Gregory Schmittgens - Aug 17, 2009 12:56 pm (31246.) new IJADG! Random Thoughts: My WBC was awesome. Monday golf – It took 18 holes to convince Keith H, Mark Y, Terry C and myself that we are all equally “skilled”. Keith’s knee started bothering him around hole 13, but the ‘competition’ was so fierce, he hung in thru all 18 holes and sunk the 8-footer on the last hole to salvage the tie. Watching Bruce M pedal around the course on the Host’s balloon-tire, one-speed, coaster-brake bicycle was definitely worth the price of admission. (Maybe taking the bicycle out for an early-morning spin should be on my calendar next year.) Played 46 games over the convention. A little below my norm, but I played a lot more longer games than usual (several Combat Commanders and ASL Starter Kits, LeHavre, a game of Here I Stand) instead of a long string of fillers. Handed out most of my stash of buttons. Successes include the buttons with the Juniors logo and the revised design for the Superstar Baseball tournament. I’m still undecided about my experiment for BGG user buttons. I handed out a lot of buttons, but still ended up with about 20% not distributed. Plus, late in the week, there were several times when one person came up and said “I know this person and that person and that other person. I’ll give it to them.” As I said, it was late and I wanted to give them out any way I could, but it kinda defeated my purpose of meeting the BGGers. The Here I Stand game was a classic – for us. A Turn 3 Papal win for Jeff Paull. The Protestants (Jesse Boomer) couldn’t roll to save his life. Took three turns to get up to 12 spaces Protestant, and he then went backwards after the Schmalkaldic League formed. He also couldn’t roll to save his debaters’ lives. Pope Jeff burned several Protestant debaters, built some St Peter’s, then got a Venetian alliance just before turn 3 ended to get the win. It makes up for last year (Metz, anyone?) when Jesse spurned an alliance with Jeff which led to a quick Protestant win – for me. Learned to play LeHavre (expansive economic game, but seemed a bit repetitious), Hansa (tight Euro buying and selling game), and Hell of Stalingrad (2 or 4 player card game on battle of Stalingrad; garish graphics, but I bought it). Also played several Automibles, which was very well received. Helped Mike Gentile GM the 1960 tournament (I GMed last year with his help). Attendance went from 56 last year to 24. Mike and I discussed whether 1960 has the legs to stay in the Century. It is more challenging than the simpler games in the Century (you really have to know the 1960 deck), but not as meaty as perennials like PoG, Wilderness War or even Twilight Struggle. We’ll see how the numbers turn out. Did you know there is now a CiCi’s Pizza about a mile east of the Host on Highway 30? Not the best pizza, but all you can eat for about $7. Got wood in the ASL Starter Kit. In the semi-final game, I was the attacker and took the final building I needed on my last movement phase. In the final, I was the defender and my opponent very nearly split my forces in two, ready to be rolled up. I was saved by a successful Close Combat roll led by a 6+1 leader. I will not scoff at them again. Definitely liked the Open Gaming in the ballroom. I mentioned this to several board members. It’s a keeper. You may not believe this, but a got a laugh out of Don Greenwood. Maybe not an outloud guffaw, but definitely a vocal chuckle. It happened when I told him some items had been taped to the walls above the urinals, about eye level, but still hittable. It happened about Thursday, so maybe he was already numb. On the way back, we stayed at the Airport Marriott in Philly. A little pricey, but it’s a skywalk from the airport instead of a shuttle ride. Next year, we may add in the Amtrak to Lancaster. Overall, I’d have to agree with Andy Maly and the several others I talked to at the con – the best one ever. Everyone’s attitude just seemed better than ever. Everyone sounded glad to go home – but definitely ready to come back next year. Next up – my fourth year at JerkCon. Of all the gaming conventions held on Richmond, Indiana over Presidents’ Day weekend, it’s one of the best. Grant LaDue - Aug 17, 2009 2:18 pm (31248.) new All glory to the hypnotoad!! Suppose I should do a "mini" version of the AAR. Saturday and Sunday -- I manage to go 1-4 in Hannibal, losing 3 straight games with 1 or 2 cards left to play! Sigh. I do believe I've never had so much fun losing as in this tourney. Monday -- Got in a game of Dominion: Intrigue. I really like Dominion, so I'm looking forward to buying Intrigue this year sometime. After that, I take a shot at the Maneuver tourney, having just learned the game Sunday night. I win out in my pod, but then lose with the French and British. Great cards and great dice from your opponents kinda doom this game. Tuesday -- Auction day! I manage to pluck out the copy of We The People for $55 which pleases me immensely. Reasonably priced copies of Amun Re and Empire Builder also come my way. The Auction Store had a lot of stuff, but nothing I wanted (at least it wasn't still there at prices I could tolerate), so I kept my spending to a reasonable level. Later, I started out the Ace of Aces tourney poorly, but lots of time to go. I come in 2nd in my heat in Santa Fe Rails, which had 3 former champions and Rob Winslow. That was a ton of fun. Wednesday -- Making up for the Hannibal debacle, I go 4-0 in Wilderness War, including 3-0 with the Brits. I win one game with the Brits by having to make 3 straight 50-50 (or so) die rolls to pull out a 1 vp win with the last two card plays! Lucky lucky lucky. I avenge 3 straight online losses to George Young by beating him in my last game. On to the semi's! Thursday -- I start with a bunch of tourney's. TTR starts, and I win the first heat. We played Marklin and I actually beat the usual cuthroats that Marklin attracts. Dominion attracts *way* too many people. I really think they should change the format to include more games per heat as this year's heats had more time devoted to set up and takedown than actual game play. You had to go 3-0 in the heats to advance, so I bail after