no-nonsense round. Gangsters was one of Avalon Hill’s better ‘euros’ and would probably do well if republished with modern rules ‘format’. I lost to Angela Collinson who amassed $10K for her gang. A long gaming day continued with another tradition: Kremlin. Since this is the only game I have won the coveted top prize in, I make at least one attempt a year to get in to the semi-finals. As it worked out, the table I sat at could have been a final game in most years. Peter Stein, another great GM, Joel Tamburo, Mark Neal and a few others all fought a devious battle to get the three waves. Unfortunately for my Reformists, I was not to wave once in this game (or the one I played on Thursday). Goa was next in a very strange game. I only built on the settlers track once yet I had all 4 colonies by the time I finally did. I have not Grokked GOA yet, but I think there is some subtle strategy I haven’t quite mastered. The day finally finished with a quick game of San Juan. The cards were finally favoring me and I finished with a strong 43 points over Nick Anner, Ray Dion, and Andrew Green. Day 3 started with my absolute worst game of Amun Re ever. Not once in the entire game did I even see a bonus scoring power card. Meanwhile one opponent managed to score 4 cards in one age and another 3 in the Second age. In the end the game went to Steve Quade on a third tiebreaker (closest to Amun Re) over Michael Zehnal. I tried again at Kremlin but Ewan McNay went for an early wave strategy. He got two quick but he had to wait until turn 9 to get the third wave and the victory. Having John Pack and Peter Stein in the same game made for another enjoyable time despite my party spending much too much time in Siberia. I finally played a good game of Carcassone and scored 73 points over Allyson Field with 54 points. Another second generation gamer who shows the same skills as her better know parent. I followed that up with a loss to Jim Fry but I scored enough to make into the semis. My most enjoyable game of the weekend was playing Princes of Florence with Gene Lum, David Fair, John Weber, and one other poor soul who had to listen to the friendly trash talking between the rest of us. It was social gaming at its best and what makes me love this hobby. John managed the most best works in the game which proved to be the margin of victory. Well I better stop now before the bandwidth police get me. I’ll finish up tomorrow. Ed Beach - Aug 9, 2004 5:22 pm (#3273 Total: 3337) Currently designing a card-driven game on Reformation Europe WBC 2004 Report Let's see if I can write up a pretty quick summary of all of the Great Campaigns activity at WBC this year. It's still the best event all year for a huge fix of the GCACW. Next year the convention is in Lancaster, PA. More on that soon; we're planning a "Civil War in Pennsylvania" theme. NEW COMMANDER TRAINING We had 4 players for the Wednesday training session, and two of them returned later in the day to enter the 1862 tournament. We've been consistently getting new players from these demos and will make sure to keep them in our plans for the future. WEDNESDAY: 1862 TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUNDS The magic number of 16 players entered the 1862 tournament. I'll let our GM Paul Nied jump in if he wants to add more detail, but here's what I had in my notes... We had 6 rookies (Brad Merrill, Rob Doane, Forrest Atterberry, Allen Hill, Dennis Nicholson and Freeman Wiltsie). That's a great percentage: 38% newcomers! We also had Kevin Coombs rejoin us after an absence of a few years which was nice. Veterans Jesse Boomer and Steve Likevich also played, along with last year's Rookie of the Year, Joe Doughan. THURSDAY: 1862 TOURNAMENT SINGLE ELIM ROUNDS Chris Withers and Ed Beach (last year's finalists) earned byes in the quarterfinals. In that round Paul Nied and David Cross knocked out Dennis Mason and Robert Dwyer, both of whom have now qualified for the single-elims several times. In the semifinals (Sedgwick to the Rescue), we had two incredible games. Ed's Rebels started slow ("1" for Jackson's first movement roll), and had to force march to make headway in the initial attacks. After night fell, Ed tried a +2 attack on Chancellorsville, but Jackson didn't have it in the dice to take it that day. Day 2 was even bloodier, with all of the Confederate units near Chancellorsville at F4 by the end. David patiently set up two +0 attacks on Chancellorsville. The first failed, but it looked good when Ed rolled a "1" on the second attack. However, David proceeded to roll a "1" too, and the game ended as a narrow Confederate win. I know Paul's game with Chris (Paul was CSA) was equally good, but I'll leave it to one of them to post the details. The final was less exciting. Ed's Confederates in Retreat to the James did a lousy job of winning inits to follow up combat gains, and had poor combat dice as well. It was over early on Day 3. Congrats to Chris on his streak of wins in this tournament. Meanwhile, Joe Doughan did a terrific job of running a First Manassas campaign game all day. He had at least 7 other players participate, including Jonathan Squibb, who had so much fun he joined us the next day for the 1863 tournament. Joe's efforts were recognized when we gave him the "Risen From the Ranks" award primarily based on the great job he did running this event. FRIDAY : 1863/4 TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUNDS 