Century Events 3

2007 Results 2007 Results Bruce Beard, MD Jason Ley, WA Mark Neale, RI Phil Bradley, IL Paul Hakken, FL Mindy Kyrkos, NY Michael Fox, IL O Jim Garvey, NY Akihisa Tabei, JP O B. Berkenstock, NJ O Rick Dutton, MD O Ken Lee, PA

Pierre LeBouef, MD Anthony Daw, UT 45  1991-2007 93  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Bruce Beard, MD 190 Justin Childs, FL 88 Jon Kwiatkowski, NC 104 Matt Calkins, VA 42 Paul Hakken, NJ 103 Phil Bradley, IL 38 Barrington Beavis, UK 90 David Gantt, SC 38 Jim McDanold, TN 80 Jason Ley, WA 36 Mark Neale, RI 60 Gary Moss, MD 36 Richard Fox, IL 50 Steve Shambeda, PA 33 Pierre LeBoeuf, MD 50 Ed Kendrick, UK 30 Bruce Beard, MD David Fritsch, VA 40 Jason Ley, WA Jon Shambeda, PA 30 Dave Metheny, PA 25 Bruce Reiff, OH 24

18XX (8XX) Acquire (ACQ) aturday’s Final matched (in turn order) de- im Garvey started the Final by opening Tower. Sfending two-time champion Bruce Beard, JPhil Bradley, playing third, opened Continen- last year’s runner-up Mark Neale, 2003 champ tal. Jim started Luxor on his next turn and Mindy Paul Hakken, and Michael Fox, playing 18xx at Kyrokos, not to be left out, opened Imperial. Ja- the WBC for the first time. In the prelims, Bruce son Ley started American on his second play, went 3-1, with Mark, Paul, and Mike posting re- and then Worldwide on his next play. Jim started cords of 2-0, 2-2, and 1-0. Festival on his fourth play. In the private auction, Bruce got the C&SL for Mindy blended Imperial into Luxor, netting $55 and the D&H for $100, Mark took the M&H first, with second split between Jim and Phil. She for $150, Michael took the B&O private at $225 restarted Imperial on her next play. Jason merged (setting the share price at $100), and Paul took the next—Continental into Tower, but had to split first Schuylkill at cost and the C&A at $225. With the with Phil. Jim was the first to run low on cash, but option to buy the first company, Bruce opened the he didn’t lose his hold on Festival when it merged PRR at $67, as did Mark with the NYNH. into American, netting him $3,000. Phil was the On the third stock round, Paul started the next to fall victim to low cash, but when Jason NYC at $82. The next round, Michael chose the merged Continental into Luxor Phil replenished C&O at $67 and Bruce bought three shares of his cash with a second-place bonus. Jason later B&O to force Michael to run it. Bruce then sold reestablished Continental. As Mindy was left out his private companies into the PRR and used the of two mergers in a row, she couldn’t buy for four proceeds to take the B&O away from Michael. turns. Jim ran short, too, missing two buys and The B&M ($67-Mark), Erie ($100-Paul), and CP even Phil had to skip a turn. Jason just added to ($100-Bruce) followed, leaving Bruce with three his holdings in Festival and Continental, and then companies, two with lots of money. merged Imperial into Luxor. Phil instigated the Before diesels, Bruce had two 4’s, a 5, and a 6 on next two mergers, Continental into Luxor, fol- three RRs, Mark had a 4 and a 5 on two RRs, Paul a lowed by Worldwide into Luxor. Festival was the 4 and a 6 on two RRs, and Michael ­ a 5 on his only final merger, going into American. RR. All players got diesels, but Bruce’s stock and At the final tally, Jason finished train advantage won the day. with $54,300, Phil had amassed Final scores were Bruce (8645), $41,500, Mindy came in fourth with Mark (6935), Paul (6568), and $38,200, and Jim finished last with Michael (6403). $31,500. 4 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Kevin Youells, FL J.R. Tracy, NY Chris Robbins, UT M. Ronnblom, Swe Shantanu Saha, NY Jim Mehl, VA Russell Harley, WA Joe Chacon, VA R. Vollman, AB Eric Givler, PA O Rich Jenulis, OH Tom Morin, MA

Joe Gundersen, IN Perry Cocke, MD 30  1991-2007 18  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Doug Galullo, FL 266 J. R. Tracy, NY 240 Joe Gundersen, IN 186 Gary Mei, NJ 228 Kevin Youells, FL 144 Paul Sidhu, NJ 204 Eric Gundersen, NJ 131 Steve Pleva, OH 132 Shantanu Saha, NY 83 Brett Hildebran, OH 96 Harald Henning, CT 50 Kevin Valerian, MD 84 Ted Mullally, NJ 50 Jim Stahler, VA 48 John Morris, MD 40 Mark Pitcavage, OH 36 Kevin Youells, FL Chris Robbins, UT 30 J. R. Tracy, NY Jim Mehl, VA 30 Rodd Polsky, PA 30 Ron Duenski, NJ 24

Advanced Civilization (ACV) Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) fter seven years in the Final round, Kevin eturning to WBC proper, ASL used new, lim- AYouells finally struck gold playing Crete. It Rited intelligence scenarios. Round 1’s The End started with the traditional random drawing of scenario was tough on the Russians. Regardless, sides. Once enjoined, the game progressed with the four best Russians and the four best Germans the typical declarations and negotiations for na- advanced. In Round 2’s Meatgrinder scenario, the tional boundaries. Russians could achieve an instant victory by crush- Africa, Thrace and Egypt played good games ing the small on-board German force or by keep- but never quite reached the pinnacle of success ing the Germans from controlling buildings. The required to threaten the leader. Russell Harley’s scenario broke 50-50, with Germans Mattias Ron- Africa reached six cities early in the game, but nblom and Joe Chacon defeating Tom Morin and remained there until the last three turns, finally Jeff Evich and Russians JR Tracy and Jim Mehl de- reaching eight. This continual low city count took feating Eric Givler and Rob Schoenen. him off the glide path to success, relegating him to Russians JR Tracy and Mattias Ronnblom fourth place. Robert Vollman’s Thrace did well in defeated Jim Mehl and Joe Chacon, respectively, the early game, achieving eight cities early, only to in the Round 3 scenario 7 Graves for 7 Brothers. In languish in mid-game with five or six cities. Chris both games, the Germans had exited enough VPs Robbin’s Egypt did well for most of the game, but to win (they knew what they needed), but the suffered from many calamities and lower city Russians were able to exit an M3 Lee in the last counts in the mid-game. player turn to snatch victory away by one point. In the early game, Youells avoided the curse (The Germans didn’t know how many points the of calamities through careful trading and whin- Russian tanks were worth.) ing about being in last place. In mid-game, he In the Final, the consensus choice for top established a steady state empire with nine cities matchup of the tourney—JR Tracy and Mattias and was able to purchase a gold card regularly. Ronnblom—faced off inThe Far Bank, a remake of In the late-game Youells’ advanced empire easily an old SL scenario that featured a river withstood the few assaults against it. crossing in German assault boats in the Crete received nine calamities in all, face of minimal partisan resistance and but of those, six were from Barbarian a Russian counterattack. JR courted Hordes and had no effect. In the end, defeat by firing his flamethrower Crete was so far ahead that players into a melee. He ended up winning unanimously voted to concede. with the Germans by just one point. Century Events 5

2007 Results 2007 Results Tom McCorry, VA Bert Schoose, IL Pete Pollard, TN Jon Lockwood, VA Andres Dunn, MD Bill Morse, VA O Jon Squibb, PA O John Popiden, CA O John Vasilakos, VA O M. Gutfreund, KY O E. Filipkowski, MD O Bruno Sinigaglio, AK

Perry Cocke, MD Jon Lockwood, VA 18  2004-2007 23  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jim Munson., UT 30 Jon Lockwood, VA 119 Daniel Leader, MA 30 Vince Meconi,DE 118 Kevin Boles, AL 30 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 102 Peter Pollard, TN 30 Randy Heller, MD 78 John Vasilakos, VA 22 Ed Menzel, CA 58 Tom McCorry, VA 20 Bert Schoose, IL 57 Buck Markowitz, DC 18 John Popiden, CA 57 Allen Hill, MD 18 Lane Newbury, TX 48 Andres Dunn, MD 14 Greg Smith, PA 38 Tom McCorry, VA Bert Schoose, IL Bob Runnicles, FL 12 Doug Burke, MD 24