blowing the first game. I finish 1st in my 2nd game of Santa Fe Rails to lock in the semi's. Finally, I play Keith Wixson in our semi's game of Wilderness War. Keith resigns in early 1759 when my indian defeats a regular and burns his stockade to cut the supply line to Ohio Forks. Now I'm 5-0 and get to play Master Pei in the finals! Somewhere in there I start getting good results in Ace of Aces as well. Friday -- Santa Fe Rails semi's. I come in a close 2nd mostly because the winner drew the LA card late, but also because they managed to hose me out of any money throughout the game (mostly by accident). Fortunately Kevin W, goes on to win the tourney to become the first repeat winner (!) and to give Western New York 4 out of the 7 champions! I do better in a second game of Dominion, then cruise the dealer room. They have *way* too many of the games I'd like to pick up, so I must restrain myself. Later, I come in 2nd in my next TTR heat, so I'm into the semi's now.I miss the first heat of Chicago Express because the online scheduler didn't have it on the schedule! Most annoying, but I made up for it by winning my game in the 2nd heat (and getting the expansion for my troubles). That puts me in the semi's there as well. Later we play our yearly game of Wiz War! I win it for the 2nd time in 3 years. I'm going to come up with a trophy to give the winner each year. Finally, the Western New Yorkers end up at the bar with the Cabbies and I finally get to better meet some of them bums! Saturday -- Finals day!! I start with the Ace of Aces finals. I win my first 4 matches only to lose my last one to the champion. I come in second for the 3rd year in a row! In a tourney that gives only one plaque! Argh!!! Then I track down James after his FtP win (assist to Docktor) for the WW final. Unfortunately, I get 0 Indians for the game and can't quite make up for that lack of raiding points. Fortunately, this is *much* better than previous WW results, so I happily carry around a war axe for the rest of the con. Then I end with the Chicago Express semi's when I tied for 1st with another player, so we both made the finals! In the finals, I let everyone overbid for the mid-game shares and happily kept my money to run away with the game. This salvages a 1-2 finals record for the day (and the con). Later on, Docktor suckers me into being the "S" for the "Go Rangers!" team at Slapshot. Well, ya gotta do these things at least once I say! The day ends with Docktor bringing Andy Nelson's to the bar! Sunday -- I end the con with the TTR Quarters. Sadly, I missed ending the game by one turn and fall 5 points short accordingly. Things look up though at the bar while I'm waiting for my ride as Andy Waller has a case of Sam Adams he can't take back to Kuwait, so I let him give it to me. Finally, Tom and I hit the road and he takes me back to Mt Morris New York, so I can meet my family at Letchworth State Park for another week of vacay! What a great con. I met another ton of people, locked in conversations with a lot of the great people I met in earlier years, and got a nice haul of free swag! 6 months of waiting for Niagara Boardgaming Weekend, and then I start waiting for next years WBC (the big XX). Paul R. - Aug 17, 2009 2:46 pm (31250.) new The two most common elements in the Universe are hydrogen, and stupidity. Had a great time seeing old friends and making some new ones! Learned and played a few new games, not well, but enjoyed them and look forward to experimenting with them. My quest is to find a few new games my dice know how to play...ha-ha! They roll high, when low is best, and then the same dice roll low, when high is best. I need more intuitive dice! Flew with the boys (and girls) of B-17, had a great after action meeting, and confirmed for all who passed by or played that B-17 is the best event at WBC! Crowned a new champion and everyone packed up for next year. We are already planning the Missions that will take us deep into occupied Europe as the war stretches into either 1943 or it's 20th year, depending upon which universe you are operating in. I can't rank this WBC, in comparison to the last dozen or so, but I very much enjoyed this one and thought it all went very well. Congrats to the Board and Don and Kaarin for jobs well done! See you all next year! Best, Paul barcaboy4@aol.com - Aug 17, 2009 3:59 pm (31251.) new aka. Mike Gentile My time at the WBC was limited this year due to a recent job change, but I made the best of it with a couple of strategically placed ‘sick’ days. Tuesday Picked up Jim Miller at the Philly airport and headed west. After a few stops for supplies, ice and lunch, arrived ready to go. After a warm up game about floating down the river and trying not to get crushed by logs and other swimmers, we set up the annual Here I Stand (Sit?) game (see Greg S post above). Went to bed around midnight because… Wednesday I had to work Thursday Bugged out of work around 4 and headed straight to WBC. Got in some fun family games with the Paull/Maly clan. Always a good time Friday Played a monster BattleLore game, teamed up with JP vs his boy Nathan. And we ‘barely’ squeaked out a marginal victory. This kid’s gonna be scary if he gets into meaty games. Decided to skip the Combat Commander tourney (you’ll see why) and helped Greg S run Ivanhoe for the juniors. All good players. All great kids. The juniors area is amazingly well organized. I don’t have kids at the WBC, but I appreciate what these folks do. Played Automobile (a now ‘must buy’) and I’m the Boss at night. Saturday Ran the 1960 tourney (with Greg) (recap to follow). While the tourney was going, Greg and I scheduled to play the Combat Commander: Stalingrad Campaign. I absolutely love this game and it’s always a blast vs. Greg. The campaign rules are interesting and add another dimension to an already incredible game. Not sure if this campaign stuff is Foley’s doing ro somebody else, but it totally rocks. That said I lost 3 straight to Greg. My lifetime record is, like, 10-40 in this game but I keep coming back for more. After the polls closed, I refreshed myself, picked up my hockey jersey and headed to the awesome event that is