17 players entered the 1863/4 tournament. Old GCACW veterans Forrest Speck and Ken Lee joined us; Forrest reactivated his AREA rating with a very creative win at Sheridan Rides South over Dennis Mason. Mike Pacheco also returned for two rounds and posted wins in both; taking 5th place in the tournament. Unfortunately, Mike's schedule didn't allow him to continue on for the single elim rounds the next day. This year's GCACW Rookie of the Year, Dennis Nicholson, posted a win over Ed Beach in Sheridan, knocking out 3 forts near Richmond on the last turn. Ed and Dennis squared off again in the nightcap with the Wilderness scenario. Ed's creative use of wooded roads allowed his to disrupt Dennis's Union defensive lines and take the rematch. And don't ask Dennis about Locust Grove in this one. Warren is already under a court martial hearing for losing it to Anderson... SATURDAY: 1863/4 TOURNAMENT SINGLE ELIM ROUNDS The semifinals matched Paul and Chris in Strike Them A Blow. Mark Booth and David Cross were in the other semi. Chris had to knock Hancock out of his strong position south of the Po River to turn the tide in his game. David and Mark played well into the final turn before Mark finally prevailed. The final was Bloody Spotsylvania. Chris was once again able to prevail, becoming the first double GCACW winner since the GCACW tournaments were combined from 5 events down to 2. SUNDAY We held our usual After Action Meeting and had a very useful discussion of the plans for next year. More on this in a separate post soon. We have some exciting ideas that I want to run past everyone. The Reformation Arrives at WBC It was a great week at the World Boardgaming Championships for this game on Reformation Europe. Here is a relatively detailed After Action Report summarizing all of the activity. I'll post one message for each of the playtest/demo games we held. WEDNESDAY NIGHT DEMO This was the night of our scheduled demo that had been previously announced on Consimworld. Most of the folks that had indicated they would drop by that evening did so, which was great. However, the best surprise was that we had a stellar six-player group that spent 5 hours playing that evening, giving us a great playtest of the game as well. We made it through 4 turns in under 5 hours. An excellent pace considering we explained many of the rules as we went along. Here was the lineup: England - Ted Raicer France - Peter Card Hapsburg - Jason Matthews Ottoman - Johnny Wilson Papacy - Ananda Gupta Protestant - Ed Beach Highlights: Jason lucks out with Magellan as his initial Spanish explorer; only to have Magellan go off searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola! Pope Ananda has the misfortune of sending the poorly rated indulgence vendor Tetzel to a theological debate. He then proceeds to roll 3 hits on 4 dice to burn the unprepared Swiss Protestant Oekolampadius. That's 2 VP for the Pope! Jason's Hapsburgs move on France, taking both Bordeaux and Lyon. But Peter's Frenchmen fight back, expelling Jason from Lyons in a dramatic campaign. On Turn 4, Jason's Hapsburgs turn visciously against the Ottomans, taking Buda and Belgrade and marching for the Ottoman homeland. Yikes, never seen that before! Refinements: We came up with a few ways to streamline the diplomacy system that held up well in later playtests. We also tried rotating spring deployment around the table and didn't see any issues with that. The Hungarian entry as a Hapsburg vassal is probably better handled as an intervention for a minor power (rather than a card); I didn't make this change until after the weekend was over. Best Quote: Ted Raicer, "This has to be the only game ever to contain the word pregnancy in its rulebook". Ted proceeded to show the Henry's Wives' Pregnancy Table to several of his friends who dropped by. SATURDAY AFTERNOON DEMO This game wasn't really scheduled or announced. But posting Luther's Theses along a main hallway and having a bobble head Luther next to your board does tend to attract some attention whereever you go. So after starting with 3 players, we ended up finishing with the following 6 players: England - Dan Raspler France - Ed Beach Hapsburg - Ananda Gupta Ottoman - Jesse Boomer Papacy - Mark McLaughlin Protestant - Paul Skrabut Highlights: We get into the third turn, with Mark's Papacy (19 VP) holding the lead over the Hapsburgs (16 VP) and Ottomans (15 VP). My French were seriously taking it on the chin, getting both leaders captured and losing Paris in the early going. I got almost too much practice showing everyone how the "sue for peace" rules worked. Refinements: Mark had some great suggestions for the Sack of Rome card. We're going to add a battle to it so the actual storming of Rome is resolved between the players. The Spin: Mark McLaughlin gives the thumbs up to the Reformation and Theological Debate mechanics and offers to write a testimonial for the box. Of course, this whole game is a testimonial to Mark's own The Napoleonic Wars ... the design that convinced me a 6-sided game with unbalanced, assymetric powers could work quite well as a card-driven design. SUNDAY AFTERNOON DEMO This game wasn't even supposed to take place. I was supposed to be leaving at 11am on Sunday. But then my son Matthew had the good fortunate of making the Circus Maximus final on Sunday. And with 16 charioteers, we knew that would be a 5+ hour marathon. Actually it ended up clocking in at 7 