ASL Starter Kit (ASK) Afrika Korps (AFK) lthough Tom McCorry was an ASL playtest- n the Final, 2002 champ Jon Lockwood’s Aer, he didn’t have an easy road to victory in IGermans took advantage of perfect ear- his 4-0 run during the tournament. The first two ly supplies to drive Bert Schoose’s British rounds featured new scenarios that will even- into Tobruch with no casualties and begin a swift tually see publication in Operations magazine. drive towards Alexandria. Opting to eliminate The first, No Monumental Acclaim, split evenly the delaying units opposing him, Lockwood had between the attacking Americans and defend- stormed up to the El Alamein line by June II 1941. ing Germans. McCorry’s Germans stood strong There he established a 3-1 proof defensive line, against past runner-up Allen Hill. Teenagers An- with the Afrika Korps facing a smaller British force dres Dunn and Jonathan Squibb were among the and awaiting the supplies to catch up before begin- successful Americans. ning the final push into Alexandria. Those supplies In Round 2, masses of Italians attacked first- didn’t arrive for another six turns, as the British line Americans in Going to New York and split even- navy successfully hamstrung Lockwood’s forces, ly between the two sides. McCorry saw his Italians leaving him open to a low odds counterattack. matched against the Americans of last year’s third- Realizing that his only chance was to kneecap place finisher John Vasilaskos. John’s poor setup the Afrika Korps by eliminating the 7-7-10 Panzer doomed him, despite some hot dice in the mid- regiments, Schoose unleashed a series of 1-1 coun- game. Round 3 featured scenario S20 Joseph 351 terattacks to drive back the Germans. The first and paired SL grognard Pete Pollard versus Squibb 1-1 counterattack was a D Back 2 on 21/5 Panzer. and McCorry versus Dunn. Experience won out in Lockwood fell back and reestablished the 3-1 proof both games. line. Schoose’s next 1-1 counterattack achieved an For the final round, Pollard and McCorry exchange on the 7-7-10. played S2 War of the Rats. Pete’s Germans couldn’t Schoose followed up on the August I 1941 turn mount a convincing attack. His assault engineers with a 4-1, 1-2 combination attack which elimi- repeatedly failed to lay smoke to cover the attack, nated 21/3 Recce. Lockwood retreated to Tobruch. and his elite Germans repeatedly broke or were After receiving supplies in early September, Lock- pinned by Russian conscripts, even wood made a 1-1 assault on Tobruch in the safety of stone buildings. The to regain the initiative, but he failed. final Close Combat ended with a Thus, Schoose denied Lockwood a Russian conscript managing to kill second AFK championship and de- an assault engineer and 9-1 leader. clared victory. 6 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Kevin Sudy, VA Martin Sasseville, QC Jeff Mullet, OH Pierre Paquet, QC Chris Trimmer, TX Mario Veillette, QC O Harald Henning, CT O Richard Irving, CA O Mark Smith, KY O M. Imbeault, QC O Steve Simmons, NJ O Cody Sandifer, MD

Tedd Mullally, NJ Pete Staab, OH 33  1996-2007 40  2004-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Bill Crenshaw, VA 313 Martin Sasseville, QC 69 Jeff Mullet, OH 263 Pierre Paquet, QC 66 Ewan McNay, CT 238 Richard Irving, CA 39 Chris Byrd, CT 186 Mario Veillette, QC 24 Ken Gutermuth, TX 179 Michael Holmquist, WI 24 Harald Henning, CT 172 Peter Staab, PA 18 Carl Damcke, IL 120 Craig Moffitt, NJ 12 Steve Simmons, NJ 116 Keith Altizer, FL 12 Charlie Kersten, OH 9 Kevin Sudy, VA John Coussis, IL 84 Martin Sasseville, QC Tom Taaffe, VA 82 Ilan Woll, CT 9

Age of Renaissance (AOR) Age of Steam (AOS) ive former Laurelists—including last year’s ominance in the card-driven wargames may FWBC and Enlightenment champ Jeff Mul- Dcome at the knee of Master Pei and Nappy let—and Chris Trimmer sat down for the Final. Wars/Up Front crowns may go through Greenville, It was a marathon session that went deep into but the French Canadians command Age of Steam. the wee hours of Saturday morning, which is Will anyone give them a game in 2008? highly unusual for a six-turn game! By the end, The Final was a defacto invitational game since players could be heard saying wild things like all three of the former champions qualified, along “You’re scary! Expand!” They were also making with Mario Veillette, a former laurelist. The game deals for War, where the winner could choose was played using the basic Rust Belt map. As early what he liked! as the setup, it was apparent that the game would The pressure began in Turn 2, when Kevin be a rough one, as very few good deliveries were Sudy, as Paris, went for the quick gains of Holy available on the first turn. Further, the central por- Indulgence. All others had to sacrifice a crucial tion of the board had great potential for crowding. dom to his holiness. This, and a severe lack of wool For the first turn, Pierre, Mario, Martin and in Era 1, swiftly neutralized London, who had to Richard went in that order. Through the rest of the sit through the torturous two-hour grand bazaar game, bidding for turn order was the norm. Pierre, when 11 leaders came out (five of them Kevin’s!), Richard and Martin had $2 income at the end of and everyone struggled with the math. Ultimately, the first turn while Mario had $0. After the second Kevin stripped Jeff of the crown. turn, Richard did not have enough cash to pay his Tournament attendance increased for the first interest and expenses; thus, he took a $2 reduction time in eight years. More players meant that the in income, leaving him with $3, while the others GM stayed busy—there were six winners at five all had $4. tables in the first heat! Further, there was a “never On Turn 3, Richard was down to $0 income, seen before” TIE in the first round! with Pierre, Martin and Mario increasing to $8. In To accommodate the tourney’s growth, there Turn 4, Richard went bankrupt. At the end of the has been discussion about adding a Semi-Final game, Martin had amassed 90 victory points to round, which would allow more retain his championship, Pierre winners to advance but would in- had 74 victory points to come in crease the time required to win. Re- second for the second year in a gardless, expect to see more demos row, and Mario had 63 total vic- to encourage additional new blood. tory points. Century Events 7

2007 Results 2007 Results  John Coussis, IL Vassili Kyrkos, NY Tom Bissa, MI Luke Koleszar, VA Craig Melton, VA Brian Kowal, WI B. Bernard, PA O Faisal Kassam, AB O G. Schmittgens, KS O M. Amitrano, VA O Pat Richardson, VA O Robert Kircher, RI

Henry Richardson, VA Debbie Gutermuth, TX 70  1996-2007 84  2004-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists John Coussis, IL 131 Nate Hoam, OH 36 Ken Rothstein, NY 82 Vassili Kyrlos, NY 30 Robert Sohn, PA 74 Michael Mullins, MA 30 Chris Storzillo, NJ 70 Bruce Reiff, OH 30 Brandon Bernard, PA 64 Holliday Jones, MD 20 Michael Musko, IN 50 Luke Koleszar, VA 18 Jack Jaeger, VA 50 Matt Calkins, VA 18 Jonathan Fox, FL 40 Richard Meyer, MA 18 George Sauer, OH 18 John Coussis, IL Peter Busch, OH 36 Vassili Kyrkos, NY Richard Fox, FL 34 Tom Dunning, NY 14

Air Baron (ABN) Alhambra (ALH) n the Final, John Coussis (Purple) concentrat- hose who had previously tasted an Alhambra Ied on spokes in the West, acquiring Seattle and TFinal, fared poorly this year. In the first round, San Diego and placing Jumbo Jets on them very Jennifer Drozd beat out last year’s winner, Mike early in the game. While the other players got Mullins, while Davyd Field tossed aside 2005 involved in fare wars, Purple purchased all of champion Nate Hoam. Rob Kircher settled for the Denver spokes and continued to amass cash beating Chris Moffa, a 2006 laurelist; Laurel Stokes from his Seattle and San Diego spokes, and from edged out Andy Latto in a contest that included Jumbo profit draws. 2006 laurelist Matt Calkins; and Malinda Kyrkos After a dozen or more $1 payouts, the Gov- defeated GM Debbie Gutermuth and Jeff Mullet, ernment Contract moved from Yellow to Purple another 2006 laurelist. for a mere $5. Before Purple could begin to show Advancing to the second round were 18 ta- a profit for his $2 contract, the Bid came out ble winners and two alternates. Vassili Kyrkos, again and went to Green for $6, where it stayed one of those alternates, advanced into the Fi- for the rest of the game. nal after beating Rob Kircher by a single point After about an hour, Purple, with a fat stack and Brian Kowal beat Davyd Field by just four of cash, tried to end the game by wrapping up the points. Luke Koleszar won his table by the big- West. After adding control of San Francisco, Los gest spread, with 131 dwarfing the 73 of Michelle Angeles and Phoenix to his existing control of Den- Barger, who came in second. ver, he only needed $60 in cash, but fell $4 short. In After the first scoring round of the five-player the next round, he survived challenges from both Final, Vassili enjoyed a slight lead with 13 points to Orange and Yellow and found himself $10 short of 10 each by Luke Koleszar and Faisal Kassam. By victory. the second scoring round, Brian Kowal had made He decided to get out of Fare Wars and collect up ground to be a contender with Luke and Vassili. profits for a while. Although he drew no profits of Brian accomplished this by taking the lead in two his own, others drew enough to put him over the of the six color buildings and sec- top. Alas, before his turn came around again, an- onds in two others. In the last scor- other Fuel Hike robbed him of the ing round, the difference between winning cash. However, one turn Luke and Vassili was just five points. later, Purple was able to collect Vassili’s wall earned him just enough enough profit to declare victory to put him over the top and crown with $8 to spare! him champion. 8 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Sam Atabaki, CA B. Sinigaglio, AK Curt Collins II, PA Robert Ryan, MI Brian Kowal, WI Paul Fletcher, CT O Nick Anner, NY O Tom Oleson, WA O Greg Crowe, VA O John Clarke, FL O Mike Kaltman, PA O Steve Foren, FL