Slapshot. Managed to get into the playoffs with all three of my arch-rivals, the Paull kids, Catherine and Nathan and the ne’er-do-well Andy Maly. Andy and I each beat on a kid to make the finals. My monkey power was waning and he coasted to the Cup. Does anybody even remember the Hartford Whalers??? Sunday I usually feel a little melancholy the last day of WBC. Must be emotionally drained from the week’s activities. I do give it my all to have fun and make sure those around me do also. Must take more out of me than I realize. We played Automobile again and then off to the airport with Jim. This is hands-down my favorite week of the year. I believe next year, thanks to the new job, for the first time, I’ll be able to get to WBC for some pre-Tuesday action, maybe the pre-con. Already counting the days. Thanks to everyone (Don, board, GMs, etc.) who work so hard and to my friends and friendly opponents who play so hard to make this an always rewarding experience. Mike G barcaboy4@aol.com - Aug 17, 2009 4:02 pm (31252.) new aka. Mike Gentile 1960: The Making of the President 24 qualified candidates showed up for this year’s presidential campaign. Enthusiasm was high, with one candidate attempting to literally imitate Nixon’s knee injury on an adjacent chair. (NOTE: no candidates were harmed in the making of this tournament). News spread quickly that last year’s winner, Chris Byrd, would not be running for re-election. Fox News reported he has accepted a position as 2010 campaign manager for New York’s Dan Dolan. Early returns indicated this would be a tight election. The first round had six wins by Nixon and Kennedy. Average electoral scores, Kennedy: 255, Nixon: 263. One candidate had to drop in the second round and his staff was unaware of his whereabouts. Fox News reported he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Overall results continue to be close, with three wins by Nixon and two by Kennedy. Average scores, Kennedy: 250, Nixon: 277. Six players played in the quarter-finals, with the three winners and highest scoring loser advancing. Stefan Mecay and Chris Withers had lopsided victories, while Jim Doughan had a close win over Steve Banks, allowing Steve to continue to the quarters. John Wetherell placed 5th and Philip Yaure placed 6th. Kennedy won on all three boards with a 120+ electoral vote margin. There was little drama in the primaries (semis) with Chris Withers as Nixon winning big over Steve Banks (4th place). Stefan Mecay won as Kennedy over Jim Doughan (3rd place). Jim resigned halfway through the campaign to “spend more time with his family”, although Fox New reports he was trailing by a wide margin. They also reported he was seen the next morning with a bunch of children, one of which may not have actually been his. The finals was a showdown between this year’s WAM winner, Stefan Mecay, and last year’s WBC runner-up, Chris Withers. Chris, as Nixon, dominated the early going and won all the debates but Stefan refused to throw in the towel. A late October push and some election day recounts closed the gap, but Chris pulled out a 277-231 win. Chris was awarded a DVD of the Kennedy-Nixon debates and recycled last year's GM prize (1960: The Book) to Stefan. "The Making of a President 1960" by Theodore White is a must read for any fan of the game. The final tally for the entire tournament was 12 wins for Nixon and 11 for Kennedy. A good time was had by all and as a first time GM, I also enjoyed myself. Many thanks to my assistant GM, Greg Schmittgens. In the immortal words of an inspiring icon, “Ask not what your convention can do for you, but what you can do for your convention”. [edit] IIRC Stefan said that the debates were exactly tied. Both players played the same points on the same issues at the same time, but Kennedy (Chris) had the initiative and won all three issues. Dan Dolan - Aug 17, 2009 10:34 pm (31258.) new The scariest words in any language ... I'm from the government and I'm here to help. 2009 ELCHFEST Championship of the World The new people came early to the Demo area to learn how to play the game. It took 2 minutes to teach them and they played a game and then shuffled off waiting for the sign ups to begin. You could see they were having a dream of quick glory in this simple little flicking game. 63 of them would see their dreams crushed. The veterans began arriving around 30 minutes before the event was to start and they began playing quick games or standing around noting who was coming in. The two time champion Dave Meyaard arrived and he was quickly followed by a very large contingent of younger players. 64 players again this year tying last years record numbers. Players were paired up and the first round began. There were some who had to wait to play due to lack of games. Next year if you have a copy of the game please bring it. The first round eliminated 32 players and you could see the cream of the ELCHFEST world beginning to rise. The intensity level really ramped up now and the games became much more even. The moose moved much quicker and the round ended very quickly as the sweet 16 was decided. The match-ups were: Tim Keating v Alex Henning Henning wins Andy Maly v Chris Kaman Maly wins Alex Bell v Rebecca Hebner Hebner wins Jim Bell v Dan Dolan Dolan wins Josh Githens v Angela Collison Githens wins Phil Yaure v C. Jaegers Yaure wins Brandon Bernard v Rich Irving Bernard wins Eric Leonard v Dave Meyaard Meyaard wins As the Final 8 were chosen you could see the level of play was very high. 2 time defending champion Dave Meyaard was looking very strong and veterans Maly and Dolan were playing very well. Young players with years of ELCHFEST play under their belts Githens and Hebner were looking to attain ELCHFEST immortality with solid and precise flicking. The draw had some very interesting matchups Dave Meyaard v Alex Henning Meyaard wins Dan Dolan v Andy Maly Maly wins Bernard v Hebner Bernard wins Josh Githens v Phil Yaure Githens wins THE FINAL 4 Dave Meyaard - one match away from defending his title in the championship match v Josh Githens – First time in the rarified air and facing the two time defending champion Andy Maly – Playing spectacular