hours. So, I set up the game once again. By the way, at this point we've pretty well switched to calling it "Here I Stand". "Eine feste Burg" didn't have any name recognition, but I was pretty pleased by the number of folks that immediately associated the "Here I Stand" phrase with Luther. Two of my Great Campaigns friends joined right away, and once again, we ended this game with 6 players. England - Brian Conlon France - Paul Nied Hapsburg - Ed Beach Ottoman - Paul Nied ... and at the very end Matthew Beach Papacy - William Lentz Protestant - Dave Cross Highlights: We had a great battle in Scotland this time. Paul got the Auld Alliance card and pulled in Scotland as a French ally on Turn 1. Then on Turn 2, my Hapsburgs bribed him to go to war with England. He had the Auld Alliance again, giving him 3 French regulars up in Scotland. Henry had to send the entire English army north. They did capture Edinburgh, but lost both Antwerp (which they had taken on Turn 1) and Calais to the French. Not a favorable trade for the English, and Henry's campaigning had meant that he hadn't yet done anything toward producing a male heir. Vienna fell at the end of our session (end of Turn 2); the Ottomans surprised the Hapsburgs by sieging Vienna with only 15,000 troops. They proceeded to play siege mining and sneak in to Vienna with that miniscule force! Refinements: I think a connection from Calais to Brussels should be added to open up that part of the board a but. I think we're also going to limit the Peasants War in Germany so it can only occur once per game. The Bottom Line for the Week: Well I knew the week was going pretty well when my suggestion to sing "A Mighty Fortress" at the Sunday meeting church service was adopted. I even got some publicity for the game at that service. For the week, we had 16 players sign up to playtest the game over the course of the next year or so. 8 of these 16 got a chance to try it at the con, giving them a great jump start when playtesting does start in a few weeks. Here's one designer that's very happy with the progress for the week! Jeff Cornett - Aug 11, 2004 6:26 am (#13171 Total: 13259) WBC Age of Mythology GM Top 10 Most Memorable Moments from WBC 10) Seeing the skill and sportsmanship displayed by my opponents in the Dune finals. Two players from the same team were in the finals, but the non-team-game player won when he allied with someone other than his team-mate. The highest act of sportsmanship is to beat your team-mate in the finals of his team game (just like Scott did last year to me in the Napoleon finals). 9) After the GM announced that I was the only former champion present, I finished dead last in an 8-player heat of Robo-Rally. What a great game -- plenty of blood and crazyness -- just the way the game is meant to be played. When the guy with the hockey shirt at our table insisted that we all play with non-pawn tokens in our Slap Shot heat (should be a tournament rule). We all produced some sort of meaningful token to represent us. My London's Burning spare plane flipped to the "ace" side upon getting its 5th "kill". 7) Learning the rules and general strategy to 1812, and also beating the assistant GM for my first tournament win in 1812. Cornett's went 2-1-1 in this tournament but skipped the 3rd round in order to play Age of Myth. Must practice, practice, practice for 2005. 6) Rolling for the win but missing on two shots at infantry in the decisive game of my Battle Cry pod heat, then being blown away by a bombard. 5) Watching Scott sweep 3 firsts in all of his Speed Circuit heats, but blow up in the finals on an unlucky brake test. 4) Being caught totally off guard on the last play of the Age of Mythology finals. Marvin Birnbaum produced a Recruit 5 card to tie me and then win based on most buildings. (Be sure to vote for AOM for the 2005 century.) 3) I made up for all my bad dice of the convention when Scott failed four consecutive morale rolls with the Wellington bonus and thus routed in the Napoleon finals. Except for this 1 in 81 chance, the win was otherwise assured for him as Napoleon was already retreating from battle. 2) Watching Susan defeat a former Euphrate & Tigris champion in her heat, and then almost win her semi-final. Ann took 4th in the finals. (Quiz: Why were there 3 Cornett's in the E&T semi-finals? Answer: Scott did not play in the tournament). 1) As the winners were congratulating themselves on their alliance victory in my Dune heat, I flipped my "Harkonen in 4 turns" prediction card to steal the win as the Bene Geserit. Everyone cheered as it was the only successful prediction of the tournament this year. Chris Palermo - Aug 11, 2004 6:54 am (#13173 Total: 13259) 'Sometimes, you've gotta spit in the devil's eye, just to make sure you're still alive' -- Eric Bogosian, "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll" My Gaming AAR Tuesday Rushed in to play March Madness at 6pm – ended up with a mid-level pick (the kiss of death, because you essentially KNOW you’ll win some games, but probably not enough to advance). Took the 1968 UNC Heels…first draw: Ken Gutermuth (every year it’s him or Reiff). I managed to beat Ken, and win another one, before losing in the third round (the exact players/teams escape me now). Same thing I did last year, drawing Reiff first. Overall 2-1 in the heat. Moved on to Web of Power, which I had mistakenly read as a one-hour games. And, it was – just three rounds of