Jeremy Billones, VA Bob Ryan, MI 57  2003-2007 33  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Arthur Field, SC 83 Robert Ryan, MI 162 Nick Anner, NY 51 Paul Fletcher, CT 125 Evan Tannheimer, MA 42 Mike Sincavage, VA 114 Sam Atabaki, CA 30 Tom Oleson, WA 94 Andrew Gerb, MA 27 Stephen Likevich, OH 74 Greg Thatcher, FL 24 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 32 Rich Meyer, MA 21 Carl Walling, PA 30 Curt Collins II, PA 18 Paul O’Niel, MD 21 Mark Bayliss, UK 17 Sam Atabaki, CA Davyd Field, SC 18 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK Brian Kowal, WI 12 Chris Harris, VA 16

Amun-Re (AMR) Anzio (ANZ) ormer champions Arthur Field and Nick Anner enerable grognard Tom Oleson Ffaced each other at one of the four Semi-Final Vsupplied players with new coun- tables. After the Old Kingdom, both were tied tersheets for the game, an updated rule- with Robert Cranshaw at 12 VPs. In the end, book with new OOB cards, and an extra coun- Matt Calkins ended with the most cash, while tersheet for a Sicilia scenario. the other players all tied for second cash, and In the Final, Bob Ryan’s Allies started by land- for the second time in three years Arthur was ing at Terracina. Bruno Sinigaglio brought up all knocked out of the semis by another former the Germans he could muster to counterattack the champion. Two of the other semis went to tie- beachhead. In fact, he committed so much to the breakers, with Curt Collins advancing on Most counterattack that he left southern Italy - danger Pyramids, while Greg Crowe watched alternate ously open for large Allied gains. Bruno had his Sam Atabaki edge him on the penultimate tie- AH die again, and after three turns of constant at- breaker, Most Cash. tack, he rolled up the Beachhead. In the Final, Curt built a 15-13-9-3 lead with The last counterattack was so heavily - com Memphis, Mendes, and Buto. The New Kingdom mitted that had it failed, the Allies would likely was marked by high bidding; Sam saw a bid of have been able to connect to the Beachhead at 15 for Memphis topped by Brian Kovel’s 21. Terracina. Since it did not fail, Bruno—the low- High sacrifices fueled the cash pool (14 in round est active AREA rated player of Anzio—was able 5 and 21 +3 in round 6). At the end, Sam had the to take home his first Anzio Wood. most cash (edging Curt 54-50), and played three In the consolation game, Paul Fletcher (Axis) power cards to pull out a 36-34-30-29 win. and Tom Oleson (Allies) played the new 21-turn Statistics show that seat position is not re- scenario (July-December 1943). Sicily developed lated to achieving victory. A halftime lead has historically, except the Allies lost their rangers. shown to be only slightly better than most cash Tom invaded at Salerno, pushed steadily north, (8-13, 27-31). Raphael Lehrer posted and captured Cassino, which would have won a tourney high 46 in the second heat, the game on Dec II. A furious battle raged there, after achieving only 20 in heat 1. Ta- while the Germans contained and then crushed ble averages in the heats ranged from a Dec III invasion north of 31.2 to 40 (similar to previous years) Rome. The last combat of with the semis at 38.3/36.5/34.8/34.3 the game saw the Germans and a Final of 32.3. barely retaking Cassino. Century Events 9

2007 Results 2007 Results Steve Scott, CA  D. Sidelinger, CT Stephen Cuyler, NY J. Fleckenstein, VA Rob Kircher, RI O A. Cummins, UK John Elliott, MD O Jim Doughan, PA O Bill Place, PA O Carol Caler, OH O John Coussis, IL O B. Heinzmann, FL

John Coussis, IL : Rob Mull, CO 118  1998-2007 30  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Roy Gibson, MD 100 Bill Edwards, VA 56 Rob Winslow, NY 95 David Sidelinger, CT 40 Scott Buckwalter, MD 90 Daniel Hoffman, NC 40 John Coussis, IL 78 John Conlon, OK 33 Henry Richardson, VA 60 Steve Caler, PA 32 Bob Eastman, OK 60 Buck Karpowitz, DC 30 Robert Barnes, WV 50 Brian Conlon, OK 28 Pat Mirk, FL 45 Greg Courter, MI 24 John Elliott, MD 44 Rob Schoenen, PA 20 Steve Scott, CA David Sidelinger, CT Ben Knight, MD 41 Frank Cunliffe, PA 20

Atlantic Storm (ACS) Attack Sub (ATS) or the second year in a row the champion- rgentina pulled an upset in the Falk- Fship came down to the tie-breaker. Some Alands during Round 1’s scenario D, of the fun from the heats included Joel Tam- taking eight games to the Brit’s seven. In buro scoring a whopping 60 points in the first Round 2, the Soviets scored a minor upset over heat!; Steve Foren and John Elliot were tied in the Americans in scenario B (Search and Destroy), total points AND convoy points so Steve won winning eight to seven. Only Round 3’s Scenario A because he had taken convoy C1; One game (Sub Duel) had the favored side as the victor, with where the Bismarck was played three times the Brits winning nine to the Soviet’s five. and its average dice rolls were less than 5; and In the Final, Dave Sidelinger chose Sub Duel one game that saw the final convoy pushed and Jim Fleckenstein picked the Brits. The Brits three times. got off to a good start, fixing their sensor mal- As in 2006, the Final started slowly, as no one function with their first draw, then both sides wanted to put large-value convoys or ships into began a sonar duel, both gaining minimum play. This led to a total of nine “Stein-Flushes” contact level 1 on the other. The Soviets took (discarding your whole hand) during the first five a quick shot with the Ivan Rogov, and a lucky rounds. Rob Kircher did it three hands in a row. hit sank the Valiant. Down to just the Swiftsure, At the halfway point, no one had a big lead. the Brits aggressively went active, quickly gain- Hand #11 was tied. Some good points were ing level 2 contact on the Rogov and level 3 on scored when it went around a second time. The the Skvortsov. Without sensor cards, the Soviets action sped up in the second half when Stephen closed range with the Rogov to contact 1, fired a Cuyler briefly pulled ahead on convoy points. torpedo that missed, then a second that hit, but Steve Scott saw his big chance late in the game, only did one sensor and one attack damage. as he played for a seven-point convoy and took Wounded but still in the fight, the Swiftsure it down with little opposition. fired back at contact 4, an almost certain hit, but When the smoke settled, Steve Scott and only drew an attack malfunction. The Rogov Stephen Cuyler were tied with 25 points. Scott closed to contact 3 and in a close-range knife fight emerged victorious, with 19 convoy points to both subs exchanged torpedoes which missed, Stephen’s 16. Rob Kircher then Rogov got the final hit, send- finished with 19 points, ing Swiftsure to the bottom. Both followed by John Elliot’s skippers played boldly but luck 17 and Bill Place’s 15. favored the Soviets. 10 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results  B. Heathcotte, AZ Jon Lockwood, VA Bruce Reiff, OH John Schoose, IL O Jim Castonguay, PA Andy Joy, MD O Fred Minard, PA O Bruce Reiff, OH O Lyman Moquin, DC O S. McCulloch, OH O Cliff Ackman, PA O Tom Browne, PA

Jeff Mullet, OH Bruce Reiff, OH 37  2004-2007 33  1993-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jeff Mullet, OH 45 Bruce Reiff, OH 70 Bruce Reiff, OH 44 Arthur Field, SC 38 Jim Castonguay, PA 34 George Sauer, OH 34 Nate Hoam, OH 30 Jon Lockwood, VA 22 Brock Heathcotte, AZ 20 James Tyne, OH 20 Lucimara Martins, MD 18 Ray Stakenas II, MI 20 Fred Minard, PA 12 Andy Gardner, VA 20 Dan Broh-Kahn, MD 12 David Brooks, TN 20 K. Wojtaszczyk, NY 20 Brock Heathcotte, AZ Cliff Ackman, PA 11 Jon Lockwood, VA Eugene Lin, WA 9 Jeff Mullet, OH 18