Elchfest and going to be very tough to beat for …. v Brandon Bernard – an unknown to the higher levels of the game until now Over half of the initial 64 were still around watching and commenting on the play of each game and the tension level for every shot was incredible. Josh stunned the room when he defeated Dave and assured us there would be a new champion this year. In the other match Brandon showed the ELCHFEST world he belonged when he defeated Andy and advanced to face Josh for the title ……. There were two moose on opposite sides of a river. They both wanted to get to the other side. Sounds simple, right? But those of us who were there know how difficult that journey can be. Congratulations to Brandon Bernard – THE 2009 ELCHFEST CHAMPION OF THE WORLD Mark Kalina - Aug 18, 2009 6:43 am (31260.) new Blue Iguana Games - Game Publisher - www.BlueIguanaGames.com. Personally boycotting the new movie "Orphan" I brought my son to the WBC for the first time to participate in the Juniors program. He loved it and will be returning with me next year. It appears the children make new friend and renew them like the adults do each year. Played a memorable game of A World at War- Eisenbach Gap with Jeff Schulte- playing the first scenario of the Death of the 6th Panzer. Playing the Soviet I used advance at all cost movement very successfully- rolling the saves I needed. It looked like I might win and then on turn 5 I received no turn chit. Jeff was fortunate to go first the following turn and my unstopable advance became a field of burned out T-72 wrecks. I lost, but had a great time none-the-less. Joel A Tamburo - Aug 18, 2009 9:27 pm (31267.) new earning each day how much I don't know 2009 Combat Commander Event Report Combat Commander celebrated its third year at WBC by using scenarios specially designed for play at WBC. The scenarios went the length of the war all the way from 1939 (The Winter War) to Berlin in 1945, and also including action in the Pacific Theater of World War 2. 56 gamers including familiar names as well as new faces dueled over a Mulligan round on Wednesday morning and then into six Single Elimination rounds starting Friday afternoon and ending Saturday morning. As always, play was fast and furious and fun was had all around. Some of the more memorable moments included yours truly losing in the first round on the last turn of the card as my opponents British Commandos won their close combat with my conscripts holding the needed bridge hex for victory (scenario based on Pegasus Bridge - part of D-Day). Also memorable was a 1939 Soviets versus Finns scenario that ended like Hamlet – virtually everyone on both sides was destroyed. Ultimately the tournament came down to a tense final between 2007 Combat Commander champion Bob Heinzman’s Canadians and Brian Hanchek’s Germans fighting over the Italian city of Ortona in 1943. Although Brian put up a very good fight, Bob ultimately ground him down and claimed the victory. As the winner, Bob claimed the DVD set of The Rat Patrol series, and Brian claimed the DVD of Combat Season 2 Mission 1. Play balance this year fared very well, as the scenarios all had roughly even records between sides. As these scenarios were designed using the built in scenario designer provided with the game it stands as a testament to the strength of that system. The scenarios will be posted on both ConsimWorld and BoardgameGeek for the enjoyment of those who did not attend. As in previous years, rules questions were minimal and readily answerable from the rulebook. This is a further testimony to the rules, which are widely considered one of the best written rulesets in the hobby. I want to extend special thanks to Bryan Collars, who not only went way above and beyond in his conduct as Assistant GM but also was my nominee for Sportsman of the Year for his conduct in the games he played. The color scenario cards enjoyed by everyone were created by Bryan, who also collaborated with me in scenario design and provided the necessary loud voice to get everyone’s attention when my voice was not equal to the task. Also I want to thank everyone who played and made this event the success it was. Finally, I look forward to next year as Combat Commander tries to post its 4th straight year of increasing attendance. You the player can have input into the design of the event by visiting the Combat Commander discussion topic on ConSimWorld. Justin Rice - Aug 18, 2009 10:01 pm (31268.) new Now Playing: GCACW, VG: Civil War, 3DoG, Here I Stand, PoG, TS ... 2009 Great Campaigns Event Report Make it two in a row for Ed Beach. He topped Justin Rice in the championship round of Chickamauga on Saturday, claiming his second straight title and earning laurels as the first victor in a tournament to feature scenarios from Battle Above the Clouds, the eighth game in the GCACW series. Twenty commanders showed up to preview BATC. The tournament format offered a choice between classic and new scenarios, but only one of 23 preliminary pairings opted to play an older game. That left a day full of western-theater combat for the rest — 16 games of “Crossing the Chickamauga,” six games of “McLemore’s Cove,” five games of “Chickamauga,” and three games of “Ringgold.” Eight-time champion Chris Withers had a strong showing in the prelims, with wins in each of his first four games (including a sweep in the played-twice “Crossing” scenario). He clinched an elimination-round bye with his win against Beach in their third-round “McLemore's Cove” showdown. Rob Doane earned the top seed. He was 3-0 in preliminary games played, with wins against Dave Cross and Ken Lee. Lee was back with the Great Campaigns crew full-time this year and was 2-1, plus a 1-1 split in “Crossing.” He joined Dave Cross (3-1), Beach (2-1, plus a split in “South Mountain”) and Rice (2-2) in the elimination round, where Rice topped Cross and Beach beat Lee in “Seven Pines.” There was one close semifinal and one blowout in “Wilderness.” Rice ripped off an improbable init run to put Doane’s Yanks in a deep hole in their matchup. Beach and Withers fought a wild battle, with several up-and-down swings. When Beach cleared Parker’s