one-hour games! Played one game, and begged out, so I could unpack and head to Win Place and Show. Was seated with John Emery and Davyd Field (among others) for WPS. After two races, I was up 10k – decidedly middle-of-the-pack. I noticed that Davyd had been running his horses to WIN (I mean, ONLY to win). So in the third race, I took a chance and bet his horse (the 15-1 longshot) to win and place. Of course, Davyd won, and I collected about 110k – coasted the rest of the way, bidding on safer horses, and ended up winning the table with around 155k. Bed early. Wednesday Rushed to play Vinci – my team game. Did the very thing I never want to do – rush out to an early lead. I had Slavery and something else, and put together two consecutive turns of 20+ point scoring (with my declined empire). The other players caught on, and REALLY slowed me down – ultimately, I finished in last, 8-10 behind the winner (close game). Got in a quick game of Carcassonne, where I finished middle-of-the-pack (lately, my Carcassonne luck has not been good – I never seem to finish the first projects I start. Played Paydirt, and lost by 16 as the favorite. Among the highlights – a 75 yard pass from MY 40 that was ruled as having “sailed out of the endzone” (as compared to the reality, that it was a 20 yard dump pass with 55 yards after the catch!). Followed quickly by my opponent throwing a 22 yarder from my 11 yard line (that my defense was able to shave FIVE yards from (thanks guys!)) to allow him to score the TD…Great fun! (not) Jumped onto Princes of Florence – not a game I’ve played a lot – maybe 3x total. Made my opening move, and the girl next to me asked, “do you know what you’re doing?” NEVER a good sign. Spent the rest of the game telling me that “I was no threat” and that she wasn’t concerned about me. I finished fourth. Probably my least favorite experience of the week. Learned (or, tried to learn) Goa at the demo (very rarely do I find the demos work…if you’re 10 mins. late, you’ve already missed too much to understand the demo…). Got seated with Rob Kircher, and told the people at my table that I had not played – game got adjudicated (like every other game in that heat), and I had finished 2nd. Good game. My wife then grabbed me to drag me upstairs to Greed – something I didn’t really want to play. Surprise! Jim and Debbie Bell had purchased a birthday cake, and began singing “Happy Birthday” to me – in fact, EVERYONE in Maryland sang to me (I was mortified). Actually, two people DIDN’T sing to me. Arthur (playing Union Pacific) and Bruce (playing San Juan). The concentration level on these two is eerie. I truly think one of Arthur’s arms could just fall off during a game, and he wouldn’t even notice… Played another game of Goa – open game – and won, so I guess I understand the mechanics now. Thursday Back to Vinci again – this time, I finished second. I find Vinci to be a game ripe for “Kingmaking”. After I went in the last round (I was first player) each of the three players after me did NOT attack the last player (who, left untouched, would win the game), because they ‘didn’t want to decide who would win. Of course, I argued, since they had attacked me all game, it was the same thing…just different times (i.e., they had decided would win many turns earlier, by decimating my empire). I finished second. Quick hand of Atlantic Storm where, as I said at the time (more graphically), I ‘got it’ in ways that made prison inmates cringe. Scored a big 12…8 or so on the last 2 turns. Played in the Puerto Rico heat, and finished 3rd, and realized how tired I was due to 2 major mistakes (which, wouldn’t have won me the game, but would’ve made it closer). Finished up with the annual Pro Golf, and put together a -9 for the two courses. My friend, CK, ended up taking 2nd overall (all he rolled in the qualifying courses were 5-6 and 6-6). Ended up staying up WAY too late watching him play in the finals. Friday Learned ASL Starter Kit – had gone to the demo the day before, but that wasn’t terribly helpful. There’s a lot here, and I know I’m going to enjoy the game…Won my first match, but there was such a complete and utter bastardization of the rules and the victory conditions, that no one took any pride in the game. I bailed after one heat… Played Memoire ’44 – 3 games as the Allied…I have no idea why we’re not all speaking German now. I actually like Battle Cry better – I think the cards in M44 are almost “too powerful” overall. Open gamed – and taught my friend We the People – the game stopped being a political game, and became a “let’s chase Washington around the board” game…But, I did do a decent enough job to win; and – even more gratifying – he played in a heat (and WON) the next day. Saturday Joy of Joys – won Superstar Baseball. Comeback kings. Won the first game against the all-time Yankees, 6-3 (with pitcher Warren Spahn hitting a 2-run HR, and pinch-hitter Eddie Mathews doing the same). Lost a heartbreaking 2-1 game vs. the Twins, and then, beat the Mets 8-3 (scoring 7 runs in the 7th inning) to advance to the playoffs. In the playoffs, I smacked around Harry Flawd’s kid (lol) – actually, down 4-1 in the bottom of the 8th, I scored one, then hit a 2-run pinch hit HR in the 9th to tie it, and then a double and single to win the game. Carved up the Dodgers 6-0, and ended up having to face the Astros with Phil Niekro – the second he got tired, in came Warren Spahn. The game was