Attika (ATK) Auction (ATK) fter a disappointing decline in attendance as or Wednesday’s SE round, John Aa Pre-Con event, Attika moved back to it’s FSchoose—17-year old son of three- regular spot in 2007. Although attendance didn’t plaque winner Bert—advanced by amass- make it to the hoped-for levels, there were plen- ing $9620, the high score of the tournament. ty of sharks on the prowl. The three-player final Random draw for seating in the Semi-Final came down to defending champion Bruce Reiff, normally places GM Bruce Reiff with Arthur perennial finalist Jim Castonguay and wargamer Field and Ken Gutermuth. This time, though, Brock Heathcotte. they all made separate boards, and visions of Brock’s previous experiences at WBC exclu- meeting in the Final crossed more than a few sively involved longer wargames. However, this minds. But, ‘twas not to be. In the first game, year, he was pressed for time and limited to a Andy “jump for” Joy won handily and Arthur few short Euros. Brock said he was more used to was out. In the second, John Schoose used Tap- conflict simulations, so he wasn’t really expect- estry, Queen Anne and Glassware to advance. ing to be competitive. The GM explained that In the third, Jon Lockwood kicked Gutermuth when Bruce and Jim play each other in Attika, it’s and the CABbies to the curb. In the fourth, Bruce really like a wargame, so he should do fine. somehow managed a win with only $5920 for Sure enough, almost from the first turn, Jim the lowest winning score of the tournament. and Bruce were going at it, blocking each other For the Final, John Schoose got some early from making optimal moves. In a very short cash, but he also got burnt by a Bank Refuses time, Brock had both of them on the ropes with to Pay, which Jon Lockwood gobbled up. Andy some very good moves. Now was the time for managed a quick purchase of Miniatures, but Bruce and Jim to work together and stop Brock that’s where Jon took over. He sold a couple from winning, right? of items for 100% and the special value deck Wrong. Both players wanted the other to stop bought his Jewelry. Brock, but neither would budge. In the shortest Suddenly he had over $5000 in cash and a set Final of Attika ever, Brock had a cakewalk. I had of Tapestry. By Turn 5, it was over in the quickest to wonder if Brock had flashbacks of tanks, artil- Auction Final since 1993. How did lery and broken supply lines, as Bruce perform? He ended with what he walked away a winner while he started with: $2000. With this win, Jim and Bruce were still debating Jon improved 26 places to fourth on “who started it.” the Laurels list. Century Events 11

2007 Results 2007 Results Ty Hansen, DC Dave Long, NC Philip Shea, VA Rich Moyer, MN Joseph Powell, VA Eric Strager, OH Andrew Murphy, PA Kevin Coombs, GA O T. Rothenhoeffer, MD Bruce Peckham, NY O Kevin Keller, MD Mike Windle, DE

Craig Yope, MI Dave Terry, MD 22  1999-2007 42  1992-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Philip Shea, VA 188 Paul Risner, FL 169 Joe Powell, VA 150 William Rohrbeck, NH 102 Kevin Keller, MD 132 Keith Hunsinger, OH 90 Phil Rennert, MD 96 Dave Long, NC 60 Pat Mirk, FL 90 Richard Moyer, MN 60 Tim Rothenhoefer, MD 68 Stephen Quirke, WI 55 Brian Fitzpatrick, VA 54 Judy Krauss, PA 42 Ty Hansen, DC 40 Eric Stranger, OH 40 Jim LeVay, MA 40 Ty Hansen, DC Charles Michalek, NV 40 Dave Long, NC Andrew Murphy, PA 36 John Conlon, OK 40

Axis & Allies (A&A) B-17 (B17) ive players were still 3-0 after three preliminary aul Risner went from first to next-to-last in this Frounds. The top four, based on tie-breakers, Pyear’s tourney, while Dave Long took the num- advanced, with Tim Rothenhoefer, just missing ber one spot. Dave flies missions against/with Jim with two fewer Victory Territories captured. Kevin Miller. Jim has caused Dave to wind up near the Keller, 1999 champion, also missed by finishing bottom of the standings year after year, but Dave 2-1. In the first Semi-Final game, 2003-2004 cham- takes an incredible toll on Jim, too. It’s like they pion Philip Shea played the Axis and defeated 2006 show up each year to kick each other in the butt second-place laurelist Andrew Murphy by a score and then laugh about it. Thus, Dave had named of 13 VTs (81 IPCs) to 11 VTs (85 IPCs), with the Al- his planes this year based on the amount of grief lies receiving a bid of 9 IPCs. In the second game, he has suffered in the past. With partial censorship, relative newcomer and eventual champion Ty the names were DENIAL (No *#$? Way Jim Shoots Hansen played the Axis and defeated 2006 cham- Me Down), DEPRESSION (I Scored 64 On My First pion Joseph Powell by a score of 13 VTs (70 IPCs) Mission. I’m So *@!%), and ACCEPTANCE (*&!@% to 11 VTs (96 IPCs), with the Allies receiving a bid It. We All Know Paul’s Gonna Win). Perhaps it was of 5 IPCs. acceptance that made all the difference! Thus, for the Final, Ty took on top laurelist A consolation prize went to Dave Gantt for Philip. Ty achieved victory as the Allies—the un- his last-place score of 24. Medals for Overall Per- derdogs in the tournament—by a score of 14 VTs formance went to Kevin Coombs (Bomb Wings); (96 IPCs) to 10 VTs (70 IPCs) in five rounds, with Steve Munchak (Navigator Wings); Jon Izer (Pilot the Allies receiving a bid of 7 IPCs. Wings)—with zero crew lost, he won a tie-breaker Compared to 2006, there were fewer con- over Eric Stranger and Kevin McCarthy; Steve ceded games in 2007 (12-9), but there were Munchak (Co-Pilot Wings); Dave Long (Flight En- also more games played without a bid (11-17). gineer Wings)—with 11 kills; Roger Knowles (Ra- Overall, the Axis won more than twice as often dio Operator Wings)—with two kills; Dave Long as the Allies (20-9). With no bids, the Axis won (Ball Gunner Wings)—with six kills; Rich Moyer 12-5 and with an Allied bid, (Port Waist Wings)—with five kills; Josh Weintraub the Axis won 7-4. The one time (Starboard Waist Wings)—with three kills; Dave a player bid for the Axis, the Long (Tail Gunner Wings)— Axis won. Average Axis bid with nine kills; and Evan Hitch- was 3 IPCs, while the average ings (Prisoner of War)—with 19 Allies bid was 4.55 IPCs. total POWs. 12 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Larry Lingle, PA Tom Gregorio, PA Ty Hansen, DC Randy Heller, NH Tom Morin, MA Steve Likevich, OH O David Metzger, NY O B. Sinigaglio, AK O S. Buonocore, NJ O Ed Witlowski, VA O Scott Nerney, RI O Johnny Hasay, PA

Peter Card, UK Randy Heller, NH 64  2001-2007 21  1999-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Philip Shea,VA 54 Randy Heller, NH 168 Ben Knight, MD 33 Tom Gregorio, PA 121 Larry Lingle, PA 30 Bob Ryan, MI 116 Jeff Cornett, FL 30 Phil Evans, VA 94 Robert Eastman, NV 30 Steve Likevich, OH 48 Barry Shoults, MI 30 Forrest Pafenberg, VA 45 Josh Githens, SC 30 Mike Mitchell, GA 38 Ilan Woll, CT 30 John Grant Jr., CT 35 Rich Ogata, VA 30 Larry Lingle, PA Jeff Mullet, OH 27 Tom Gregorio, PA David Metzger, NY 21 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 24

Battle Cry (BCY) Bitter Woods (BWD) t was a little scary—in a good way—to see the ewcomer Ed Witkowski proved to be this Isign-up queue stretch right out of the door Nyear’s wild card by defeating seasoned player and round the corner on the penultimate day of Marty Musella, but it was past champs, Tom Gre- the convention. The tournament format allowed gorio and designer Randy Heller who squared everyone play three games before whittling the off in the Final. Randy’s Germans fell flat on the field down to eight for the SE stage. If there were opening turn, but by Turn 3, he had recovered. more than eight triple winners, unbeaten play- A key Angriff attack along the Beho-Gouvy road ers would be eliminated based on tie-breakers. net trapped two full strength American units. On We dodged the bullet, as there were exactly eight the 17 AM turn, Tom was confronted with a 2-1 triple winners. Battles during the Swiss rounds (-1) attack in front of Stavelot and a 3-1 (-1) attack were New Market, New Hope Church, and on Malmedy. The latter had the potential to trap Brandy Station. several of Tom’s units NE of Malmedy. Lucky for This year saw a massacre of the usual suspects, Tom, Randy’s die rolls fell flat. Tom aggressively with few of last year’s finalists making it through counterattacked in the north, destroying no less to SE. The Quarter-Final was Port Republic, the than six German infantry units. Semi-Final was Third Winchester, and the Final In the south, Tom retained possession of Bas- was Big Black River Bridge, which saw rookie Lar- togne with the aid of the Middleton leader unit. ry Lingle face off against Ty Hansen. This scenario The climax of the game came with the opportunity includes a special rule for losses while fording the to capture Parker’s Crossroads on the 18th of De- river. (The GM was hoping for some drownings, cember. Randy needed either a 2-1 (-1) at the Salm- but both players treated the treacherous waters chateau bridge or a 3-1 (-1) on a surrounded unit with respect.) Larry came through in fine style, and at Gouvy to result in a defender retreat to open beat Ty both as the Union and as the Confedera- up a road net for mechanized exploitation. His die cy. Larry created a bit of anxiety for the rest of us rolls failed to cooperate. The Germans succeeded when he reported that his wife, who hadn’t come in capturing the Victory Point town of Trois Points, to WBC, beats him more often than not. We’ll have but only eliminated nine Ameri- our hands full if she makes it to the can units. In a valiant and suc- convention. cessful effort, Tom forced Randy Thanks to Richard Borg and to to throw in the towel on 19 AM, Jean-Baptiste Hebraud for provid- thus returning the crown to the ing several of the scenarios. 2002 champ. Century Events 13

