Contents 1

is an association of boardgame enthusiasts incorporated as a non-profit company BPA in the state of South Carolina for the express purpose of hosting the annual gaming conference known as the World Boardgaming Championships, or WBC for short. It offers tourna- ments, vendors, an auction, demonstrations, seminars, open gaming, and Juniors programs. In addition, for those who can’t get enough, we offer Play-by-Email-Tournaments. We love boardgam- ing competition—from wargames and Eurogames to racing, sports, and rail games, and we make no apologies for it. It’s what we do. And we’ve done it better than anybody else by default for decades. This yearbook documents BPA events of the previous year. Aside from the back cover, it does not contain scheduling information for the upcoming convention. Schedules and event previews will appear in a separate program and online at boardgamers.org. In fact, on our website, you’ll find more pre- and post-event information than any place on the net—over 1,000 pages of it. It’s not very lucra- tive or cost effective, but we think it demonstrates our commitment to this hobby. To help support BPA, take a moment to subscribe to our FREE e-mail newsletter via the web- site and continue to spread the good news about our association and its activities.

Credits Convention Director: Don Greenwood Webmaster & Publicity: Kaarin Engelmann Board Chairman & Treasurer: Ken Gutermuth Secretary: Bruce Monnin Assistant Treasurer: Peter Stein Incorporator: Scott Pfeiffer Contents BPA Logo: Mark Simonitch Team Tournament Top 25...... Inside Front Cover Cover Art: Kurt Miller 2014: Year in Review...... 2 Photography: Debbie Gutermuth, Charlie Kibler Century Events...... 3 PBeM Coordinator: Hank Burkhalter Trial Events...... 58 Online Discussion Board: John Kranz Play-By-Email Champions...... 64 Kiosk Prints: Jeff Billings Board of Directors...... 67 Legal Counsel: Ralph Gleaton Team Champions...... 68 Printing: Lost Battalion Games Hobby Service Award...... 69 Insurance: Phil Barcafer Caesar Award...... 70 Exclusive Show Vendor: Decision Games Consul Award...... 71 Security: Ken Whitesell GM of the Year...... 72 Juniors Room Monitors: Joanna Melton, Sportsmanship Award...... 73 Crystal Shipley Looking Ahead...... 74 Juniors Program Coodinator: Laurie Wojtaszczyk Patrons...... 78 AREA Ratings: Glenn Petroski, Bruno Wolff Things to do in 2016...... 80 Team Handicaps: Stuart Tucker, Jeff Cornett 2014 Pre-Cons...... Inside Back Cover Auction: Bruce Reiff, Ken Gutermuth, Jeff Omens; Event Starts...... Back Cover Mullet, et al Religious Services: John Poniske Proof Reading: Bruce Monnin Signs and Tech Support: Roy Gibson Web Personal Scheduler: Steve Okonski Team Logos: David Dockter, Kaarin Engelmann Open Gaming Monitor: Paul Bean Library Coordinator: Keith Levy Social Networks Answer Person: Scott Nerney Registration Staff: Charlie Kibler, Judy Kibler, Jessica Greenwood and Tara Greenwood Sponsors: Alliance Distributors, Nicolas 1541 Redfield Rd., Bel Air, MD 21015-5739 Benedict, Bill Crenshaw, David desJardins, www.boardgamers.org • [email protected] Chris Easter, Ken Gutermuth, Rick Northey, August 4-10, 2014 • August 3-9, 2015 Rio Grande Games, and Jerald R. Tracy Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster, PA 2 2014: Year in Review Century Events 3

2014 may well be remembered as the year Nick Henning who won FIVE titles—a hereto- the public forums changed from pillorying fore never achieved total that rendered my usu- 2014 Results 2014 Results the Lancaster Host to criticizing the decision al baseball analogies obsolete. The accomplish- Bruce Beard, MD David Platnick, VA to leave it. Venue changes are always contro- ment was even more impressive because Nick Anthony Lainesse, qc Karl Buchholz, MI versial and this one was no different. The an- had won only one of those events previously. Mason Murray, VA Sean Maher, WV nounced change of location to Pennsylvania’s As one might expect when someone wins Andy Roosen, MD Steven Alfierei, PA Seven Springs Mountain Resort two years five tournaments in one WBC, Nick was to be S. Hamblen, MD O Joe Millovich, PA hence aroused much comment, pro and con, as a prominent and recurring name in the various F. deBellefeuille, qc O Erik Schlosser, PA was expected. Much of it predictably was pred- metagaming honors of WBC 2014. He start- Tom McCorry, VA Nick Ferris, MD icated on whether the change in venue moved ed by anchoring his team’s record breaking WBC closer to or farther from those offering 30-point performance as his Now Playing team 55  1991-2014 151  2011-2014 an opinion. The oft repeated amenity concerns took the Team Tournament with a dominating of prior years took a decidedly subdued posi- performance by his fellow young Turks (Dave Top Laurelists Top Laurelists tion in the ensuing discussions. Virtual tours Meyaard, Jon Gemmel, and brother Karl) by Bruce Beard, MD 512 Andrew Emerick, CT 58 of the new venue in repeated looped presenta- besting the previous scoring record by 25%. Jim McDanold, TN 120 David Platnick, VA 56 tions calmed more than a few fears and most The 22nd ranked 50-1 entry bested the third Spencer Hamblen, MD 108 Matthew Beach, MD 50 left with a hopeful wait and see attitude about ranked Harry B’s by six points—a virtual land- Jon Kwiatkowski, NC 104 Kelly Czyryca, MD 40 Paul Hakken, NJ 103 Luann Stubbs, PA 30 what this latest turn in WBC evolution had in slide in Team Tournament scoring. Barrington Beavis, uk 90 Bill Zurn, CA 30 store for them. Another peek at that future is But there’s where the magic ended. The Mark Neale, RI 72 Dominic Blais, qc 30 contained on pages 74-80. biggest surprise of the post-WBC Award an- Akihisa Tabei, jp 58 Karl Buchholz, MI 24 Meanwhile, we set another attendance re- nouncements came when Nick was NOT pro- Bruce Beard, MD Andrew Roosen, MD 54 David Platnick, VA Dan Shmueli, NY 24 Jeremy Vipperman, TN 54 Lissa Rennert, MD 24 cord during our ninth year in Lancaster. In claimed Caesar—or even Consul—finishing all, players from over 50 states and Canadian second in both categories to James Pei and Rich- provinces plus a record 21 nations attended ard Beyma respectively. Nick’s 169 laurels were 18XX (8XX) Seven Wonders (7WS) in 2014. 24 events drew triple-digit participa- 7 less than Pei’s total which benefitted from a 1830 remained the game of choice As in 2013, the tournament favored smaller, more tion—another all time high! All of the sched- 36-laurel boost from the preceding year’s email with 20 plays. 1862 generated nine plays, strategic table groupings. And as in the year before, uled 159 events achieved tournament status event results—which had, in turn, cost James followed by 1846 (4), 1880 (4), 1861 (3), preliminary round matches consisted of two games with fields ranging from a minimum of eight the Caesar award in 2013 when they were not 18EU (2), 1856 (2) and 1870 (1). awarding advancement points to players depending to a record 303 players for Ticket to Ride. credited to 2013, but delayed to 2014. Simi- Bruce Beard and Andy Roosen entered Round on their finishing places. With 4-player games return- 2 unbeaten in four games to claim the top seeds. ing as the preliminary round matchup of choice, 151 14 reigning WBC champions successfully larly, Nick’s 109 WBC laurels finished second Italian Fabio Pellegrino took the third seed at 3-1. players at 38 tables took part in the 7 Wonders quali- defended their titles, led by the Master, James to Richard Beyma’s 128, when Nick’s Through Nine players tied with two wins. 20 of 22 win- fiers in 2014 without benefit of multiple heats. The Pei, who extended his latest streak in For The the Ages win was judged a Pre-Con event while ners persevered for the semifinal so no alternates preliminaries continued to be tight with all but six of People to six years to maintain his hold on Richard’s Grognard laurels were not. made the cut—disappointing former champion the 50 advancing players winning at least one of their WBC’s longest current winning streak. Curt With upsets the order of the week, it was Barrington Beavis and Andy Lewis with seven first two games--and nearly a dozen winning both. Collins II remained his closest pursuer with tough sledding for prognosticators again with seconds between them. Two 1830 semifinal games As in the previous year, the single quarterfinal match his fourth straight Union Pacific title. Other Andrew Maly winning the Annual Team Tour- were played, one 1862 game and one epic 1880 proved a far tougher trial with some players adopt- contenders in this 14-member pack were Pe- nament Bracket Busting contest with just four game that seated the last two champions Bruce ing meta-gaming strategies to increase their chances ter Gurneau (Combat Commander) and Eric correct picks—albeit the top four. That proved Beard and Spencer Hamblen, Ken Gutermuth, of advancement--eschewing riskier Science gambits Wrobel (Merchant of Venus) who successfully crucial as the winning tiebreaker to separate Herbert Gratz, and Eric Brosius. Spencer started for “safer” Military and Civic building. slow but came on strong at the end but too late to The 4-player semis advanced only first places and defended their third straight title in their re- himself from Andrew Drummond, Ewan Mc- catch the perennial top seed, falling short by $500. the single best runner-up into the one-less-than-last-year spective specialties. Nay, Mark Love and …ahem, Nick Henning A consolation game for the runner-up semifi- two-game “Gauntlet of Doom” finals. Still starting with 113 new champions were crowned for again …who were the only others to manage to nalists was held to determine 5th and the ever so a 6-player matchup including cards from the 7 Wonders: the first time, including 35 who claimed their select four correct teams in ten picks. rare 6th place Sand Plaque. Bruce and Andy won Leader expansion. Karl Buchholz came in second to Ste- first WBC title of any kind. That left 46 enjoy- As disappointing as all those near misses their fifth straight games to make the Final with ven Alfieri on the tiebreaker, followed by David Platnick ing another taste of victory in their favored must have been, Nick was destined for one Anthony Lainesse and newcomer Mason Murray in (last year’s third place finisher overall) and Sean Maher. event—with 29 of them claiming higher more “almost” performance when the mem- an 1830 game wherein Bruce demonstrated his mas- In Game 2, Alfieri never found his point niche, Boardmaster status with their third (or more) bership vote left him once again second in our tery once again, winning for the ninth time in ten while Maher and Buchholz struggled over Science championship in their game of choice. 92 play- Annual Sportsmanship Award vote. This time years with a score of $8929, $2000 ahead of Antho- and Military supremacy. Giza-building ers earned their first laurels to claim genuine the honor went to Tom Gregorio who captured ny. Mason came in third with Andy finally tasting Platnick finished his 15-point Wonder defeat in his sixth contest. Spencer Hamblen won and scored heavily on two Guilds-- contender bonafides in the years to come. 15 13.3% of the vote to Nick’s 12.6% to win free the consolation game to earn 5th enough to give him a decisive 56-point gents managed to win two events each while lodging at WBC 2015. Both had been nomi- place laurels and Francois de victory and the tournament. Buchholz the ladies’ market share shrunk by 40% as only nated for allowing opponents to correct or redo Bellefeuille came in second again trailed at a distant 49, and Maher took six achieved the top rung in 2014. But all were moves that eventually cost them a win and a to earn sand and his fez. third via tiebreaker with 47. overshadowed by the awesome performance of shot at their respective tournaments. 4 Century Events Century Events 5

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Larry Loiacono, PA Trella Bromley, FL John Clarke, VA Nick Henning, DC L. Van De Graf, NJ Nathan Barhorst, MI Bruno Sinigaglio, AK David Hood, NC Rich Atwater, WA Tedd Mullally, NJ O Jon Lockwood, VA Jeff Mullet, OH O Malinda Kyrkos, NY Christina Harley, VA O Bill Morse, VA O Tedd Mullally, NJ O Paul Klaydar, KS Rob Fournier, MI O M. McCandless, LA O Mark Smith, KY O Jeff Meyer, MA Kevin Youells, PA O Richard Beyma, VA O John Stevens, NY

Cliff Ackman, PA Kevin Youells, PA Jon Lockwood, VA Tedd Mullally, NJ 80  1991-2014 43  1991-2014 41  1991-2014 25  1996-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Justin Childs, FL 88 Kevin Youells, PA 441 Vince Meconi, DE 245 Jeff Mullet, OH 466 Joshua Cooper, MD 69 Doug Galullo, MD 352 Jon Lockwood, VA 208 Bill Crenshaw, VA 331 Matt Calkins, VA 60 Shantanu Saha, NY 199 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 179 Ken Gutermuth, NC 276 Steve Shambeda, PA 54 Joe Gundersen, IN 186 Bert Schoose, IL 156 Ewan McNay, CT 271 Gary Moss, MO 51 Mads Lunau, dk 156 Ed Menzel, CA 118 Harald Henning, CT 261 Jason Ley, WA 45 Christina Harley, VA 144 John Popiden, CA 108 Carl Damcke, IL 200 David Gantt, SC 44 Eric Gundersen, NJ 125 Randy Heller, MD 81 Steve Simmons, NJ 197 Phil Bradley, IL 38 Harald Henning, CT 80 Lane Newbury, TX 48 Chris Byrd, CT 186 Larry Loiacono, PA Malinda Kyrkos, NY 33 Trella Bromley, FL Ted Mullally, NJ 74 John Clarke, VA Greg Smith, PA 44 Nick Henning, DC Mark Smith, KY 160 Larry Loiacono, PA 30 Gregory Kulp, NJ 64 Bill Morse, VA 39 Kevin Sudy, VA 138

Acquire (ACQ) Advanced Civilization (ACV) Afrika Korps (AFK) Age of Renaissance (AOR) Player #1 usually starts the most hotels. First ACV made its Pre-Con debut with 34 The 50-year anniversary of Afri- Barcelona and Venice tied for most merger participation increases in likelihood players opting for a Sunday heat. Eight pre- ka Korps proved memorable, as the Preliminary wins, but it was Hamburg from the first seat to the last and since that is the liminary games were played. Assyria proved Grognards celebrated its induction that won the day in the 6-player Final as best predictor of victory (66%), seat order is sig- to be the powerhouse with three wins. Thrace was vic- into the Century as the ninth event to gain Legacy part of the five-event blitzkrieg of Nick Henning. nificant. However, in the semis, all bets were off. torious twice, while Illyria, Babylon, and Africa each status. The event’s largest field ever enrolled 41 The most noteworthy Preliminary play occurred Larry Loiacono (seated last) bested Akihisa Ta- won once. The closest game had just a 7-point spread players—attracted in no small part by the GM’s when with Enlightened Ruler and Mysticism bei to advance. Rich Atwater was not in the first among the top three players and that proved impor- offer of free 50th anniversary shirts for all players. as my first two cards, I opted to send everyone merger but enjoyed a comfortable margin of vic- tant when two winners opted out of further play—al- The final four featured GM Jon Lockwood as plummeting in Turn 1 and not have to pay stabi- tory. Malinda Kyrkos repeated her largest margin lowing the runners-up to advance as alternates. the Germans against John Clarke, a veteran WBC lization. The net effect was so impressive that the of victory performance in the preliminaries with The finalists were: Africa: Jenn Visocnik, grognard in the AFK semifinals for the first time. play was repeated in the Final by Jeff Mullet, but the biggest win of the playoffs. And Laurie Van de Iberia: Christina Harley, Illyria: Trella Bromley, Despite average supply results, Lockwood was to less dramatic effect. Graff, seated second in her first WBC, bested 1993 Thrace: Herb Sparks, Crete: Tedd Mullally; Assyr- able to take Tobruch with no losses, but the British Three finalists bid 5 to select their capital champ Steve Packwood. ia: Roberto Fournier; Babylon: Nathan Barhorst, had saved their heavy armor. John later executed first—disappointing two of them. Genoa had the Random seating yielded Laurie first seat in and Egypt: Kevin Youells. The pivotal moment a 5-1 surrounded counterattack on 21/104 with worse misfortune of drawing War as their start the Final, followed by Rich, Malinda and Larry. occurred early, as Illyria persuaded Africa to al- that armor for an AV to destroy Jon’s last supply. card, and even with a military advantage could Rich started Worldwide on his first play and low her to keep a city in Syracuse. This shrewd When relief convoys failed to arrive, the DAK sur- not defeat Barcelona, taking an early beating. For- controlled it throughout. By Turn 4 everyone negotiation allowed Illyria to maintain eight cit- rendered in a stunning upset. tunately, his buy of patronage in Round 2 left him had begun a chain. The first merger occurred on ies on Turns 8 and 9, and nine cities for Turns 10 The other semifinal saw Bruno Sinigaglio’s Ger- in control of the pacing as everyone had to buy Turn 6 with Malinda taking second in World- through 12. By contrast, the Africans were never mans triumphant. Bill Morse retreated to El Alamein Holy Indulgences, Overland East, and Written re- wide’s takeover of Laurie’s American. Larry able to top six cities during that time period. while Bruno built up supplies. After his Sept II sup- cord in Round 3, and only Genoa and Barcelona merged his Imperial into Tower on the next As the end game approached, Illyria had ply was sunk, Bruno returned to Tobruch and took bought Cathedral in 5th and 6th seat in Round 5. play, giving him first and Rich second. Every- built a 200-point lead. Five nations descended it with the Holy Hand Grenade at 1-1. In February Paris experimented by not buying Caravan one was flush so stocks sold like hotcakes and on Illyrian shores. Illyria could not resist that 1942, Bill rolled an exchange in a series of counterat- until Turn 7! This new venture did not go very lack of cash was rarely an issue. many enemies and was only able to support tacks that permitted a German automatic victory that well once Paris was blocked from Seaworthy by Laurie called the game on Turn 17 with three six cities, taking a bump on the AST as a result. allowed Bruno to capture the British Home Base. the pope and did not have the necessary mobil- fixed chains on the board and all stock sold. Ev- Nevertheless, after a light calamity round, cards Bruno’s Germans, weary from a week of con- ity otherwise to recover. There was strong con- eryone received bonuses in one or two chains were bought, points tallied, and a female cham- tinuous WBC combat, sought a quick decision in tention for the lead between the and the $10,000+ payouts for final pion emerged for only the second the Final and he resorted to the Holy wool nations and a cloth-wealthy stock sales. The winner was in time as Trella scored a 96-point vic- Hand Grenade against Tobruch once Venice, but a late timber run gave doubt until Larry announced his tory and her second appearance in too often. The dreaded 6 resulted Hamburg enough cash to over- $43,000 to take a 2% win over Lau- the BPA’s Top 25 Gamer list in only in an Attacker Eliminated, handing take London for the win by a mere rie to earn his first WBC title. her second WBC. John his first AFK title! 33 points! 6 Century Events Century Events 7

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Eric Ho, NY Bruce Bernard, PA Michael Wojke, PA David Platnick, VA Sceadeau D’Tela, NC Tom Bissa, MI D. Bohnenberger, PA K. Wojtaszczyk, NY Eric Wrobel, MD Stephane Dorais, qc F. de Bellefeuille, qc Eric Freeman, PA O Steve LeWinter, NC Brad Sherwood, PA Ryan Friedmann, MA O Andy Latto, MA O Rob Murray, NJ O Ed O’Connor, NJ O Charles Krueger, MA O Mike Kaltman, PA O Ken Rothstein, NY O Ken Rothstein, NY O C. Kalmbacher, PA O Greg Thatcher, CA

Rob Murray, NJ Craig Melton, VA Debbie Gutermuth, NC Alex Bove, PA 87  2008-2014 60  1996-2014 124  2004-2014 66  2003-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 113 John Coussis, IL 131 Vassili Kyrkos, NY 70 Greg Thatcher, FL 115 Eric Ho, NY 108 Stephane Dorais, qc 122 Luke Koleszar, VA 58 Eric Freeman, PA 106 Mike Kaltman, PA 88 Ken Rothstein, NY 116 Nate Hoam, OH 54 Alex Bove, PA 92 Ben Scholl, PA 75 Chris Storzillo, NJ 108 Michael Wojke, PA 40 Arthur Field, SC 91 Tedd Mullally, NJ 70 Brandon Bernard, PA 88 Alan Elkner, NJ 40 Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY 73 Cary Morris, NC 66 Robert Sohn, PA 78 Bruce DuBoff, NJ 40 Haim Hochboim, il 67 Jon Senn, PA 62 Andy Gardner, VA 73 Richard Meyer, MA 34 Raphael Lehrer, MD 64 Rob Kircher, RI 53 Bruce Bernard, PA 64 Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY 30 Nick Anner, NY 51 Eric Ho, NY Eric Wrobel, MD 50 Bruce Bernard, PA Tom Bissa, MI 52 Michael Wojke, PA L. Dan Hoffman, MD 30 David Platnick, VA Aran Warszawski, il 48 Bill Crenshaw, VA 49 Michael Musko, IN 50 Michael Mullins, MA 30 Curt Collins II, PA 43

Agricola (AGR) Air Baron (ABN) Alhambra (ALH) Amun-Re (AMR) 87 farmers took to the fields in 2014. Changes 2014 was the year of the Strike. There were Charlie Faella and Mike Shea shared honors In its 12th year, AMR generated 20 tables and were made to the format to include the use of all 37 work stoppages, five in the same game. 24 in the Preliminaries for the largest margin of vic- 17 winners in three heats. Mike Kaltman, Jeffer- three base decks (E, I, K) shuffled together. The Fuel Hikes added to the chaos, five times at the tory (31 points) over runners-up David Platnick son Meyer, and Greg Thatcher each won twice. elimination rounds added a fourth deck to the same table stricken by all the labor unrest. 34 and Lisa Shaud respectively. 32 Preliminary win- Alex Bove won by the largest margin (15 points) mix—the WM deck. Sceadeau D’Tela was the crashes rocked public confidence with four such ners minus two who declined to continue, vied and had the highest winning score (52). Dominic standout in the preliminaries—winning all three tragedies at the same table beset by record labor for 25 semifinal slots. Tiebreakers would oust five. Blais posted the lowest winning score (29) while heats and posting the high score for the event strife and fuel hikes. All that was missing was a The semifinals found Chuck Krueger a victor edging Scott Saccenti. The closest game was a tie with 60 in the second heat. mushroom cloud. by tiebreaker over Chris Kalmbacher. Francois between Bill Zurn and Cary Morris, with only The semifinal cut was made at 16 players; a The Final started with Ed O’Connor in Bir- deBellefeuille won by three over Natalie Beach. seven points separating all five players. win and a second place were needed to advance. mingham. Brad Sherwood in West Palm Beach. David Bohnenberger ended defending champ 15 of the 17 qualifiers and the closest run- As the complexity level of the game tends to at- Bruce Bernard in Albuquerque, defending Alan Elkner’s day by the same margin over Sonia ner-up advanced to fill four semifinal tables. tract strong gamers, nearly all of the semifinal- champ Stephane Dorais in Memphis, and Tom Taktak with Alan settling for third. Mike Wojke Only one double winner (Kaltman) got his ists were familiar with one another from live or Bissa in Cleveland. The opening turns give an advanced over Liz DiSandro Roberts. Ryan Fried- third win in Round 2. The other winners were online play. early glimpse of things to come, with Bruce ex- mann claimed the last slot by besting Kyle Smith. David Platnick, Andy Latto, and 2009 champion The Final was a veritable shark pool: 2012 WBC panding into LAX and buying a Jumbo. Brad Our finalists didn’t have an ALH laurel be- Eric Freeman. Kevin Wojtaszczyk was the clos- champ Eric Ho, and three previous EuroQuest expanded into the JFK and DCA markets while tween them—no surprise in an event where repeat est runner-up, allowing him to advance to a winners—D’Tela (2009), Eric Wrobel (2012) and Tom moved into ORD and DCA. Ed tried for JFK winners are rare as hen’s teeth. The first scoring 5-player Final. Steve LeWinter (2013). D’Tela employed an early and HOU, while Stephane invested in PHX. round came quickly and caught many by surprise. The Final was double jeopardy for David, farming/late growth strategy by using a strong Bruce, with a Market Share of 100, consoli- Francois led with nine points, Ryan had seven, having beaten Kevin by a point in the previous WM card, Hill Farmer. Ho played a strong animal dated his gains in the west, buying three more Dave three and Mike and Chuck were shut out. round, he now had to do it again. The Old King- strategy by drafting Animal Breeder and Mini jumbos to fortify LAX and his lone PHX outpost The end of the next round found Francois and dom started the same way for both players as they Pasture to get two early cattle that were breeding in ABQ. The strategy paid big dividends, yield- Ryan still leading with 30 points while the pack broke ahead of the field. At the halfway point, the at the second harvest along with a late game Ram. ing $55 on Turn 8 while the opposition struggled was grouped near 17. By game end, Chuck had 58 scores were Kevin 19, David 18, Andy 11, Mike 9, LeWinter encountered difficulty after losing tem- for cash. Turn 11 proved decisive, with Bruce get- points, but he still trailed the field. Ryan, fell from and Eric 6. In the end, Kevin scored two power po building his first oven early (powered by Bak- ting $50 before going into Fare Wars and taking first to fourth with 67 points. Francois, the other cards for six points but had no other bonuses. Da- ing Tray) with no grain before D’Tela could build SMF, SEA, RNO and PDX, failing only at ANC. leader, also fell on hard times and vid’s Round 6 auction savings were important as them out from under him. Wrobel played a solid Stephane, plagued by bad dice, failed his second dropped to third at 71. Dave over- they helped him earn second place game despite somewhat weaker Occupations. In straight initial Fare Wars attack. took Francois by a single point to in cash for four points. The final the end, Ho became the first two- On Turn 13, Bruce took ANC with claim second. This left Mike whose scores were David and Kevin 37, time WBC champ with 46 points, an even roll, increasing his Mar- terrific 77-point third round won the Eric and Andy 33 and Mike 25. Da- followed by D’Tela (44), Wrobel ket Share to 180. He added $141 day, outscoring all three rounds of vid’s one extra pyramid gave him (40) and LeWinter (38). cash for $321 and the win. the other finalists. the win by tiebreaker. 8 Century Events Century Events 9

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Bill Place, PA Rob Schoenen, PA Michael Shea, CT Nick Henning, DC Marty Sample, NH Bruce Young, SC Ken Gutermuth, NC Greg Ziemba, MI Jeff Heidman, NY O Jim Doughan, PA O Chris Entwistle, MD Lewis Lin, WA O Jesse Boomer, KS O Andy Doughan, PA O Bruce Reiff, OH O Dave Metzger, NY O Scott Driessen, MD O Bill Edwards, VA O Christina Schoose, IL O Romain Jacques, qc O Rob Eastman, NV O Brian Conlon, CT O Vassili Kyrkos, NY O Tom Bissa, MI

Ben Knight, MD Steve Caler, OH Bruce Reiff, OH Greg Schmittgens, KS 104  1998-2014 36  1991-2014 25  1993-2014 50  2010-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists John Coussis, IL 168 Bill Edwards, VA 88 Bruce Reiff, OH 90 Nick Henning, DC 78 Roy Gibson, MD 100 Daniel Hoffman, NC 58 Ken Gutermuth, NC 62 Romain Jacques, qc 36 Scott Buckwalter, MD 96 Bruce Young, SC 44 Arthur Field, SC 50 Andrew Maly, TX 36 Rob Winslow, NY 95 James Doughan, PA 40 Andy Gardner, VA 40 Bill Zurn, CA 30 Rob Eastman, NV 92 Steve Caler, OH 40 Jon Lockwood, VA 34 Greg Ziemba, MI 18 Patrick Mirk, FL 85 David Sidelinger, CT 40 George Sauer, OH 34 Harald Henning, CT 18 John Elliott, MD 84 Kaarin Engelmann, VA 35 Steve Cuccaro, MD 32 Rod Spade, PA 18 Bruce Young, SC 68 John Conlon, OK 33 Jeff Mullett, OH 30 Matt Calkins, VA 18 Rob Schoenen, PA 32 John Weber, MD 15 Bill Place, PA Bill Place, PA 64 Rob Schoenen, PA Michael Shea, CT David Brooks, TN 28 Nick Henning, DC Marty Sample, NH 60 Brian Conlon, CT 30 Michael Shea, CT 24 Lewis Lin, WA 12