Store (for the third time) late on Turn 2, Withers conceded and our final was set. “Chickamauga” – Scenario 3 from BATC – replaced “Bloody Spotsylvania” in the championship round this year. Rice took the offensive-minded Rebs, but Beach quickly tore off seven-straight initiatives to block Bragg’s easiest path over the Chickamauga. Rice responded by driving forward to Lookout Mountain and splitting the Union army, but Beach threw Thomas and Steedman forward to steady the line. Turn 2 attacks were halted by one-sided combat dice in Beach’s favor, and the Yanks’ spoiler attacks against Longstreet secured Chattanooga on Turn 3. Allen Hill earned “Risen from the Ranks” honors. He was 2-2, including two wins in “Crossing.” Hill was the only two-win player not to advance to the elimination rounds. Don Greenwood - Aug 19, 2009 10:13 am (31270.) new WBC Requiem That was quite a week. Have you recovered from your "vacation" yet? I'm just starting to return to normal, but there's no time to waste. WBC 2010 is only 50 weeks away. On with the show! Bruce Beard emerged as the new reigning master at WBC 2009 by holding serve to win his fifth straight 18XX title. He took over sole possession of the bragging rights for championship streaks when Steve Packwood (1776), Devin Flawd (Paydirt) and George Seary (Hammer of the Scots) failed to successfully defend their titles after strings of 6, 4 and 4 consecutive championships respectively. At the other end of the title spectrum, 32 players won their first WBC championship and 105 earned their first BPA laurels. 13 won multiple titles, led by Kevin Wojtaszczyk who took three shields in Santa Fe Rails, Alhambra and War of the Ring. With the latter being a pre-con and not eligible for Consul laurels, it looks like a real horse race for Consul honors in 2009 with many legitimate contenders. Attendance was up for the convention as a whole and that was reflected in tournament participation as well with 17 events drawing triple-digit participation and the average attendance for the 151 events increasing 2.3 to 49.4, buoyed by 230 players for Dominion and 220 for Ticket to Ride. You'll find a preliminary list of 2009's champions on line at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/champs.htm - to be followed in November by our detailed event report pages as only WBC does them. Next year's World Boardgaming Championships will be the 20th anniversary of this reunion of kindred spirits counting back to our roots in the original Avaloncon. We've come quite a ways against long odds, but the future is looking bright thanks to the efforts of over 100 volunteers who contribute their time in varying degrees as Board members, GMs, and behind the scenes workers submitting to a few simple rules to band together for the common good. The point is that we all own WBC and we get out of it only what we put into it. No one profits from this convention or gets paid to run events. We do what we do because we love our hobby and we want to give it substance. We are an organization of volunteers whose combined efforts are greater than the sum of its parts which is a fancy way of saying - here is what You can do to help make next year even better. Regardless of your busy schedule or state of lethargy, I challenge you to find something on the following list you can contribute to the betterment of the next WBC. 1. FEEDBACK: Did you run across an outstanding act of sportsmanship or a great GM performance this year? Tell us about it at doncon99@toad.net. From such unsolicited testimonials, we draw the nominees for our GM of the Year, Sportsmanship, and Hobby Service Awards. Reward good behavior - take a moment to single out those who should be applauded for their service. And conversely, if you had a bad experience with a GM that could benefit from some advice on how to better run their event, tell us about that too. GMs don't get better in a vacuum. They need feedback to consider how they can improve their events and their own performance. We share your input with them and allow you to do so anonymously. 2. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES: If you had a good time, don't be reluctant to tell others about it. We spend a lot advertising WBC on Boardgamegeek, but it isn't as effective as the many enthusiastic Geeklists that our members have authored since the convention ended relating the fun they had. Out of such testimonials, future gaming partners grow. 3. VOTE FOR NEW EVENTS: Simply by participating in events this year, you helped determine the 2010 Century lineup by pure head count. However, 25 new or "second-chance" events will be determined solely by membership vote in our annual December membership drive. By joining the BPA then you can influence the events that are offered next August. And as a bonus, you'll save money on the cost of registration and get a free full color 2009-2010 yearbook and souvenir t-shirt - items that were unavailable at any price to those who waited to pay at the door. Year 'round membership also gets you free admission to BPA email tournaments and discounts to our other conventions. 4. SUBSCRIBE: Even the most lethargic among you can handle this one. If you are not already receiving our free monthly email newsletters, go to the website address at the end of this message to subscribe and thereby be kept up to date on all the news pertaining to WBC as it happens. 5. PUSH THE ENVELOPE: Not content with the event offerings at WBC? Then do something about it! Our events are run because enough people want to play them, but also because someone got off their duff and volunteered. If you've already done #4 above, then you probably know that every October newsletter announces the call for new GMs to submit event forms for games not run at the previous WBC. Only by doing so in a timely manner, can these events appear on the membership ballot in time for the December membership drive. 