2007 Results 2007 Results S. Raszewski, MD Jim Doughan, PA S. Shedden, TN N. Thompson, NY Frank Mestre, NY Mike Kaye, MD O Pat Mirk, FL  S. Andriakos, TX O A. Chitwood, TN O Mike Rinella, NY O Andrew Fedin, PA O M. Gutfreund, KY

Jeff Billings, MD :Andrew Cummins, UK 33  2004-2007 20  1994-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Steve Raszewski, MD 48 Don Greenwood, MD 298 David Huss, NY 30 A. Cummins, UK 272 Jeff Spaner, MD 30 Jim Doughan, PA 183 Chris Greenfield, NY 22 Alan Applebaum, MA 180 Rob Mull, CO 20 Nels Thompson, VA 178 Stephen Shedden, TN 18 Jim Eliason, IA 176 Matt Bacho, MD 18 Bryan Eshleman, NC 153 Andrew Fedin, PA 15 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 151 Frank Mestre, NY 12 Tom Dworschak, GA 136 Steven Raszewski, MD Jim Doughan, PA Kevin Brownell, ME 12 Henry Jones, PA 136

Brawling Battleships Steel (BBS) Breakout Normandy (BKN) he legendary curse of Mata Hari struck veteran ew contenders had as hard a road to victory as Tplayer Patrick Mirk in the Final when Andrew FJim Doughan. He had to beat 2004 champ Nels Chitwood made him the victim of both Mata Hari Thompson; 2005 champ and GM Andrew Cum- cards (draw two cards from an opponent’s hand) mins; and Don Greenwood, designer and 1998 and then used the Radio Intercept card (draw two WBC champ, three-time D-Day victor, and 2006 cards from the discard pile) to play Mata Hari on PBeM winner. him once again! Mirk wasn’t out, though, as he was In the Final, Nels bid 50 supply to play the Ger- able to fill his hand the next turn. mans. Jim’s Allies landed well. During a single wet As for the rest of the game, Stephen Shedden impulse on the 6th, Nels counterattacked Merville spent the first hand setting up dreadnoughts for from Troarn at 5:6 and failed, in a move he was to other players to sink. At the end of the first round regret. On the 7th, Jim cleared St. Mere Eglise and the score was Steve Raszewski 19, Andrew Fedin contested Caen, forcing Lehr and 12th SS to run 11, Mirk 5, Chitwood 4, Mestre 3 and Shedden 0. interdiction and sending several defenders retreat- As he was the main target for the second hand, ing out of the city at D2. Nels ran defenders under Raszewski tried in vain to play defensively. Fedin interdiction to defend Carentan on the 7th, units assumed the duty of damaging ships that others that should have been moved during the overcast would sink. At the end of the round the score was impulse of the 6th. Shedden 26, Raswewski 19, Mestre 19, Mirk 16, At this point, the German center was denuded, and Chitwood and Fedin 11 apiece. with defenders sucked into Carentan and Caen. In the third hand, Chitwood sank ships at an as- Nels began a risky gambit to draw impulses out of tounding rate, scoring over 40 points in destroyed Jim’s plan by defending forward. As he had to cov- battleships before his demise. Such visibility drew er St. Lo, he brought his fresh corps artillery from attention away from Shedden, and then a flurry of Foret. Jim repaired the Grandcamp causeway and attacks sank all his ships, reducing his score to 0 successfully contested St. Lo on a +1 assault with a and knocking him out of the round. Shedden con- unit of 1st Division. Jim followed up with a +2 as- tinued a spirited defense, as Raszewski, Mestre sault by a unit from the 29th Division that cleared and Mirk tried to knock him out of St. Lo, and Nels resigned, the Ger- the lead. In the end, the score was mans in a hopeless position giving Rszewski 35, Shedden 33, Mestre Jim the 2007 crown—his fourth— 28, Mirk 24, Chitwood and Fedin making him the undisputed mas- 11 each. ter of Normandy. 14 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Mike Fox, IL Steve Likevich, OH Nick Benedict, CA F. Pafenberg, VA Ewan McNay, CT Bob Ryan, MI Barry Smith, NY O Bill Morse, VA Jim Jordan, MD O B. Sinigaglio, AK O Sarah Sparks, ON O Bill Riggs, VA

James Jordan, MD Steve Likevich, OH 35  1991-2007 21  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Ewan McNay, CT 237 Steve Likevich, OH 122 Nick Benedict, PA 192 Forrest Pafenberg, VA 82 James Jordan, MD 80 Bob Ryan, MI 57 Scott Pfeiffer, SC 73 Phil Evans, VA 52 Mark Smith, KY 70 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 51 David Gantt, SC 70 Bill Morse, VA 48 Richard Curtin, NY 60 Frank Sinigaglio, NJ 21 David Yoon, NY 41 John Grant, Jr., CT 20 John Clarke, FL 19 Mike Fox, IL Mike Fox, IL 40 Steve Likevch, OH Llew Bardecki, ON 40 Randy Heller, MD 15

Britannia (BRI) Bulge ‘81 (B81) lthough wins per color were very even in 2006, orest Pafenberg expects bad dice in AGreen and Red reigned supreme in 2007, with Fthe playoffs. In the 2003 Final, he six and five victories, respectively. Blue and Yel- killed none of Steve Likevich’s Ameri- low had only two wins apiece. High score honors cans on the 16AM turn—a 1 in 802 chance. True demonstrated Ewan’s ability to score prodigious to form, Paffy’s Germans had a horrible opening sums. He had the high Green and Red scores, with in the Final, playing the eight-turn tournament 293 and 292 points respectively. Rick Kirchner scenario developed by Randy Heller. Out of 13 had a 245-point blue game and Kevin Sudy had a attacks, Forest only managed to kill one Ameri- 241-point yellow game. can and trap another. If an advance 4 versus the In the Final, Mike went from having the last in- Bloody 110 had not occurred, allowing the Ger- vasion to having the first with the Romans. Ewan mans to capture Clerveaux, Paffy would have came out in fine fashion with the Welsh declaring been shot at sunrise by the Fuhrer. that they would hunker down to five spaces and Paffy tried to take advantage of his success submit if not attacked. Barry’s foray with Boudicca at Clerveaux, but Steve was able to blunt the managed to burn London and garnered the Sussex offensive by holding adroitly in the rough- ter fort on an overrun. Meanwhile, Nick’s Brigantes rain between St. Vith and Clerveaux. As a result, huddled in the Pennines, Galloway, and Strath- Paffy’s attacks in the center resulted in Engaged clyde. Northern England was empty by Turn 15. daggers into Paffy’s heart or attacker retreats on A single Angle in Cheshire was all that contested low odds attacks. Mike’s Norwegians. Barry’s Normans went up Soon Paffy realized that Bastogne or Parker’s against a Saxon shield wall, losing all but one cav- Crossroad was not going to fall, so he surprised alry and three infantry. Steve with an all-out sledgehammer to capture By game end, few armies remained. The Sax- Stavelot and the Fuel Dump within. Unfortu- ons, seeing in William a tasty and ill-defended tar- nately, the dump in Stavelot is evacuated on the get, removed him from the game, putting Red in Allied 19AM turn as it was historically, so Paffy second place. Ultimately, though, Mike Fox’s Yel- had to take the town on the German 19AM turn. low held the winning spot, with 233 As fate would have it, Paffy points, Nick’s Red had 229, Ewan’s blew a 50-50 die roll to cap- green had 217 and Barry’s Blue had ture the town on 19AM and 204. Can you believe it was only finished the game with three Mike’s fourth game of Britannia! victory points—one short. Century Events 15

2007 Results 2007 Results Rob Winslow, NY Robbie Mitchell, VA Nick Page, ON M. Mattingly, PA O Jordan Flawd, PA Steve Oksienik, NJ O Lance Fogel, PA O Dan Henry, IL O Patrick Shea, VA O Robb Effinger, ON O Nate Hoam, OH O M. Wojtaszczyk, NY

Jeff Mullet, OH Tom McCorry, VA 116  2005-2007 77  2002-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Rob Winslow, NY 20 Richard Jones, UK 50 David Burkey, PA 20 L. Dan Hoffman, MD 50 Nick Page, ON 12 Scott Buckwalter, MD 42 Jay Fox, NJ 12 Robbie Mitchell, VA 39 Jordan Flawd, PA 8 Debbie Gutermuth, TX 33 Dan Hoffman, MD 8 Katie McCorry, VA 30 Lance Fogel, PA 6 Jennifer Drozd, IL 30 Steve Cameron, PA 6 Jay Fox, NJ 30 Patrick Shea, VA 4 Laurel Stokes, NJ 27 Rob Winslow, NY Robbie Mitchell, VA Matthew Amitrano, VA 4 Steve Crenshaw, VA 20