Atlantic Storm (ACS) Attack Sub (ATS) Auction (AUC) Automobile (AUT) 2014 was our 17th straight year with Four players emerged from the field of Chris Entwistle was the star of the Nick Henning became the first two-time Au- over 100 players, including ten of 14 former 36 submariners unbeaten after three swiss opening round, winning twice, but tomobile champion, and in the process set some champs. To advance, a player only had to rounds: 3-time champion Bill Edwards, Bruce Reiff collected Sterling and Queen other firsts as well on his way to five titles in win one of four heats, so Katie Elliott is to be 2011 champion Jim Doughan and his son Andrew, Anne sets for $9320 and the high score of the one WBC. A record 50 players, including all commended for winning both of the heats she and Rob Schoenen—he of the 0 laurels resume. tournament. four former champions, contested two Prelimi- played, before losing in the semis. Only five Tiebreakers were used to add 2-time champ Bruce The two semifinal tables were randomized nary heats led by 5000+ scores by Tom Bissa and advanced to Round 3. Scott Driessen was a re- Young, Andy Lewis, 1999 champ Brian Conlon and past champions Ken Gutermuth and Bruce Kelly Krieble. peating finalist. Bill Place, Jeff Heidman and and Kevin Emery to the quarterfinals. Monnin drew young upstart Christina Schoose In the semifinals, Lewis Lin and Greg Marty Sample were each making their third Jim Doughan eliminated Lewis in Scenario E, and the hot hand, Chris. Three past champi- Ziemba had the only 4000+ scores. The other Final appearance. Jesse Boomer was the rela- Rebel Without a Cause when the latter was denied ons staffed the other table: Rob Kircher, David two tables saw closer contests with Dave tive “newcomer.” on multiple escape attempts. Schoenen and Conlon Brooks and Reiff plus also-ran Michael Shea. The Metzger squeezing out a 10-point win over After 12 battles for ten convoys, Jesse was also faced off in the same scenario with Rob sinking goal was not to win, but to be in the top half as Romain Jacques in one game and Nick Hen- the apparent leader, with Bill, Scott, Jeff and Brian’s Oppokov early in the second deck. Andrew two would advance from each table. Ken quickly ning winning by a 50-point margin. Marty trailing in that order. However, Marty Doughan followed his father’s winning ways with dominated with three Jewelry purchases to break The finalists took a different character each and Bill both gained significant VPs in the sec- a decisive victory as the Argentines over Emery in the bank and Chris outscored Christina by $430 round, except for Lin who took Ford twice. ond half. As last player in the 18th battle, Jeff Scenario D Falklands. Edwards and Young also met to end that Cinderella story. Reiff’s game was a The players were conservative with ten total used Tovey to play two cards and a bonus, in the Falklands in a duel of multiple champions slower developing cat and mouse affair with the unsold cars through all four turns and no un- winning a 7-VP convoy. He also won the 21st won by Bruce in the fourth deck. Meanwhile, An- lead often changing hands. Bruce finally conclud- sold cars on the last turn. Only Metzger ended battle by escorting a 6-VP convoy home. These drew was already talking smack about a potential ed that he was in front of the others and let Mike a turn with more than five loss cubes. Hen- wins gave Jeff the edge at 25 VPs, Bill 24, Marty father-son Final. But alas, it was not to be as both have an item cheap to end the game with $8210. ning produced in all three classes in Turns 2, 3 21, Jesse 18 and Scott 16. lost in the penultimate round. Rob ended Andrew’s Bruce’s $7020 second was all he needed. and 4 and ended with a score of 4620. Ziemba Jeff was the round leader for the 22nd and dream in the Falklands while his dad met an early That put two multi-champs into the Final was second with 4120, while Lin and Metzger last battle. He chose the 4-VP PQ 17, called demise at the hands of Bruce in Scenario B Search with hot hand Chris, and this Shea interloper. trailed with 3580 and 3540 respectively. surface and played Zerstorer +1. Jesse gambled and Destroy. Ken and Chris soon led and were content to let The most popular character in the tourna- with the Hood. Marty victimized Hood with Bis- The Final was thus a Young-Schoenen rematch. Bruce battle Mike for the scraps. Ken was $220 ment was Howard with his extra two car sales marck. This put Marty in a tie with Jeff and give Rob had handed Bruce his only loss in the pre- over the win requirement, but couldn’t take an (chosen 63 times), followed closely by Chrys- Marty a slight edge with more convoy VPs. Bill liminary rounds. They chose Scenario E with Rob auction cheap enough to declare. Mike won the ler (59 selections). Sloan received the fewest played the Tirpitz. Historically, PQ 17 was a tracking down the renegade Oppokov with a Soviet last auction cheap, got Everyone Inherits and took player selections (half as many as Howard), disaster for the Allies, and this battle followed surface fleet. Rob defied the prog- the last card, a Sterling, giving him a but half of his picks were in course. Bill rolled highest nosticators, topped Bruce for a set. He then declared with $8510. Ken the final round by the play- to win the hand, the day, second time and went 6-0 to be- still sat at $7720. Chris, was third with er who went on to win the and his fourth WBC title. come the 2014 champion! $7390 and Bruce was last with $7110. game. 10 Century Events Century Events 11

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Jeff Mathis, FL Karl Henning, DC M. Wallschlaeger, NY Mark Miklos, GA Joe Gioia, NY Jonathan Izer, MD Peter Stein, OH John Vasilakos, VA Chris Gioia, NY Scott Driessen, MD Ty Hansen, DC Tommy Miklos, GA Ty Hansen, DC John Conlon, OK O Patrick Mirk, FL O Bill Morse, VA O Kevin Keller, MD Rob Schoenen, PA O Alexander Lange, GA O Bruno Sinigaglio, AK O Sam Packwood, MN William Burch, MD O Ted Lange, GA O Dave Stiffler, VA

Joe Powell, VA Dave Terry, MD Bruce Reiff, OH Mark Miklos, GA 27  1999-2014 62  1992-2014 34  2001-2014 31  1999-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Joe Powell, VA 210 Paul Risner, FL 343 Jeff Cornett, FL 132 Mark Miklos, GA 262 Kevin Keller, MD 197 Richard Moyer, MN 156 Philip Shea, VA 66 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 144 Ty Hansen, DC 193 William Rohrbeck, NH 106 Ben Knight, MD 60 Dale Long, NJ 125 Philip Shea, VA 192 Keith Hunsinger, OH 100 Peter Stein, OH 48 John Vasilakos, VA 105 Pat Mirk, FL 129 Bill Beckman, SC 90 Lyman Moquin, DC 48 Jim Tracy, OH 90 Phil Rennert, MD 96 Eric Stranger, OH 76 David Metzger, NY 45 Chris Easter, GA 88 Richard Beyma, MD 95 Karl Henning, DC 60 Patrick Mirk, FL 42 David Stiffler, VA 50 Andrew Murphy, PA 94 Steve Ambruzs, VA 60 Robert Eastman, NV 33 Cliff Hansen, NM 48 Tim Rothenhoefer, MD 68 Steve Sabatino, PA 60 Steve Lollis, MD 33 Jeff Mathis, FL Karl Henning, DC M. Wallschlaeger, NY Mark Miklos, GA Rob Doane, MD 47 Jeff Mathis, FL 54 Dan Dolan Sr, NJ 60 Mike Wallschlaeger, NY 30 Volko Ruhnke, VA 42

Axis & Allies (A&A) B-17; Queen of the Skies (B17) Battle Cry (BCY) Battles of the Am. Revolution (BAR) The 2014 field, 27 strong, included The event, spanning 68 missions over 23 years, Designer Richard Borg brought The field included six past champions and both former champions and newcomers continued its recreation of historic raids. Another along five new scenarios for 2015. Your nine of the top-ten AREA rated players. The aplenty. Three former laurelists reached strong turnout of 62 aviators filled the skies. The GM saw them at the same time the rest opening rounds used the “Washington’s Stand” the semifinals: Jeff Mathis, Joe Gioia, and defending first mission was a November 26th raid on Bre- of the players did and we added three—Rich scenario from Monmouth Courthouse. 24 players champ Ty Hansen. Jeff defeated 2001 champ Pat- men, plagued by poor bombing accuracy due to Mountain, Camp Cole and Boonville—to the vied in the Mulligan and 16 in Round 1 with the rick Mirk in Round 1, two-time former champ Joe heavy losses among the Pathfinder radar aircraft. 4-round Swiss portion of our event along with Americans winning eight and losing six with six Powell in Round 2, and survived his toughest test The afternoon mission was therefore a repeat trip old standby Glorietta. The other two scenarios— draws. Those with the higher army morale ad- in the third round against Sam Packwood—taking to Bremen three days later using special rules to Phillippi Bridge and Big Bethel were available for vanced from the draws. a close decision with 13 victory territories. In the reflect high altitude icing problems. Finally, the the semis and Final. 16 of the 18 qualifiers returned for Round 2 semifinal he downed defending champ Ty Hansen evening mission hit the industrial area of Solin- The four rounds proved to be a meat grinder, for the Battle of Newtown. Continentals took five of with furious action in the Ukraine and many large gen on November 30. taking out top-ranked Jeff Cornett and your GM eight games. The British/Indian forces won all three naval battles in the Pacific as the US advanced. Jeff Another boisterous After Action Meeting was in the preliminaries. Ed Kendrick went 3-0 but games in Round 3 of the siege scenario from the used a Northern Pacific strategy for the US fleet that held the next night. Joe Burch, a double winner declined further combat, leaving just three un- Battle of Pensacola. We returned to the Mohawk Val- caused the Japanese fleet irreplaceable losses. elsewhere, came in dead last two points behind beatens: Mike Wallschlaeger, Pat Mirk and Jack ley for the semifinal with Mark Miklos opposing In the other bracket, Joe Gioia’s Allies defeated his Paul Weintraub. On the plus side, Paul’s wingman, Morrell. They enjoyed a lunch break while the Bill Morse while his son, Tommy, drew John Vasi- son, Chris by a narrow margin. Joe was the top seed, Bill Burch, had a very good day and scored 167.5 2-1 hopefuls vied for that elusive third qualifying lakos in the Battle of Oriskany. The British won both coming out of the preliminaries unbeaten with 57 vic- points for sixth place—thereby earning the cov- win. Among them was our defending champion, contests albeit in widely different fashion. tory territories. All three of those victories were conces- eted Sand Plaque and an honorary fez. Returning Peter Stein, who had stumbled vs Robert Powers, The Final would rematch 2002 protagonists; sions earning 19 victory territories plus 30 IPCs. veterans Rob Schoenen took fifth at 169, and John brother of the 2013 finalist, in a little payback for John and Mark. The format was match-play of the Jeff’s Axis defeated Gioia as Joe faltered in the Conlon fourth at 170. There was a tie for second at the Powers clan. The new owners of three wins Battle of Eutaw Springs. Two games were played, Final for the second straight year. Jeff’s Germans 173, which was broken by better bombing accuracy were Stein, Lyman Moquin, Ted and Alex Lange, switching sides. John’s British managed a draw swept Africa and Japan took both India and Aus- in favor of Jon Izer over Scott Driessen. David Gubbay and Ty Hansen. in the opener. Since Army Morale is the first tie- tralia. He captured the victory territories of Hawaii That left rookie Karl Henning with top wood The quarterfinals thinned the herd, generating breaker, the box score mattered. Mark had 13 and Australia late in the game, allowing his navy to at 176 in a year where the Henning brothers could semis of Stein vs Mirk and Hansen vs Wallschlaeger. Army Morale to John’s 8. Mark was positioned transport land units to the pitched battle in Asia, and do no wrong. This was Karl’s second title of the Both battles used First Bull Run. Pete took out Pat well in the event of another draw. However, extending the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere to In- week and would normally suffice for family brag- while Mike slipped past Ty in a close battle. Defend- John’s Americans were having their way early dia and beyond. ging rights. But nooooooooooooo—he has to have ing champ Stein thus took his title defense to the last in the second contest when John’s bid for back- Play balance remained in a brother who wins five tournaments in the week. round, but without his Forced March to-back moves failed despite a +3 on good order. The Allies won 14 The defending champ, Steve Am- card magic, Pete proved a toothless the Initiative die roll. It was downhill of 30 games. The average bid to bruzs, had a much tougher go in puppy and Mike won the title (albeit from there as Mark rallied from well play as the Allies was 4.3, down his sophomore year; scoring just in a squeaker) to take the first of his behind for a marginal victory and the from 2013’s 5.0. 87 for 51st place. two titles for the week. sixth title in his own series. 12 Century Events Century Events 13

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Bill Morse, VA Philip Shea, VA K. Hammond, WA R. Malcomson, MN Richard Beyma, VA Bruce Hodgins, on Nels Thompson, NY Rick Kirchner, KY Forrest Pafenberg, VA Wm. Kendrick, uk K. Wojtaszczyk, NY John Henry, on O Tom Gregorio, PA O Tedd Mullally, NJ Mike Kaye, MD Barry Smith, NY O Ed Witkowski, VA O John Corrado, VA O Mark Gutfreund, KY O Mark Smith, KY O Bob Bassin, MD O Al Hurda, on O M. Birnbaum, NY O Jim Jordan, MD

Bruno Sinigaglio, AK Edward Kendrick, uk Andrew Cummins, uk James Jordan, MD

21  1999-2014 33  2010-2014 27  1994-2014 35  1991-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Tom Gregorio, PA 314 Bruce Hodgins, on 51 Don Greenwood, MD 388 Ewan McNay, CT 353 Randy Heller, NH 227 William Kendrick, uk 51 Nels Thompson, NY 348 James Jordan, MD 200 Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 182 Philip Shea, FL 45 Andrew Cummins, uk 316 Nick Benedict, PA 200 Bill Morse, VA 151 Paul Sampson, OH 42 Michael Kaye, MD 249 Barry Smith, NY 129 Forrest Pafenberg, VA 135 Daniel Speyer, NY 39 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 215 Randy Schilb, MO 120 Bob Ryan, MI 128 John Corrado, VA 36 Alan Applebaum, MA 204 Rick Kirchner, KY 108 Phil Evans, fr 94 Rob Flowers, MD 30 Jim Doughan, PA 187 Mark Smith, KY 90 Steve Likevich, OH 65 Tom McCorry, VA 18 Jim Eliason, IA 185 Scott Pfeiffer, SC 83 Bill Morse, VA Marty Musella, VA 51 Philip Shea, VA John Dextraze, on 15 Kevin Hammond, WA Mark Gutfreund, KY 175 Robert Malcomson, MN David Gantt, SC 70 Mike Mitchell, GA 42 Ed Kendrick, uk 12 Bryan Eshleman, NC 169 Richard Curtin, NY 64

Bitter Woods (BWD) Brass (BRS) Breakout: Normandy (BKN) Britannia (BRI) It was the first year of the mergedBulge It’s not surprising that players discriminating Only six of 32 games saw bidding in double The usual balance of winning colors was and Bitter Woods tournaments. The Ger- enough to play Brass would also be successful figures. In fact, 21 games saw no bid at all. The maintained during the heats. We had four wins mans won 10 of 21 in the 6-turn scenario, in other games requiring planning, forethought, highest bids were by Kevin Hammond, twice each for Blue and Red and three apiece for Yellow and 14 of 24 in the 8-turn scenario. Richard Beyma deep strategic thinking and ruthless exploitation. giving 30 supplies to the Allies for command of and Green. The preliminary high scores started went 6-0 and Bill Morse 6-2 in the qualifiers with Several qualifiers missed the semifinals to contest his preferred Germans. The overall result was 20 out with a roar with Blue and Yellow high bars 64 points each. Forrest Pafenberg had 56 and Tom other Finals, while others passed up the Circus German victories with the Allies faring better in being set on Monday. Barry Smith racked up a Gregorio 48. Ed Witkowski, Bob Bassin, Bruno Sin- Maximus Final to play Brass. It’s tough at the top. the early rounds and the Germans taking six of Blue 243 while newcomer Robert Malcomson igaglio and Marty Musella formed the chase pack. Our Final started conventionally and both Phil- seven in the medal games. put together a huge Yellow 259. In the second The new Challenge rule made its debut allowing ip Shea and Bruce Hodgins wasted six mills while Hammond played the Germans throughout, heat, Ewan McNay pulled out a massive Red any player in fifth through eighth to challenge a Tedd Mullally built three ironworks and William bidding high for the privilege. It took 31—a high 297 points, easily grabbing the high score there. player in first through fourth, at random. The Chal- Kendrick built ports and iron. In the second half of bid indeed in the L2 version—to secure the German Then, in the third heat, Rick Kirchner pulled off a lenge prevents leaders from ducking opponents at the Canal Phase Tedd and William developed ship- command in the Final against four-time champ Nels 255 Green score, easily eclipsing the hefty, but not the end of the preliminaries and allows those on yards while Bruce and Philip each laid out three Thompson. enough 240 score by Chris Trimmer in the second the cusp a chance to advance. Ed and Marty chal- 3-mills, with William pushing out his iron and over- Nels tried unsuccessfully for a spectacular early heat. My favorite Ethelraed the Unraedy award lenged. Ed drew Forrest and Marty was paired building Tedd. At the turn William had a point lead, knockout against Caen with a successful airstrike was a tie this year! Both Barry Smith and John with Richard. Both lost, but, if either had won, they while Philip trailed by seven points. followed by a failed 7-7 armored assault from Juno. Henry claimed the honors with 191 points. would have passed Tom and made the playoffs. However, the early leader often fades in the sec- Allied progress was soon hampered by weather 11 winners and a 12th alternate manned the Richard’s GI’s defeated Tom in the 6-turn sce- ond half and this game proved no exception. After changes and poor bombardments. Omaha devel- semifinals with Ewan McNay, Robert Malcolm- nario semifinal. In the other bracket, defending the usual rail builds William mistimed his turn and oped well but the points weren’t adding up to an son and Barry Smith emerging triumphant. How- champ Forest was crushed by Bill’s Germans in allowed Tedd to drop shipyards while the other two Allied victory. At the end of the 9th, Nels double- ever, Ewan declined his opportunity for his sixth the 8-turn scenario. This paired two veterans in each eventually shipped three 4-mills. After some impulsed through Troan and into Mezidon generat- BRI title in favor of a RRY Final, so two alternates search of their first BWD title. The game started vicious overbuilding, at game end Shea had turned ing simultaneous threats to Caen and a breakout in joined the remaining victors at the Final. late and ended early, with both players sleep de- round his position to edge Hodgins by two points to Zone A. Kevin expertly defended during regroup, Barry Smith drew Yellow, Rick Kirchner prived at the end. The fatigue of the players af- emerge a worthy champion with his fifth WBC title. falling back from Houlgate into Zone A while pack- Green, Robert Malcolmson Red, and John ter a week’s combat was evident, both making In this Final the top pair used the mill strategy ing Caen with forces at the start of the 10th as the Henry Blue. In the end, only 10 points sepa- terrible blunders, but following with spectacular and were assisted by ports built by other players. British contested Bourguebus. The 11th saw Caen rated first and fourth in a low scoring affair. recoveries. Bill rallied last and was able to gar- Last year the winner countered similar strategies cut off but the defense was so strong that neither Barry’s Yellow’s took fourth with 194, John’s rison Parker’s Crossroad, mainly with a broad-brush coal, iron, rail Allied bombardments nor isolation Blues were third with 196, Rick’s due to the Hackers Gambit, which and shipyards mix, but that proved rolls sufficed to hamper the defense. Green’s ended with 202, and Rob- delayed the Germans on the way to to be no panacea and confirms that A German counterattack on the 12th ert’s Reds won the game with 204 Bastogne long enough to claim his there is no single winning strategy to clear Bourguebus and relieve Caen to become the fourth winner of first BWD title. in this great game. secured Kevin’s second BKN crown. the Britannia sword. 14 Century Events Century Events 15

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Greg Zegalia, PA Norman Rule, MD Keith Dent, NY Alistair Thach, TN Tim Packwood, DE Joe Millovich, PA Robert St Pierre, PA Janet Ottey, PA Chris Long, PA Chad Martin, PA Dominic Blais, qc Kate Fractal, MA O Andy Latto, MA O Jon Gemmel, MD O Nick Vayn, PA O John Gitzen II, NY O Trella Bromley, FL O Chris Kreuter, NY O Antony Saccenti, MD O Winton Lemoine, NV O Richard Meyer, MA O Thomas Strock, PA O Anni Foasberg, NY O Tim Tu, NJ

Rebecca Hebner, DC Jennifer Visocnik, IL Barb Flaxington, NJ Chris Gnech, PA 229  2006-2014 166  2002-2014 53  2013-2014 46  2013-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Greg Zegalia, PA 30 Robbie Mitchell, VA 69 Keith Dent, NY 30 Alistair Thach, TN 30 Ben Collinson Jr, MD 30 L. Dan Hoffman, MD 59 Jay Boring, MD 30 Rich Shipley, MD 30 Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 30 Joe Millovich, PA 48 Robert St. Pierre, PA 18 Janet Ottey, PA 24 Jay Fox, NJ 30 Arthur Wines, PA 48 Ted Simmons, IL 18 Colin Crook, PA 18 Rob Drozd, IL 30 Scott Buckwalter, MD 42 Dominic Blais, qc 12 Kate Fractal, MA 12 Elaine Pearson, NC 30 Olin Hentz, CT 36 Mikko Raimi, fi 12 Josh Lanham, MD 12 Danny Lewis, DE 30 Eric Monte, NY 33 Nick Vayn, PA 9 John Gitzen II, NY 9 Anne Norton, NJ 30 Debbie Gutermuth, NC 33 Andrew Norgren, NY 9 Matt Leader, MA 9 Greg Zegalia, PA Rob Winslow, NY 20 Norman Rule, MD Norman Rule, MD 30 Keith Dent, NY Antony Saccenti, MD 6 Alistair Thach, TN Winton Lemoine, NV 6 David Burkey, PA 20 Carolyn Strock, PA 30 Randy Buehler, WA 6 Tim Tu, NJ 3

Can’t Stop (CNS) Carcassonne (CAR) Castles of Burgundy (COB) Catan: Cities & Knights (C&K) In 76 games fate will pick its favorites some- Several changes were made to the format in The high winning scores in the preliminary The finalists in our second year were Kate where along the way and Carmen Petruzzelli (8’s 2014, not the least of which was the addition of rounds ranged from a high of 275 (by the ulti- Fractal, Janet Ottey, John Gitzen, and Alistair & 9’s), Andy Latto (4’s & 10’s) and James Kramer a 4th qualifying heat. In combination with a 7% mate champion) to a low of 218 points. In the Thach. Both Kate and Alistair started with pa- (6’s & 12’s) were all blessed at one point by clos- increase in the size of the field to a record high 12 games played with the standard boards, the per heavy strategies, placing their cities on a ing out two columns on their last turn. Brett Fox of 166 players, the number of qualifying games same trend was noticed in starting player order double lumber intersection. Consequently, Kate fared even better by closing three columns (5’s, played increased by 40.4%. In addition, a new differential, with Seat 2 again seeming to be the did not produce wheat and Alistair had no ore. 6’s and 7’s) in a single turn. But one game does point structure was introduced to encourage most advantageous (winning 41.2% of the time, Kate was able to build an active knight before not a champion make. multiple plays and discourage 5-player games in contrast to 16.7% for Seat 1, 16.7% Seat 3, and the first barbarian attack. Alistair was not, but The Final was tense with Chris Long, Andy by the addition of a point for those bringing 25% Seat 4). The sample size still remains too was saved by Janet’s double knight (gaining a Latto, Tim Packwood, and Greg Zegalia all their own game. This succeeded in eliminating small for any definitive conclusions. Defender of Catan card for her efforts). Kate seeking the shield. The first three started well the eight 5-player games required due to game The Final was close and the lead changed was able to build to the aqueduct (“gold”) early, by closing a column each (11’s, 6’s, and 2’s re- shortages in 2013. The addition of tournament hands frequently during the earlier rounds with thereby gaining wheat to manage the knights. spectively). In response, Greg, who had yet to points served as a tiebreaker for advancement no clear victor until the end. Robert St. Pierre took Alistair remained blocked from the ore hexes, join the capped-column-club, said, “You’re go- purposes. Since only three of the 16 eventual an early lead by closing three areas in the first but the others had plenty to spare and were will- ing to close out two, then you’re going to close semifinalists had less than two wins, players round. Keith Dent made a big comeback (from ing to trade, even favorably. At this point, Janet two, and then I’m going to win.” who wish to advance had best have at least two 86-151 points) in the fourth round by completing enjoyed a 5-4 lead over the field. Chris took the lead by cashing the 8’s before wins. If there is room in the semifinal for players an eight-building area. This accomplishment was Alistair and John built the Aqueduct shortly Greg got on the scoreboard by capping the 3’s. with only one win, they will need to play mul- even more impressive given that he did not pos- thereafter. With the Aqueduct, Alistair was able to With five columns closed, it became a longer tiple heats to increase their tournament points to sess the tile allowing duplicate buildings in the build more cities, and with the paper production slog up the columns. Eventually, Tim closed qualify for the semifinals. same area. Unfortunately for Nick Vayn, in the still rolling in, claimed the green metropolis. At his second column with the 5’s, much to the Norman Rule was the top qualifier with three last round Keith also took the one tile available this point, the game appeared to be a blowout with chagrin of Chris who, after advancing from a wins and a 2nd in four preliminary heats. His hot that Nick needed to legally complete a six-build- Alistair at ten VPs, and his closest opponent three semifinal table where he needed four or more hand continued throughout. He went on to win ing area. Player order was important throughout, behind. Janet still had very good resource produc- turns to roll a single 11 to advance, had three his semifinal by 17 points and the Final by 22. particularly to collect specific tiles and bonuses. tion and was able to build a settlement and a city shots to roll a 5 for the win, but couldn’t close Also posting three wins in the qualifying Silverlings were readily spent to obtain additional in the same turn to tie Alistair at ten VPs. The next the deal. With two players a single column heats were John Gemmel, Chris Kreuter, and tiles. Dominic Blais scored the most bonus points turn she actually went ahead with the help of two away from paydirt, Greg, in true Can’t Stop Thomas Strock. Each went on to earn laurels. at the end (37 compared to 24 by Keith and 16 by mining progress cards. However, fashion, methodically advanced Of the six players who logged Nick and Robert), but not enough Alistair’s cloth production and the 7’s and 9’s to cap both, sealing more than one win last year, to close the gap. Keith won his first some extra paper to trade 2:1 (with victory over his more cautious op- only Kreuter and Joe Millovich WBC title with 216, followed by the cloth special), enabled him to ponents. Self-fulfilling prophecy were able to repeat that feat in Robert at 206, with Dominic and claim a metropolis for the winning or just good luck? 2014. Nick tied at 204. total and his first WBC title. 16 Century Events Century Events 17

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Josh Githens, SC Peter Gurneau, WI Joe Harrison, KY Jeff Pattison, MD Nora Tuke, DE Jordan Kehrer, PA Bill O’Neal, NY Joel Tamburo, IL Robert Voisin, NY J.R. Tracy, NY Derek Landel, NJ Jonathan Squibb, PA Jennifer Brown, DE Michael Redman, MN O Matt Bacho, MD O Jessa Burdett, NY Tony Musella, VA Mike Gentile, PA O Jack Morrell, NY O Mark Davis, MI O Vincent Sinigaglio, NJ O Phil Walling, VA O Carl Moon, NY O James Doughan, PA