grueling, but I finally emerged victorious, 2-1. Elected to not head down to WPS final (plus it was about 5 after, and I was tapped out). Ended up playing Paydirt again – won my first game, and lost a nailbiter to Dan Dolan Jr. Played Slapshot to end the week – breaking my own rule again – took a big lead, and ended up getting picked apart…finishing 5th at the table. Devin Flawd took his revenge on me…(and then, apparently, won the whole thing!). Jeremy Billones - Aug 11, 2004 11:16 am (#13180 Total: 13259) "More! Now! For Free!" -- the Internet Motto My AAR Saturday: Show up at the Guns of August Pre-Con, and discover that the format has been changed from 4 games in the Swiss round to 3. Boo! First game, I get smashed by Marvin Birnbaum so badly I have time to slip out the back door, play in a _Raw Deal_ tournament in Bethesda, and get back in time for my second round game. I've forgotten the gentleman's name, but I managed to snag a 1 VP win on the last card play by taking an undefended Belgrade. Also got the Americans into the war, to David Dockter's glee. Sunday: Of course, I play David in round 3 and he promptly hands me my hat. At least 2 of my three opponents made the Top 8. Got a look at the CDG he's working on -- definitely one to watch for. Tuesday: Back to Hunt Valley, got $$$ for my stuff at the auction (with thanks to Bruce for paying $40 for my mint SPQR when he could have gotten it for much less) but spent $$$ on other stuff so I pretty much broke even Went 1-1 in my first March Madness heat, then played my first game of Amun Re (neat little game -- I'll have to make room for that one next year), and then went 1-1 at Elchfest. Wednesday: 0-1 in my second (and last available) March Madness heat. Played and won a game of Mr. President, but had to decline what would have been my only semifinal because it conflicted with Up Front. (Mad props to Jared Scarborough for running the event.) Got soundly trashed in my first Paydirt heat. Got the #4 pick in Title Bout (and a first round bye -- I knew I should have gone to Football Strategy, lost, then come back), but Jeffries got TKOed by Marciano in a very bloody bout. Played my first game of San Juan, and enjoyed it quite a bit -- I'm not yet good enough at Puerto Rico to sit down with people who know what they're doing, but SJ is a bit more forgiving. Thursday: Up Front, all day. Ended up at 3-2, missing the cut. Got my first two good war stories: Richard Irving managed to beat me in Outpost Line with only 17 cards left in the last deck, while my other loss came despite a Banzai charge by me at the end. I needed 4 kills for the win or 3 for the tie, but ended up only attacking 3 men and losing the first combat Rumors that I won a 10 player poker tournament that night are completely false, since we all know playing poker for cash is illegal in Maryland and I would never, eeeeeeeever do such a thing. Friday: Being one of those silly folks that owns nearly every ASL module without ever actually having played it, I got into the ASL Starter Kit tourney. Played one game, my opponent knew the "send a squad into close combat to tie up the opponent, then fire on your own men" trick and I didn't, so I lost Went over to play Battlelines (the WW2 East Front operational card game from Lost Battallion), and discovered a key game mechanic involves taking a turn where you get 1-3 actions and playing one of the cards that lets you take as many as 15 to roll over your opponent in 1 turn. He did it to me in game 1 and I did it to him in game 3; didn't enjoy either. I think I'll just take out those cards and burn them -- it's a nice little game without that one "feature". Got in a game of Naval War that I probably could have done better at, but I was steaming over the scorekeeper who lied about who was in first after round 1 (it was him -- I took over scoring). I took the rest of the evening off after that, open gaming with the UF crowd and watching the UF final. Saturday: Opened with Superstar Baseball, where I went 0-1 and still had a chance at a wild card. (Why yes, Randy Cox devised the playoff system. Why do you ask? But he sold me a new set of SI dice so I should be nice.) Got my "best" war story in the second Paydirt heat. I took the Arizona Cardinals, getting 12 points as a handicap against Green Bay. Late in the first half, ball at midfield, I decided to try and press to get a late field goal. One 50 yard interception return later, I'm giving up the late field goal. Onto the second half, the score is tied with about 5 minutes left, I put together a brilliant drive to get the ball down to the 4 yard line with 10 seconds left... and miss the FG. Into overtime, and on my second possession I fumble, losing the ball on the replay challenge (needed a 31 or less to keep the ball, rolled a 32). Bah. Played a couple games of Adel Verpflichtet (finishing 3rd and 4th), dropped out to grab a late snack because it was running late, then came in 7th at my Slapshot table that saw Tiny Tim score 3 times (against 3 different players) and about 80% of the games played being against myself or the guy to my right (who finished 8th). Sunday: Played on open game of Puerto Rico where I may have finally figured out what I was doing (3rd, but only 3 VP off the leader), then watch the Puerto Rico final before heading back to Virginia. I don't mind the move to Lancaster. Of course, Mapquest is telling me to drive through Bel Air to get there, so I