Can’t Stop (CNS) Carcassonne (CAR) hen all the shouting, laughter and dice n an effort to align our tournament with the Wrolling was done, former wargamer Rob IofficialCarcassonne World Championship for- Winslow came away with the coveted wood. It’s mat, 2007 brought a two-player, single elimina- “former” because Rob had an epiphany while tion competition. The Saturday schedule made refusing to stop rolling dice as he went for the it possible for weekend players to participate. win. He used to think games like Wilderness As it turned out, two of the top three players War that take lots of skill were his forte. It was only attended on Saturday! during the Can’t Stop tournament that Rob real- It took six rounds to crown a winner. The ized his true calling of rolling dice and putting highest single game score of the tournament was markers on an octagonal board! He has vowed recorded in the first round when Chris Greenfeld to practice all year and dares anyone to stop beat defending champion Katie McCorry 189-116. him from defending his title in 2008. By the start of Round 5, we had five players re- Fortunately, the game only takes about 20 maining. The GM played as an eliminator (not minutes and is very easy to learn, or the GM eligible to win in the tournament) to even out the would have had to turn away many of the players numbers, but he was beaten by eventual runner- who arrived without copies; the tournament was up Meredith Mattingly. Thus, three players ad- short despite eight copies hauled out from Ohio. vanced to the next round. (While the Parker Brothers version is long out of In the final round, Steve Oksienik lost to the print, Fantasy Flight has reprinted this Sid Sack- GM eliminator, so the winner was determined by son design, and you can pick it up pretty cheap- the other match, which went to Robbie Mitchell. If ly.) To address the need for more games, players Steve had beaten the GM, one more round would started rolling right away, even before the GM fin- have been needed to determine the winner. ished registering everyone. This freed up boards Overall, feedback was positive: games could as games finished and cut tournament time from be completed quickly and high skill levels were three hours to two. rewarded. Players missed being able to play more As in 2006, the tournament used “Slapshot games, though. As a result, next year’s tourna- seating,” which meant that every- ment will be Swiss Elimination, one was able to sit with friends or with groups of four players com- join a group with fewer than four peting in a round-robin, with the players and then start addictively top player from each group advanc- rolling dice. ing to a single-elimination playoff.. 16 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Andrew Gerb, MD Josh Githens, SC Rich Meyer, MA Nick Henning, CT Chris Trimmer, TX Paul Bolduc, FL M. Berenbach, MA Lane Hess, PA O Alfred Smith, NC Gerald Lientz, VA O Peter Putnam, MD O K. Wojtaszczyk, NY

Jeff Finkeldey, OH John Jacoby, VA 44  2006-2007 95  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Peter Putnam, MD 67 Josh Githens, SC 165 Jeremy Spencer, NC 40 Steve Katz, VA 144 Andrew Gerb, MD 38 Tom Saal, MI 120 Rod Spade, PA 22 Anthony Musella, VA 102 Rich Meyer, MA 18 Scott Sirianna, NY 80 Raphael Lehrer, MD 12 John Tighe, NJ 72 Chris Trimmer, TX 12 Bill Beckman, SC 72 Tom DeMarco, NJ 12 Frank Sinigaglio, NJ 68 Mike Stanley, OH 60 Andrew Gerb, MD Christine Frattali, WA 12 Josh Githens, SC Tom Browne, PA 10 Karl Henning, CT 50

Caylus (CYL) Circus Maximus (CMS) one of the finalists were repeats from last single brave charioteer entered the Final with Nyear, indicating that either the field is com- Aa medium chariot. He got so much attention petitive or that the better players have moved on to from the 11 heavy chariots that he had lost a horse other challenges. (We hope the former.) The Final by Turn 3. After that, it got ugly as heavies turned started quickly, and at the scoring of the dungeon, on heavies. Six teams had fewer than four animals Marc Berenbach and Rich Meyer were tied with 13, left by race end. Three drivers had no chariots to despite Marc not building a section in the castle. ride as they tried the new sand surfing sport that’s Chris Trimmer was third with 12, Alfred fourth all the rage in Rome these days...with fatal con- with 10, and Andrew trailed the field with 9, but sequences. This trend seemed to be brought on he was loading up on resources. by 34 missing wheel spokes...truly shoddy work- At the scoring of the walls, Rich had pushed manship by the wheelwright guild. An investiga- into the lead with 39, followed by Andrew (34), tion is under way. Chris (31), Alfred (26), and Marc (25). As the With all that carnage behind them, three game entered the later stages, Rich and Andrew chariots came out of the final turn with victory began to invest more heavily in the castle, sepa- in their grasp. Nick Henning, with eight spokes rating from the others with scores of 56 and 54, missing, finally risked increasing speed above 13 respectively, versus 38 for the other three. In the and flipped. Josh Githens’ team straddled the fin- end, Andrew edged Rich 82-81, with Chris not ish line with victory one space away. Experience far behind at 74. Marc and Alfred battled for the served him well, and a failed attack by another fourth and final wood spot, with Marc prevailing chariot allowed them to evade over the finish line 61 to 54. Andrew went unbeaten in the tourney, for the win. Meanwhile, Nick survived his body winning in both heats, the Semi and the Final, surfing lesson to finish second and Paul Bolduc for a truly dominating performance. evaded twice to cross the line for third. Josh was Building castle spaces was important, as the the only returning Laurelist, improving on his player with the most or second-most won 15 of the 2005 second-place finish that found him tied in 17 games reporting building stats. Chris managed distance over the finish line. He lost when his col- to build 11 in his five-player Semi. or was drawn after the winner. The Final supported the castle strat- In 2008, we’ll hold a demoli- egy, with first- and second-place tion derby heat played on a sin- captured by the high castle builders gle-, double- or triple-wide track. (7 and 9 versus 4, 4, and 6). The faint of heart need not enter. Century Events 17

2007 Results 2007 Results Bill O’Neal, NY Chris Trimmer, TX Jack Morrell, NY Doug Smith, PA Brian Conlon, CT Nick Palmer, UK O Allan Kaplan, NJ O Jim Castonguay, PA O Peter Stein, OH O Ted Simmons, NJ O Jeff Cornett, FL O Lyman Moquin, DC

Andy Lewis, DE Steve Simmons, NJ 36  2006-2007 17  2003-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Bill O’Neal, NY 52 Ted Simmons, NJ 36 Tony Curtis, OK 30 Chris Trimmer, TX 30 Jack Morrell, NY 24 Lyman Moquin, DC 28 Andy Finkel, UK 18 Doug Smith, PA 20 Brian Conlon, CT 16 Thomas Browne, PA 19 Allan Kaplan, NJ 12 Peter Staab, PA 18 Rob March, CA 9 Paul Skrabut, FL 16 Peter Stein, OH 8 Steve Simmons, NJ 13 Nick Palmer, UK 12 Bill O’Neal, NY David Burkey, PA 6 Chris Trimmer, TX Jeff Cornett, FL 4 Roger Whitney, FL 10

Commands & Colors (CCA) Die Macher (DIM) strong group of 36 players gathered for the he 2007 tournament began with four Afirst round to play Hippacritea from the Tpreliminary games (three 4-player and Truceless Wars scenario pack. For side selection, one 5-player) on Monday, followed by a players bid the discards they were willing to give Tuesday morning Final. These preliminary games their opponent. The results were an even split, 27 produced five winners, thanks to a first place tie wins for each side. The Roman player got most of between Chris Trimmer and Jim Castonguay. Join- the discards, with Carthage only picking them up ing them in the Final were Nick Palmer, defending in four games. Ten Roman players won without champion Ted Simmons and Doug Smith. any extra discards. Sixteen players advanced to the The Final opened with a size 60 region. It second round to play Leptis. The average bid for proved to be the largest of the game. Eight Media the 22 games was 3.9 discards. This was a lopsided Markers went into the region. Chris had three, affair, 18-4 in favor of Carthage. Only the winner of Ted and Nick two, and Doug one. This gave Chris each group of four advanced. In one group, three Media Control, which he used to change a public of the four players went 2-1. The tie-breaker was opinion card to match his platform and conflict winning as the Romans. with Ted’s. His maneuver enabled a coalition of The four semi-finalists played Raphia. They himself and Doug to win the first region. played the same opponent twice, once on each Chris targeted key regions, seized Media Con- side. Brian Conlon faced Bill O’Neal, a repeat semi- trol and effectively deployed his Shadow Cabinet finalist, and Jack Morrell faced Allan Kaplan. Both members. Single parties won three of the seven match-ups were decided when one player won regions, and the rest went to coalitions. Chris and both sides. Allen had brought his painted and Doug won three regions. Nick and Jim won twice mounted miniatures set, but he hadn’t prepared and Ted had a single region win. Three regions any of the figures for the first Expansion and lost were won by a “Short Head”, including the region when he had to play with blocks. 7, where three parties all reached 50 votes. Chris This set up a Final battle between two Roches- won region 7 thanks to winning the turn order ter area players—Bill and Jack. Bill’s Ro- bid and choosing to move last. This mans did very well at Magnesia, win- gave Chris the final opportunity to ning 7-1 and putting pressure on Jack. move an opinion card to the National Bill trailed in the rematch, but managed Board, which sealed his victory. Final to take the two required banners about standings were Chris 425, Doug 406, halfway through the last match. Nick 363, Jim 289, and Ted 271. 18 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Nick Palmer, UK Bill Dyer, IL Robert Vollman, AB Brad Johnson, IL R. Jacques, QC Joe Abrams, CT Paul Konka, MD O Phil Barcafer, PA O TJ Halberstadt, IN O Rob Barnes, WV O Dave Sidelinger, CT O G. McMaster, ON