John Jacoby, VA Bryan Collars, SC Andy Lewis, DE Joel Tamburo, IL     37  2006-2014   68 1991-2014 40 2007-2014 Counter-Insurgency Series 20 2013-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Josh Githens, SC 313 Bob Heinzmann, FL 165 Bill O’Neal, NY 171 Joel Tamburo, IL 36 Frank Sinigaglio, NJ 152 Peter Gurneau, WI 162 Allen Kaplan, NJ 68 Jeff Pattison, MD 30 Steve Katz, VA 144 Bryan Collars, SC 72 Jack Morrell, NY 58 Andrew Ruhnke, VA 30 Anthony Musella, VA 127 J. R. Tracy, NY 69 Tony Curtis, OK 58 Jonathan Squibb, PA 21 Tom Saal, MI 120 Michael Johnson, MA 52 Chad Mekash, NJ 56 Jessa Burdett, NY 15 Angela Collinson, MD 116 Bob Jamelli, PA 48 Brian Conlon, CT 54 Jeff Burdett, NY 12 Scott Sirianna, NY 97 Chris Byrd, CT 42 Rick Young, NC 42 Mark Davis, MI 6 John Tighe, Jr, NJ 84 Jordan Kehrer, PA 40 Joe Harrison, KY 30 James Doughan, PA 3 Josh Githens, SC Bill Beckman, SC 72 Peter Gurneau, WI Mike Galandiuk, OH 40 Joe Harrison, KY John Kirk, PA 24 Jeff Pattison, MD Scott de Brestian, MI 3 Michael Lind, VA 60 Tony Raimo, OH 30 Terry Cotter, CT 24

Circus Maximus (CMS) Combat Commander (CBC) Commands & Colors Ancients (CCA) Counter-Insurgency Series (CIS) Colosseum traffic was much lighter this year. The Great Campaign continued with scenar- The first round used the pod system of After a successful launch with An- Gone were the 17 finalists that clogged the 2013 ios for 1941 as the action shifted to the Mediter- 4-player groups with round robin play in the dean Abyss, 2014 featured an expanded track in a seven-hour endurance test. A heat was ranean and the opening stages of Operation Bar- Bagradas scenario. The best record in each group menu of options for the COIN series. dropped to limit the field and it worked all too barossa. We again played four qualifying rounds advanced automatically and the best runners-up The two qualifying heats used Cuba Libre, the well as the event drew its smallest numbers in to advance four to single elimination. filled the remainder of the 16 available slots. Side shortest game. All told, 20 players manned six two decades. With only ten races offered, the The swiss rounds were played in succession with selection was handled by bidding victory ban- games. The Syndicate and M-26 (Castro) each field was further cut when three qualifiers failed most entrants playing three or more games. The sce- ners. Carthage held a miniscule advantage 26- won once while the Directorio (Students) and to appear. narios, in the order played, were Operation Mercury 25-1. The second round was again contested in Government each prevailed twice. The finalists arrived in a less bellicose assort- (Germans vs British); Barbarossa Unleashed (Soviets vs pods with the battle ofCastulo . This time, only the The Final used the “short” game of A Dis- ment than the norm with three heavy, two me- Germans); Operation Compass (British vs Italians); and winner of each pod would advance to the semis. tant Plain. Jessa Burdett and Jonathan Squibb as dium and two light chariots. The drivers were Defend in Place (Germans vs Soviets). All rounds were Rome won overall 15-8-1. the Taliban and Warlords were on the receiving also less experienced. Only Josh Githens had played with new scenarios crafted and introduced at The semifinals were conducted as 2-game end of what can happen when the Government ridden to victory in the big circus previously. this year’s WBC. Each of the scenarios played equally match play, playing both sides against the same (Jeff Pattison) and Coalition (Joel Tamburo) play- He brought a light chariot, correctly predicting well and finished within the established time limits. opponent. The battle was Bagradas River from ers are in sync. Even so, the game literally came it would be a kinder and gentler race. For the first time there was no need for adjudication. the third expansion. In the first pairing, defend- down to one card. The last Propaganda card end- Only two horses would be destroyed. In Perennial laurelist, JR Tracy, was the top seed, ing champion Bill O’Neal faced Derek Landel. ing the game was drawn earlier than usual. The such a relatively bloodless environment it was followed by Jordan Kehrer, newcomer Michael Red- Derek took the first game 5-3 as the Romans, but Coalition had gambled unsuccessfully on one the former champion’s day. In a spectacular man and defending champion, Peter Gurneau. In the Bill also won as the Romans by a 5-1 margin to more card play to pull his troops out for the win. show of both skill and ineptitude, Josh lashed semifinals, JR faced off against Peter and Jordan took advance on total banners 8-6. In the other brack- The only player who could alter the result now a driver already against the wall after coming the chair opposite Michael. The scenario was Opera- et, Matt Bacho faced Joe Harrison with neither was the Taliban. out of the 8 lane. The driver resignedly backed tion Compass II featuring Germans attacking the Brit- having a laurel to his name—yet. Joe won both Jessa had the proverbial “bird in the hand ver- his chariot into the curve at a speed of 15 over ish. Jordan dispatched Michael to advance to his first games by a 10-4 margin to advance easily. sus two in the bush” situation. She could either the limit. As the multitude held its collective CBC Final while in the other bracket Peter advanced The Final was contested at Sotium from take a move that was guaranteed to gain a point breath awaiting the carnage sure to come, the to defend his title yet again. the second expansion. Three-time champ Bill or risk an attack in Kandahar worth potentially dice tumbled to a stop causing only one point As in previous years, the lower seeded finalist, O’Neal had missed laurels just once in nine more. What no one realized at the time was that of damage. The anticipated blood lust was re- Peter, selected a scenario from the five played and years. It looked like a David vs Goliath mis- had she successfully attacked, the entire order of placed by disappointed jeers at the unlikely the higher seed chose his side. Peter opted to return match. And it was …Goliath never knew what finish would have changed, resulting in her vic- escape. Josh nevertheless got the best revenge to Operation Mercury where Jordan hit him. Bill lost with the Romans 6-3 tory. Not being aware of this at on Turn 17 when he crossed the chose to play the defending Brits. in the first game. The advantage was the time, she took the safe point. finish line a full turn ahead of After a tense game that saw three now David’s as they switched sides. Jeff Pattison’s Government was the his closest pursuer for his third sudden death rolls, Peter emerged Joe tied the second game 4-4, and a beneficiary of this declined option CMS title. victorious for his third straight title. new CCA champion was borne. as he earned his first WBC title. 18 Century Events Century Events 19

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results D. Rynkowski, NY August Thiesing, NJ Mark Giddings, NY Bill Dyer, IL Jay Boring, MD Kevin Emery, SC Duncan McGregor, on Lee Proctor, IL Adam Sigal, MD Robb Effinger, on Conal Jaeger, VA Wray Ferrell, NC O Rex Martin, PA O Tom McCorry, VA Chad Weaver, PA Jake Dyer, IL O A. Sherwood, PA O John Emery, SC O Tim Tu, NJ O Jean-F. Gagne, qc O Bill Riggs, VA O Dennis Mishler, TX O Thomas Tu, NJ O Liam Dyer, IL

Thomas Haver, OH Dave Long, NC Nick Ferris, MD Brad Johnson, IL 24 91-04, 06-08, 12-14 24  2011-2014 108  2009-2014 32  1992-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Nick Benedict, CA 115 Kevin Emery, SC 67 Arthur Field, SC 90 Bill Dyer, IL 228 Andy Marshall, MD 96 Robb Effinger, NJ 54 Chad Weaver, PA 60 Glenn McMaster, on 115 Tom Pasko, CT 76 James Geronimo, NJ 43 Mark Giddings, NY 56 Phil Barcafer, PA 93 David Rynkowski, NY 60 Tom McCorry, VA 41 Sceaudeau D’Tela, NC 52 Joe Abrams, CT 70 Andy Bartalone, MD 60 Dennis Mishler, GA 33 Haim Hochboim, il 50 Steve Koehler, NC 70 Alvaro Ugaz, VA 60 August Thiesing, NJ 30 Brandon Bernard, PA 40 Jean-Francois Gagne, qc 63 Simon Bouton, uk 60 David Buchholz, MI 16 Randy Buehler, WA 40 Lee Proctor, IL 60 Nick Palmer, uk 56 John Emery, SC 12 Edward Fu, NY 40 Joe Harrison, KY 58 David Rynkowski, NY Rick Desper, MD 56 August Thiesing, NJ Geoffrey Entwistle, MD 12 Mark Giddings, NY Rob Renaud, NY 38 Bill Dyer, IL Wray Ferrell, NC 53 Tom Kobrin, NC 48 Lane Hess, PA 12 Edward Fear, NY 30 Jacob Dyer, IL 52

Diplomacy (DIP) Dominant Species (DSP) Dominion (DOM) Dune (DUN) Going into the third and final round, Jay Bor- 24 contestants, a steep decline from prior The Dominion preliminaries introduced a new After a 4-year absence, House Harkonnen ing held the lead with two tied board tops. How- years, continued to display a fine grasp of survival twist, with every player having the chance, nay returned to the top with a 54% win rate. 11 of ever, numerous players with solid scores in the despite the global cooling in the Ballroom. Eight obligation, to veto one of the 14 Kingdom Cards the 12 qualifying games ended with a 2-player opening rounds still had hopes of overcoming his games were played in three heats. The father-son selected for each of two games. Chapels were a alliance win. The other game was a BG predic- lead. Round 3 is where the full “meta” kicks in, duo of John and Kevin Emery won twice and popular veto, but many tables saw split victo- tion victory, surprisingly timed at a fairly early as players know exactly what they need to win, when Dennis Mishler declined to advance, the five ries and few sweeps, bringing a field of 64 to the Turn 5. There were no Guild or Fremen default or at least grab a coveted Best Country award. remaining qualifiers advanced directly to a Final. quarterfinals. Day 2 featured two games centered victories this year, which probably contributed Board 1 ended up being a slog with shifting alli- John Emery bid 7 for the insects, Tom Mc- around the Bishop card and his Victory chips, but to the overall decrease in game duration, but it’s ances because we had a few new players. Adam Corry 6 for the amphibians, Kevin Emery and few players who did poorly in Game 1 could re- certainly possible that one or more of the three Sigal’s Turkey topped the board with eight centers Augie Thiesing both bid 3 for the arachnids and cover in the subsequent match, resulting in a field adjudicated games may have ended in stalemate after a back-and-forth affair. The true challenge reptiles, leaving Robb Effinger the mammals of 15 semifinalists who finished either flawlessly if permitted to continue to the bitter end. was on Board 2 where three players were hotly en- for free. Robb jumped out to a quick lead with or one-two (Mark Giddings was the sole first-and- Best Faction plaques were awarded to Mi- gaged. Russia and Austria opened against Turkey nine points, with Augie riding the survival card third player to qualify). chael Powers for best Atreides; Wray Ferrell, best at the same time England and Germany jumped for eight. Turn 3 was the turn of Speciation, as With the return of Cornucopia and Hinterlands BG; Jake Dyer, best Emperor; Adam Sigal, best France. Both alliances held until the victims were both Fertile and Fecund were scored. John rode cards as well as the introduction of Dark Ages Fremen; Bill Dyer, best Guild; and Matt Fagan, dismissed. Once clear of the chaff, the A-T began a a massive wave of bugs to a 2-point lead over cards in the semifinals, players familiar with the best Harkonnen. deliberate push west into Germany and Italy. Once Robb, helped immensely by a 10-point survival newer sets may have had a slight advantage. Just 2010 champion Jean-Francois Gagne advanced again, it was defending champ David Rynkowski play, with Tom’s amphibians pulling into third. missing the Final table were the Tu brothers--Tim with the only solo victory, along with Wray Ferrell, as Russia who managed to make significant late Kevin got into the action on Turn 4, with a double finishing fifth and Thomas sixth. the only 3-game winner. Liam Dyer, Ty Hansen, gains. Time was called as Germany was pushed wanderlust to net 13 points, moving him within a In the Final, more Dark Ages gave Giddings a and Lee Procter also advanced with two wins each. to the brink of destruction, and Russia stood alone point of Tom’s amphibians. decisive victory in Game 1 with Duncan McGregor 2012 Champion Jake Dyer claimed the last seat. Un- at board top with 13 centers. His second board top The last turn saw Kevin and Augie’s decision placing second. In both games, Conal Jaegar fa- fortunately, Ty declined to advance, and it fell to netted David just enough points to best Jay for the to play the long game borne out. Kevin scored vored Treasure-heavy decks but could not trans- the third alternate, defending champion Bill Dyer, title and in so doing he became the only back-to- 45 points in Ice Age scoring with Augie netting late either set into a victory. Chad Weaver, a fre- to take the remaining seat at the table. This not only back champ in the history of the event. 15. The others totaled only 13 points between quent face in the Dominion Top Six, faltered in the gave a 3-time former champion a second life, but The Best Country Awards went to: Carter Su them. Augie’s adaptive arachnids had managed first game and tried to capitalize on Game 2’s Black also put three Dyers into the 2014 Final. Of course, and Jay Boring (Austria), David Rynkowski and to spread out, and his Final scoring barely man- Market and King’s Court, to no avail. Giddings the patron saint of Second Chances immediately Adam Sigal (England), Christian Pe- aged to offset Kevin’s huge Ice Age tally. After dished out Curses like crazy in Game 2, giving him took notice! When the spice settled, done (France), Matt Calkins and Bill Final Scoring and subtraction of four straight wins in the tournament’s the Guild held three strongholds Riggs (Germany), Rex Martin (Italy bids, Augie had 126 to claim the last four games and the overall victory with a mere eight tokens, with his & Turkey), and David Rynkowski title ahead of Kevin 122, Robb after barely making it out of the quar- Harkonnen ally in the fourth, giv- (Russia). 117, Tom 105, and John 98. terfinals as the 16th seed. ing Bill Dyer his fourth Dune title! 20 Century Events Century Events 21

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Cary Morris, NC Alex Bove, PA Dave Steiner, IN Rob Kilroy, PA Kyle Smith, PA Greg Thatcher, CA Norm Newton, on Bill Peeck, NY Keith Dent, KY Yoel Weiss, NJ Bob Stribula, PA Mike Dwyer, FL O Elaine Pearson, NC O Robb Effinger, on Mike Holmquist, PA O Wm. Kendrick, uk O Steven LeWinter, NC O David Buchholz, MI Trella Bromley, FL O Joseph Burch, MD O Dominic Blais, qc O Geoff Pounder, on Ken Gutermuth, NC O Steve Squibb, PA

Andrew Emerick, CT Rob Flowers, MD Bob Stribula, PA Matt Evinger, PA 58  2011-2014 70  1999-2014 62  1999-2014 37  1991-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Andrew Emerick, CT 56 Rob Flowers, MD 109 Richard Meyer, MA 218 Gordon Rodgers, PA 96 Randy Buehler, WA 50 Robb Effinger, on 108 Dave Steiner, IN 151 Matt Evinger, PA 78 Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 42 Greg Thatcher, FL 95 Eric Brosius, MA 125 Rob Kilroy, PA 66 Cary Morris, NC 34 Curt Collins II, PA 87 Harald Henning, CT 115 Bill Peeck, NY 65 Sam Schell, NC 30 Geoff Pounder, on 73 Jim Yerkey, MD 110 Tim Hitchings, DE 63 Kyle Smith, PA 24 Jason Levine, NY 62 Tom Dunning, NY 97 Mike Sincavage, VA 48 Elaine Pearson, NC 18 Eric Freeman, PA 60 Ken Gutermuth, NC 89 Evan Hitchings, DE 47 Robert Murray, NJ 18 Jay Fox, OH 55 Debbie Gutermuth, NC 84 Blair Morgen, NJ 36 Cary Morris, NC Robert Kircher, RI 14 Alex Bove, PA Charlie Kersten, OH 40 Dave Steiner, IN Mark Kennel, DE 84 Rob Kilroy, PA Mike Mitchell, GA 36 Keith Dent, NY 14 Mark Guttag, VA 40 Tedd Mullally, NJ 79 Robert Eastman, NV 33

Egizia (EGZ) El Grande (ELG) Empire Builder (EPB) Enemy in Sight (EIS) Four double winners in the preliminaries, 20 preliminary games yielded no double Bill Peeck ably demoed our old classic to six Two of eight qualifiers declined to advance— Randy Beuhler, Cary Morris, Kyle Smith, and winners but Greg Thatcher won three, includ- newcomers. 30 preliminary games followed in doubtlessly already on the road. The Sunday fi- Andrew Emerick, allowed any winner to qualify ing one of 150 points. The Jay’s Basement crowd three heats. Bob Stribula won three while Mark nale has always made this a local extravagance. for the semis without fear of first heat tiebreak- was well represented, while the GM and his as- Kennel and Richard Curtin each triumphed twice EIS was the last event firing and turned out the ers. The four double winners were seeded for sistants barely made the cut. With the number to receive the highest seeds. With two missing lights on 2014. Five of the six finalists qualified the semifinals, but only two advanced—Morris of games played, ties are not uncommon. Usu- qualifiers, one alternate also advanced to make in their first heat; only Rob Kilroy needing a sec- and Smith. Two-time Caesar Randy Beuhler was ally, the first two tiebreakers suffice. However, 25 semifinalists competing on five Empire Builder ond attempt. bested by WBC newcomer Keith Dent while de- this year, a battle went to the third tiebreaker maps. The closest runner-up was awarded 6th The opening hand distributed points fairly fending champion Andrew Emerick was elimi- (highest unused power card). Fortunately for place—thereby earning Ken Gutermuth his fez. evenly with only a 29-point spread. In the sec- nated by Elaine Pearson, just as she had done in Tim Mossman, he had his 13 left while Geoff Two of the Eurorails finalists were returnees: the ond hand, the action grew heavier with a cou- the semifinals two years ago. Pounder could muster only a 12. repeating Trella Bromley and Dave Steiner—a vet- ple strong, but failed, attempts to end the game. Keith drew the coveted first seat in the Fi- The semifinals produced tense games. In the eran of four previous Finals. Dave drew first, from Rob, Bill Peeck and Mike Dwyer all brought nal, followed by Cary, Kyle, and Elaine. The first closest, Greg Thatcher edged Geoff Pounder on a Paris to Bilbao. Norm Newton paralleled him to Va- prizes back to port. William Kendrick scored round featured a relatively weak set of cards. tiebreaker to win his fourth straight, thereby rel- lencia. Mike Holmquist built from the UK to Mar- 43 points, but his combined total of 67 left him Consequently, the trip down the river was slower egating Geoff to sixth place. seille. Bob Stribula built from London to München. 14 behind Rob and 24 behind Mike’s 91. than usual, with Cary, Kyle, and Elaine all stop- The Final featured previous champions Thatch- Trella linked Porto and Toulouse. She added track So we went to a third hand and it did not ping at the Sphinx. Predictably, the second round er and Robb Effinger, plus a pair of runners-up: from Bruxelles to Szczecin but left a large gap. No- disappoint. Five of the next six boarding at- card row was rich. Cary, Kyle and Elaine all David Buchholz and Yoel Weiss. Alex Bove, a new- tice how three players immediately established track tempts were repelled despite +3 on the dice. boosted their stone production this round, while comer to ELG laurels, occupied the fifth seat. The to Iberia, the map’s most lucrative region. Mike later After several more rounds of carnage, Bill Keith elected to slowboat, picking up both a game started with one of the few cards that can joined them. As five tracks spread throughout Eu- boarded the last ship in Rob’s line, but Rob green and yellow food card, a spot at the Sphinx, dramatically change the outset: Decay of Authority. rope, Dave and Trella stayed on the continent. At was saved the 15-point penalty for loss of his and several crew strength. Dave, bidding last, was first player with a 6 and exe- game’s end, Bob had built the least track, from Ab- fleet by a Refuse Battle card. Bad luck contin- In final scoring Cary flipped a solid stack of scor- cuted the card, sending home seven cabs from each erdeen to Napoli. Mike had by far the most, Porto to ued to plague Steve Squibb who finished last. ing cards, picking up six from four bricks in the col- player. He also set up a Score the Least card that Yoel Beograd including the Chunnel to net the most rent. Joe Burch could only garner 14 more points for umns, seven for three people at the end of the grain then used to score all the current regions and propel Trella pitched most often. Dave and Norm shuttled 61 and fifth place. William added 33 to reach track, four for finishing the grain track, seven for fin- both of them to a decent lead. A complete account back and forth to Iberia. However, Dave speculated 100 but was only the fourth to do so. Mike lost ishing both tracks, eight for having the most brown is on the website, but Alex’s relative inexperience well on cork; drawing the cork to Leipzig for €52M his lead but edged William by a point. Bill’s fields, plus two for graves and three for unused proved no impediment to a narrow 2-point win for card, he quickly made his 13th delivery 60-point hand gave him 110 for the day and stones, giving him 99 points. Thus, his first ELG title and tenth overall. to total €261M cash. That clinched the second place. Rob’s second Cary won, and the three-way logjam Greg and Yoel tied for second at 106, victory. Norm made 15 deliveries for chance qualification paid off at 86 for the remaining places was while Robb and Dave finished with €173M, Bob 16 for €121M, Mike ten for with 45 for the last hand to broken by the order they arrived. 103 and 101 respectively. €114M, and Trella nine for €109M. give him 126 and the win. 22 Century Events Century Events 23

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Craig Moffit, NJ Jason Arvey, VA Joe Powell, VA James Pei, VA Aaron Fuegi, MA Richard Irving, CA Paul O’Neil, MD Bill Pettus, MD O Greg Crowe, MD O Edward Fear, OH O Bert Schoose, IL Dave Dockter, MN O Eric Freeman, PA O Roderick Lee, CA O D. Rynkowski, NY Nick Pei, CA O Steve Scott, CA O Bruce Rae, bc O Dan Dolan, Jr, VT O Lucas Rhodes, PA O Brian Greer, VA OMark Guttag, VA O Bruce Reiff, OH O Jeff Donald, VA

Craig Moffit, NJ John Corrado, VA Bert Schoose, IL Mark Herman, MD 42  1999-2014 96  1993-2014 24  1991-2014 28  1999-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jeff Cornett, FL 114 Richard Irving, CA 86 Bruce Reiff, OH 284 James Pei, VA 762 Craig Moffit, NJ 98 Richard Meyer, MA 85 Bill Cleary, MD 99 David Dockter, MN 244 Aaron Fuegi, MA 82 Paul Bean, MA 72 Joe Powell, VA 90 Mark Giddings, NY 151 Eric Freeman, PA 76 Jason Arvey, VA 52 Ken Whitesell, MD 75 Mike Mitchell, GA 93 John Kilbride, PA 42 Mark Guttag, VA 45 Ray Stakenas II, CA 68 Nicholas Pei, CA 84 Ananda Gupta, MD 42 Aaron Silverman, FL 44 Bert Schoose, IL 64 Bill Pettus, MD 76 Chetan Radia, uk 40 Doug Hoylman, MD 42 David Rynkowski, NY 63 Riku Reikkinen, fi 68 Aran Warszawski, il 38 Eric Brosius, MA 40 Kevin Keller, MD 51 Tim Miller, GA 68 Craig Moffitt, NJ Rob Kilroy, PA 36 Jason Arvey, VA Ted Drozd, IL 32 Joe Powell, VA Paul O’Neil, MD 45 James Pei, VA Trevor Bender, CA 62 Patrick Shea, VA 34 Randy Cox, SC 31 Dan Dolan, Jr, NJ 28 Sean Dolbee, CA 60

Euphrat & Tigris (E&T) Facts in Five (FI5) Football Strategy (FBS) For The People (FTP) E&T drew 42 players using a rules vari- From small acorns large trees grow. For the second time in the history of As the saying goes, if it were a fight, they’d ant to balance the advantage of the first two 15 years ago this old chestnut was the event, the winner was crowned by have stopped it. For the 14th time in 16 years, seats. Instead of the normal two actions, the nearly dropped for lack of participa- winning both heats. Joe Powell racked James Pei has won again. We had another sol- first two players received just one action to start play. tion, but this year it was SRO with a record 96 up his third title in four years by cruising id turnout with 28 ACW aficionados crossing The distribution of wins was six, five, three, and two players. Who would have thought that replac- through both brackets. The move to Monday swords. After being MIA for several years, WBC for players moving first through fourth, respectively. ing the self-scoring arguments with planned night football proved successful, outdrawing cheerleader, sandman and four-time FTP final- 11 preliminary winners and the closest run- categories, researched answers and a Power the normal Wednesday heat 19 to 16. ist, David Dockter, returned to do battle. We all ner-up filled three semifinals. In the first, two-time Point presentation would make such a huge Dave Rynkowski seems to have everyone’s settled back to watch how he would be thwarted champion Eric Freeman (6-6-6-8) as the second difference? It makes you wonder what Seven number except for Joe Powell as he dropped an- this year. dynasty edged fellow two-time champion Aaron Springs’ larger media room will draw. As al- other decision to Joe, 24-7 in the first heat semi- The Master got warmed up in a quarterfinal Fuegi (5-6-6-8). Aaron would advance anyway as ways, the crowd was great, being full of energy finals. In the other game, Paul O’Neill parlayed game vs Jeff Donald. Jeff played a Major Cam- the closest runner-up. In the second game, defend- and laughter despite the lateness of the hour four interceptions into a 32-20 win over Dan paign to isolate and surround all Rebel forces in ing champion Tom Good (4-8-9-11) dominated on a Saturday after a full week of intense strat- Dolan, Jr. Another AHFSL rematch ensued in Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, he left a small the table in overall scoring but came up short on egizing. the Heat Final with Joe topping Paul 30-27 with gap in WV. James promptly pulled out his own black, allowing Craig Moffitt (6-6-8-8) to advance. As for results: Jason Arvey managed to be only lots of help from his dice special teams in the Major Campaign to turn the tables. Meanwhile, In In the last game, Greg Crowe (8-8-10-11) won as a point behind on the second round and had a form of a 100 yd KO return and a fumbled KO the semifinals to determine Pei’s final victim, Bill the fourth dynasty. small lead with the fourth, but it was his six-point fueling his 30-13 halftime lead. Pettus’ Union tried to save the Dockter from an- With the Final’s tile bag nearly empty and the lead in Round 3 that made the difference, allow- The other heat semifinals saw Dave, coming other Jedi mind trick. The CSA army under Jack- score tight, tactical actions to secure a few points ing him to take a comfortable win with 79 points. off his second shutout of the tournament, paired son and Forrest failed to dislodge Union corps in to balance their colors became crucial. Greg had Long-time player and previous host Richard Ir- again vs his nemesis Joe and while this game Bloomington defended by Curtis and a fort, three exhausted the red tiles from his hand and the oth- ving scored steadily in every round and had a big was much closer, Joe advanced to the bracket times! On Turn 8, Bill then used a brilliant Cam- ers sensed weakness. They each had to decide how finish, letting him pull into second with 76 points. Final with a 23-20 win. In the other bracket paign card to launch Grant’s army from Paducah weak an attack they could make against him when Newcomer Ed Fear, however, not only was a Bert Schoose and Paul O’Neill had a really tight to AA into Dover. This totally unhinged Rebel po- losing would cost them the game. After losing each great volunteer, but also managed to score in the game decided by a field goal with 15 seconds sitions in Kentucky and Tennessee. The Union re- of these conflicts, Greg ended play by exhausting top 5 in three rounds, earning a total of 74 and left, 23-20, as Paul once again found himself 3 signed and Pei-Dockter IV was relegated to wish- the tile bag. Craig won with a score of 8-9-11-12 (six third place, followed by Bruce Rae and Roderick points short. The heat Final started out badly for ful thinking and returned to Dave’s hope chest. black plus two treasures). Aaron had 8-8-8-13, Greg Lee tied at 68. Finally, last year’s winner Mark Joe as he was stopped on his opening drive and The Final thus pit Pettus’ Union against …well, 7-8-8-11, and Eric 7-8-8-11. In contrast to the domi- Guttag took 6th place with 67 points. Bert went the distance to grab a 7-0 you know. Suffice to say that Pei had strong hands nating preliminary performance of the A full recap of the event, including lead. After that, Joe’s pedigree took that he played to perfection. The first seat, the second and fourth dynas- the categories, letters, and highlights over, holding Bert to two field goals Union resigned on Turn 4 and ties finished first or second in every from less-than-correct entries can be while methodically dominating in a James carved another notch in elimination game. found on the website. relatively easy 28-13 win. his belt. 24 Century Events Century Events 25