6. VOLUNTEER: Want to get your feet wet before going all out to run an event yourself? Most events are in need of assistants to help sign people in, write event reports, or adjudicate games. Just contact the GM whose address appears beneath each event page on our site to offer your services. Most will gladly accept any and all help. Only when enough people help so that we don't have the same people pulling double and triple duty will there be any chance to actually increase the number of events at WBC - regardless of the attendance. Most of our GMs have been "giving back" to the hobby for years. They could use some help. Our next convention is EURO QUEST VII in Timonium, MD Nov 12-15. See the details at http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/eq09ann.htm Upcoming Events: WAM VIII: January 28-31, 2010 @ Holiday Inn, Timonium, MD Enlightenment XIII: March 28-31, 2010 @ Holiday Inn, Timonium, MD WBC 2010: August 2-8, 2010 @ Lancaster Host, Lancaster, PA Donald Greenwood Visit the BPA website at http://www.boardgamers.org If you are not already receiving our monthly newsletters, please subscribe by visiting http://lists.boardgamers.org/mailman/listinfo/bpamail to confirm your address. Subscribing is free, takes only a moment and ensures your privacy. We are unable to add you to our mailing list otherwise. Nick Drochak - Aug 19, 2009 10:31 am (31272.) new Gaming in Tokyo, Japan I just wanted to say that I had a most excellent adventure at my first WBC. Beforehand I was apprehensive about playing in the tournaments with little or no previous experience with the games. However, that fear was clearly misplaced as no one I played minded a newbie opponent. Moreover, with all the games I played, I met the nicest people you can imagine. I was most worried about being a newbie in the Paths of Glory tourney, but luckily for me I think, I drew Tom Gregorio as my first opponent. Not only was he gracious and patient, but taught me a great deal about the game. That experience set the stage for the rest of the week and was repeated again and again for every single game I played. Thanks to all the people who helped me out with learning the games and hope to see all the friends I made at WBC next year! Giving a big thumbs up for WBC, Nick D Jack Beckman - Aug 19, 2009 11:14 am (31274.) new Dare to be Stupid I also had a blast at my first WBC, and am planning a return visit next year. Like Nick, I was a bit worried about entering some of the games that I either hadn't played in a long time or ever, so I steered clear of the wargames this year. Next year I plan to get into some of those events once I have had a chance to reacquaint myself with the rules and game play. However, based on talking to folks in some of those games, I am sure it wouldn't have been a problem - everyone was extremely friendly and willing to teach anyone any game they were interested in. Even laying off the wargames I had a lot of fun in Superstar Baseball, Football Strategy, Speed Circuit, Formula De, Nuclear War, and even got addicted to APBA Baseball in open gaming(and now own a bunch of APBA stuff - Mike Lam, make sure you collect your commision check from APBA). I also had fun playing Down in Flames in open gaming(thanks to Greg Smith for bringing along all his DiF stuff). All in all, a great time - got see some folks I already new from CSW Expo and meet new folks, some that I have only spoken to online here and others completely new to me, but I can't say that I met anyone who wasn't pleasant and sportsman-like. I had been to conventions in the past where this was *not* the case, and it turned me off from them for quite some time. So it was great to be with *so many* fellow gamers in a fun setting. Thanks to all who worked hard to put this on. Hopefully I will be able to attend next year as well. Jeff Paull - Aug 19, 2009 11:42 am (31277.) new GM'd Die Siedler von Catan at WBC 2007 My WBC - or How I Spent My Summer Vacation Part I (long) Alright, I’ve never done one of these before, but here goes: A week of having a blast – or How I Spent My Summer Vacation First out the gate, arrive early enough to join the Maneouvre crowd. My son, Nathan, as a proud member of the Amish Terrarium joins me in his team game. Nathan proceeds to doggedly take on his opponents, but a year passing with only a few playings is telling. For me, my convention starts me with being randomly paired with Mr Maly (my room mate of 18 years). My Turks defeat his Americans as I bend him over an ottoman. This unfortunate start to my convention pairings is followed by an equally ignonimous pairing with the wall flower that is Mr Dan Dolan. I don’t let his shy and reserved manner deter me from defending my virtue. After the second round, there is time for a Monty Python Fluxxx with the men of the Maly clan and the Paull clan. Nathan sneaks our a surprise win with the Finger of God (Andy was using a different finger) and trounces Andy, Alex and I. Our mental capacities are challenged by a game of Tier auf Tier (aka Red Hot Monkey Love) in which my past experience with said love allows me to prevail! Returning the Maneouvre tournament, I am trounced in round 3. I am then paired with Mr Lewis’s son, Danny – a great sport. Andy requires Danny to play rounds of Maneouvre every night to earn his dinner at the Lewis household. Danny never tires of telling me this. Despite this, I am the one who ‘serves’ Danny his early dinner. Round 4 sees me with Bill Powers who had faced off against Nathan earlier in the day. I am able to (barely) avenge him and find myself in a semi-final match in my team mate’s team game. (Typical results for the Amish Terrarium) Richard Beyma plays an excellent Turk as night falls with a score of 8-6. I place 3rd and discover that George Young placed 4th. Only the top 3 receive wood… and knowing that George is bumped out by me…earns me more...um...wood. Our night cap is a game of Nimmt 6 (sounds much better in German) with my wife (Gretchen), George, Bill Edwards and I playing a set. I end my day with 9 games played. Trouble with room keys has mine and Andy’s inoperable. I get them re-cast. Mr Maly wants Gretchen’s cell phone number, as my family is staying in the adjoining room. Going to open gaming, I see the ‘gang’ playing La Havre. George tells me the ‘hey, I saw your wife at the bar with a strange man.” (This being Mr Edwards). She has been chatting there for a bit while Maneouvre was running. Unfazed by George’s comment, I hand him Mr Maly’s room key wrapped with a piece of paper saying, “This is the room key with my wife’s cell number.” Every eye at every table around us looks my way… veeeeery scary Next day, it’s open gaming with Chateau Roquefort – the cheese castle game. Mice running around the castle, looking for cheese..dropping into holes. Nathan wins one...then two games against myself and my daughter. The game is clearly flawed. More Tier auf Tier..o who can resist monkey love? Then, we discover a game with 4 “F” words in the title (and no… none of them are _that_ word). Something about Forest Fellers. It catches our attention and is dubbed the Floater game. Lumberjacks trying to get downstream fighting each other and little brown.. um…logs floating in the water (Caddy Shack, anyone?) 