suppose I should volunteer to help Don schlep stuff Martin Sample - Aug 11, 2004 5:12 pm (#13188 Total: 13259) " Kent , meltdown is one of those ugly buzzwords . I prefer to use the term ' undesired fission surplus' " - Montgomery C . Burns WBC AAR The days kind of blur together, so I will just list the games I played . Atlantic Storm, my team game. Won the first heat on Tuesday based on a large pile of spoils, after 2 years of failing to advance to the semis. Played in several more heats but didn't win a second time. In the semi finals, I fell behind early and was the only player to finish with the same initial six card hand . Everyone else had at least one more card, and some had 8 or 9 cards. I won on a tie breaker since I had the most convoy points. A bunch of small convoys that didn't even increase my hand size were enough . In the finals, there were only 5 players since the 6th person to qualify had a conflict . 3 of us were past finalists, which observer Ben Knight pointed out, no doubt hoping to draw bulls eyes on us for the other two players . As it turned out, the 3 of us finished in the top 3 slots. Rob Winslow came out strong early on, winning several large convoys and at one point I was dead last. Rob built up a decent early lead and was, in poker parlance, on the button for several key convoys allowing him to come in big on the winning side and control the division of spoils. As in the semis, I played a large part of the final with only 6 cards and didn't expand my hand size until late. I was able to win back to back convoys late and squeeze in enough points to finish second with about 6 points less than Rob and Roy Gibson, another former finalist, came in third. I think I beat Roy on a convoy point tie breaker, can't remember. Can't remember who came in the last 2 slots, but it was a pretty tight game. Medieval . Came in second in one heat but won another to advance to the semis. I wasn't able to get Venice, one of my preferred powers due to its powerful navy and had to settle for the weakly led English and , for a change of pace, Hungary . For those that know the game Hungary often becomes a battleground due to it being a high VP area . I went into the last couple of rounds with enough money to fend off attacks and buy mercenaries, but I misjudged when the game would end and found myself with a huge treasury that I should have spent earlier to expand my position. The rest of the players were relatively cash poor by then. Thanks to Joel Tamburo for running this new event - it should see enough entrants and ass hours to remain in the Century for next year. I am curious to see the stats for how successful the Mongols were and what the breakdown on initial starting countries were. Carcassone : played in 2 heats and came up low on the totem pole . Didn't farm enough in both games. Would like to see the expansions used, as the game is pretty short as it stands right now and it would dilute the power of the farmers. The GM passed out a survey on this to see what people's preferences are. Wilderness War : Pairings were done based on AREA ratings and I drew Bruce Wigdor in the first round . I am not that good, so I think Bruce's AREA rating may be a bit low He chose the French and chose the British, so there was not VP bid involved. Anyway, the very first card play he used Ministerial Crisis to force me to discard the British Highlander card - the 4 unit/2 leader one, the most powerful in the game. The same hand he also got to steal a card and add it to his own. I could already see which way the game was going . Eventually, I only got one Ranger and 3 Regulars as Reinforcements. He of course was able to make the Provincial Assemblies Reluctant and thus thin them out ; in addition he plucked another off the board through card play . As I was on the downward side of the force curve, I made a semi desperate attack in the Champlain corridor with Wolfe ( the only leader I got as a Reinforcement ) and lost 2 other leaders on leader die rolls, including Johnson . So other than Wolfe, I needed a 3 OP card to move my multi unit forces. At this point, I had one Regular and one Provincial in the whole Southern Department. It was that kind of game . I conceded to Bruce after the Spring 1759 game turn in which he was one VP away from auto victory. While the cards were not kind to me, Bruce clearly outplayed me and deserved the win. I made several mistakes that he exploited. Best of all, we finished the game in under 2 hours . Last year many felt that the 3 hour heat limit wasn't long enough, myself included . With more games under my belt and a better grasp of game play and rules, I wouldn't mind seeing the heats shortened back to 3 hours. I would be curious to see how many games ran over 3 hours . I know the GM in an event usually needs a little longer due to the questions. Sword of Rome : played 3 different games in the open gaming area. First game was Wednesday night I think ( or was it Tuesday ) with the entertaining Peter Card , John Vasilokos, and one other chap . I played the Gauls twice ( since I had played the other 3 powers at other cons this year ) and the Etruscans the other time. Wray has done a great job with this game, producing a tight set of rules. Most of the people I played with had never played before, but were familiar with Hannibal . By the time we got to the second turn, most had the basic mechanics down and were playing at a good clip. One game