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Alex Metzger, NY Jim Fleckenstein, VA Phillip Entwistle, MD Ed Menzel, CA Curt Collins II, PA F. Wobbeking, MD Ben Gardner, VA Gregory D. Smith, FL Bill Beckman, SC Mark Love, MD John Pack, CO Bob Jamelli, PA O Bruce Rae, bc Ashley Worley, ru O Chris Entwistle, MD O Richard Beyma, VA O R.J. Gleaton, SC O Drew Duboff, NJ O Doug Galullo, MD O John Sharp, FL O Eli Zlotowski, CA O Chris Kizer, NC O Jason Wagner, PA O Devin Dausin, VA

Joshua Githens, SC Chris LeFevre, AZ John Pack, CO Vince Meconi, DE 69  2000-2014 106  2001-2014 45  1992-2014 29  1992-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jason Levine, NY 160 Lisa Gutermuth, NC 78 Nick Henning, DC 206 Ed Menzel, CA 285 Barry Smith, NY 125 Sarah Vasilakos, VA 61 John Pack, CO 150 Vincent Meconi, DE 182 Lance Fogel, PA 78 John Speck, MD 46 Pitt Crandlemire, MA 132 Richard Beyma, VA 145 Roderick Lee, CA 61 Faith Wobbeking, MD 42 Nick Smith, uk 130 Ted Drozd, IL 102 Rejean Tremblay, on 52 Brandon Bernard, PA 42 Ben Gardner, VA 90 Allen Kaplan, NJ 91 Curt Collins II, PA 49 Jim Fleckenstein, VA 40 Andy Gardner, VA 77 Dave Zimmerman, PA 81 Alex Metzger, NY 40 Chris LeFevre, AZ 33 Bob Hamel, CT 75 Gregory D. Smith, PA 69 Robert Kircher, MA 38 Jordan Flawd, PA 33 Doug Galullo, MD 70 Jim Tracy, OH 66 Alex Metzger, NY John Schoose, IL 34 Jim Fleckenstein, VA Stefany Speck, MD 30 Philip Entwistle, MD Thomas Richardson, VA 64 Ed Menzel, CA Barry Shoults, MI 56 Nick Henning, DC 33 Forrest Speck, MD 30 Jim Castonguay, PA 54 Mike Pacheco, CA 54

Formula De (FDE) Formula Motor Racing (FMR) Gangsters (GSR) Gettysburg (GBG) The event was contested by 69 drivers in We again had 27 preliminary races in three Phillip “Iron” Entwistle became the God- 29 entrants split 36 games. Ed Men- three heats. The preliminaries produced 13 heats. A special prize was offered to whoever lost father by edging Ben “The Roach” Gardner by zel, who finished 6-2 for the week, won winners, who were culled by tiebreakers for a the most cars in all three heats. Katie McCorry one $100 piece of real estate. But it was Geoffrey a record sixth crown by defeating Greg ten-car Final at Zandervoort. It is a rarely raced claimed the booby prize and cancelation of her “Cartridge” Entwistle who took home the danc- Smith. For his part, Greg posted an 8-4 log. circuit long out of print. Cars were customized Geico policy with ten cars lost. But the most grins ing Gangster teddy bear, making him the envy of Third place went to journeyman Bob Jamelli for three laps by assigning 20 wear points across were earned at the Santa Claus Table, so named all the Vamps, who will no doubt visit often in with a 3-2 mark in his first playoff appearance. six categories. Most invested heavily in tires. for the presence of white-bearded 2006 champ 2015. To celebrate the colors of Gangsters, each Defending champ Richard Beyma (4-1) fell all Events would prove that Engine and Suspen- Matt Evinger paired with five Junior’s Program arriving player claimed a fully loaded grenade the way to 4th with his lone loss in the semi- sion investments would have been wiser. graduates who collectivey did not equal his age. squirt gun. Winners received a pair of shades finals and took home the book Gettysburg: A Before the first lap ended, eight damage On the more successful side of the ledger, 14 in their gang colors. “Tommy Dice” Johnston Battlefield Atlas, given to the highest finisher who markers littered the track. Body Damage and of 26 heat winners returned for the semifinals and claimed a blue pair of shades for winning the did not win a plaque. Engine Wear decorated the straight. Six damage were joined by four runners-up alternates to fill 18 Barney Fife Memorial Award. The top qualifiers were, in order, defending markers blocked the raceway, forcing drivers slots for Round 2. Faith Wobbeking and Jim Fleck- Vampage claimed 17 innocent bystanders champ Richard Beyma (4-0, 52 points), Bob Ja- over them for the duration. There were no clear enstein ran 1, 2 at Table 1 with 33 and 32 points, in the Final! Both of the ruling crime syndicates melli (3-1, 42 points), Ed Menzel (4-2, 38 points), lanes and every car had the potential to be elimi- Drew Duboff and Chris Kizer tied at Table 2 with 31 ended with huge gangs, 9/1/2 and 7/1/3 respec- and Greg Smith (7-3, 36 points). To make the nated no matter how cautiously it drove. points and Ashley Worley and Mark Love claimed tively. We know where they got them—vamping playoffs, the latter won a strength-of-schedule The track’s first victim was Carolyn Catan, re- the last two Final seats with 34 and 28 points. John “Viper” Pack and, Little Red. However, Iron tiebreaker over 5th place finisher John Sharp (3- tired halfway through the first lap by a blown engine. Faith took a commanding lead into the last never had to use his to attack one of the Roach’s 0). Richard, Ed, and Greg all repeated from last Barry Smith suffered the same fate soon afterwards. race with 33 points. Mark was second with 24, fol- joints since the Viper handled that task for him. year’s final four. The Beyma-Smith semifinal Bill Dyer fell victim to traffic, eliminated by the loss lowed by Jim 22, Ashley 20, Chris 16 and Drew 15. The Viper was up to 8 G’s, but spending to re- was a replay of the 2013 semifinal, but with a of his last bodywork point. Engine troubles struck Mark’s opening play was the Engine Blown card place vamped Thugs cost him in the end. But Lit- different result. Greg’s Union forced a Turn 14 again, forcing Josh Githens into early retirement. Eli against Faith’s lead car, knocking it out of the tle Red, hounded by vamps continuously, never resignation causing Richard to miss the Final for Zlotowski fell victim to his own aggression, over- race. Faith returned the favor with poetic justice got off the ground despite good payoffs atthe the first time in six years. Meanwhile, Menzel’s shooting a corner. RJ Gleaton made a push for the by playing the other Engine Blown card success- Downtown Bus Station. The silver lining? Little Federals stopped Jamelli 47-32. lead when he ran afoul of track debris. Bruce Rae, fully against Mark’s third place car. The surpris- Red won the “I Think She Likes Me!” award to Ed snagged the Rebels in the Final for a bid drafting on RJ’s bumper, met the same fate. In the ing end result of this mayhem was that Jim was prove he’s a very unorthodox finalist. of 9.5. At the end of July 2, the Confederate VP end, only three of the finalists were still in motion. left with his cars in position 1 and 3, giving him 14 But, in the final analysis, it came advantage was only 0.5, but the Union score was Young Alex Metzger, playing his first game in the points for the race and a total of 36, making him down to the real estate war. It was bolstered by the bid and territorial holdings. In heats, maintained a lead and claimed his first WBC our new champion. Faith faded to second with 34, definitely a seller’s market with two contrast, the CSA had not suf- title. By mere virtue of their sur- followed by Mark with 26, slumlords doing their best to corner the fered an infantry step loss. The vival, Curt Collins and Bill Beck- Ashley with 24, Drew with market. In the end, one turn was all that Union was obliged to surrender man took second and third. 21, and Chris with 16. separated the Godfather from the Roach. at the end of Turn 17. 26 Century Events Century Events 27

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Jeff Meyer, MA Justin Rice, VA Malcolm Smith, VA George Young, VT Kyle Smith, PA Raynald Foret, fr Fred Bauer, VA B. von Knorring, se David Platnick, VA Thibault Nguyen, fr Tom Good, NC Michael Sosa, DE O Rob Spade, PA O Rob Doane, RI O Steve Koleszar, VA James Pei, VA O Richard Meyer, MA O Peter Putnam, PA O Lyman Moquin, DC Chris Byrd, CT O Christian Moffa, NJ O Ted Drozd, IL O Ron Draker, VA Keith Wixson, NJ

Derek Glenn, KY Great Campaigns Dave Cross, VA Lyman Moquin, DC Stuart Tucker, MD 26  2004-10, 12-14 17  1993-2014 21  2003-2014 46  1996-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Alex Bove, PA 154 Chris Withers, CA 395 George Seary, NY 219 James Pei, VA 459 Rod Spade, PA 105 Ed Beach, MD 275 Lyman Moquin, DC 205 Keith Wixson, NJ 391 Chris Moffa, NJ 88 David Cross, VA 142 Malcolm Smith, VA 108 Chris Byrd, CT 259 Arthur Field, SCf 84 Rob Doane, RI 127 Rick Young, NC 108 Jim Heenehan, PA 254 Raphael Lehrer, MD 79 Mark Booth, VA 107 Hank Burkhalter, GA 87 Lyman Moquin, DC 102 Chris Trimmer, TX 64 Steve Likevich, OH 106 Ric Manns, IN 68 Randall MacInnis, NJ 97 Kevin Walsh, NY 63 Justin Rice, VA 95 Fred Bauer, VA 66 Steve Worrel, VA 96 John Kerr, VA 48 B. Passacantando, CT 84 Phil Barcafer, PA 53 Peter Reese, VA 94 Jeff Meyer, MA Jeff Meyer, MA 30 Justin Rice, VA Paul Nied, KS 78 Malcolm Smith, VA Bruce Reiff, OH 51 George Young, VT Stuart Tucker, MD 76 Daniel Eppolito, CA 30 Scott Spurgeon, on 63 Ron Draker, VA 36 Michael Sosa, DE 72

Goa (GOA) Great Campaigns ACW (GCA) Hammer of the Scots (HOS) Hannibal (HRC) Goa attendance fell to a record low This year’s tournament continued the With present day Scots again pondering free- George Young’s week got off to a and right out of the Century, but enough 2013 format. We played three prelimi- dom from the English, a well attended demo ex- strong start when the 42nd and last play- top players persisted for a challenging nary rounds on Wednesday with a mix panded the field in the 12th year of the Highland- er to arrive for Round 1 proved to be a event. The smaller field yielded great matches of scenarios. We covered all eras of the in print ers vs Longshanks rumble. Several energetic new contender who drew the short straw and opened even in the preliminaries. Former champions games (All Green Alike, Stonewall Jackson’s Way II, players attended and advanced to the elimination with defending champion Keith Wixson. Five met several times including one three-way con- Battle Above the Clouds) in the preliminary rounds rounds. There the KGB crew was again dominant, hours later, Michael Sosa survived a 9-9 tie, thus test. Two-time defending champion Rod Spade to provide a good flavor of the differences in the pitting brother vs. brother in the medal rounds, removing a major obstacle in Young’s bracket. led all qualifiers with 55 points to advance. armies for a field of 17. This included six newcom- and ultimately hogging another crown. The new Meanwhile, Young disposed of Gary Dickson, The semifinals drew eight qualifiers. The ers at the Demo round with many playing several Mulligan format had the appreciated effect of killing Hannibal on Turn 9 to win 10-8. Young first game had two-time champion Alex Bove vs rounds in the tournament. We advanced six to eliminating “tie breakers”. Early rounds favored advanced again in Round 2 with an 11-7 win over a trio of champs from other events: David Plat- the elimination round. Congratulations to Peter the English, both in bidding and victories by a John Boisvert. nick, Rich Meyer, and Kyle Smith. Kyle emerged Putnam as our Risen From the Ranks winner who margin of 6:4, but the bids declined and favored Young turned on his earlier benefactor in the winner with 50 points despite having the advanced while going 2-0 in the preliminaries. the Scots by the end. Round 3 by sacking Sosa’s Carthage in Turn 5. In least Goa experience at the table. David finished This year’s tournament definitely had a 11 warriors advanced to the elimination round Round 4 Young’s Romans used two late Intercept- close behind with 48 to advance also. The other “World Cup” feel. We welcomed Thibault Nguy- and six remained thereafter. Four were members of ed Messengers to win 9-8 over Byrd. Meanwhile, game pit former champions Christian Moffa, en and Raynald Foret from France. Both are excel- the KGB, three from the same team (Malcolm Smith, Sosa continued to be the X factor, knocking John and Rod Spade vs Jeff Meyer, and John Corrado. lent players who made it to the elimination round. Ron Draker and Lyman Moquin). The others were Gitzen from the unbeaten ranks by killing Hanni- Jeff scored 52 to win while Rod advanced as They fit right in playing both at a very high level previous contenders Fred Bauer and Steve Koleszar, bal in Turn 4. This left just two unbeatens. runner-up with only 46. but also helping with newcomers, making it a and relative newcomer Tom Good. Good bested 11 players were still in the hunt for wood of In the first auction of the Final Jeff picked fun experience for all. We definitely hope to see Draker in the quarters to oppose defending champ some sort at the start of Round 5. Wixson upped up the “3 ducats a turn” tile for 8 ducats. This Raynald and Thibault again. Malcolm, who had just survived Steve with a 7/7 tie his position in the sandman parade by surviving would serve his Money needs well. Jeff stuck to In the end, the way the seedings worked, as the Scots. Meanwhile, Fred finally took revenge on 9-9 against Woodham’s Romans. Byrd secured his recent strategy of not pushing advancement Raynald (bye) and Thibault (defeated Ted Drozd) Lyman in the quarterfinals for their 2010 showdown, fifth by defeating Heenehan’s island strategy. Von on the expedition track. In Round 6 he drew a squared off in the semis as the “French Bracket” and taking Lyman’s favored English with a fairly high Knorring’s Mago seized Tarentum and forced Git- huge expedition card—the Harvest action card. Justin Rice (bye) and Rob Doane (defeated Peter Put- bid, then breaking the Scots early and often. zen’s early resignation to secure third place. Sosa’s He had just advanced to the bottom of the har- nam in QF) as the “American Bracket” with Raynald This left three survivors and required a bye for 11-7 defeat of Luongo gave him second. That left vest track …Ka-ching!. In the end all players and Justin advancing to the “Wilderness” for the Fi- Fred, since Malcolm had taken one earlier. Tom Young vs the Master for all the marbles. Tight finished with 4 to 7 expedition card points but nal. Justin prevailed to win his first GCACW tour- fought the good fight, but went down to throughout, It all came down to who it was Jeff who led with 52. Kyle nament. A few days later he actually the reigning champion, setting the stage got dealt Syracuse on Turn 9. George trailed by one, David had 48 and showed Raynald and Thibault where for Fred and Malcolm. Smith was up proved that Pei is not invincible, draw- Rod’s reign ended with a whim- the climactic showdown took place at to the task of defending his crown and ing the crucial card and pulling out a per and 45 points. the Wilderness battlefield. took his third HOS shield in the process. 10-8 win to drop James into fourth. 28 Century Events Century Events 29

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Jim Stanard, NJ Nathan Barhorst, IL M. Friedmannn, MA Eli Zlotowski, CA Michael Kiefte, ns C. Hancock, OH Luke Koleszar, MA F. Wobbeking, MD Michael Dauer, TX Jennifer Visocnik, IL Joe Yaure, PA Alex Gregorio, PA Dennis Mishler, TX Mike Horn, FL O Rebecca Hebner, CO O M. Mossmann, MD O Nick Benedict, CA Ty Hansen, DC O Thomas Strock, PA O Ted Lange, GA O R.E. Woodham, TX O Carl Adamec, NY O Alyssa Mills, MD O Tom Johnston, IL

Jeff Burdett, NY Craig Yope, MI Peter Stein, OH Brian Mongold, MD 104 42  2006-2014 42  1993-2014 100  2007-2014  2001-02, 05-06, 08-14

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jeff Burdett, NY 125 Harald Henning, CT 196 Meghan Friedmann, MA 57 Keith Levy, MD 60 Justin Rice, VA 102 Jeff King, OH 124 Joe Yaure, PA 50 Eli Zlotowski, CA 30 Alan Sudy, VA 91 Joe Collinson, MD 108 Steven LeWinter, NC 42 Jeff Senley, PA 30 Dennis Mishler, TX 85 Kevin Youells, PA 102 Jeff Mullet, OH 30 Richard Fetzer, NY 30 Kirk Harris, NJ 78 Rolinda Collinson, MD 90 Jamie Tang, MD 30 David Rohde, NC 30 Mathieu Pare-Paquin, qc 72 Jonas Borra, NY 84 Marcy Morelli, PA 30 Andy Latto, MA 20 Dave Cross, VA 72 Nathan Barhorst, MI 80 Brittany Bernard, PA 30 Dave Buchholz, MI 20 Bryan Collars, SC 68 Henry Dove, MD 80 Andy Latto, MA 30 Bob Titran, NY 20 Jim Stanard, NJ Larry Mull, NV 60 Nathan Barhorst, IL Gregory Kulp, NJ 74 Meghan Friedmann, MA Bruce Reiff, OH 25 Eli Zlotowski, CA Steve Scott, CA 19 Dan Gallagher, MD 60 Mike Backstrom, MN 68 Rebecca Hebner, CO 23 Faith Wobbeking, MD 18

Here I Stand (HIS) History of the World (HWD) Ingenius (ING) Ivanhoe (IVH) Jim Stannard is our 2014 champion, the first to The long climb to the top began with 30 As usual I had to shoo away late arrivals due 104 players contested the 11th IVH tourney, have earned the title via the full game. Stanard had hardy souls in Heat 1. The games can be swift to a game shortage. If you don’t bring a game guaranteeing that only winners would advance. fifth choice of powers in the Final, and rode a strong as was seen at one table that ended in five hours and you get there right before the cutoff time, Seven double winners (Ted Lange, Eli Zlotowski, reformation to a 10-point Turn 5, pulling away …or not, which happened when another was you’re taking a chance. Once again, a nice mix Tom Johnston, Joe Harrison, Jeff Burdett, Keith from a tightly contested game. With so many pow- still going three hours later. Heat 2 was a time of old fogeys and young ‘uns shared a table to Levy, and Rich Fetzer) led single winners Alex ers flirting with victory, events spun out of control of redemption with more than half of the 27 prove how ingenius they were. This year the Gregorio, Evan Harris, Forest Speck, Mandy on Turn 5. Desperate to get the reformation mov- players being returnees. Nine of the ten winners event dropped a heat but still managed triple Mossman, Faith Wobbeking, Steve Scott, RJ Glea- ing (and willing to keep a diplomatic agreement), returned for the semifinals. Alternates got the digit attendance for the 7th straight year. ton, and Jessa Burdett into the semifinals. the Protestants reformed all of England in the turn. other nine slots with two seats filled from out- The usual suspects appeared for the semifi- Eli was the only double winner to survive Michael Kiefte was second with the Turks, Michael side the top 18 qualifiers. nals. The survivors reaching the Final included Round 2, the rest having already expended too Dauer third (France), Dennis Mishler fourth (Haps- The mix of finalists included a trio of pre- 2012 champion Joe Yaure, two frequent laurelists much karma. He bested Forest five chips to four. burgs), Nick Benedict fifth (Pope) and Evan Wood- liminary winners—Nathan Barhorst, Mike in Meghan Friedmann and Rebecca Hebner, and Alex advanced with four chips to outscore Ted ham sixth as the Protestants. The tides rose and fell Horn and Jennifer Visocnik. Nathan also won Luke Koleszar representing the old guard. Or at Lange and 2002 champ Scott with three each. Man- for all—especially the Pope, who nearly won on his semifinal game. Ty (aka: Mr. Fort) Hansen least as old guard as it gets in Ingenious. dy disposed of a pair of double qualifiers in two- Turn 2, and the Hapsburgs, who were dicing in the was a top 18 alternate who won his semifinal. As usual, the Final was a defensive struggle time champ Levy and Johnston while squeaking New World on Turn 4 for the victory. Christina Hancock made the semis as the 15th with relatively low scores. Yellow was again the by young RJ four chips to three. The last game of The tournament drew 42 players for 11 pre- alternate behind a winner and six alternates battleground and provided the low score for ev- the round was an epic struggle with all four play- liminary games and three semifinal contests, who didn’t show. She took the second life and ery player. Rebecca was the first to fall off the ers within a chip before Faith won the clincher. with the standard tournament scenario again won in the semis. Jennifer became the top run- pace and, in the time honored tradition of most What then ensued may have been the youngest used (with Copernicus entering on Turn 5 in- ner-up in the Final based on tying Nathan in multiplayer games, immediately blamed her Final ever with Alex the grizzled veteran of all of stead of Turn 4). Preliminary victory totals by the semifinals and losing on an empire strength failures on the person sitting to her right. That 19. Devoid of old fogeys, the Final proved an epic power were four for the Hapsburgs (twice by tiebreaker. The last finalist was Carl Adamec was Meghan who Rebecca redubbed the “Darth contest. Alex and Eli quickly took two chips each 2012 champion Mathieu Pare-Paquin), three for who also was a beneficiary of non-appearing Meghan” for repeatedly blocking her best po- before Mandy strung together three consecutive the Pope, two for the Protestants and one each for qualifiers. He was runner-up to his fellow tential plays. This of course is perfectly normal wins. A fourth clinching triumph was lost only England and the Turks. The French were shutout “second-chancer” Christina in those semifinals and expected play between top players and got when Eli unhorsed her attempt at a Purple tour- for the week. The Protestants had the best per- and was rewarded with a seat at the Final and zero sympathy. In the end, both Joe and Luke ney. Faith then made her run for glory, almost tak- game score average (21.91), boasted by a 29-point a chance to win it all. had their chances to win but didn’t have quite ing her fourth chip on three occasions effort from Benedict in a preliminary Many empire draws and dice the right tile when they needed it. only to be thwarted by Alex each time. win. England (20.7) and the Haps- rolls later, Nathan emerged as the Meghan did and therefore won her Eventually, Eli and Alex, drew even burgs (20.73) were in a virtual tie for champion with a score of 196, fol- first Ingenious championship. Fi- with the ladies at three chips apiece. second. His Holiness brought up the lowed by Christina 182, Jennifer 182, nal scores were: Meghan 11, Luke Eli then broke the deadlock to win his rear in average VPs (18.73). Mike 170, Ty 167, and Carl 158. 10/12, Joe 10/11, and Rebecca 9. fourth game in as many attempts. 30 Century Events Century Events 31

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Ron Draker, VA Tom DeMarco, NJ Nick Page, on George Talbot, PA Fred Bauer, VA Peter Stein, OH Geof. Pounder, on Josh Githens, SC O Barry Eynon, CA Dave Dentel, VA Paul Sampson, OH Jeff Meyer, MA O Alex Kraska, MD O B. Buchanan, NC O Daniel Speyer, NY Max DuBoff, NJ O Justin Thompson, VA O Marc Houde, VA O Nick Vayn, PA O John Pack, CO O Tom Drueding, MA O John Keating, IN O Dan Eppolito, NV O Dominic Blais, qc

Justin Thompson, VA Steve Cuccaro, MD Kenneth Horan, PA Jason Levine, NY 20  2010-2014 42  1991-2014 33  2010-2014 199  2003-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Justin Thompson, Va 75 Steve Cuccaro, MD 163 Nick Page, on 102 Josh Githens, SC 90 Tom Drueding, MA 69 Peter Stein, OH 134 Daniel Eppolito, NV 66 Andrew Emerick, CT 58 Ron Draker, VA 42 Lee Rodrigues, VA 60 Kenneth Horan, PA 51 Patrick Shea, VA 42 Fred Bauer, VA 39 Nick Smith, uk 51 Nick Vayn, PA 36 Daniel Hoffman, NC 36 Willim Austin, VA 39 Tom DeMarco, NJ 48 Daniel Speyer, NY 30 George Talbot, PA 30 Joe Harrison, KY 30 Tom McCorry, VA 46 Geoffrey Pounder, on 18 Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY 30 Malcolm Smith, VA 24 John Keating, IN 45 Nick Henning, DC 18 Richard M. Shay, MA 30 Alex Kraska, MD 18 Dave Dentel, VA 42 Mike Kaltman, PA 15 Bernard Beckerman, NY 30 Marc Houde, VA 41 Kathy Kilroy, PA 30 Ron Draker, VA Barry Eynon, CA 12 Tom DeMarco, NJ Nick Page, on Paul Sampson, OH 12 George Talbot, PA Bill Powers, VA 12 Sean McCulloch, OH 40 David Duncan, PA 12 Josh Lanham, MD 30