Tom Pasko, CT Brad Johnson, IL 25  1991-2007 28  1992-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Nick Benedict, CA 115 Bill Dyer, IL 120 Andy Marshall, MD 96 Phil Barcafer, PA 72 Tom Pasko, CT 76 Steve Koehler, NC 70 Andy Bartalone, MD 60 Joe Abrams, CT 64 Alvaro Ugaz, VA 60 Brad Johnson, IL 42 Simon Bouton, UK 60 Andrew Clark, AZ 40 Rick Desper, MD 56 Jay Schlaffer, DC 40 Tom Kobrin, NC 48 Glenn McMaster, ON 31 A.M. Dilworth, NY 30 Nick Palmer, UK Ric Manns, IN 48 Bill Dyer, IL David Hood, NC 42 Tony Burke, NJ 30

Diplomacy (DIP) Dune (DUN) verall play for the weekend displayed lots of ob Barnes, the only newcomer to the final Ocooperation and very little stabbing. In fact, Rround, drew his favorite, the Guild; 2005 there was so little stabbing that the ‘Silver Shiv’ champ Phil Barcafer drew the Emperor; 2003 award had to be saved for 2008. Only one point champ Bill Dyer drew the Atreides; 1998 champ separated first and second place, and the -differ Brad Johnson drew the Bene Gesserit; Glenn Mc- ence between third through seventh added up to Master drew the Fremen; and Joe Abrams drew only eight points total. the Harkonnen. (Incidentally, the last four com- Friday’s game 1 ended up as a 5-way [EFIRT], prised the team Three Men and a Canadian, but they while game 2 ended up as a 4-way [EFIT]. That sec- were already out of contention for the team plaque, ond game produced Nick Palmer’s Best England, so there was no conflict of interest.) Robert Vollman’s Best France, Romain Jacques’ Almost immediately several battles erupted Best Turkey and Gerry Fahrenthold’s Best Italy. As over spice blows. The Guild snapped up two we were short a player, the GM held positions on strongholds in Turn 1, and the BG sent advisors both boards, with Game 1 being his official score to all corners of the planet. House Atreides and for the tournament. The other six players were House Harkonnen allied in Turn 2 and almost im- more than happy to make his life easy and booted mediately contended for the win, with the Harkon- the Austrian position from the board. Coopera- nen pushing the Guild out of Tuek’s Sietch. The tion held strong on Saturday, as well, with another other factions were forced to ally and cooperate 5-way [EFGIT] finish. against the leaders to keep the game going. With Sunday’s first game ended as a 6-way [AE- the appearance of a critical worm in Turn 5, the At- GIRT]. The second ended as another 5-way [AEF- reides abandoned a weakened Harkonnen ally and GR] that produced T.J. Halberstadt’s Best Germany allied with the BG. The combination of the Voice and Paul Konrk’s Best Russia. End game draw dis- and Prescience was a fearsome opponent, particu- cussions were entertaining, as players pointed out larly with the various gaps in battle card owner- the strengths in their positions. All surviving play- ship known by the Atreides. With relatively large ers had to unanimously agree to the draw vote. treasuries, careful analysis, and a little Thus, discussions with weaker positions centered luck, the BG and Atreides were able on convincing them to agree to vote to take control of the requisite four themselves out of the draw. One of strongholds and win a fairly short the best ‘lines’ was: “You could cut game. The Atreides held three of the irony with a knife.” the four to take first place. Century Events 19

2007 Results 2007 Results Robb Effinger, ON Eric Brosius, MA Winton Lemoine, CA Dave Steiner, DE Mike Hazel, SC Bill Duke, MD O Rich Meyer, MA Cliff Ackman, PA O Mike Nickeloff, CA B. Eshleman, NC O Brian Kowal, WI O D. Gutermuth, TX

Rob Flowers, MD Tom Dunning, NY 68  1999-2007 62  1999-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jason Levine, NY 62 Jim Yerkey, MD 110 Rob Flowers, MD 52 Tom Dunning, NY 92 Greg Thatcher, FL 50 Richard Meyer, MA 82 Charlie Kersten, OH 40 Steve Okonski, MD 70 Jay Fox, NJ 40 Donna Balkan, ON 61 Mark Guttag, VA 40 Eric Brosius, MA 50 Stu Hendrickson, VA 36 Harald Henning, CT 50 David Buchholz, MI 32 Bill Navolis, PA 50 Robb Effinger, ON 30 Debbie Gutermuth, TX 45 Robb Effinger, ON Eric Brosius, MA Anthony Burke, NJ 30 Paul Van Bloem, MD 40

El Grande (ELG) Empire Builder (EPB) n a Final game that was almost all about scoring ttendance was up in 2007, but these players Icards, former Laurelist Mike Hazel focused on Alimited their games to Empire Builder with securing first place in regions and making gener- Mexico, EuroRails, Lunar Rails, Iron Dragon, Empire ous use of the Castillo. He placed several pieces on Builder without Mexico and Assistant GM Bob the board early, though his position was fairly con- Stribula’s development copy of Martian Rails. Mark centrated. Robb Effinger and Winton Lemoine also Kennel earned the top seed in the Semi-Final by built up their board position, but they didn’t put as winning all three of his heats. Tom Dunning earned many pieces into the Castillo as Mike. the second seed by winning both of the heats he Robb started off the scoring on his first turn entered. Inger Henning also won two heats and with a “Score the Region with the Most Cabal- claimed third seed. leros.” He managed to manipulate the board to Nineteen winners and six alternates advanced score twice, borrowing Rich Meyer’s home region, to five-player Semi-Final games where many of and jumping out to a lead that he would maintain the regular suspects got their comeuppance from for the duration. Robb played three scoring cards newcomers. In the closest game, Cliff Ackman throughout the game, and he was so well posi- squeeked by former finalist Debbie Gutermuth 268 tioned that he often benefitted from other players’ to 267. It was the second year in a row she missed scoring cards. In the end, he scored as many points the Final despite holding more than 250 in cash. from other players’ score cards as his own, and For her efforts, she received 6th place Laurels. earned 56 points from scoring cards alone. The EuroRails Final itself was reminiscent of the Though Mike and Winton dominated the main 2005 championship, with the first player into Spain scoring rounds, they could not overcome the gap. taking a commanding lead early in the game and Mike came close in Turn 8, when a scoring card never looking back. Eric had good cards almost the allowed him to gain 23 points to Robb’s 6. Mike’s entire game. While delivering a Tourist to Valencia, hopes were dashed the next turn, when the “Score he brought along a speculation Tourist. His gamble the 6 and 7 regions” card came out. Since Rich no paid off when he proceeded to draw another Tour- longer had his 13, Winton took control, gaining 15 ist to Valencia demand card. His karma faltered points to Mike’s 1 and Robb’s 8. This when the Tax Card caught him at 216, secured first place for Robb, leaving but a demand for Cork in Ruhr helped Winton and Mike to battle it out for pay his tax loss and put him over at second. In the end, the two were tied, 260. The closest competitor finished a with Winton taking the tiebreaker. distant 105. 20 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Winton Lemoine, CA Bruce Reiff, OH Eric Brosius, MA Bert Schoose, IL O Richard Irving, CA Joe Powell, VA O Roderick Lee, CA O Dave Denton, NY O Ted Simmons, NJ O Bill Cleary, MD O Ed Kendrick, UK O M. Birnbaum, NY

Arthur Field, SC Nathaniel Hoam, OH 43  1993-2007 35  1991-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Aaron Silverman, FL 44 Bruce Reiff, OH 197 Doug Hoylman, MD 42 Bill Cleary, MD 90 Richard Irving, CA 32 Ken Whitesell, MD 63 Randy Cox, SC 31 Kevin Keller, MD 33 Richard Meyer, MA 30 Ray Stakenas II, MI 30 Winton LeMoine, CA 28 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 24 Pitt Crandelmire, MA 24 David Rynkowski, NY 24 Paul Bean, MA 20 Paul O’Neil, MD 21 Bert Schoose, IL 18 Winton Lemoine, CA Sean McCulloch, OH 20 Bruce Reiff, OH Shantanu Saha, NY 20 Jason Levine, NY 18