saw the Romans get crushed, but in another they were the victors. I predict this will make the Century next year. With knowledgeable players, the 6 turn game can be played in under 4 hours, so it is quicker than Nappy Wars. Speed Circuit : now that I have started watching Formula 1 racing I thought I would give it a whirl . The GM ran a demo in Cafe Jay and it was pretty easy to pick up the basics. Not knowing what to do I bid 0 for the pole and started at the very back of the pack . At one point I even passed a few cars but ended up in second to last place, due to a car crashing on the second lap . Had a lot of fun and will be back next year, schedule permiting. Titan: the Arena . Played in one heat and came in third out of five I think. Hadn't played in a while and had to unlearn some of the rules to Galaxy, which I prefer. The heat was held in Salon A, which IMO is even worse than the upstairs Polo/Belmont/Worthington rooms due to the cramped conditions - if the fire marshal ever saw that room set up, he would shut the place down. Can't wait for all the space at the Lancaster Host. Galaxy : Played in 2 prelim heats and didn't win either . Showed up for the semis hoping to fill an alternate slot and did so. Turn out this year was a drop off from last year, partly due to the initial heat conflicting with the Atlantic Storm heat at 6 on Tuesday. Kaarin is looking to move away from ACS next year and will hopefully get attendance back up. Oh yeah, I lost in the Semis , once again, to Rob "Woodpecker" Winslow. He killed my key base to knock me out of the running . At least he didn't repeat as Galaxy champion. He's a marked man next year...the flyer is already in the works:) Played a couple late night games of Atlantic Storm and Zombies at the bar. We were wondering if some Sugar Daddy will sponsor a Zombies tournament where every heat starts at 11PM and the finals are at midnight Saturday One other random thought . With more space next year, there will most likely be more vendors, and thus more sponsored events. So those hoping to expand the number of events will probably get their wish. Joel A Tamburo - Aug 13, 2004 7:09 pm (#13254 Total: 13259) The Ultimate Joelist. Even bigger fan of the WBC. Come play Medieval there in 2005! 2004 WBC Medieval Event Wrap Up The inaugural presentation of Medieval at WBC drew 29 players who competed in 11 exciting games over three qualifying heats, a semifinal and a final. The Living Rules were used, and were well received, as were the several examples of “enhanced” game sets brought by players. For those unfamiliar with Medieval, it is a euro / light wargame covering Europe in the Thirteenth Century. The playing board is composed of map cards which are assembled during play, and which are also removed by the Mongols. After exciting competition in the qualifying heats, 8 players advanced to the semifinals to play in 2 4 player games, with the top 2 scorers from each table advancing to the finals. At one table, Forrest Speck and Ken Dunn advanced to the finals while from the other table, Jim Jordan and Jeff Ridenour made it. The Final was quite a game, to say the least. Going into the endgame Forrest Speck appeared to be set to win. However, the last two Mongol cards closed the gap for eventual winner James Jordan, whose play of a Spies card on a critical battle at the end of the game gave him the victory. Ken Dunn finished second, Forrest third and Jeff Ridenour fourth. This year, my nomination for the Sportsmanship award goes to John Coussis. John mentored players at his table who were less experienced, and did so with a great attitude. This mentoring even extended to showing them plays that disadvantaged him. This is what sportsmanship is all about. Before presenting the statistical information from the event, I would like to express my gratitude to this years players for making this event the fun time that it was. I look forward to seeing all of you, and more new players, next year. The games showed some interesting trends. First, here is the distribution of powers that were selected for each game: Power % of Games Chosen at Start France 9.68% Venice 9.68% England 9.68% Russia 9.68% Holy Roman Empire 8.80% Spain 7.92% Mameluks 7.92% Almoravids 7.04% Selijuks 3.52% Hungary 1.76% Latin Kingdom 0.88% Byzantium 0.88% Joel A Tamburo - Aug 13, 2004 7:11 pm (#13255 Total: 13259) The Ultimate Joelist. Even bigger fan of the WBC. Come play Medieval there in 2005! Second, here is the distribution of powers chosen at start by the player who won the game: Power % of Winning Games Chosen at Start Holy Roman Empire 45.45% Russia 36.08% France 36.08% Mameluks 18.04% England 18.04% Venice 18.04% Almoravids 18.04% Spain 9.02% Joel A Tamburo - Aug 13, 2004 7:12 pm (#13256 Total: 13259) The Ultimate Joelist. Even bigger fan of the WBC. Come play Medieval there in 2005! Mongol card targeting was also interesting. Here is the breakdown with success rate: Map Card Mongol Frequency Mongol Success Rate 3D 22.0% 63% 3F 18.8% 70% 4D 9.6% 80% 2D 9.6% 100% 2C 8.0% 40% 2F 8.0% 80% 4C 6.4% 75% 3C 6.4% 75% 1E 6.4% 100% 1F 4.8% 100% Mark S. Miklos - Aug 9, 2004 5:37 pm (#885 Total: 885) Saratoga, Brandywine Creek, Guilford Courthouse, Eutaw Springs, Savannah (1779), Newtown, Monmouth Courthouse, Oriskany & Pensacola WBC AFTER-ACTION REPORT SARATOGA Twenty-six players fought the battles of the “American Revolutionary War Series” by GMT Games. This was the largest field of competitors to-date. The single elimination tournament featured Saratoga in the 1st round. The British took a slight edge in wins, 8:5. All victories were marginal except for the game between Assistant GM Rob McCracken and Charles Ellsworth where McCracken’s British won a substantial victory by driving American Army Morale to 0. 