Julius Caesar (JUC) Kremlin (KRM) Le Havre (LHV) Liar’s Dice (LID) We had three former Champions in the tilt Three-time champ Pete Stein became The 2014 tournament switched to a prefer- 199 crazed liars appeared for the tradition- along with a group of worthy contenders. Three the #1 seed with two wins; the other fi- ence for 3-player games. This created a slight al massed cup shake and simultaneous roll of rounds of Swiss started with random pairs. nalists each won with three waves, and increase in the number of games and a more nearly 1,000 dice. 34 of those prevaricators per- Winners then played winners until we arrived were ranked equally. competitive semifinal round, as it essentially re- severed to the semifinal round. at our final four. Pompey ran roughshod in the The first Purge Phase set the tone with a failed quired players to win a heat to advance. It also The Final contingent of liars included Dom- Preliminary rounds with a 70% winning per- attempt despite a Purge card modifier. Marc Houde led to high scoring games; the winning score ex- inic Blais, George Talbot, Josh Githens, John centage. We had changed the rules to allow Cae- took the early lead with Nestor and managed a wave ceeding 300 francs seven times. The highest of Pack, Jeff Meyer, and Max DuBoff. Josh was sar to go first on the first card play regardless despite his age. Sadly, Nestor was not long for this these scores belonged to Nick Vayn: 313. the original champion of this event and has re- of the card played in an attempt to balance the world. The new party chief was chosen from the The semifinal saw familiar names, including turned to the Final five times. That’s saying a game by preventing Pompey from running into second tier based on his exceptional qualifications: former champions Dan Eppolito and Ken Horan. lot when you consider that in 12 years, there Rome for a quick victory. being both ill and under investigation. Defending However the first 3-player Final in the event’s have been only 11 subsequent appearances The four qualifiers for the elimination champ John Keating appeared to be in charge, but history included two new finalists: Geoffrey by former finalists and Josh has four of them. rounds were Ron Draker 3-0, Fred Bauer 3-0, was constrained from Politburo rearrangement by Pounder and Paul Sampson. Their opponent was Among this crop, only Jeff had also reached Alex Kraska 2-1 and Barry Eynon 2-1. Tom the Defense Minister blackmailing him to remain in defending champion Nick Page who was the lone Round 3 previously—back in 2008. Drueding and Justin Thompson also finished place. Newcomer Brandon Buchanan then revealed double winner in the heats and who has been in Dominic, John and Max were quickly ush- 2-1 but missed the cut on tiebreakers. The semi- his control at the last minute, but the ill leader wasn’t every Le Havre Final. ered to the sidelines. The three remaining liars finals were over quickly as both unbeatens dem- able to make it through the Parade, and was purged Nick would achieve the powerful cheap Build- each had four dice left and would now have onstrated why they were undefeated and rolled by John’s KGB head on the next turn. At this point ing Firm—Marketplace setup in Round 1 but ironi- to pick on equally armed adversaries. Jeff was over their opposition in record time as the KGB Nikotin was elected, and John, Brandon and Dave cally would not enter the Marketplace the entire next to go when George ushered him out of block party continued to have its way. Dentel all revealed eight influence on the new party game. He would also win the battle for the Colliery, contention with the loss of his last two dice Fred was pleased to get Pompey for the Fi- chief. After that, things got a tad hectic. arguably the most important building in the game. on an ill-conceived bid of six 1’s. Now it was nal, but his karma did not extend to Round 3. Flu epidemics, purges, assassinations and tri- Geoff would counter by selling the Sawmill to ob- down to a duel between the former champion The game came down to the last card play. If als all took their toll so Turn 10 dawned on a de- tain an early wood ship and converting an incred- vs the rookie finalist. Three dice each for all the Fred had gone first on the last turn, the game pleted politburo and the realization that the game ible 21 coal into coke immediately after the Colliery marbles head to head. They split the next two would have been in doubt, but because Ron held would not be won by waves. Finally, only three became available. Paul got into early money trouble bids at one die apiece. When George won the a 3 movement card, Caesar went first and won choices remained. Turn 10.5 began with Tom De- and ended up having as many as 14 loans at one rubber match on a bid of two 4’s to put Josh the game 8-5. This was Ron’s first Marco in charge of the Party Chief and very little point. He would eventually pay off his loans but lost a die from elimination, Josh faced his second Julius Caesar title and Fred Bauer’s anyone could do about it other than hope his poli- a lot of ground in the process. In straight bridesmaid finish. There second place wood was also his best tician died in the Health Phase. He the end Nick would edge Geoff by would be no rally. Josh’s bid of JUC finish to date. I look forward to didn’t and Tom emerged as the new 34 francs to successfully defend 2-2’s held no magic elixir. George crossing swords with them again for champ by a combination of endur- his championship in the closest thus became our 12th straight new the Glory of Rome! ance and default. Final in the event’s history. champion. 32 Century Events Century Events 33

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results C. Zimmerman, PA Andy Lewis, DE G. Heintzelman, NC Eric Wrobel, MD Tom DeMarco, NJ Samantha Berk, PA Michael Shea, CT Chris Gnech, PA B. Berkenstock, NJ Harry Flawd, PA Gareth Williams, ma Luke Koleszar, VA Shea Lawson, MD O Bruce Monnin, OH Joe Harrison, KY Vassili Kyrkos, NY O Laura Miller, PA O Chris Palermo, NY O Barry Shoults, MI O Winton Lemoine, NV O Tim Tu, NJ O Owen Kyrollos, NC O Sam Edelston, CT O Eric Monte, NY

Ivan Lawson, MD Terry Coleman, CA Sam Edelston, CT Richard Irving, CA 184  2000-2014 44  1992-2014 62  2004-2014 68  1991-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Sean McCulloch, OH 76 Bruce Monnin, OH 148 Joe Harrison, KY 142 Eric Wrobel, VA 228 Chris Entwistle, MD 70 Terry Coleman, CA 111 Sam Edelston, CT 81 Bill Crenshaw, VA 138 Eric Hufford, PA 70 Ken Gutermuth, NC 104 Robert Eastman, NV 68 Luke Koleszar, VA 82 Rebecca Hebner, CO 68 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 100 Jonathan Miller, DC 57 Joe Abrams, CT 72 Andy Latto, MA 61 Derek Landel, NY 96 John Skiba, NY 54 Eyal Mozes, MD 61 David Meyaard, CT 48 Dennis Nicholson, NY 93 Steve Lollis, MD 54 Kathy Stroh, DE 56 Jared Scarborough, IL 48 John Coussis, IL 79 Jarett Weintraub, NY 40 Steve Dickson, CA 56 Daniel Karp, MD 32 Harry Flawd, PA 78 Eric Caron, qc 40 Debbie Otto, MO 56 Cody Zimmerman, PA Cody Zimmerman, PA 30 Andy Lewis, DE Peter Staab, PA 66 Geoff Heintzelman, NC Johan Van Huyse, be 40 Eric Wrobel, MD Charles Hickok, PA 55 Eric Brosius, MA 30 Bruce Reiff, OH 64 Gordon Rodgers, PA 36 Ed Wrobel, VA 52

Lost Cities (LST) March Madness (MMS) Memoir ‘44 (M44) Merchant of Venus (MOV) The second year of the modified format with Only one of our Final Four had Memoir’s creator, Richard Borg, updated six The event got underway in the near absolute the bifurcated third heat proved to be more emerged victorious before—and it had familiar D-Day scenarios with modified layouts zero temperatures of the vast, empty spaces of Ball- trouble than it was worth. We will return to four been 14 long years since Bruce Mon- and specialized units. Each player received a room B with 12 games. The cold early qualifiers, heats in 2015. nin had won. Still, three PBeM titles had to user-friendly help sheet, and before each round, including three prior champs, were: Craig Reece, The first two heats drew 90 and 112 players. make him the favorite. Instead, it was Saman- that scenario’s new elements were reviewed. Vassili Kyrkos, Steve Koleszar, Chris and Phillip 102 attended the first half of the third heat with tha Berk who played as though she belonged. Early rounds: Pegasus Bridge, Sainte Mere-Eglise, Entwistle, Henry Dove, Rich Meyer, Bill Crenshaw, 24 winners remaining to try for a double win. All Sam was able to resolve his Boxing Out early, Sword Beach, Gold Beach. 40 Mulligan players and 38 Kathy Stroh, Chris Gnech, Philip Shea and Debbie told, there were 23 white knucklers—the closest enabling her to work the ball inside. Bruce’s for Round 1 made for near identical participation Gutermuth. Heat 2 drew seven more games and being Luke Parauda’s 131 v. Yoel Weiss’ 130. Just Zone defense was a non-factor in the second numbers to 2013. By Round 4, only the usual contend- two more past champions. Bob Woodson played as noteworthy was Chris Kizer’s 12 v. Cathy Ray- half, since the guards were resolved last. Sam ers remained. Joe led at 7-1 with 45 medals. Close be- himself off the Alternate list and put Roy Pettis on it mond’s 1—one of the lowest combined scores on took the lead early and held on for the win, hind were Gareth, Geoff and Mike—all tied with 7-1 with a score of $2013. Defending champ Eric Wro- the books. Ewan McNay was the only player to 74-67. records and 44 medals. bel made his debut with a predictable outcome. The score more than 300 (338), using four bonus expe- Likewise, Harry Flawd was a frequent lau- Round 5 …Omaha First Wave semifinals: Mike Shea other winners were: Jeff Kahan, Eyal Mozes, Wade ditions to accomplish the feat. relist and the sole repeating member of the Fi- won a split against Gareth Williams, 7-2, 5-7. Meanwhile, Fowble, and the second ranked Bill Crenshaw 44 of the 47 double winners returned to see nal Four from 2013, but the closest Andy Lewis Geoff Heintzelman swept ex-champ Joe Harrison, 7-6, (again). Heat 3 provided seven more games with how far they could advance. Rebecca Hebner was had been was watching his wife play more than 7-6, with a last-ditch Infantry Assault the second game. Gary Dickson, Ken Gutermuth, Luke Koleszar, Eric the only former champion among them. When a decade ago. Yet, Andy was able to outscore Round 6 …Juno Beach: Game 1: Geoff’s Germans Monte, Wade Fowble, Winton Lemoine, and Chris she fell in the Round of 22, the crowning of a Harry’s Maryland front line when it counted, put up a stiff defense, but Mike had a bigArmor Assault. Entwistle (again) getting wins. new champion was assured for only the second and we were guaranteed our seventh different Then, his Barrage demolished the German Big Gun. An With 23 qualifiers (including six past - cham time since 2008. After five rounds, four players champ in the last nine years. Harry was left to Allied infantry Behind Enemy Lines took the last medal to pions) present, five 5-player games composed advanced to the semis: Cody Zimmerman, Tom reflect again on how close he came to the only give Mike a 6-5 win. The rematch was a different story. the semis. Lemoine topped Debbie Gutermuth in DeMarco, Bryan Berkenstock, and Shea Lawson. WBC sport title he has never won. This time, Geoff came up the right flank with devastat- Game 1. In Game 2, Luke Koleszar edged Monte Cody and Tom met in the championship round. In the title game, an early Technical Foul on ing cards and homicidal dice, while Mike’s Germans to return to the Final in consecutive years. Kyrkos Tom led after the first hand and the second, pri- Cincinnati plus strong bench play gave Sam a had no cards to order that flank. The Germans had no won easily, but not as easily as Chris Gnech’s blow- marily due to one bonus expedition that overcame 24-21 lead. Well-employed timeouts kept either way to stop Geoff’s Canadians from gaining an aston- out in Game 4 aided by an early Jump Start discov- three negative expeditions. Meanwhile, Cody me- side from pulling away. The key point, late ishing 6-0 victory and the championship. ery or Wrobel’s $1200 margin in Game 5. thodically strung together 12 small expeditions of in the game, came when he had a MULTI-PLAYER GAMES: As usual, we also played Wrobel opened the Final by flying into the Cloud to 18 points or less, limited his damage to chance to resolve the Right Forward several multi-player Overlord games—a treat that many an Open Port that sold Red Ships, ac- one –20 expedition, and claimed vic- position, which left Andy up 15. Af- players can only get at conventions. quired a Clipper and raced to an early tory at 94 to 79, when Tom failed to ter that, it was pretty much over ex- This year, we included giant 3-board lead. He was never seriously chal- post a positive score for any of his five cept for ordering the championship and 6-board battles from the new D- lenged and won again by over $1200 expeditions in the third hand. T-shirts, as Andy prevailed, 92-78. Day Landings expansion. to take his third consecutive MOV title. 34 Century Events Century Events 35

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Dave Stiffler, VA Bruce Young, SC Andrew Emerick, CT Greg Tanner, AZ Gilbert Collins, on Gareth Williams, ma Mike Kaltman, PA Chuck Leonard, PA Keith MacFarland, NJ Bill Burtless, SC Romain Jacques, qc Tom Campbell, NJ O Rod Coffey, MD Kevin Emery, SC O Doug Faust, NY O Marty Musella, NC O William Kelley, RI Al Hurda, on O Robb Effinger, on O Alan Arvold, IL O Randy Pippus, on O Michael Dauer, TX O Sara VanderWal, on O Bert Schoose, IL

David Stiffler, VA Gareth Williams, ma Anni Foasberg, NJ Rick Northey, MA 17  2013-2014 42  2003-2014 62  2011-2014 28  1991-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Dave Stiffler, VA 60 Bruce Young, SC 256 Andrew Emerick, CT 96 Marty Musella, NC 170 Gilbert Collins, on 18 John Emery, SC 198 Antero Kuusi, fi 30 Greg Tanner, AZ 158 Rob Doane, MA 18 Lane Hess, PA 157 Rob Kircher, RI 24 Bert Schoose, IL 142 Keith MacFarland, NJ 12 Ed Rothenheber, MD 111 Mike Kaltman, PA 18 Bill Scott, VA 139 Randy Pippus, on 12 Francis Czawlytko, MD 104 Wade Fowble, MD 18 Chuck Leonard, PA 138 Tom Drueding, MA 12 Henry Russell, PA 102 Randy Buehler, WA 18 Rich Northey, MA 86 Rod Coffey, MD 9 Melvin Casselberry, PA 99 David Platnik, VA 18 Alan Arvold, IL 57 William Kelley, RI 6 Scott Moll, VA 80 Romaine Jacques, qc 12 Dave Giordano, NJ 47 Dave Stiffler, VA Robert Hammond, on 6 Bruce Young, SC Mike Casselberry, PA 60 Andrew Emerick, CT Vien Bounma, NJ 12 Greg Tanner, AZ Johnny Hasay, PA 33 Scott Beall, OR 3 David Gantt, SC 60 Samantha Berk, PA 12 Eduardo DeNucci, ag 26

Mr. Madison’s War (MMW) The Napoleonic Wars (NW5) Navegador (NVG) PanzerBlitz (PZB) The event was new to the Century this year In most respects I was very happy with this The fourth year of the Navegador tournament 55 games were played as this golden and nearly half the field’s 17 players were new to year’s event, though numbers on Wednesday were drew 62 players and 23 tables over three heats. oldie continues to see action. Newcomer the tournament. Several had not played the game down somewhat. Most especially I was pleased 24 played in more than one heat, showing their Thomas Campbell who had not played before. The “new blood” were not easy marks, pro- that the somewhat stale meta-game where Prussia dedication to the event. Throughout the heats, the game since the 1970s persevered and made ducing one semifinalist and four players in the top pacts the Turks before joining the coalition to pun- building-heavy strategies prevailed; most games the semis with increasingly sharp play with each eight. Four preliminary rounds were played using ish France was thoroughly disrupted by a combina- ended via building exhaustion. The 23 tables pro- additional game logged. As the fog of war lifted, the 1813-1814 scenario to produce four semifinalists tion of Prussian innovation and French aggression vided 18 winners, including four double winners: three former champions and Thomas advanced who fought the entire war as we sought a champion. against an overly diplomatic Prussia. Patrick Shea, Barry Eynon, Sara VanderWal, and to battle in Scenario 14. The action on each board was varied over the As last year there were four 5-player semifinals. Vien Bounma. 15 qualifiers and a strong runner- Defending champ Greg Tanner ended Thomas’ course of the tournament, with action out west, Unlike 2013, wherein France was the third pick in up composed four 4-player semifinal games. run as time ran out on his Turn 8 counterattack. In the on the Niagara, around Sacket’s/Kingston, or every game, that only occurred once. There, Al Factory/church strategies predominated in the other bracket, Marty Musella’s German strike force fought along the shores of Lake Champlain. This Hurda took France to victory against a somewhat semifinals; Doug Faust, Romain Jacques and Mike Kalt- took out Chuck Leonard’s HQ on Turn 2 but Chuck’s continues to be a source of encouragement as no dysfunctional coalition. Bruce Young and Gareth man advancing with that strategy. The fourth game armored riposte emerged with the victory, 28 to 27. “standard” course of play has emerged as “the Williams used their #1 picks to win with France was won by two-time champion Andrew Emerick with The two finalists chose Situation 45r1. Greg’s best”; players have shown they can be successful as well. Bill Burtless, Micheal Dauer and Henry a colony/shipyard strategy, scooping up 13 colonies. Germans waged a fighting withdrawal from -a su anywhere on the map as long as they make the Russell all steered their 4th pick, Prussia, to second In the Final, Doug focused strongly on factories, perior armored force. Chuck massed his force to best use of their opportunities. The 2013 American place. The fourth semi saw Kevin Emery’s Russia while Romain’s economy depended on selling sug- the NW out of range of the AT guns hidden in the superiority (14-10) was reversed this year with the edging Rejean Tremblay’s Austria on the tiebreak. ar, processing gold, and acquiring as many churches woods on the South side of the river. After firing a British taking 13 of 23 games. Al Hurda played a near flawless aggressive as possible. Mike bought shipyards and sailed east, first barrage, the German SPA pulled out and fled After four rounds the semifinalists were de- Final as France, drawing Capitulation on each picking up both navigation tokens and colonies to the safety of Zabrenia. Russian infantry rode their fending champ Dave Stiffler, designer Gilbert of the first three turns and using it to take out while he was at it. Andrew also focused on colonies, tanks into close assaults of the town. Advancing ar- Collins, Keith MacFarland, and Rod Coffey. In the Austria, and then Prussia, after a rarely seen in- but instead of sailing, he focused on acquiring as mor overran the German advanced positions. Chuck first semifinal Gilbert’s Americans narrowly pre- turn DOW. A third Capitulation attempt to take many as possible at a time. Mike pushed the game advanced what was left of his battle group to the vailed over Rod with a +3 win. In the other brack- Austria down a second time failed when a 34-31 into the third phase, which was bad for the building ford. Opustoschenia was finally cleared at the end et, Dave’s Americans edged Keith by +5 VPs. The battle for Vienna was routed and the tide was players, but benefited both him and Andrew. By this of Turn 5. Greg’s AT fire took out three of Chuck’s Final was closer, coming down to the final card turned. Despite leading for three turns, he was time, however, Andrew was gaining four colonies at tank companies as they poured through the ford, play, with Dave’s British re-capturing Ft. Niagara, never allowed a shot at a peace die roll and was a time. He won with 68 points worth maneuvering to encircle the remaining German posi- to restore supply to their units eventually worn down by the co- of colonies (17 of them!) among his to- tions. The final push came too late with neither side on Lake Erie and win the alition with Bruce Young securing tal of 116 to take his third NVG title in achieving victory. A tie gave the game and the tournament in a a British victory on Turn 4 and be- four years. Mike was second with 103 defending Germans the victory game strangely bereft of naval coming the first to winNW5 more points followed by Romain at 101 and and Greg his fourth shield and action. than once. Doug with 99. the cool diorama special prize. 36 Century Events Century Events 37

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Stefan Mecay, TX Harry Flawd, PA Vincent Sinigaglio, NJ Rob Murray, NJ M. Birnbaum, NY Derek Landel, NJ Stefany Speck, MD Jim Savarick, PA Michael Dauer, TX B. Passacantando, CT John Wobbeking, MD Steve LeWinter, NC Peter Gurneau, WI O Bill O’Neal, NY Craig Reece, FL Tim Horne, PA Steve Koleszar, VA O Scott Nerney, RI O Jennifer Brown, DE Eric Hufford, PA Carl Adamec, NY O Sean McCulloch, OH O Angela Collinson, MD O Chris Senhouse, MA

Peter Gurneau, WI Harry Flawd, PA Larry Lingle, PA Kevin Broh-Kahn, MD 34  1999-2014 42  1993-2014 120  2005-2014 127  2004-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Stefan Mecay, TX 472 Harry Flawd, PA 252 John Elliott, MD 80 Jim Savarick, PA 245 Tom Drueding, MA 428 Devin Flawd, PA 200 Stefany Speck, MD 70 Eric Brosius, MA 103 David Dockter, MN 328 Jacob Hebner, CO 90 Tom Pavy, OH 69 Bill Crenshaw, VA 93 Peter Reese, VA 276 Bill O’Neal, NY 58 Brandon Bernard, PA 68 Kevin Garber, VA 90 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 210 B. Passacantando, CT 53 Paul Weintraub, MD 51 Matt Calkins, VA 76 Chris Byrd, CT 208 Derek Landel, NJ 46 Vincent Sinigaglio, NJ 50 Robert Woodson, NV 72 Rob Hassard, NJ 181 Mike Destro, NJ 36 R.J. Gleaton, SC 40 Richard Meyer, MA 72 Riku Riekkinen, fi 174 Chad Gormly, MA 33 Chris Striker, PA 36 Bill Murdock, NY 72 Nick Anner, NY 162 Jason Fisher, NC 32 Stefan Mecay, TX Harry Flawd, PA Mike James, MD 30 Vincent Sinigaglio, NJ Rob Murray, NJ Rob Murray, NJ 60 Peter Gurneau, WI 120 Barry Shoults, MI 24 Cliff Ackman, PA 30 Patrick Shea, VA 60

Paths of Glory (POG) Paydirt (PDT) Pirate’s Cove (PRC) Power Grid (PGD) 2014 continued the Pre-con tradi- There was no Super Bowl this year as Harry 48 preliminary games yielded 38 differ- The eighth straight triple-digit field gener- tion of a challenging battle of endurance Flawd dominated both heats to win his eighth ent winners; 20 recorded by wenches!! Jennifer ated 42 preliminary games. Heat 1 was contested with three to six 7-hour games. Stefan title. Brown, winner of three games, was the best on 15 USA and Central Europe maps. Heat 2 Mecay, Marvin Birnbaum, Tom Drueding, and NFC: Flashback to 2009—Bruno Passacan- new recruit and easily recognizable in her gor- used the Spain/Portugal and China maps, again Peter Gurneau were unbeaten during Swiss play tando had defeated the entire Flawd contin- geous wench outfit, complete with flask! The 15 boards strong. The most noteworthy event oc- with Tom bowing out of the playoff round. This gent—Jordan, Devin, and finally Harry to win medallion for most deadly pirate went to John curred when Richard Beyma—yes, wargamer ex- meant five (2-1) players would advance. The fa- the title. My wife told me to sleep at the hotel Wobbeking with 29 kills including eight in one traordinaire Beyma the Younger—the 2014 Con- mous POG rolloff had seven players vying for instead of driving five miles home if I lost. No game. Five qualifiers mutinied and went AWOL sul—chose to end the game despite being tied five spots. Carl Adamec, Michael Dauer, Alex pressure there. The first half was really close for the semifinal voyages, allowing alternates for plant capacity. With three players powering Gregorio, Steve Kolezsar, and Johnny Hasay with the Saints mixing in the run just enough including defending champ Stefany Speck to 12 plants, the tiebreaker went to Steve LeWinter rolled high to advance. to keep Bruno on his heels and by halftime it sign the articles for Round 2. with $32, Richard placed second with $15, and The quarterfinals had Mecay beat Koleszar, was 11-6 via the 8-point spread. Harry tacked Stefany, a cunning wench, made good use of Eric Hufford took third with $4. The last heat Birnbaum over Adamac, Gurneau best Hasay, and on a TD to go up 18-6 in the third quarter. Then her second life and won her semifinal easily. Vin- was played on the France and Brazil boards, and Dauer top Gregorio. In the semifinals Mecay beat Seattle started a comeback. They traded TDs to ny Sinigaglio advanced by 18 points. Craig Reece drew 12 tables. One Brazil match had ten cities Dauer, and Birnbaum triumphed over Gurneau. make it 25-20. Bruno took the ball and with 5:40 barely scraped by Joe Collinson, while Jennifer won built by a player in the fifth round. This resulted Stefan bid 2 for the AP. The CP attacked in the left in the game failed on a 4th and 9 from their her invite to the big dance with her fourth straight in the death of the 10 plant and no player chose to West and Stefan responded with the Russians at- own 43! The Saints capped a 32-20 win with a win. Young Wobbeking edged 2013 runner-up Ben bid on a plant in the subsequent round. tacking AH. Then Marvin tried a new gambit, by late TD and payback for Harry that was five Gardner by a point to grab the last finalist berth. After three grueling heats, 25 players ad- SR’ing the German 8th Army from East Prussia to years coming. Only six points separated the finalists. Jennifer, vanced to five 5-player semifinal matches on the the Serbian combat zone. The Serbs fell back slow- AFC: Harry was again on the Chargers looking for her fifth straight win, had her Cinder- UK/Ireland board, where players are challenged ly into the mountains, followed by the combined sideline vs Derek Landel’s Titans in a clas- ella story ended by six Reece sinks to relegate her to balance building cities between the two islands. German and AH army stack. By Turn 3, the Serbs sic battle of point spreads. Derek nursed his to fifth place. Wobbeking took third with 34 points Jim Savarick was able to win without even ex- were gone. The CP also attacked in the west and ten-point spot into a 17-14 Tennessee halftime and four sinks. Not bad for a lad who needs to panding into Ireland as he was able to build his removed the BEF. This bought the Russians time. lead. There was no defense to be had any- climb the rigging to see over the side. The defend- entire network of 16 cities in England while hav- The AP beat the CP to Limited War on Turn 3. The where on the field in the second half. Tennes- ing champ and Vinny were tied at 36 points—re- ing his own party in Wales. Russian attack forced the Germans to save- Buda see led 31-21 to start the 4th. Harry scored on quiring a duel to the death. Stefany had the sail ad- The Final was played on the Quebec map and, pest, and the CP spent many ops trying to entrench, the fourth play of the 4th quarter to again pull vantage for first shot with two guns. Whiff! Vinny as expected, went down to the wire. After many finally doing so on Turn 5. This allowed the AP to within 3 and finally took the lead 35-31 with returned fire with three guns—Double Whiff. Alas, rounds of back and forth bidding battles over mul- play many events and the AP got 7 minutes remaining. Two inter- Vinny found the range first and our tiple plants, the expected wars over Total War first. The Russians shifted ceptions later Harry had a 42-31 pirette queen went down with her the cities of Montreal and Quebec, their attack north on Turn 6. A turn win and cancelled his Super Bowl ship! Life is tough in the Cove. All and sitting on piles of cash, Rob Mur- later, Stefan claimed victory. reservations. hail the mighty Captain Vinny. ray ended the tournament victorious. 38 Century Events Century Events 39

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Lyman Moquin, DC Scott Foremny, PA R. Philibert-Larivee, qc Blair Morgen, NJ Robert Cranshaw, RI Luke Koleszar, VA M. Lague-Gomez, qc Keith Levy, MD Keith Dent, KY B. Buchanon, NC Marcy Morelli, PA R. Bacigalupo, MD O Eric Freeman, PA O Jeff Mullet, OH Eric Kleist, MD Greg Thatcher, CA O Edward Fear, OH O Ken Gutermuth, NC O Dave Platnick, VA Patrick Shea, VA O Randy Buehler, WA O Jim Bell, MD O Etienne Evans, qc O Randy Buehler, WA

Eric Brosius, MA Bruce Monnin, OH Richard Shay, MA Steve Scott, CA 50  2001-2014 68  1994-2014 158  2002-2014 177  2000-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Rod Spade, PA 130 John Coussis, IL 92 David Platnick, NY 240 Alex Bove, PA 240 Eric Brosius, MA 100 Ken Gutermuth, NC 78 Barb Flaxington, NJ 173 Tom Dunning, NY 178 David Platnick, VA 75 Dennis Nicholson, NY 72 Christian, Moffa, NJ 112 Steve Scott, CA 84 L. Dan Hoffman, MD 72 Mark Yoshikawa, CA 69 John Weber, MD 100 Joe Jaskiewicz, MD 70 Lyman Moquin, DC 66 Devin Flawd, PA 34 Arthur Field, SC 96 Winton LeMoine, CA 64 Eric Freeman, PA 66 Bill Morse, VA 32 Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 70 Blair Morgen, NJ 62 Alex Bove, PA 60 Bruce Reiff, OH 32 Luke Koleszar, VA 66 Richard Meyer, MA 60 Aran Warszawski, il 50 Sean McCulloch, OH 28 Bill Murdock, VA 64 Scott Fenn, MD 52 Lyman Moquin, DC Brian Reynolds, MD 50 Scott Foremny, PA Keith Hunsinger, OH 26 R. Philibert-Larivee, qc Malinda Kyrkos, NY 63 Blair Morgen, NJ Janet Ottey, PA 50 John Kerr, VA 50 Terry Coleman, CA 24 Richard Shay, MA 60 Mike Kaltman, PA 44