3 games of this with the upcoming men of the group (Alex and Nathan) leaving us in the dust every time. Bill and George take the time to teach Nathan and I how to play Dominion. I only learn how to play, but Nathan learns how to win and I become a Dominion minion. Nathan continues his streak by sending Mike, Bill and I to clean out the cages in another Tier auf Tier lovefest. Tuesday night arrives and the gang (Andy Maly, George Young, Greg Schmittgens, Jesse Boomer, Mike Gentile and I sit down to a campaign game of Here I Stand (Sit). If any game ‘needs more cowbell’, it’s this one! I had advocated working to get the game to last more than 5 turns (our previous record) by working hard to drag the leader’s back to the fold. Jesse becomes the worst Luther… ever! End of turn 3 sees the papacy with 26 points, Venetian allies, burnt debaters, 2 keys..and St Pete’s. “Pope” Paull blesses the table (and my dice). Game ends in order to get to other stuff. So much for playing for the long game… More Nimmt 6 and a stab at Who’s the Boss. Day end: 21 games played Wednesday starts with BattleLore at 9a. Nathan, determined to avoid defeat, sleeps in and becomes “Sir not appearing in this tournament”. Alex Bell and Stephen Shedden made fine opponents as I take one and lose the other. Third round I am paired with the indefatigable Bradford McCandless. He proceeds to kill all of my horses – He wants to become a vet (Sheesh), but nothing can thwart my Giant Spider on a hill. That thing got 13 kills… Brad puts up with a lot of noise from yours truly. He’s a great sport (my son’s age) and we meet up with him… and his parent’s later in the week. I finish 6th in the tournament and am shamed at scoring team points for the Terrarium. I will be voted off the island next year. Afternoon is filled with more of the Floaters game. The Alex/Nathan winning blockade continues as Alex smokes the ‘growed ups’. Nathan suggests a game of Lord of the Rings: Confrontation using the variant pieces. I am destroyed, again, in another fatally flawed game. I follow up my declining success with a Who’s the Boss (not me) and Cockroach card game. This one bugs me as I race to the bottom. Not satisfied with my ‘winning streak’, I sit down to a mentally stimulating game of Ca$h and Gun$ with my wife, Kris, Robbie (they’ve arrived all the way from 2 blocks away at home to the convention), Bill and I. Gretch wins on the 3rd tie breaker against Bill. We had no idea that there even was a tie breaker in the game, let alone a 3rd tier. This is followed by Diamant, Who’s the Boss (not me) and something called “Can’t Stop”. Herr Doktor, a bar, and lots of dice make an evil combination at 1am. The Doktor lends his name to the crappiest die roll ever (you could almost hear the entire nation of Finland cheer)… as I wend my way to my room. 30 games played. Next day begins with my daughter and I playing Jambo. She puts the ‘jam’ in Jambo as I am trounced…early and often. She does not bask for long, as we pull out Nimmt 6 and she proceeds to score 92! (game is played to 66, with lowest score winning). This becomes the worst score ever. Catherine shrugs it off and joins WuestenSoehne (german Teuber game) and skunks Kris and I. She then takes on Alex, Nathan, Christina (Ma’am not appearing at this convention for 2 years and groupie), Robbie and I on in game of Ca$h and Gun$ and wins… again. As I bleed out, I return to my room… 35 games played. The next day begins with Carcasonne (Catherine’s team game), with Catherine, Alex and I. I scrape out my first win in 24 hours. It’s _always_ good to whoop on the kids! A Paull family “who’s the Boss”, once again confirms that it is not me. After lunch, we sit down to a game of Shadows over Camelot with the expansion. VERY good time for everyone. We weren’t doing to badly under King Nathan (Arthur) when Mr Schmittgens (traitor) is revealed for the vile guy he is. Sir Mike has plans…and plans… “We can totally make this deal..er…win this game” We are sooo close when Kris plunks down the last siege engine and shows her true colors. Traitors win.. but what a blast. I’ve never had this much fun with the game. 8 players..rocks. 6 Nimmt follows for most of the Cameloters. I am enticed into another game of Who’s the Boss (hint: It’s not me). I now begin to hate this game. Jeff Paull - Aug 19, 2009 11:43 am (31278.) new M'd Die Siedler von Catan at WBC 2007 My WBC - or How I Spent My Summer Vacation Part II (long) Next day.. BattleLore – Epic. Play with raised wooden hexes for hills. (This is almost as good as adding cowbells). Mike and I trounce Nathan eeking out a marginal victory. The Giant Spider on a hill plays a critical part of our strategerie. My daughter joins us bringing the “Ding” game, fruit, cards and a bell. My reflexes prove…superior. Brad McCandless is found wandering aimlessly around the convention and we kidnap him and force him to play Bang! Nathen the Renegato shoots his way to victory. Enthralled with the level of play, sportsmanship and volume of trash talk, Brad stays with us for the next 2 days. The Paull gang wins as the outlaws in the next game. This is followed by Red November – a truly abysmal performance in the is team game. The sub sinks with 9 hatches sealed, 3 rooms on fire, 3 flooded, and 2 partially flooded. (There are 10 rooms). Cooperative games are clearly not on our level. We bring out Ca$h and Gun$ and the expansion. Japanese swords, shuriken and 3 teams of 3. Some difficulty with who to kill and why (2nd place does not kill off 3rd place players), but we get all the foam rubber weapons pointing in the right direction (ie – not at team mates). I ‘sadly’ kill my daughter off (team mate) as 2 bad guys duck and my sword finds her. She tells me I owe her a car now…. More Nimmt 6 as Brad’s parents join us. (We charge a minimal fee for babysitting.) Carcasonne with my daughter, Diamant with Alex “chicken nuggets” Maly, followed by Hart an der Grenze (aka Mexican Lying game). I am clearly too honest for this one as Alex cleans up at the border. 