13 winners met to fight the battle of Eutaw Springs. GM Mark Miklos, the most recent past-champion present, took the bye while the other 12 players were seeded according to a point system coming out of the 1st round. Not surprising for a game as well balanced as Eutaw Springs, there were 2 British wins, 2 American wins, and 2 draws. This time the only marginal victory was Eric Kleist’s British win over Ric Manns. Bruno Sinigaglio’s British and Rod Coffey’s Americans won substantial victories as did Dale Long, whose Americans upset Assistant GM and past-champion John Vasilakos, knocking him out of the competition. 9 players then met across the frost-covered ground at Guilford Courthouse for round three. With Vasilakos out and no other past champion present, the bye went to Bruno Sinigaglio who advanced out of round two with the highest point total. The British side won marginal victories in all four matches played. This was quite a feat since tournament rules stipulated that a draw at Guilford would be scored as an American marginal victory. Advancing out of this round were Mark Miklos, William Riggs, Rob McCracken and Dale Long. As round four was about to begin Rob McCracken had to drop out in order to honor a family commitment that took him away from the convention for the next several hours. We were all sorry to see him leave but his departure returned the field to an even number of players for the semi-final round. Mark Miklos faced Bruno Sinigaglio and Dale Long faced William Riggs at the battle of Brandywine Creek. The “Tournament Scenario” was used which gave the players the feel of the full campaign game in half the time. Long’s and Miklos’ British prevailed with marginal victories setting up the event final. The final match was once again the battle of Saratoga and was played on the GMT demo-set, a 6’x 4’ version of the game. While previous rounds had been limited to 3 hours, the final was un-timed and lasted from 9 PM Saturday to 1 AM Sunday. The large version of the game drew a small crowd of spectators giving the match a real “finals” quality. Miklos bid 0 for the British and Long bid 0 for the Americans so the match began with each army at its full at-start Army Morale. There was moderate fog on the battlefield for the first 2 game turns that slowed the British advance. Nevertheless, by the end of turn four the British were fully deployed in line of battle across Freeman’s Farm with their flanks overextending Benedict Arnold’s advanced wing of the American army. Long judiciously pulled back to avoid being overlapped. In true 18th century fashion the two armies maneuvered for advantage. The Americans at one point attempted to “slide” past the British line under cover of the heavy forest to thrust at the British baggage camp on the Hudson River. That objective hex represents a decisive victory for the Americans if they can take it. Miklos committed two regiments being held in ready reserve and sealed off the threat. Long maneuvered his Americans with good effect, anchoring their flanks in such a way that if the British attacked there in force their proximity to the main American positions on Bemis Heights would trigger the “release” of General Gates and the remaining two-thirds of the American Army. He also stubbornly clung to a critical ford over the Middle Branch near the center of his line. By holding that post, he was able to gain a DRM to the “Gates Release” die roll. Indeed, Gates did release on Game Turn 10 (5 PM) at approximately the time he did in the historical event. Casualties had been moderate to this point with the British enjoying a slight advantage. Each army had gained and spent Momentum several times, including using it to influence the “Initiative” die roll in order to enjoy back-to-back moves. For a time it felt like two heavy weights pummeling each other with body punches waiting for the chance for a knock-out blow. At one point Long’s American Army Morale had fallen into the middle of the Fatigued scale but through careful maneuver and judicious attack he was able to climb back into High Morale status only to slip back again as the British continued to play to win rather than playing to avoid losing. The final act in the drama occurred on Turn 11 (the next to last game turn). General Arnold and Morgan’s Rifles had been driven back in the center, the American right had been locally turned, and on the American left General Gates, now at the front, was attempting to encircle some over-extended British regiments. As luck would have it, Gates and the regiment he was leading became casualties. The loss of Gates triggered a 3-point drop in American Army Morale that took them down to the edge of Wavering status. In that condition, and with only 1 turn remaining, Long felt he could not overcome the victory point deficit then in play (British 9, Americans 3). He offered an honorable surrender that Miklos was glad to accept. This was Dale Long’s 1st Saratoga tournament. Watch out Saratoga players. He is a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations to him for a well-deserved 2nd place finish.