Princes of Florence (POF) Pro Golf (PGF) Puerto Rico (PRO) Ra (RA!) As expected, the heats produced a mix of We began at 10:00 pm with assistant Storming out of the Great White North Ra enjoyed a new attendance record thanks close games and blowouts. Barrett Straub saved GM Rob Drozd running the toughest came a posse of new players, not noobs by any to a strong Monday heat of 20 tables with 100 a Recruiting Card for Round 7 in a 4-player demo session of the con, complete with means. An online question about competitive players. Even the fourth heat on Friday morn- game, and was last to play, but amazingly there a PowerPoint presentation to demonstrate how play of Puerto Rico resulted in an invitation to ing drew 50 players, but only ten were making wasn’t a Profession Card on the table that did to master the intricacies of our most complex the WBC. The Canadians came with their ‘A’ their first appearance. Defending champion Ja- him any good, so he could not play it, and this game. At 10:01 the crowd dispersed to let what game. At least four advanced to the quarterfinal net Ottey won her first three heats and barely cost him dearly. Newcomer Keith Dent scored they had learned sink in. At 11:00 pm, 68 par- and two took the top two spots in the tourna- missed a 4 for 4 sweep by 1 point. Ten double the largest margin of victory—24. ticipants gathered in the Hopewell room to once ment. Not since the days when another Quebec winners joined her to top the qualifiers list. To Dent continued his strong play in the semifi- again contest the Pebble Beach course in hopes contingent dominated the Age of Steam tourna- make the top 25 you needed a win in your first nals, winning by six PP from Seat 5 to advance. of qualifying for the championship Skins game. ment year after year has one group made such heat played and a 5th place. If you only played Eric Freeman bid 300 florins for Seat 2 and tied For the second year in a row, six under a dominant impression. The question now is … in one heat and won you were in 37th place. both Randy Buehler and Greg Thatcher at 54 par was the bar to reach the Skins game. can they do it again? However, as so often happens due to no-shows, PP. The florins tiebreaker gave Randy 6th place Brandon Buchanon led the field at seven We also saw “rule 8” used for the first time if you won your only heat played you still made for being the closest runner-up. Edward Fear under, while the rest of the field ranged up in memory. Players can abandon their new colo- the semifinal. We went down to 38th place on won a close game over Zachary Felix, Robert to +5. The finalists moved to Augusta Na- nists, taking them out of the game and perhaps the alternate list and that happened to be the last Cranshaw did likewise over Eric Brosius, and tional to contest the Skins game. They had speeding the end of the game by draining the winner of a first heat played who failed to play at the last table Lyman Moquin needed the tie- a slow start with the midnight T time. The colonist pool. a second heat! breaker to best Kenneth Horan at 58 PP. first birdie finally came on the fifth hole for In the Final, Raphael Philbert-Larivee in Most of the semifinals were close, three Eric bid 300 florins for Seat 2 in the Final. Scott Foremny. Buchanon fought back with Seat 1 played an austere building game with being decided by two points. Greg Thatcher Bids were high. The first three Jesters went a birdie to win the sixth, then Luke Koleszar only Hacienda, Large Market and all the produc- beat Mike Kaltman 39-37, Blair Morgen bested for $1,300, $1,400 and $1,000, the first three birdied the ninth to earn three skins of his tion buildings. The other players couldn’t stop Jeff Meyer 43-41, and Patrick Shea beat Randy Recruiting Cards all cost $800, and the first own. When Luke scored the only par to gain him building both the Guild Hall on Turn 10 and Buehler 45-43. Three points decided the fourth three Builders drew $800, $600 and $600. Ly- his fourth skin on the tenth hole, it became the Residence on the last turn. With a chance to game as Rodney Bacigalupo topped John Sha- man bought both $600 Builders and gradually a two-man contest. Scott’s par won the 11th mayor the Residence and an early Hacienda to fill heen 34-31. The only blowout was in Game 5 shifted to a Builder strategy. There was lots of hole, thus giving him enough skins to secure his plantations, the 17 bonus points assured the where Keith Levy had his way with Daniel Ep- competition for Best Work, with Eric and Rob- the win, but he birdied the 12th as well for win. In seat 3, Mathieu Lague-Gomez tried to polito 53-39. ert each scoring it three times and the others his seventh skin in this 12-hole Fi- craft (six times) and ship his way to victory (28 But the biggest blowout came in the Final once each. But in the end, Lyman’s nal. Jeff Mullet, Ken Gutermuth vp chips), but fell seven points short, plus 1.5 for where it was Blair’s turn to shine “take what they give you” approach and Jim Bell all finished Pebble his bid. Marcy Morelli was caught as his 49 topped Keith’s 34 by 15 was a winner, yielding scores of: Ly- Beach with a score of 5 under par to a few coins short for third. Eric points. Rodney had 32 for third, man 60, Robert 57, Keith 54, Eric 52 earn the remaining laurels. Kleist was too far downstream of Greg 31 and Patrick 30. and Edward 49. all the crafting to benefit from it. 40 Century Events Century Events 41

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Andrew Emerick, CT Robert Renaud, NY Brian Conlon, CT Keith Boone, MD Sara VanderWal, on Keith Dent, KY Brian Smith, NY Ewan McNay, NY Christian Griggs, GA Derek Glenn, KY Jeff Jackson, MN Andrew George, NY Kenneth Horan, PA O John Riston, MD Donna Balkan, ns Alex Henning, PA O Nathan Deskins, MA O Thomas Tu, NJ Sue Lanham, MD Craig Trader, VA O Patrick Gorman, NV O Nick Kiswanto, VA O Paul van Bloem, MD O David Meyaard, NY

Scott Buckwalter, MD Robert Renaud, NY Ron Secunda, MD Marc Houde, VA 160  2010-2014 83  2008-2014 35  1991-2014 99  1999-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Gordon Rodgers, PA 40 Robert Renaud, NY 169 Brian Conlon, CT 124 Brad Johnson, IL 318 Curt Collins II, PA 33 Rob Kircher, RI 54 Mark McCandless, LA 122 Alex Henning, PA 89 Andrew Emerick, CT 30 Aaron Fuegi, MA 48 Ron Secunda, MD 121 Bill Navolis, MD 67 Stephanie Kilroy, PA 30 John Riston, MD 45 Steve Okonski, MD 120 Keith Boone, MD 50 Chester Lanham, MD 30 Nick Kiswanto, VA 33 Donna Balkan, ns 119 Mark Geary, OH 50 Peggy Ng, NJ 24 David Platnick, VA 27 Mike Zorrer, DE 85 Jason Levine, NY 50 Rod Davidson, AZ 20 Andrew Yao, VA 20 Mark Kennel, DE 80 Ewan McNay, NY 48 Sara VanderWal, on 18 Doug Faust, NJ 20 Doug Galullo, MD 80 Jeff Finkeldey, OH 40 Inger Henning, CT 66 Scott Buckwalter, MD 40 Andrew Emerick, CT Rob Kilroy, PA 18 Robert Renaud, NY Mark Delano, CT 20 Brian Conlon, CT Keith Boone, MD David Meyaard, NY 18 Keith Dent, KY 18 John Henry, on 60 Bill Dyer, IL 40

Ra: The Dice Game (RDG) Race For the Galaxy (RFG) Rail Baron (RBN) Robo Rally (RRY) RDG posted its 4th consecutive attendance Heat 1 saw four-time champ Rob Brian Conlon, Paul Van Bloem, John Henry, We had the quickest ever winner of the Crash increase. Over 40% of the field was composed of Renaud win with a margin of 15, the Donna Balkan, and Sue Lanham were double & Burn Award during the special Deathmatch newcomers. These folks fared very well, elimi- largest of the heat’s 13 games. Heat 2 winners in the heats. The Final that followed heat with Andy Latto the not so proud winner. nating many veterans. Half of the semifinalists gave defending champ John Riston his first vic- was one of the wildest on record. Sue Lanham He was eliminated before I made it back to my and three of the four finalists were new. One, tory. Derek Glenn, Rob Renaud, Nick Kiswan- went bankrupt. Her future looked bleak from own table after passing out timers. His time in Sara VanderWal, had the only score above 70. to, and Adam Sigal all won their second games. the outset when, sitting in Seattle, she rolled San game was under one minute. Ryan Friedmann 61 qualified by winning a preliminary game, but Sigal did so by an impressive 20-point margin. Diego as a destination, while the AT&SF, UP, won the Award in Heat 1 and none other than only 47 players opted to advance. The survivors Thomas Tu earned his first win on tiebreak and SP had already been purchased. Surpris- our 2012 Champion, Chris Gnech, was so hon- reaching the Final were Andrew Emerick, Chris- over Scott Saccenti in Heat 3. Riston earned ingly, it was eventual winner Brian Conlon, not ored for Heat 3, but neither could match Andy tian Griggs, Kenneth Horan, and Sara. his second win by nearly doubling his closest Sue, who first had to auction railroads. for pure efficiency. Andrew and Sara adopted an early Pharaohs opponent, 62 to 34. Luke Koleszar and Emily Jeff Jackson was first to announce $150K. He Elsewhere, Ewan McNay had a great run, strategy while the others favored boats. The first Blanck also earned their second victories. In subsequently reached Chicago with $213.5K, but winning all three heats, plus the semifinal. epoch was controlled by Sara and Christian’s use the last heat, brothers Thomas and Tim Tu both drew two hostile destinations, Boston and Des That 4-game streak ended in ironic fashion of disasters to keep the others at bay and grant- won their second heat in four tries, as did John Moines. After reaching NY with plenty of cash, when Ewan and Keith Boone were neck and ing Christian the early lead. Andrew switched Ratanaprasatporn. Keith Dent won his second he declared for his home city of Charlotte, need- neck for the last flag of the Final. Both misread to a monuments strategy in the next epoch. The heat of three, losing only to Renaud in Heat 1. ing a 10 to win. He rolled a 6, and retreated north- a pusher such that the pusher pushed Ewan others adopted a civilizations strategy with Ken Renaud and Koleszar both won their third heat ward, where he was rovered near Albany anyway off of his conveyor and into Keith. This shoved continuing his boats and Sara pressing Pharaohs. in as many attempts. by Brian Smith, who had rolled a 16! Now, Smith Keith onto the final flag and victory. This is not Ken flooded his Nile granting him the lead with 27 15 multiple winners and a single lucky had $221K, but was on his way to a hostile Detroit. the first time Ewan has appeared in memora- points and a great board position. At this point ev- qualifier with only one win qualified for the Meanwhile, Donna Balkan announced over $150K, ble Robo Rally finishes. Read the 2010 Final in eryone went for civilizations early, locking four of semifinals. Riston won his return trip to the and Conlon had arrived in LA and announced with which Ewan played a deciding role as well. the five spots. Ken raced to the end of the Pharaohs Final by a 9-point margin over Tim Tu. Glenn $175K. Eventually, neither Jackson nor Smith could For Wacky Wednesday in 2015, the theme track and switched back to his boats strategy but squeaked by Ratanaprasatporn on a tiebreak- declare, and they both departed for far west desti- will be Death Race 2015, and for those that failed to flood the Nile—ending with 36 points. er, while earning five of the six goals. Dent nations. On the comeback trail, Conlon amazingly make the Final, I am looking at shortening it Christian’s switch to monuments only scored 14 passed his semifinal test over Kiswanto in rolled an 18 on his way to hostile Cleveland, and a bit. (I will still reserve four hours, but we’ve points, leaving him with 42. Sara also finished the dominating fashion, with 78 points to Nick’s then went to Fort Worth, where he arrived with gone slightly over or had to adjudicate a few Pharaoh track, scored all five civilizations, and 49. Renaud beat the other Tu brother in a close $203K. Jeff had been moving along his SP toward places each year, and I’d like eight points in monuments for 48 points. Andrew game, 60 to 55. When the Final Charlotte, and was just 10 spaces from his home to be able to play out all six scored ten points in civilizations had ended, Rob had won his fifth city, when Conlon declared places within our allotted time and 25 in monuments taking championship with 45 points, for his home, Chicago. He slot, which means I will target him from last to first when it ahead of Keith’s 34, Derek’s 31, needed a 13 to arrive and something more like the semi- counted with 52 points. and John’s 20. rolled a 14 to win. finals in length.) 42 Century Events Century Events 43

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Richard Beyma, VA Robert Kircher, RI Jeff Mullet, OH James Pei, VA Alan Zasada, IL Randy Buehler, WA Andy Latto, MA James DuBose, NY Gary Dickson, AZ Robert Cranshaw, RI Rich Meyer, MA Lyman Moquin, DC Michael Trobaugh, IL Anne Norton, NJ Mark Kennel, DE Tom Drueding, MA Mike Mishler, CA O Vien Bounma, NJ O Kate Fractal, MA O Todd Treadway, VA O John Ohlin, FL O Steve Shambeda, PA O Mark Giddings, NY O Jeff Burdett, NY

Tom Gregorio, PA Norm. & Amy Rule, MD Jeff Mullet, OH Matt Calkins, VA 24  1991-2014 108  2005-2014 106  2004-2014 40  2012-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Gary Dickson, AZ 451 Randy Buehler, WA 114 Jeff Mullet, OH 112 Daniel Hoffman, NC 80 Doug James, NC 390 Arthur Field, SC 102 Bruce Reiff, OH 104 James Pei, VA 48 Tom Gregorio, PA 358 Anne Norton, NJ 96 Rob Kircher, RI 69 Lyman Moquin, DC 28 Bert Schoose, IL 273 Tom DeMarco, NJ 87 Tom Browne, PA 69 Tom Drueding, MA 28 Rob Beyma, MD 96 Vien Bounma, NJ 71 Raphael Lehrer, MD 46 James DuBose, NY 24 John Ohlin, FL 89 Chris Robbins, UT 52 Jason Levine, NY 38 Ewan McNay, NY 24 Ed O’Connor, NJ 87 Robert Kircher, RI 40 Andy Latto, MA 30 Rob Winslow, NY 24 Alan Zasada, IL 87 Robert Cranshaw, RI 40 Greg Thatcher, CA 30 David Metzger, NY 16 Richard Beyma, VA George Karahalios, IL 86 Robert Kircher, RI Lewis Lin, WA 40 Jeff Mullet, OH Bill Salvatore, MD 30 James Pei, VA Scott Burns, uk 12 Pat Flory, CT 85 Charles Hickok, PA 40 Eric Brosius, MA 27 Lachlan Salter, on 12

Russian Campaign (TRC) Saint Petersburg (SPG) San Juan (SJN) Sekigahara (SKG) There was a decline in players, 24, Participation remained stable. There were After four rounds 32 players met the three- After three rounds, five players remained and total games played, 60—the lowest five double winners in the three heats (two of win criteria for advancement. After three more unbeaten, allowing eight to advance to elimina- numbers in the past eight years. The WBC which went on to the Final table). The stand- rounds, Andy Latto defeated Mark Kennel with tion rounds. The tournament was again distin- 5-turn tournament scenario has been in use for eight ings were calculated out to the 5th tiebreaker the purple building strategy in the semifinals. guished by an unusual array of prizes. James years. In 2013 the Germans won 50.8% of the games. and posted Friday night for an early Saturday Andy had a very good engine going and racked DuBose won a statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi for This year, the Russians won 59.7%. The bid of extra SF/F. Only eight of the first 16 players actually up easy points. Mark went for the production winning the largest battles, averaging 85 impact Russian replacements last year was about 14.6. This appeared as the semifinal drew a 50% No Show strategy, but couldn’t get a Smithy or a Guild in his victorious confrontations. Todd Treadway year it averaged 15.4. Bids in the semifinal rounds rate. Every game winner who actually appeared Hall built. Not a recipe for victory. won a samurai horseman for killing seven en- were 18.1 with the Germans winning three of four was seated, and the assistant GM still had to be In the other bracket, Jeff Mullet and Rich emy leaders. 15 won ‘honor prizes’ for winning matches. My conclusion is that the rising bids for drafted to fill the last table. This proved yet again Meyer both pursued the production strategy. their third round game, regardless of the out- the Germans reflect not so much an imbalance as that “win and you’re in” is a very flawed concept Oddly, neither had a Guild Hall for much of come of their first two matches. a desire to play the “easier” side—playing offense that does not reflect the realities of schedule con- the game. They both continually spent all of James Pei bested Lyman Moquin in an epic semi- generally being perceived as less stressful. flicts and player motivations. their cards building production buildings. final, turning on a 5th-week clash at Gifu castle won The weather was fairly balanced with 29 Analysis of game statistics revealed some in- Each knew the other was in trouble if they 47 to 44. James DuBose defeated Tom Drueding in “Clear” September/October results recorded and teresting data regarding popular opinions about drew the Guild Hall. Jeff eventually drew and the other bracket. Tom had just denied defending 26 “Light Mud” outcomes. The Germans won 10 the games most powerful cards. 21% of winners built the golden ticket, Rich didn’t and that champion Daniel Hoffman, breaking an epic 10- matches with clear, 11 matches with light mud, had one or more Mistress/Observatory. 20% of the was all she wrote. game winning streak. and four of the seven matches that didn’t have a winners had neither Mistress nor Observatory and Jeff had no good cards to begin the Fi- Pei took Tokugawa in the Final (for a bid of zero) weather result for Turn 3. The Russians won 19 still beat opponents who did. There were two nal and Andy jumped out to a two-building while DuBose took Ishida. The early turns favored matches with clear and 15 with light mud. (Com- games where every player had a Mistress or an lead with the purple building strategy. That’s Pei, winning castles and resource areas in every turn. bined with results from prior years, this GM does Observatory. In half the games, players with at never a good thing for the player who is two DuBose recruited a third gun unit into the Uesugi not think that Clear weather is of particular ad- least one of these cards came in 3rd or 4th. In builds behind. But eventually, Jeff was able to army and held fast on the northern fringe. Pei eventu- vantage to the Russians.) three of four semifinals, the winners had both build a Library and a Smithy. Andy used all of ally gambled on a major battle at the Tokaido-Nakas- Only two matches featured Moscow falling Mistress and Observatory. his cards to build the big point Hero, but Jeff endo crossroads, hoping to catch Ishida in person to in 1941, thus giving the Germans an Automatic In the face of all this concentration on the was now able to build high point production end it, but he was not to be found. That left the flanks Victory. One was against me, further proof that magic duo, Rob Kircher won the tournament buildings very cheaply. Andy was not able to open for opportunistic attacks, and three such ave- I am still being punished for originally claiming without either a Mistress or Observatory in his two keep up with his cheap builds and Jeff ended nues were now wide open—win all three and DuBose that a competent Russian could not lose elimination rounds, despite his oppo- with a Guild Hall and lots of pro- would have a stunning comeback vic- the game this way. In general, based sition possessing them. So as power- duction buildings for his second tory. On the last turn, it came down to on the data over the past few years, ful as these cards seem to be, they are SJN title—displacing the big ka- a single victory point, and the decid- losing Moscow is becoming an ever not the ‘guaranteed win’ that some huna at the head of the laurel ing battle down to a single card, but more uncommon event. make them out to be! rankings. Pei held on to claim the 2014 title. 44 Century Events Century Events 45

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Joe Burch, MD Danny Lewis, DE Jason Ley, WA Kevin Keller, MD John Min, NJ Yoel Weiss, NJ Joe Kelleher, PA Randy Needham, NJ Phil Reese, MD B. Collinson, Jr, MD Tim O’Flynn, PA Chris Long, PA Eli Zlotowski, CA Nat. Druelinger, MD O Nathan Cantwell, PA C. Hancock, OH William Austin, VA O Andy Latto, MA O J.Ratamaprsatporn, PA O Tim Mossman, MD John Gitzen II, NY O Antony Saccenti, MD O Lisa Gutermuth, WA O Phil White, MD

Rich Shipley, MD Sean McCulloch, OH Madison Sites, CA Chris Long, PA 124  1999-2014 234  1993-2014 113  2013-2014 28  1991-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Rob Kircher, RI 126 Derek Landel, NJ 81 Jason Ley, WA 30 Scott Cornett, FL 166 Brian Reynolds, MD 125 Kaarin Engelmann, VA 66 Bryan Berkenstock, NJ 30 Doug Schulz, MD 164 Rick Dutton, MD 114 Ken Gutermuth, NC 54 Joe Kelleher, PA 18 Terry Schulz, PA 156 John Min, NJ 108 Josh Githens, SC 50 David Blisard, MD 18 Kevin Keller, MD 137 Charlie Faella, RI 96 Yoel Weiss, NJ 48 Tim O’Flynn, PA 12 Gerald Lientz, VA 81 Tom Dunning, NY 87 Doug Galullo, MD 46 Trevor Schoenen, PA 12 Jimmy Fleckenstein, VA 78 Jeremy Osteen, MD 84 Danny Lewis, DE 40 Nathan Cantwell, PA 9 Tim Mossman, MD 77 Matt Tolman, UT 84 Kristen LaDue, NY 40 Maria Calandrino, on 9 Lane Newbury, TX 66 Joe Burch, MD Natasha Metzger, NY 72 Danny Lewis, DE Nicole Reiff, OH 40 Jason Ley, WA J. Ratanaprasatporn, PA 6 Kevin Keller, MD John Welage, OH 64 Andrew Arconti, MD 66 Alexandra Henning, CT 40 Sarah Bauch, TX 6 Dennis Nicholson, NY 60

Settlers of Catan (SET) Slapshot (SLS) Small World (SMW) Speed Circuit (SCT) This Saturday morning fixture in the sched- It was a record crowd for the Saturday night With over 100 participants again in its sopho- Italian Fabio Pellegrino was the only double ule attracted 115 players in the first round, 88 for gala. The gang from Jay’s Basement dressed up more season, clearly fans still abound in the WBC winner to emerge from three days of qualifying. the second, and 74 for the third for a total of 70 in matching team jerseys and a repeat appear- realm. After 50 games in four heats, the stakes The first heat’s tracks, Montreal and Sao Paolo, preliminary games. Nine late arrivals reduced ance of the chest-painted “RANGERS” group rose for the triumphant denizens of Small World. were fast and tight with a lot of carnage. Mon- the dropout rate somewhat to post the fifth larg- added to the party atmosphere. At Table 1 of the semifinals, John Ratanaprasa- treal, in particular, allowed only five finishers est field in the 16 years of the event. A 10-9-9-9 Eventually, someone remembered we were taporn, Sarah Bauch, Lisa Gutermuth, and Eric Ray- of the 11 who began the race. The second day’s contest proved the closest of many tight games. there to actually play a game, and the puck was mond battled until John rose out of the ashes the vic- tracks were Sepang and Yeongam, where posi- Four players reached the semifinals unbeat- dropped at the center of 22 tables. Amongst the tor—just one point ahead of Lisa! Her narrow defeat tion changed often and unexpectedly. The last en in the three preliminary rounds. Another echoes of “WHINING!” and sly maneuvering be- earned sixth place laurels and the forlorn hope that qualifying heat saw some action at Spa and Sil- 11 advanced with two wins each and one ad- tween those who actually wanted to advance and one of the winners would bow out. Table 2 victor verstone, and again the dice gods sent the un- vanced with a win and two strong runner-up the smarter ones who wanted to go to bed, all the Jason Ley was not so subtle, crushing two returning wary packing. finishes. None of the unbeatens remained so in table winners trudged back from the bar to gather laurelists: Dave Blisard and Trevor Schoenen, as well The Final was played on New Delhi, a very Round 4. William Austin took fifth place with around for our annual Massively Unfair Semifinal as Barrett Straub. At Table 3, Verity Hitchings, Lauren challenging course that allowed for multiple rac- a 9-point runner-up performance in the semifi- Round. That speedskating contest out of the way, we Vessey, Stephen Koehler, and Joe Kelleher vied for ing styles to flourish while eventually claiming a nals and John Gitzen II won sand by being one settled down to the Final and the resulting playoffs. the next round with Joe emerging grasping the gold- third of the field. Jim bid high for pole. He then of many players with an 8-point second in the In the wee hours championship series, Dan- en ticket. Nathan Cantwell, Nicholas Koehler, Albert rolled a chance in the second corner to run away semis and the highest seed coming out of the ny Lewis and his “horrible” team were reborn Schwartz, and George Galuchak comprised the tight- from the rest of the pack in the early lead for his preliminaries. against Yoel Weiss, who had been training for est battle of the round with only 11 points between five minutes of fame. The Italians, Kevin Keller The winners of the four semifinals met in a year after coming in second to a little girl last first and last. But Nathan became the youngest final- and Phil White made it through the first two cor- a fast-paced Final. John Min, 2013 runner-up, year. Yoel’s bruiser was hungry for blood, but ist. Any why not? He already had the best stature for ners in hot pursuit to become the chase pack. built settlements and grabbed the longest road he hadn’t counted on the contents of the player it. Garrick Hanechak, Chris Kalmbacher, Mark Cres- In the end it was the veteran Keller who bonus while Joe Burch was building several cit- deck. Danny gained two 7-rated players and cenzi and Tim O’Flynn vied for the last remaining took the wood, becoming the first Speed Cir- ies. “4” was a frequent roll in this game, with Crease Lightning to replace his three bruised play- seat with Tim winning that lottery. cuit triple winner—and doing so in largely un- six of them coming in the first eight laps (help- ers courtesy of Yoel’s bruiser. After that, his new The Final commenced immediately after the five challenged fashion after taking the lead in the ing Joe with stone) and no “6’s” were rolled and improved team couldn’t be stopped. He took 4-player worlds were subdued by their respective third lap. The battle was behind him where until the 11th lap. Phil Reese and Eli Zlotowski the plaque to taunt his dad who had won the in- conquerors. As they sat down to the only 5-player Randy Needham recovered from a failed were making slow progress with six points augural event back in the olden days of 1993 be- game, who could know who would forced pass and used his wear advantage to each at game end. On the 15th fore he was borne, and Yoel was sent walk away with the coveted gold catch Chris Long on the way out of corner #6. turn, Joe took over the longest home with yet another runner-up Turn marker, relegating the rest to The pair battled for second road for 10 points and the win, coaster. For now at least, the Slapshot silver? Small talk declined until Ja- through the last three corners, leaving John with 7 points and in standings had the perfect balance of son emerged as our second cham- but Randy’s wear advantage second place again. father and son bookends. pion. made the difference. 46 Century Events Century Events 47

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Eric Stranger, OH Tom Strock, PA Ralph Gleaton, SC Dominic Blais, qc Scott Bramley, NJ John Schoose, IL Phil White, MD Scott Saccenti, MD Pete Pollard, TN Brian Sutton, MD Mark Mitchell, VA David Rohde, NC O Bill Thomson, TX O Marilyn Flowers, MD O Dan Dolan, Jr, VT Scott Fenn, MD O Jeff Hacker, PA O Evan Cagwin, PA O Fabio Pellegrino, it Greg Ziemba, MI O Mario Ales, it O Buddy Sinigaglio, ID O Daniel Lewis, DE Andrew Emerick, CT

Pete Pollard, TN Buddy Sinigaglio, ID Michael Garton, VA Peter Staab, PA 20  1991-2014 38  2002-2014 46  1999-2014 213  2009-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Pete Pollard, TN 253 Larry Lingle, PA 118 Phillip White, MD 117 Dominic Blais, qc 120 Bill Thomson, TX 247 Brian Sutton, MD 117 Seth Gunar, NJ 102 Cary Morris, NC 118 Andrew Cummins, uk 182 Karl Henning, CT 66 Ralph Gleaton, SC 48 Rod Bacigalupo, MD 90 Eric Stranger, OH 125 John Schoose, IL 54 Steve Caler, OH 42 Eric Freeman, PA 88 David Bronkhorst, VA 86 Bill Morse, VA 54 Luke Koleszar, VA 42 Dan Eppolito, PA 58 Scott Bramley, NJ 84 Tom Strock, PA 42 Jim Bell, MD 39 Scott Fenn, MD 42 Phil Grasha, PA 81 David Gubbay, TX 39 Brian Mongold, MD 36 Cliff Ackman, PA 42 Mike Pacheco, CA 78 Alex Bell, MD 39 Bill Beckman, SC 30 Henry Dove, MD 40 Eric Stranger, OH Chuck Leonard, PA 40 Tom Strock, PA Buddy Sinigaglio, ID 37 Ralph Gleaton, SC Kevin Brown, GA 30 Dominic Blais, qc Marvin Birnbaum, NY 40 Michael Day, AZ 33 Marilyn Flowers, MD 30 Jean Younkin, VA 30 Christopher Ellis, FL 40