Facts In Five (FI5) Football Strategy (FBS) ll contestants played four puzzles, ews Flash: Bruce Reiff lost the Final this year. Awith categories drawn from history, NUnfortunately, he also won. Confused? Be- general knowledge, and sports, with a bit cause so many players entered on Wednesday, it of geography thrown in for good measure. For the was narrowed to the final four contenders only first puzzle, Leonard Omolecki led the pack with a after midnight. Bill Cleary faced Bruce Reiff, while score of 15 out of a possible 25, closely followed by Kevin Keller faced Joe Powell. Bruce’s game came Richard Irving and Winton Lemoine with 14 each. down to a field goal with 15 seconds left. At this For Puzzle 2, English gamer Ed Kendrick knew point, it was so late that Kevin and Joe postponed every Gilbert & Sullivan operetta but didn’t know their game till Friday. This posed a dilemma for any Popular American magazines. Larry Lingle got Bruce, who would normally enter the second heat all the Gettysburg Generals but none of the Men’s only if he lost the first. Since he couldn’t be sure of Olympic Alpine skiing gold medalists. Rod Lee victory in the first, he entered the second heat and and Rich Fetzer both scored 15, closely followed by risked winning both! Eric Brosius and Winton Lemoine, with 14 and 12, On Thursday, Bert Schoose dispatched Mar- respectively. The high score dropped to 13 (Gordon vin Birnbaum 23-16 to play Bruce for a spot in Rodgers) for puzzle 3. The final puzzle had a bo- the Final game. It went to sudden death overtime. nus 6th category: Julie Andrews movies; Cities in Bruce was able to find a wide open receiver, and Thurn & Taxis game or Swiss cantons; Jethro Tull a 44-yard pass ended the game. Bruce advanced albums; Books of the New Testament; First names to the Final, where he had the distinct possibility of Gilmore Girl characters; and Images of people of facing himself. On Friday, the two longtime ad- on Sgt. Pepper album cover. Richard Irving led the versaries Kevin and Joe found time to play. Kevin pack with a high score of 15. Once again, Winton jumped out to an early lead, but Joe’s kicker scored came in tied for second with Lee, Simmons and a field goal in the last minutes of the game to seal Brosius. Top scores were Lemoine 46; Brosius 45; it. Joe advanced to play Bruce, knowing that if he Irving 44; Simmons 42; Drozd 42; Rodgers 40 and defeated the Titan of the WBC Gridiron, he would Kendrick 37. Winton did not ‘win’ a single round, have to play him again for the championship. He but his two second place finishes and was spared that agony, because the good showings on the other puzzles final score was 27-17 in Bruce’s favor. amassed enough consistent right an- Thus, since he was the winner of both swers to barely edge fierce competi- heats, Bruce technically faced himself tors Eric Brosius and Richard Irving. for the championship game. Century Events 21

2007 Results 2007 Results James Pei, TX Lance Fogel, PA Mark Giddings, NY Patrick Maloney, PA Tim Miller, GA Josh Githens, SC Tom Thornsen, NY O David Albin, PA O Chris Byrd, CT O H. Anderson, PA O Bob Sohn, NJ O Nick Henning, CT

Mark Herman, MD Ilan Woll, CT 30  1999-2007 60  2000-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists James Pei, VA 466 Barry Smith, NY 89 David Dockter, MN 147 Lance Fogel, PA 72 Mark Giddings, NY 117 Jason Levine, NY 60 Trevor Bender, CA 62 Robert Kircher, MA 38 Stefan Mecay, TX 60 Roderick Lee, CA 36 Mike Mitchell, GA 47 James Kendrick, UK 30 Tim Miller, GA 40 Steve May, MD 30 Nicholas Pei, CA 38 Keith Levy, MD 30 Baron August, PA 36 Rob Runnicles, FL 24 James Pei, TX Lance Fogel, PA Peter Reese, VA 28 Patrick Maloney, PA 18

For The People (FTP) Formula De (FDE) s always, the thought on everyone’s mind was n the day before NASCAR’s Pocono 500, race Awould James Pei repeat yet again? James’ Ofans came down state to catch the real action nemesis, David Dockter, was unable to find a VTC at Lancaster’s famous “10th Anniversary” race facility in Moscow, but other perennial contenders course for the finale of the WBC Formula De sea- and a new crop of rookies vied for the chance to son. After 12 preliminary races in locations ranging unseat Pei. The man of the hour ended up being from Bahrain to China to Watkins Glen, 10 finalists Mark Giddings, perennially in the top four, who were ready to duke it out. At the pole was Beth- fought brilliantly to reach the Final. lehem, PA’s favorite son Lance Fogel as the only Pei’s South captured Kentucky in 1861. multiple-heat winner. Giddings proceeded to capture Columbus, Ga. At the Virage Droopy curve in Lap 1, Kevin During the post mortem, James said this force Hacker’s risk-taking didn’t pay off, and he became deep in Dixie was his biggest concern in the a grease stain on the wall. That curve also took out game. In classic Pei fighting style, he defended Chris Palermo. He lost control and flipped after by attacking. James put pressure in the East that hitting some debris that had been Kevin Hacker’s kept the initiative and the Union desperately, but transmission. Nick Henning had better luck and successfully, defending the North and well-timed earned the “Best use of a Mulligan” award when he ironclad builds kept the Union naval forces at bay. rerolled a 23, which would have left him five spac- During Turn 5, a frustrated South sought es shy of Rod Runner’s Turn, and got a 28. Lap 2 refuge in the political game. James opened with was where Lance Fogel made his move and pulled Dixie, taking his SW over 110. Giddings had no into the lead. Constant high speeds were taking effective response, and James got relief when their toll, though. Jason Levine’s engine caught fire, Europe entered the fray with Foreign Intervention. ending the two-time defending champ’s quest for a The Union wasn’t finished. The following turn, three-pete and then Nick Henning could not slow Giddings ended with a Locomotive shortage down enough to avoid becoming the final victim followed by a Major Campaign. He made three of the track. The last two turns saw the survivors desperate assaults to capture Richmond. The assured of Laurels. Harrison Anderson’s strategy dice failed to support his effort, and when the of safe driving kept him around when others be- dust settled, Morgan’s Cavalry came track debris. At the end, Brigade was the lone survivor. frequent laurelist Lance Fogel With the writing on the wall, finally ended his drought in Mark graciously conceded. the Formula De finals. 22 Century Events

2007 Results 2007 Results Dan Lewis, DE Jeffrey Hacker, PA Ed Bielcik, NJ Victor Hogen. CA Brandon Bernard, NJ John Pack, CO O Katie McCorry, VA O Pat Richardson, VA O John Speck, MD O Nick Hanning, CT O Chris LeFevre, AZ O John Kilbride, PA

Chris LeFevre, AZ John Pack, CO 70  2001-2007 72  1992-2007

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Lisa Gutermuth, TX 48 Pitt Crandlemire, MA 132 Dan Lewis, DE 30 Nick Henning, CT 122 Matt Evinger, PA 30 John Pack, CO 86 Bill Place, PA 30 Nick Smith, UK 74 Mike Stachowski, NY 30 Jim Castonguay, PA 54 Debbie Gutermuth, TX 30 Mark Love , MD 53 Steve Cameron, PA 28 Jeffrey Hacker, PA 40 Katie McCorry, VA 27 Tom Richardson, VA 40 Victor Hogen, CA 34 Dan Lewis, DE Ron Wuerth, VA 27 Jeffrey Hacker, PA Brandon Bernard, PA 18 Robert Buccheri, MD 32

Formula Motor Racing (FMR) Gangsters (GSR) ualifying for the Final for the second straight effrey Hacker moved to “The Head” of the class Qyear, Katie McCorry and Brandon Bernard Jby collecting 10 joints around Chicago almost be- were assured of back-to-back Laurels, but experi- fore anyone else noticed and putting an end to the ence couldn’t boost them over 10-year-old Danny record number of championships won with cash. Lewis, the youngest winner to ever claim victory Turn 1 set the tone. Pat “El Jefe” Richardson in a Century event. seduced a Racketeer from Victor “The Waiter” Ho- Katie took the points lead by winning Race 1, gen. The Head proceeded to vamp El Jefe, followed with Danny Lewis finishing second and John Speck by the Waiter vamping John “The Viper” Pack, and taking third and fourth place. Two cars ended up The Viper seducing one of El Jefe’s men. It was the out of the race—Chris LeFevre blew an engine and Gangsters version of the Circle of Life, at least until Katie spun out in her second car. (This was a trend Robocop mowed down El Jefe’s pair of Thugs. On for Katie.) Brandon scored big in Race 2, with a first Turn 2, The Head lost a single Thug to T.J. Hooker and third, with Ed taking 2nd and 4th. In the third (Cop #7). On the next turn, Dirty Harry (Cop #9) race, Danny had a first place finish, Katie’s only car riddled The Head’s Vamp with bullet holes and took second, and Chris finally managed to get a Kojak (Cop #6) took out another Thug. Despite few race points. It was halfway through and scores the losses, The Head’s remaining thug collected were tight: Katie 18, Brandon and Danny 16, Ed enough funds to purchase cheap gin joints. On and John 12, and Chris 4. Turn 6, The Head was able to neutralize John Mc- In Race 4, Danny pulled ahead of Katie, but Clane (Cop #8) with a bribe, and The Viper made everyone except GM Chris still had a chance...at a critical mistake and forgot to buy Astoria House. least until four teams lost cars in Race 5. Danny On Turn 7, The Viper again forgot to make the pur- added to his lead, while Brandon overtook Katie’s chase. On Turn 8, The Head collected no money, score. In the final race, Ed finished first and second but the other gangs realized that he was only two to claim second overall. Although one of Danny’s joints from victory. The Viper managed to shoot up cars blew an engine, his lead proved insurmount- one of The Head’s joints, but on Turn 9, able. Katie kept her trend going by losing a fourth The Head was able to pick up an eighth car to Spin Out, and she adjourned to study her joint and a bunch of cash. On Turn 10, driver’s manual. The tally at Robocop slayed The Head’s remaining the end was Danny 42, Ed 31, Thug. On Turn 12, The Head was able Brandon 28, Katie 23, John to buy his tenth joint and recruit a full 20, and Chris 12. gang with money to spare.