48 games played. We get out for some dinner at the hamburger joint. It’s nice to see the sun. Saturday begins: Carcasonne with my daughter, Diamant with Alex “chicken nuggets” Maly, followed by Hart an der Grenze (aka Mexican Lying game). I am clearly too honest for this one as Alex cleans up at the border. Another Epic BattleLore – Brad and Nathan take me on. Brad brings his creature and that nasty little thing is dispatched. However, so am I, as the guys stomp me 8-6. We break out the Settler’s Dice game, followed by more Bang. More Bang…means more people..means Dodge City. Nathan (Sheriff) and his 2 deputies, Catherine and Christine prove unable to beat the outlaws, Andy, Gretch and I. Highlight has deputy Christine dying, only to return to life.. she then kills Catherine (the other deputy) before dying a second time. 2 deputies…dying 3 times… Bob Marley is forced to re-write some lyrics. We wind it up and go to the contemplative temple that is the Slapshot tournament. Our group has grown enough that we occupy 2 tables now. Metallic hair, uniforms, cowbells, glow in the dark neck bands.. al pale in comparison to the Rangers. My children are scarred for life. Lots of yelling, screaming, hoarse voices… and that’s just explaining the rules. Slapshot always brings out the best in people and this year is no exception. Convention over... ‘Ding’. 56 games played. It’s been a great week, lots of familiar faces, a few new ones.., and some people we’ll look up next year. We may have not played real well…but we played real lots. It was an awesome week. Shameless plug: Over 60% of Jerk-Con attendees attended this year’s WBC. Only 4% of WBC attendees attend Jerk-Con… is it a best kept secret? NO! “Of all the board game conventions held in Richmond, Indiana over President’s weekend, Jerk-Con is one of the best” ™ I’ve already have my reservations… do you? (most people do) Bruce Monnin - Aug 20, 2009 2:12 pm (31312.) new Editor of MMP's Operations Magazine PRO GOLF Three of last year’s four participant’s in the 2008 Pro Golf Skins game, including champion Brian Farrelly, failed to attend in 2009, leaving the field wide open. 37 of last year’s 67 participants did return, all thinking they would use their experience to become one of the four participants in this year’s Skins game. However, they soon found that experience was not the key as three of this year’s final foursome came from the 19 players who had not participated last year. 58 participants teed off from the Hopewell room this year. Members of the BPA Board of Directors made a partial comeback this year, as Ken Gutermuth earned 6th place laurels with a 4 under par score and Bruce Reiff finished just behind in ninth place with a 3 under par round. Andy Lewis (41st, 2 over par) and GM Bruce Monnin (48th, 3 over par) performed more as you would expect from past results. After the 75 minute first round was completed on the 18 holes of the 2002 version of the Augusta course, three golfers had claimed spots in the Skins game. Bernard Beckerman (playing with Fred Couples) led the field at 8 under par. Mark Neale (Retief Goosen) was right behind at 7 under par, while Eric Brosius (Phil Mickelson) was also safe in the clubhouse at 5 under par. That left only one opening in the championship Skins game. Five players (Paul Risner, Ken Gutermuth, Robert Drozd, Rich Meyer and Arthur Field) all finished four under par and went into a sudden death playoff to claim the last spot for the Skins game final four. These five players took on Pebble Beach. Paul Risner bogeyed the first hole to drop out of contention. Authur Field dropped out when he bogeyed the par five second hole, and Ken Gutermuth and Rich Meyer were also eliminated with their par scores when Robert Drozd’s David Toms sank a birdie putt to move on to the Skins game. These top four players were then transported to the Lancaster Host Golf Club for the 12 hole Skins game. Mark Neale jumped out to an early lead when he birdied the first hole. The next three holes were halved, making the crucial par five fifth hole worth four Skins. Robert Drozd was the only player to birdie the hole, grabbing a huge early lead. After the sixth hole was halved, Mark Neale earned two more Skins with the only birdie on the par four seventh hole. The eighth and ninth holes were halved, so when Eric Brosius won the par four tenth hole with a birdie, the Skins were 4, 3, 3 and 0. This was bad news for Bernard Beckerman, who was eliminated from play in fourth place with his zero skins. Eric scored another birdie to win the skin on the par three eleventh hole to tie Robert at four skins apiece. That meant that if either Eric or Robert won the final skin for the twelfth hole, they would be the champion. If Mark won the final skin, there would be a three way tie for first and a sudden death playoff. Eric started out with merely a par on the par three twelfth. Robert looked to have the tournament in hand when David Toms sank a birdie putt on the hole, but Mark Neale halved the hole when Retief Goosen also sank a long birdie putt. The skin was carried over to the par four thirteenth, and Eric immediately put on the pressure as Phil Mickelsen birdied the par four. Robert and Mark each had birdie putt attempts to halve the hole, but both of their putters failed them to give Eric Brosius the victory with five skins. Robert Drozd took home the second place plaque with his four skins, while Mark Neale received no wood but had to settle for third place laurels with his three skins.