Squad Leader (SQL) Star Wars; Queen’s Gambit (QGB) Championship Racing (SCC) Stone Age (STA) The 24th year of Squad Leader drew 38 preliminary games were played in three There were eight preliminary races in three The three heats each yielded 25 4-player games 20 players for 37 games. After a week heats with both sides winning 19. Overall, the heats. The top three drivers from each race qual- with exactly 100 players. This produced eight dou- of combat the semifinal matches were combined tally for the preliminaries and the ified. The preliminary winners were Michael ble winners and 67 qualifiers. Fortunately, only 48 set: Pete Pollard (64 points) vs Eric Stranger (45 playoffs was 25 wins for the Jedi and 28 for the Buccheri, Josh Coyle, 2000 champ Tim Dolan, of those qualifiers opted to advance, resulting in points) and Bill Thomson (54 points) vs Scott Sith. A statistical aberration occurred with the si- Dan Lewis, James McCarthy, Keith McFarland, 12 4-player quarterfinal games with the four top Bramley (48 points). Four former champions with multaneous elimination of Darth Maul and Obi- and a pair of Italian drivers: Fabio Pelligrino and runners-up also advancing to the semifinals. The 11 titles between them would duke it out again. wan Kenobi three times—one attacked and killed Mario Ales. quarterfinal games were won by 2012 champ Bill and Scott played King of the Hills where the other and the dying defender reciprocated 22 finalists signed on for 200 Laps on a Dominic Blais, Keith Dent, Yossi Dvora, Andrew Bill’s Germans tried to remove Russians from with a Light Saber Riposte. Tri-Oval Superspeedway. Carol Caler in car Emerick, Eric Engelmann, Scott Fenn, Derek one last hill. It looked like Bill was going to Six former champions, led by three-time champ #99 started in the pole position with #00, Glenn, Paul Klayder, 2011 champ Cary Morris, cruise when the tide turned and his advance Lawrence Lingle who won every heat, were among Dan Dolan Jr, leading the outside lane. The Scott Saccenti, Eugene Yee and Greg Ziemba. slowed. When the Russians reinforced, the last the 16 qualifiers in the elimination rounds. Two action was intense from start to finish with The semifinal winners were Blais, Fenn, Sac- attempt to clear the hill became tougher. The rounds later, four survivors moved into the semifi- eight lead changes and 14 drivers in the top centi and David Rohde. The first set of cards was result hinged on one last dice roll with Bill nals where “Jacen Solo” Schoose schmoozed Mari- six at some point. Two crashes claimed seven four “Christmas” cards. Fenn took the card for needing a 7 or less. Fate delivered an 8 instead lyn “Purple Queen” Flowers. In the other bracket, cars. #9, two-time champion Phil White, held one resource that also provided one of the cul- and Scott advanced. In the other bracket, Pete’s Tom “Tusken Raider” Strock skinned Brian “Bossk” the lead the longest and was still in first at tures for end game scoring and got a farm from Americans took up positions protecting the only Sutton. Tom killed Maul with the play of only five the start of the last play only to fall short by the card while Blais got a tool and Saccenti and two-story building on Board 3 as Eric’s Germans cards, thus causing a rapid collapse of the droids a photo finish to #23, Ralph Gleaton. Ralph Rohde both got gold. tried to win Eviction Notice. Eric’s antitank gun with two Jedi loose in Theed Palace. started the race in fourth, only to fade back. Ten turns later, Fenn had 78 points plus made a crucial kill on a halftrack, leaving Pete The Final thus matched 2012 champion Schoose With less than 50 laps to go, he climbed back 36 from culture cards, 3 from farming, 7 from with few options, and his eventual foothold in as the Naboo vs Strock. It was fought almost entirely into the top five and made the charge from people, and 10 from resources for 134 points. the building was not enough to evict the last in Theed Palace and was not close. Darth Maul killed fourth to first on his last move. It gave him Rohde had 109 points plus 1 from culture cards, German defenders. Quigon and Obiwan and a fistful of Palace Guards his first WBC shield ever after over a decade 21 from people, 7 from buildings and 4 from Winter War, a small scenario with only a before the Maul cards ran out. Then the Droideka of competing. resources for 142 points. Saccenti had 99 points few units for each side, was chosen for the Fi- took over, killing Panaka and the Purple Queen. Fabio in #42 started the field dead last plus 1 from culture cards, 18 from farming, 4 nal. Scott’s outnumbered and freezing Germans The Naboo were soon subjugated. The Federation and moved up steadily to break into the top from tools and 35 from buildings for 157 points. pinned their hopes on an AT Gun. When it lost lost only one Droideka. Tom bested prior champi- five for the first time on the last lap Blais had 80 points plus 9 from culture cards, its duel with a T34, all that remained for the des- ons Schoose, Sutton and Gubbay as well as former to earn the most improved driver— 4 from farming, 60 from tools, 12 perate Germans was close combat runner-up Cagwin in the elimination moving up 17 positions. Dan Dolan, from buildings and 3 from resourc- with the Soviet tanks. Heroism rounds. Rumor has it that repeated Jr was the most consistent driver— es for 168 points. So Blais earned an was no match for armor and Eric beatings at the hands of his sister were starting second, never falling below 11-point victory to become the first emerged with his fourth title. instrumental in developing his skills. fifth, and finishing third. double winner of the event. 48 Century Events Century Events 49

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results  Terry Coleman, CA Nick Henning, DC Jeffrey Meyer, MA Alan Elkner, NJ James Terry, NJ Jason Ley, WA Kyle Smith, PA Adina Weiss, NJ Bill Beckman, SC Sceadeau D’Tela, NC Rebecca Hebner, CO Yoni Weiss, NJ O Johnny Wilson, IL Randy Buehler, WA Eric Kleist, MD Hank Griffin, PA O John Welage, OH Jay Berry, PA O Winton Lemoine, NV Amy Rule, MD O Steve Lollis, VA Nick Page, on O Robert Cranshaw, RI Chris Shabsin, MA

Bill Beckman, SC Randy Buehler, WA Andy Latto, MA Claire Brosius, MA 41  1991-94, 96-14 65  2008-2014 151  2006-2014 303  2004-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Rich Moyer, MN 174 Randy Buehler, WA 182 Andy Latto, MA 128 Jay Fox, NJ 84 Harry Flawd, PA 170 Jason Ley, WA 168 Anne Norton, NJ 75 Virginia Colin, VA 70 Bill Beckman, SC 132 Joel Lytle, NY 114 Rob Kircher, RI 72 Eric Monte, NY 70 Terry Coleman, CA 108 Nick Henning, DC 60 Kyle Smith, PA 66 Steve Shambeda, PA 69 Chris Palermo, NY 47 Zvi Mowshowitz, NY 60 Randy Buehler, WA 61 Henry Allen, FL 68 Jacob Hebner, CO 46 Raphael Lehrer, CA 52 Aran Warszawski, il 54 Alan Elkner, NJ 66 Mark Giddings, NY 40 Andrew Emerick, CT 48 Robert Murray, NJ 48 Hilary Haagen, VA 60 Randy Cox, SC 28 Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 42 David Meyaard, NY 48 Anni Foasberg, NJ 60 Terry Coleman, CA Ken Samuel, VA 28 Nick Henning, DC Aran Warszawski, il 40 Jeffrey Meyer, MA Amy Rule, MD 48 Alan Elkner, NJ Kyle Greenwood, HI 60 James Terry, NJ 27 Rob Flowers, MD 26 Jim Castonguay, PA 42 John Faella, RI 60

Superstar Baseball (SSB) Through the Ages (AGE) Thurn & Taxis (T&T) Ticket to Ride (TTR) The format remained the same with three daily All three returning finalists lost their The winning scores in the heats ranged from The WBC attendance record for an event was heats. The winners of each plus their runners-up opening games and rebounded with a high of 31 to two low-scoring 10-9 games. set as 303 players participated. The check-in line were destined for the playoffs along with the best double wins in the remaining heats to ad- There were many close contests, with eight won ran down the hall into the food court and up the two remaining overall records as wild card teams. vance to the semifinals. However, now unseeded, on tiebreak and ten by a single point. stairs, but the sorting system kept the line chug- The Heat winners were: Bill Beckman (95 Indians), they manned a very shark-filled semifinal table Robert Cranshaw rushed the carriages to ging along. 45 minutes from the start of check-in, Roderick Lee (78 Dodgers), and Steve Lollis (81 with two-time champion Randy Buehler, defend- trigger the endgame in his semifinal, but fin- 43 tables were engaged, filling the ballroom to Yankees). The rest of the field consisted of runners- ing champ Joel Lytle, and triple-heat-winner Yossi ished with 18 points to Rebecca Hebner’s 20. overflowing. People were taking their first tickets up: Terry Coleman (53 Yankees), John Welage (76 Dvora. Randy survived that test to reach the Final Jefferson Meyer beat Winton Lemoine by half as the first games to start entered the end-game. Reds) and James Terry (62 Yankees). The Wild Card for the fifth straight year, albeit with a few well a point. Kyle Smith got a 7-house multicolored The 10th anniversary celebration provided hun- slots were filled by Johnny Wilson (62 Giants) and earned scars. He was joined by two-time champion route and an all-white 6 route to score all colors dreds of train sets from Days of Wonder. A trans- Jack Beckman (45 Tigers). The first round was the Jason Ley, Sceadeau D’Tela riding a four-game win- and Bavaria first, besting Eric Brosius 29-17. In lucent set of 45 trains was given to each player. battle of the Beckmans with Bill topping Jack 5-0, ning streak and event newcomer Nick Henning. the last semi, Andrew Emerick seemed hard to The finalists got their choice of four expansion Wilson besting Lee 1-0, Terry beating Lollis 4-2, Jason got the best of the opening deal with stop, cartwrighting for the 4, 5, and 6 carriages sets and the winner received a commemorative and Coleman demolishing Welage 11-1. In the next Hanging Gardens and Moses, but Age 1 ended and never using the Administrator, when di- coin and the opportunity to attend GenCon to round Coleman used a 7th inning Yogi Berra 3-run quicker than anticipated so Hanging Gardens never saster struck his last route. An Administrator play in the National tournament. homer to top the Indians 5-4. In the other bracket, in got built. Age 1 saw the usual arms race, with could not extend Linz-Passau, and he had to In the quarterfinals we had three players who a recreation of the ‘62 World Series, Terry’s Yankees Sceadeau starting a cascade of aggressive drafting discard a route. Eric Kleist scored Bavaria on had already qualified for the Nationals: Trella again beat Wilson’s Giants 4-3. by taking Knights for three actions. With all three his second route plus nine points in long-route Bromley, Steve Shambeda, and Jeff Jackson. Jay The Final best-of-three series was an all-Yan- copies of Iron buried deep in the deck, the civili- bonuses to win by an even larger margin than Fox, our leading laurelist, also had qualified. kees affair with Dimaggio’s ‘53 squad vs Mantle’s zations developed slowly while constantly war- Kyle, 26-13 over Matthew Craig. None of them reached our Final. Instead, we ‘62 bombers. The opening game found the ‘53 ring—presumably with rocks. Halfway through The Final saw most players going for long had two of our youngest go head-to-head in the Yanks benefiting from the wildness of Jim Bouton Age 2 all four were still on Bronze. routes while Jefferson rushed the carriages. By last round as brother and sister, Yoni and Adina and winning 5-4 despite surrendering four solo It was a brutal, low-scoring game that was ac- Turn 13, he was the only player with a 6 car- Weiss, battled each other. homers. The second game featured young Whitey tually turned upside down by Jason declaring a riage. He scored a 3 route, judging that if he Hank Griffin had a battle on his hands since- fi Ford pitching against veteran Whitey Ford! Cole- culture war against Sceadeau on the last possible extended it to a 5 route and cartwrighted to nalists Alan Elkner, Yoni and Adina all play in the man used four pitchers and Terry five as they turn. It was Nick who benefitted most from the war end the game quickly, Rebecca’s long route Jay’s Basement group. Most of the tickets were com- battled into the 14th inning where an RBI single once the music stopped. He won with a score of 131 chits would give her the win over his carriage pleted. Adina barely claimed family bragging rights by “Doc” Blanchard won it for the ‘62 over Jason’s 108, Sceadeau’s 105 and points. This unusual play proved to be correct. 122 to 121. Hank trailed behind with a respectable pinstripers. The title game went score- Randy’s 98. It was just the start of a Four turns later, he was able to cartwright the 7 96, having shared the most tick- less until the bottom of the 11th, when spectacular week. He would grab carriage, still ending the game ets bonus with Yoni. The longest Billy Martin homered to give Coleman four more titles before week’s end— as the only player with a 7 car- route went to Alan, and with it, his first SSB title. setting a record for events won. riage. the win with 128 points. 50 Century Events Century Events 51

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Akihisa Tabei, jp Aaron Fuegi, MA Carter Waite, VA Chris Byrd, CT Michael Pustilnik, NY Dan Strock, PA Ewan McNay, NY Antony Russo, MD Kevin Hillock, VA Bruno Wolff, WI Angela Collinson, MD E.Evan Woodham, TX Rich Atwater, WA O Arthur Wines, PA O Greg Crowe, MD David Amidon, PA Aaron Fuegi, MA O Brian Sutton, MD O Brendan Coomes, OH Kevin Lewis, DC O Jason Ley, WA O Michael Pustilnik, NY O Harry Flawd, PA O Andy Doughan, PA

Bruno Wolff, WI Rich Atwater, WA Greg Crowe, MD George Young, VT 34  1991-2014 25  1994-2014 96  1997-2014 45  2006-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Dave Finberg, MA 289 Aaron Fuegi, MA 265 Matt Calkins, VA 60 Stefan Mecay, TX 428 Aaron Fuegi, MA 273 David des Jardins, CA 179 Rebecca Hebner, CO 57 Chris Withers, CA 161 David des Jardines, CA 185 Dan Strock, PA 109 Alan Witte, NJ 50 Keith Wixson, NJ 143 Rich Atwater, WA 168 Brian Sutton, MD 93 Ewan McNay, NY 48 Chris Byrd, CT 122 Dan Strock, PA 157 Jason Ley, WA 68 Harry Flawd, PA 45 Riku Riekkinen, fi 110 Jason Ley, WA 151 David Finberg, MA 57 Brendan Coomes, OH 44 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 108 Kevin Hillock, VA 130 Sean McCulloch, OH 57 Devon Miller, VA 42 Rick Young, NC 100 Brian Sutton, MD 117 Andrew Gross, WA 49 Jordan Shea, CT 42 Randy Pippus, on 72 Akihisa Tabei, jp Akihisa Tabei, jp 95 Aaron Fuegi, MA Bruno Wolff, WI 38 Carter Waite, VA Joseph Sposito, NJ 40 Chris Byrd, CT Bill Edwards, VA 60 Arthur Wines, NJ 84 Michael Pustilnik, NY 33 Greg Crowe, MD 39 Bruce Monnin, OH 46

Titan (TTN) Titan 2-Player (TT2) Titan: The Arena (TTA) Twilight Struggle (TWS) As is his custom, Akihisa Tabei struck ear- Dan Strock faced Art Wines in the first semi- This year our field of 96 players in- We had two noteworthy newcomers. Tony ly in the Final making a strong titan on titan final. Art attacked early in the brush with titan, cluded 27 who hadn’t played the game at Russo proved tough for everyone. His extensive attack against Rich Atwater in the plains to three warlocks, cyclops and ranger against three WBC before, which was very gratifying. online experience with our 4th place finisher, eliminate him quickly. Michael Pustilnik at- cyclops, two gorgons and an angel. Dan’s cyclops Of the 28 qualifiers to win at least one heat, 22 David Amidon, prepared him well for WBC. He tacked Kevin Hillock’s angel stack and won, killed a ranger with five 6s on nine dice. The reappeared for the semifinals. Three alternates upset Stefan Mecay in the third round and only but Kevin attacked the survivors and killed opening allowed both gorgons to reach the titan were added to man five 5-player tables. lost in the Final. Evan Woodham also made his them. Mike took a ranger with his titan (7), and put an angel in a bramble hex, unreachable The Final was loaded with experience, num- first appearance and went undefeated. Unfortu- two minotaurs, two rangers, lion legion be- by the gorgons. bering three former champions and a two-time nately, he missed the first round so could not low Aki’s two minotaur, gorgon, troll legion The other semifinal was a contrast in luck for finalist among its five combatants. No public compete for the title. in the mountains. On his next turn Mike split Bruno Wolff. His first three rolls gained maxi- wager was lost in the first two rounds as the un- Headline events Containment and Red Scare off- out ranger, lion and then attacked into the mum recruits for both his stacks. But neither loved Cyclops and Titan were dispatched early. set each other in the Final and Chris Byrd’s Ameri- mountains with titan (7), two minotaurs and stack could recruit on a 5. For the next three The negotiations began in earnest in the third cans took an early edge by winning the coup/coun- two rangers. Aki could have killed Mike’s mi- turns, he rolled a 5, moving only small stacks round but ended with Carter’s decision to kill ter-coup in Iran, allowing play in Asia. Marshall notaur, but took a 50% shot at the titan instead because recruiting was possible for both large the Ranger that had two secret bets—Brendan’s Plan simultaneously enabled American dominance and missed. Mike survived with titan, angel stacks on any other number. Defending champ and Ewan’s. In the fourth round, an alleged in Europe. Over Turns 2 and 3, Antony’s Russians and two minotaurs. Aaron Fuegi subsequently chased and eventu- “mistaken” play by Carter allowed Ewan to struggled to keep pace, hampered by scoring cards Aki then attacked Kevin’s titan with titan ally caught Bruno’s titan. make sure his Hydra survived again by killing and generally lower operations values. The Ameri- (8), two angels, two rangers, troll and an angel Recruiting was also the key in the Final. Aar- the Warlock, which had 1st and 4th-round bets cans even managed to dispose of Decolonization and summon against titan (7), giant, two warbears, on had multiple early turns with four or more by Greg, as well as bets by Brendan and Carter. Destalinization on the space race. The early position- two rangers and a warlock. Kevin should have stacks recruiting, and one where he got six re- Cards were low in Round 5 so the others could al edge allowed the US to assume a VP advantage killed an angel, causing a mutual, but didn’t. cruits for six stacks. Dan had to chase stacks to not close the deal before Ewan got another turn. as Europe scored twice over the first four turns. Instead Aki survived with titan (12) and two accumulate points so his titan went into battle He used the Hydra power to play two cards, The US continued to improve its relative position angels. Mike was stuck with titan (8), angel and in the marsh with two lions, two cyclops and a and killed the Unicorn, which had Brendan’s by playing higher value cards. Over the next two two minotaurs. Aki would have killed him on ranger, and an angel to summon, against the all 1st-round bet and the secret bets of Angela and turns, the US continued to augment its point lead, a 6, but didn’t get it. Mike was one turn from native stack of three ogres, two trolls and two Greg. When the last chips fell, it was newcomer first taking advantage of OAS to pick up a quick 4 getting a dragon, when Aki got a 6. The last rangers. He was attempting to survive the battle Carter who had the most points, due to having VPs in South America and then playing Dr. Stran- battle was titan (13) and three angels against with a ranger recruiter plus his titan, to receive the only surviving secret bet (on the Dragon). gelove for three more. Russian counter efforts took titan (8), angel and two minotaurs. a second ranger and earn an angel And so Carter Waite, new to both the game and a favorable position in South America, Aki gave Mike a chance to go 13 plus get to 200 points. His titan took WBC, won her first shield and be- but it was too late. At the beginning for 18 to get a mutual, but Mike one too many hits from the 2 skill came our 17th champ in 18 years. of Turn 7, the US had 19 VPs and Al- only rolled 12 hits. That gave Aki level creatures and Aaron had his liance for Progress added one more, just a clean win and his first Titan title. sixth title. enough for the win. 52 Century Events Century Events 53

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results John Emery, SC Mike Kaltman, PA Andy Gardner, VA David Kiefte, ns R. Malcomson, MN A. Drummond, on Ed Paule, NJ Kirk Harris, NJ Richard Irving, CA Steve LeWinter, NC Pat Richardson, WA Chris Trimmer, TX Andrew Maly, MD Doug Faust, NY Dan Blummentritt, TX Jim Stanard, NJ O Wade Fowble, MD O Matthew Craig, NC John Pack, CO Joel Calden, MA O Jeff Spanner, MD O Greg Thatcher, CA Jim Eliason, IA O M. Pare-Paquin, qc

Jim Burnett, TN Eric Freeman, PA Charles Drozd, IL Ed Beach, MD 28  1991-2014 75  2008-2014 26  1991-2014 34  2013-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists John Emery, SC 227 Randy Buehler, WA 54 Andy Gardner, VA 486 M. Pare-Paquin, qc 55 Bruce Young, SC 177 Doug Faust, NY 49 Dan Henry, IL 272 David Kiefte, ns 50 Ray Stakenas II, MI 118 Eric Freeman, PA 48 Michael Kaye, CA 252 Kirk Harris, NJ 30 Bruce Wigdor, NJ 112 Steve LeWinter, NC 42 Ed Menzel, CA 250 Jim Stanard, NJ 30 Ed Kendrick, uk 100 Mike Kaltman, PA 39 Charles Drozd, IL 224 Max DuBoff, NJ 30 Ray Stakenas Sr, MI 74 Nick Page, on 36 Ed Paule, NJ 204 Chris Trimmer, TX 20 Richard Irving, CA 66 Andrew Gerb, MD 33 John Pack, CO 150 Ed Rothenheber, MD 20 Jeff Spaner, MD 52 Redie Smith, NC 30 Darren Kilfara, uk 146 Joel Calden, MA 10 John Emery, SC Paul Wright, PA 52 Mike Kaltman, PA Sceadeau D’Tela, NC 26 Andy Gardner, VA John Sharp, FL 126 David Kiefte, ns Jeff Heidman, NY 10 Ralph Gleaton, SC 48 Cary Morris, NC 24 Michael Ussery, MD 118 Justin Rice, VA 5

Up Front (UPF) Vegas Showdown (VSD) Victory in the Pacific (VIP) Virgin Queen (VGQ) The 2014 field included seven past champs There were 27 games played in three heats. 55 games were played with an in- In the opening heats nine wins were divided with 15 shields. After the bodies had been re- Only Kate Fractal managed more than one win. creased average bid of 4.87 POC for the between the Protestant (3), Ottoman (2), Spain moved from the five swiss rounds, 2012 champ Three of those 26 winners opted not to advance, Japanese. Despite that, the IJN winning (2), England (1) and France (1). The winners Richard Irving stood tallest at 5-0. Joining him in admitting alternates Andrew Drummond and % increased to an alarming 70.9%. After five were defending champ Mathieu Pare-Paquin, the gauntlet with one loss apiece were regulars Matt Calkins to the semifinals. There, defending swiss rounds Andy Gardner, Ed Paule, Patrick Jeromey Martin, David Kiefte, Dennis Mishler, Wade Fowble and Andrew Maly, newcomer Rob- champ Doug Faust won his table by six points Richardson, and John Pack all had four wins. Max DuBoff, Manuel Bravo, Frank Morehouse, ert Malcomson, and six-time winner John Emery. over Eric Freeman to advance in defense of his The remaining slots went to Daniel Blumen- Joel Calden and Joe Appel. Jeff Spaner, Greg Courter, and William Kendrick title. Mike Kaltman cruised to an easy 10-point tritt, Jim Eliason, Ed Menzel, and John Sharp Seven of those winners joined 11 alternates for earned the remaining slots with 3-2 records. win over Craig Trader. “Leisure Suit” alternate (all 3-2). three semifinal games. Two Ottoman military wins The higher seeds prevailed in the quarterfinals Andrew Drummond punched his golden ticket The quarterfinals yielded only a mild up- by Chris Trimmer and Calden highlighted the ac- with Irving defeating Kendrick, Malcomson over with a 5-point win over 2013 finalist Cary Mor- set with #5 Blumentritt’s USN over #4 Pack, in tion. The third semifinal winner was Jim Stanard Courter, Maly over Spaner and Emery besting ris. 2011 champ Steve LeWinter returned to the what would be the only USN playoff victory. In who reached the Final with a 28 VP English win Fowble. In Round 7 Malcomson used German at- Final with a 2-point victory over Greg Thatcher. the remaining quarterfinals #1 Gardner ousted for the second straight year. Runner-up slots were tackers to beat Maly’s Americans in The Infantry’s Matt Craig took the last seat with a 2-point mar- #8 Sharp in eight turns, while #2 Paule topped awarded to Kiefte, Kirk Harris and Pare-Paquin. Iron Fist. The other semi saw Emery’s Russian de- gin over Greg Crowe. #7 Menzel and #3 Richardson beat #6 Eliason Finalist Power selection was as follows: Stanard fense in Outpost Line prevail against Irving’s Ger- Mike’s tableau at the end contained a Lounge, in seven turns. In the semi’s Gardner bid 8.5 (England), Calden (Protestant), Trimmer (HRE), mans. The game was in doubt until the last card two Fancy Lounges, four Slots, two Fancy Slots, a POC for the IJN vs. Blumentritt and despite the Kiefte (Ottoman), Harris (Spain), and Pare-Paquin with the deck emptied before Richard could play Dragon Room, two Restaurants, and a Fancy Res- impressive bid secured a mathematical lock in (France). The action picked up on Turn 4 with the a terrain card for the win. taurant. It was good for 68 points (and nine left- Turn 7. In the other bracket Paule bid 9.5 POC Protestant seizing Antwerp in a double move, with Malcomson requested a repeat of the scenario over cash). Andrew also finished with 68 points for the IJN vs. Richardson and won a concession the HRE successfully invading France, and with a and side he won in the semis and Emery, ever the but no excess cash and that tiebreaker proved at the end of Turn 6. close to successful Gunpowder Plot attempt at a Cath- gentleman, agreed. John’s GIs gained terrain but not decisive. Steve was third with 66 points followed Given the previous bids, another high bid olic Rebellion in England (where Kirk Harris fell one without cost. A Sniper then turned things around by Doug with 56 and Matt with 43. This was Kalt- in the Final was expected and Gardner opened hit short of winning the game). Despite losing his by hitting the AFV’s commander and the Americans man’s 20th appearance in a WBC Final. He was 0 with a bid of 10.5. Paule found himself in an ear- whole pirate fleet in naval battles on that calamitous stopped taking, and started causing, casualties. Mid- for 19 heretofore when it came to winning the big ly hole as an American CV was lost on Turn 1. turn, Kiefte’s Ottomans were able to mix piracy, way through the second deck, Robert was down to one. The string of near misses was approaching Seeing the writing already on the wall, he com- Suez Canal, and Patronage VP for 25 VP at the end four men and a stunned AFV but John was within infinity—or so it seemed. After a double check mitted everything to the defense of Pearl Har- of Turn 5. A final attempt to reel David back in with two losses of his own squad breaking. of the scores confirmed that Vegas bor on Turn 2. A first round night a City States Rebellion in Tunis fell a hit John used the bazooka to shoot at the Showdown would finally break his action was bad news for the USN, short and he earned his first WBC title. infantry group instead of the AFV, got streak, Mike broke down in tears of and when the sun rose the IJN had Harris took second with 23 VP followed a hit, and drew a Black 6 for the decisive joy and relief after finally winning smashed the USN decisively, draw- by Trimmer 22, Stanard 21, Calden and kill to win his 7th UPF title. his first WBC title. ing a quick concession. Pare-Paquin 19 each. 54 Century Events Century Events 55

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results Bruce Monnin, OH Chris. Yaure, PA Greg Hultgren, CA George Young, VT Jon Lockwood, VA Joe Yaure, PA Terry Coleman, CA Keith Wixson, NJ Andy Gardner, VA K. Wojtaszczyk, NY David Long, NC Randy Pippus, on Ben Gardner, VA Chris Greenfield, NY O Philip Yaure, PA John Faella, RI O Dennis Nicholson, NY O Ted Lange, GA O Derek Landel, NJ O Randall MacInnis, GA O Vince Meconi, DE O Kevin Lewis, DC O Wayne Morrison, FL O Bill Peeck, NY

Vince Meconi, DE K. Wojtaszczyk, NY Bruce Monnin, OH Keith Wixson, NJ 35  1991-2014 20  2006-2014 20  2009-2014 34  1994-2014

Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Jon. Lockwood, VA 207 K. Wojtaszczyk, NY 165 Greg Hultgren, CA 63 George Young, VT 338 Andy Gardner, VA 195 Chris Trimmer, TX 115 Rob Winslow, NY 49 James Pei, TX 301 Bruce Monnin, OH 161 Chris Yaure, PA 72 Terry Coleman, CA 48 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 271 Pat Richardson, FL 158 Ty Hansen, DC 60 Derek Landel, NJ 48 Paul Gaberson, PA 198 Ed Menzel, CA 152 Andy Latto, MA 40 David Long, NC 42 Keith Wixson, NJ 190 Dennis Nicholson, NY 147 Phil Rennert, MD 30 Matthew Beach, MD 33 Brian Mountford, NY 179 Vince Meconi, DE 136 Jacob Hebner, CO 24 Philip Yaure, PA 21 Dan Leader, MA 96 Ray Freeman, CA 133 Jason Levine, NY 24 Keith Hunsinger, OH 18 John Poniske, PA 91 Bruce Monnin, OH Robert Drozd, IL 118 Christopher Yaure, PA George Young, VT 24 Greg Hultgren, CA Lembit Tohver, on 18 George Young, VT Mike Mitchell, GA 65 Darren Kilfara, uk 99 Joe Yaure, PA 18 Stan Myszak, qc 16 David Rubin, NJ 60

War at Sea (WAS) War of the Ring (WOR) Warriors of God (WOG) Washington’s War (WWR) The field was the smallest since 1998, com- The tally had the FP winning thir- Half the field contested Sunday Sadly, attendance declined 30%. Perhaps the prised of 35 players who logged 64 games. The teen games (3 FPMV, 10 Dunks) to the night’s Pre-Con Mulligan with Terry “new game” bump with the transition from We dominant Allied strategy was again “Barents on SP’s ten (4 SPMV, 6 Corruption). SP Coleman, Pete Stein, Derek Landel, Rob the People has run its course and we can now 1” by a wide margin. Play balance continued corruption strategy focus was evident in many Winslow and Bruce Monnin earning byes to expect a return to WTP’s mid 30’s as the new its yo-yo imitation of recent years. This year’s games. Sixteen games had 0 Dwarven rings Monday’s second round action. 16 contested the norm. The Brits won 27 of 51 games. They domi- WBC had 26 Axis wins (40.6%). However, the bid, three had the FP receive one, three had the first round. The French were dominant at first, nated in Round 1, winning 12 of 17 games, but most recent BPA PBeM Championship sported SP get one and one had the FP gain two. Four- winning nine of 13 contests. However, the results that was a byproduct of six of the eight seeded a 54% Axis win rate. 59 of this year’s contests teen played in the Mulligan round with an- moderated in the medal rounds with the English players opening with the Brits. After Round 1 had an Allied bid. The average bid was 1.80 for other dozen playing in Round 1. Out of those, winning five of the last nine games. the Americans won 19 of 34. In the elimination all games and 1.95 for games with a bid, both thirteen different winners advanced to Round 2 Round 2 saw Winslow, Coleman, Greg Hult- rounds they won four of seven. increases over last year. single elimination. gren and Philip Yaure win as the English, often us- George Young became the first 4-time champ The Allies swept the quarterfinals. Andy The Final became a family affair with Chris- ing an aggressive strategy of buying Gunners on in our 21-year history, although it took him Gardner edged Bob Hamel, Ben Gardner best- topher Yaure (FP) facing his son Joe. Strider fell the first two turns and launching a Turn 2 strike on seven years to climb that 4th rung of the lad- ed Darren Kilfara, Bruce Monnin upset Dennis to a random casualty on Turn 1, but many Eye Ile-de-France. Defending champion David Long der. Young has reached the Final four times in Nicholson, and Jon Lockwood crushed Vincent action dice slowed the SP. The FP declared in was the only French survivor. The French soon the last five years, however, so it wasn’t for lack Meconi. The latter game was notable in that the Mordor by Turn 7 but only had Legolas left to took revenge with Coleman and Hultgren pun- of trying. Once again, Keith Wixson barred his Axis had every German ship afloat and undam- lead the fellowship and a Lidless Eye switched ishing the English. Hultgren then used the French way, the third time that they have shared finalist aged when they conceded. In the semifinals, extra dice into Eyes to slow their movement. again to foil Long’s title defense. status since 2010. This time George avenged his Jon’s Allies, bidding 2.5, never lost the blockade Turn 11 found Frodo at 11 corruption taking his Greg accepted Terry’s bid of two VP for the losses, and as was the case previously, the game in besting Ben’s Axis. On the other board, Bruce‘s final step with the Shadow at 12 VP. English. Over the next few turns, Greg acquired went down to the last card play and battle with Axis topped Andy who bid 2 for the Allies. Christopher could wait no longer to risk his core areas in the center of France. Terry made his Americans claiming eight colonies. Jon had already downed Bruce in the Swiss the last steps up Mount Doom. So Frodo, re- repeated attempts to break the French core and was George was unbeaten entering the Final, best- rounds and had a 6-0 record as the Allies and membering his gift from Bilbo, threw off his able to capture two French leaders, but they died ing Michael Webb, Rob Doane and Geoff Allbutt got them again for a bid of 2.5. However, there cloak to reveal a coat of Mithril and drew before yielding a single victory point. By Turn 10 the in the preliminaries, Bob Hamel in the quarter- Jon’s karma expired. The game was not close, as String as he marched up the steps. Joe shook French had a 7-point lead. Joan of Arc then trapped finals and John Faella in the semifinals. Keith’s Jon failed multiple speed rolls and was soon in the hunt tiles as the fate of Middle Earth hung two British leaders outside of Burgundy with no re- slate was also unblemished, having defeated Pe- a hopeless position, resigning on Turn 3. Andy in the balance as the last SP corruption end- treat. One died in battle and the other was captured. ter Putnam, Paul Gaberson and defend- Gardner claimed Best Axis player at ing unfolded with a climatic tile That result, and another plague that ing champ James Pei in the preliminar- just 2-0 while Jon salvaged Best Al- draw! Frodo emerged resolute decimated only English leaders, con- ies, Randy MacInnis in the quarterfinals lied Player honors at 6-1—the fifth over the lava to dunk the ring vinced Terry to forego further tours and Randy Pippus in the semifinals. time he has been so recognized in and give Christopher his second of France and gave Gregory his first Young and Wixson were the only re- the last seven years. WOR title! WBC title, but not his last. turning laurelists to add to their totals. 56 Century Events Century Events 57

2014 Results 2014 Results 2014 Results IS THIS THE Richard Beyma, VA Grant LaDue, NY Ashley Johnson, MD Tim Miller, GA James Pei, VA Kevin Milne, MN NEXT-to-LAST YEARBOOK? Joe Angiolillo, FL Michael Ussery, MD Jason Moore, NY In a grudging and long overdue nod to Ed Menzel, CA O Bill Peeck, NY Vic Hogen, CA the inevitability of the internet age, WBC’s O Marty Musella, NC O Paul Gaberson, PA Don Stanley, sk annual recap will be relying more heavily O John Clarke, FL O Randy MacInnis, GA Jeff Mathis, FL on our website coverage and less on the printed page. Marty Musella, NC Keith Wixson, NJ Randy Scheers, TX This year’s version, the 16th annual 25  1991-2014 20  2002-2014 23  92-00; 02-14 printed remembrance of the previous convention, is the last to be included as a free premium for early Sustaining mem- Top Laurelists Top Laurelists Top Laurelists berships. Commencing in 2016, with the Richard Beyma, VA 173 James Pei, VA 372 Jason Moore, NY 180 change in venue to Seven Springs, a year- Rob Beyma, MD 162 Keith Wixson, NJ 289 Paul Milne, MN 156 book will be provided only as a free pre- Marty Musella, NC 157 Paul Gaberson, PA 216 Randy Scheers, TX 126 mium for Tribune/Sponsor memberships John Clarke, FL 123 Ron Fedin, PA 141 Bruce Harper, bc 121 purchased by April 30th, or by separate Joe Beard, AZ 100 George Young, VT 131 Jon Hogen, CA 118 order. Thereafter, should this fail to gen- Bruno Sinigaglio, AK 61 Peter Reese, VA 111 Vic Hogen, CA 108 Joe Angiolillo, FL 61 John Buse, IL 99 Kevin Milne, MN 102 erate sufficient requests for the book to Pat Mirk, FL 51 Tom Drueding, MA 98 Elihu Feustal, IN 102 justify the continued effort, it will be dis- continued—both in print and download- Richard Beyma, VA Tim Miller, GA 47 Grant LaDue, NY Grant LaDue, NY 82 Ashley Johnson, MD Chris Goldfarb, OR 96 Ray Clark, CT 39 Michael Ussery, MD 72 Greg Wilson, NJ 96 able versions. In the meantime, the plan is to continue to mail the yearbook, one per household, to those qualifying members Waterloo (WAT) Wilderness War (WNW) World at War (WAW) living in the U.S., with all others picking Waterloo continued its resurgent roll The Tuesday night Mulligan round was well Six A World at War campaigns were played. up their copies at registration. as 25 grognards returned to prolong the attended (12 players), and all six losers returned Three began from starting positions arising out The yearbook has seemingly been 50th anniversary celebration another the following morning to play in the first round. of Gathering Storm, the prequel that begins in valued by a declining minority of the year. The recent rule modifications—10 sided The French and British split 24 games (ending an Spring 1935. As the event is not a true tourna- membership for some time. Its continued CRT and a PAA stacking prohibition—have 11-year streak of French mastery), although the ment, an account of one game serves as an ap- production is a drain on time and mon- tightened play balance, although bidding and French again swept the semifinal and Final games. propriate remembrance. etary resources made possible only by win ratios still favor the PAA. Nine grognards We again crowned a new champ, Grant LaDue, It began in Fall 1939, the historical first turn subsidizing its production as a premium battled for the four playoff spots. Several note- a perennial laurelist who finally got the brass ring. in classic WAW, with the difference that the Al- giveaway. Given the extensive lodging worthy players fell just short, leaving newcomers He lost the 2009 Final and has been a semifinalist lies had already ceded Danzig and the Polish subsidies required by the pending move Tim Miller and Ed Menzel vs returning laurelists twice since. He defeated newcomer Michael Wild- Corridor to Germany. The Axis planned to in- to our new venue, these resources are Richard Beyma and Joe Angiolillo. ing, two-time champ Keith Wixson, Randy MacIn- vade Turkey to flank Russia in 1941. France fell now required elsewhere and thus the Tim got the PAA with a 5-factor bid. Ed ad- nis and Bill Peeck en route to the title game with in Fall 1940, and the Axis invaded Turkey on yearbook must sink or swim based on re- vanced slowly and despite some early victories was top seeded James Pei. James defeated newcomer the same turn. The British attempted to block ceipts from its sale and inclusion in elite unable to crack Tim’s PAA defense, conceding after Rod Coffey, George Young, defending champ Paul the conquest of eastern Turkey, and in response membership levels. a devastating 1-1 AE setback. In the other bracket Gaberson, and 2013 champ Michael Ussery. Germany declared war on the US in Spring 1941 Richard grabbed the PAA for a 6-factor bid. Joe’s In the Final, Grant’s French ended ‘57 with five in order to attack Vichy-controlled Syria and Our pre- and post-con event cover- French advanced on a broad front and traded loss- VPs via three successful raids. The French margin re- exploit into Iraq. Germany then invaded Rus- age will continue on our website and es, giving as much as he took. Trying to win before mained 5 VPs a year later after another successful raid. sia as planned, and the Russian position became will be augmented with a slick makeover the Prussian IV Corps’ arrival, Joe launched several Montcalm began ’59 besieging Ft. Ticonderoga. Wolfe critical—as did the Italian, as the Axis forces in scheduled for unveiling in 2016. The web low odds attacks, only to sustain crippling losses. counterattacked and won a victory despite French North Africa were no match for the combined has many advantages over the printed The Final saw Richard bidding high (-8) for the fieldworks. The British played Bigot and used the Anglo-American forces. The Axis went all in, page including, but not limited to: cost PAA. Tim skillfully maneuvered the French onto end of turn card windfall to redeploy Wolfe’s army with Japan declaring war on Russia in Summer of creation, distribution, greater detail, the Quatre Bras heights and captured Nivelles in to the Mohawk Valley theater. Villiers made a criti- 1942. This ensured both a Russian surrender and the convenience of links to related mate- a series of successful low odds attacks to take both cal interception to save a French stockade garrisoned the early defeat of Japan. The question was how rial, error correction when required and a positional and attrition lead. Late on 17 June, he by marines at Oswegatchie. Unfortunately for Pei, long Russia would stay cowed. It turned out greater access worldwide and while users went for the win with a 2-1 vs 15 factors but rolled the French main army crossed the Adirondacks and “not quite long enough”, as Russia re-entered are in transit. WBC remains dedicated to the dreaded AE, and that was that. Victory was lost was able to cut the British supply line at the war in Summer 1944, and helped defeat Ger- continuing to offer the best pre- and post- in a single roll. Only the return from OCW with time running out by overrun- many in Fall 1945. This one-turn con coverage of any gaming convention. Elba of five-time champ Joe Beard ning an intercepting British force under European Axis victory was offset Whether that continues to include a print- or Beyma the elder could change the Webb. With no means to complete the by a two-turn defeat in the Pacific, ed yearbook will depend on revenues gen- 2015 favorite to someone other than siege, and VP’s at FR7, Pei resigned and and an overall Allied victory by the erated by the new policy directly related four-time winner Richard Beyma. LaDue’s triumph was complete. narrowest of margins. to its production. 58 2014 Trial Events 2014 Trial Events 59

To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/ To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/

1775: Rebellion (775) 1989: Dawn of Freedom (989) Cinque Terre (CQT) C&C: Napoleonics (CCN) 35  2014 24  2014 27  2014 28  2011-2014  Greg Hultgren, CA  Max Duboff, NJ  Katherine McCorry, VA  Andy Stapp, NJ O John Faella, RI O Jeromey Martin, GA O Chris Mattos, NY O Jack Morrell, NY O Larry Lingle, PA O Tom Drueding, MA O Winton Lemoine, NV O John Kirk, PA O Ted Lange, PA O R. Evan Woodham, TX O Dan Lawall, NC O Bill O’Neal, NY O Alexander Lange, GA O Pat Richardson, VA O Rachel Long, PA O Aidan Powers, VA O Bill Place, PA O Paul Sampson, OH O Paul Moukperian, NY O Jim Fardette, MD Jeff Lange, PA Henry Richardson, VA Jeremy Billones, VA Daniel Broh-Kahn, MD

Ace of Aces (AOA) Adel Verpflichtet (ADV) Concordia (CNC) Conflict of Heroes (COH) 39  2004-2014 58  1991-2014 47  2014 23  2009-2010, 2012-2014  Bill Burch, MD  John Pack, CO  Duncan McGregor, on  Doug Smith, PA O Richard Irving, CA O Kevin Wojtaszczyk, NY O Rob Kircher, RI O Cassy Draker, ME O Bruce Young, SC O Scott Saccenti, MD O Hank Griffin, PA O Eric Tolentino, PA O Steve Boone, MD O Tom DeMarco, NJ O Robb Effinger, on O Joe Harrison, KY O Bill Burtless, SC O Greg Crowe, MD O Daniel Speyer, NY O Stan Myszak, qc O Chris Villeneuve, MI O Peter Staab, PA O Jason Levine, NY O Devon Draker, ME Dan Lawall, WA John Pack, CO Jason Levine, NY Jeff Lange, GA

Anzio (ANZ) Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Conquest of Paradise (CQP) Elchfest (ELC) 17  1991-2014 22  2011-2014 30  2008-2014 56  2001-2014  Greg Tanner, AZ  Francois de Bellefeuille, qc  Dave Cross, VA  Dave Meyaard, NY O Robert Frisby, VA O Pierre LeBoeuf, MD O Steve Cameron, PA O Brandon Bernard, PA O John Clarke, VA O Anthony, Lainesse, qc O Guy Ferraiolo, PA O Jonathan Barnes, CA O Ed Witkowski, VA O Bruce Beard, MD O Rejean Tremblay, on O Rebecca Hebner, CO O Marty Musella, NC O Akihisa Tabei, jp O Nick Smith, uk O Dan Dolan, Sr, NJ O Mark McCandless, LA O Rick Miller, PA O Brian Goodwin, VA O Josh Githens, SC Robert Frisby, VA William Wallace, OH Kevin McPartland, MD Alex Bell, MD

Battleline (BAT) Brawling Battleships (BBS) Empire of the Sun (EOS) Galaxy 48  2001-2014 26  2004-2009, 2011, 2014 20  2005-2014 43  2000-2014  Bruce Reiff, OH  Allen Kaplan, NJ  Mark Popofsky, DC  Joe Burch, MD O Sean McCulloch, OH O Thomas Melton, VA O Antero, Kuusi, fi O Steve Cameron, PA O Rob Kilroy, PA O John Elliott, MD O Pablo Garcia-Silva, ch O Rebecca Melton, VA O Aaron Fuegi, MA O Jeff Billings, MD O Paul Gaberson, PA O Joanna Melton, VA O Chris Greenfield, NY O Pat Mirk, FL O Craig Yope, MI O Steve Shambeda, PA O William Austin, VA O Scott Driessen, MD O Dennis Culhane, PA O Nick Ferris, MD Bruce Reiff, OH Jarett Weintraub, NY Mark Herman, MD Mark Mitchell, VA 60 2014 Trial Events 2014 Trial Events 61

To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/ To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/

Galaxy Trucker (GXT) Global Mogul (GBM) Koenig’s Fortr. Europe (KFE) Labyrinth (LBY) 42  2012-2014 15  2014 8  1991-2006, 2014 14  2011-2014  Karl Henning, DC  Dan Hoffman, NC  Robert Frisby, VA  Jeff Burdett, NY O Jim Fardette, MD O Eric Wrobel, MD O Randy Heller, NH O Daniel Hoffman, NC O David des Jardins, CA O Jonathan Winicki, CT O Chris Gofrey, MA O Christopher Yaure, PA O Sceadeau D’Tela, NC O Kevin Sudy, VA O Paul Koenig, CA O Jessa Burdett, NY O Nick Henning, DC O Ed Kendrick, uk O NA O Philip Yaure, PA O Angela Collinson, MD O Barb Flaxington, NJ O NA O Patrick Neary, NY David Finberg, MA Bill Crenshaw, VA Paul Koenig, CA Jeff Burdett, NY

A House Divided (AHD) The Hunters (HNT) Last Will (LWL) Leaping Lemmings (LLM) 19  1999-2003; 2010-2014 24  2014 34  2012-2014 51  2011-2014  David Metzger, NY  Bruce Young, SC  Nick Henning, DC  Stefany Speck, MD O Phil Rennert, MD O Derek Pulhamus, NY O Cary Morris, NC O Faith Wobbeking, MD O Brad Raszewski, MD O Kaarin Engelmann, de O Sceadeau D’Tela, NC O John Speck, MD O Scott Sirianna, NY O John Conlon, OK O Mike Wojke, PA O Bill Powers, VA O Terry Coleman, CA O Alex Gregorio, PA O John Corrado, VA O Donna Curtis, OK O Carl Adamec, NY O Gary Libby, RI O Jon Senn, PA O Mary Ellen Powers, VA Terry Coleman, CA Gregory Smith, PA John Corrado, VA Rick Young, NC

Innovation (IOV) Kaiser’s Pirates (KPR) Lincoln’s War (LCW) Manifest Destiny (MFD) 47  2012-2014 44  2007-2014 24  2014 27  2005-2014  Robb Effinger, on  Jim Day, MD  Ted Drozd, IL  Tedd Mullally, NJ O Geoff Pounder, on O Ernie Chambers, VA O Charles Drozd, IL O David Hood, NC O Daniel Ottey, PA O Carl Sykes, SC O John Poniske, PA O Jeff Mullet, OH O Dave Denton, NY O Michael Sana, SC O Joe Collinson, MD O Dacey Collinson, MD O Nick Page, on O Mark Hinkle, NH O John Clarke, VA O Ken Gutermuth, NC O Lisa Gutermuth, WA O R.J. Gleaton, SC O Ray Stakenas, MI O Charlie Hickok, PA Robb Effinger, on Tim Rogers, SC John Poniske, PA Jeff Mullet, OH

Keyflower (KYF) King of Toyko (KOT) Manoeuvre (MAN) Maria (MAR) 29  2014 120  2014 32  2008-2014 15  2013-2014  Nick Henning, DC  Gary Schaefers, PA  Bjorn von Knorring, se  Bjorn von Knorring, se O Karl Henning, DC O Andrew Doughan, PA O Nathan Hill, MD O Max DuBoff, NJ O Ed Gilliland, VA O Chris Greenfield, NY O Richard Beyma, VA O Kaarin Engelmann, de O Yossa Dvora, il O Scott Driessen, MD O Rob Seulowitz, NY O Peter Putnam, PA O Curt Collins II, PA O Cal Doughan, PA O Mark McBride, OH O David Metzger, NY O Robert St. Pierre, PA O Mike Shea, CT O Henry Rice, TX O Jeff Cornett, FL Tom DeMarco, NJ Rob Olsson, MD Andy Lewis, DE Kaarin Engelmann, de 62 2014 Trial Events 2014 Trial Events 63

To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/ To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/

Medici (MED) Monsters Menace A. (MMA) Sergeants Miniature (SGM) Spyrium (SPY) 51  1999-2014 38  1998-2014 16  2012-2014 22  2014  Jean-Francois Gagne, qc  Mark Love, MD  Todd Trahan, VA  Redie Smith, NC O Richard Meyer, MA O Alex Bell, MD O Kevin Collins, VA O Pieter Villion, nl O Rick Miller, PA O Travis Nesmith, MD O Karl Buchholz, MI O Cary Morris, NC O Jeff Cornett, FL O Franklin Rinko, MD O Jason Fisher, NC O Sophia Holmquist, PA O Missy Richards, PA O Lee Waters, MD O Jeff Billings, MD O David Platnick, VA O Curt Collins II, PA O Anna Rinko, VA O Carl Sykes, NC O Nick Henning, DC Jeff Cornett, FL Mark Love, MD Rob Belli, MD Mike Kaltman, PA

Napoleon (NAP) Naval War (NVW) TransAmerica (TAM) Twilight Imperium (TWI) 12  ‘93-94; ‘00-06; 2013-14 26  1992-2011, 2013-14 42  2004; 2006-2014 18  2009-2014  Ron Draker, VA  Mike Wallschlaeger, NY  Jim Savarick, MD  Peter Putnam, PA O William Austin, VA O Bill Place, PA O Patrick Shea, VA O James DuBose, NY O Fred Bauer, VA O David Brooks, TN O Mike Kaltman, PA O Dylan Routh, MD O Walt MacEachern, MD O Mikaela Kumlander, fi O Daniel Speyer, NY O Rob Olsson, MD O Jeff Cornett, FL O Michael Dwyer, FL O Huston Johnson, WV O Matt O’Connor, NJ O Doug Bryant, PA O James Fleckenstein, VA O Alex Bove, PA O Peter Walsh, PA Ron Draker, VA James Kramer, PA Dave Bohnenberger, PA Michael Buccheri, MD

Piñata (PNT) Rebel Raiders (RBR) Tzolk’in (TZK) Union Pacific (UNP) 32  2014 12  2014 61  2014 30  2000-2014  Evan Cagwin, PA  Charles Hickok, PA  Randy Buehler, WA  Curt Collins II, PA O Rachel LaDue, NY O George Miksad, NY O Henry Dove, MD O Jason Arvey, VA O Angela Collinson, MD O Johnny Wilson, IL O Sceadeau D’Tela, NC O Fred Minard, PA O Pam P.-LaDue, NY O Rob Doane, RI O Loc Nguyen, PA O Jeff Senley, PA O Angela Hoffman, NC O Greg Schmittgens, KS O Daniel Farrow IV, PA O Jeff Jackson, MN O Lewis Lin, WA O Barry Setser, MD O Nick Henning, DC O Brad Sherwood, PA Jennifer Thomas, NY Fred Schachter, WA Chris Yaure, PA Max Jamelli, PA

Republic of Rome (ROR) Santa Fe Rails (SFR) Wellington (WLL) Win, Place & Show (WPS) 18  1991-2010; 2014 42  2003-2014 21  2006-2014 32  1992-2014  Nick Benedict, CA  Curt Collins II, PA  Rejean Tremblay, on  Bert Schoose, IL O Dave Bleau, MI O Bill Peeck, NY O Al Hurda, on O Vassily Kyrkos, NY O Robert Hammond, on O Rob Winslow, NY O Frank Morehouse, PA O Craig Fox, PA O Frank McNally, MA O Pat Mirk, FL O Jesse Boomer, KS O Ken Gutermuth, NC O Mike Mularski, NY O Grant LaDue, NY O Henry Russell, PA O Dave Steiner, IN O Dave Dockter, MN O Sara VanderWal, on O Patrick Duffy, VA O Bruce Reiff, OH Llew Bardecki, nz Rob Kircher, RI Patrick Duffy, VA Jim Burnett, TN 64 2014 Trial Events PBeM Champions 65

To read after-action reports, visit http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook14/ Event Results Previous Winners  Scott Nedza, NV NA Wooden Ships & Iron Men (WSM) Yspahan (YSP) O David Sherwood, AZ O Kevin Youells, PA 37  1991-2014 49  2008-2014 O Warren Day, AZ Next event in progress  Ron Glass, FL  Marissa Bianco, NJ O Bob Day, NY O Jeff Miller, PA O Richard Shay, MA O Richard Prast, OH O Brian Stuck, PA O Daniel Eppolito, NV 28 O O Rob McKinney, VA Chris Trimmer, TX Michael Day, AZ O Nicholas Chepaitis, PA O Greg Thatcher, CA O Malcolm Smith, VA O Antony Saccenti, MD Event Results Previous Winners Tim Hitchings, DE Christopher Yaure, PA  James Pei, VA 1999 James Pei, VA • 24 O Bill Pettus, MD 2002 Stefan Mecay, TX • 46 O Domenico Licheri, uk 2013 Sean Dolbee, CA • 53 A Final Remembrance of Those We Lost in the Past Year O Tolga Corapci, be O Dominique Marchal, fr O Tim Tow, WA Next event in progress A Final Remembrance of Those We Lost in the Past Year 81 Tim Tow, WA Andrew Murray Paul Cummins Cowles Van Bloem Event Results Previous Winners 1956-2015 1932-2015 1961-2015  James Pei, VA 2001 Aaron Fuegi, MA • 37 O Derek Landel, NJ O Geoff Allbutt, NY O Sean McCulloch, OH Play-By-Email Tournaments O Bill Edwards, VA O Mike Ussery, MD BPA does not run PBeM tournaments; rather, we provide support for hobbyists willing to host events. E-mail tournaments are counted the same as face-to-face 39 action in BPA’s prestigious Caesar competition, with Laurels based solely on size Tim Tow, WA of the field and the average face-to-face playing time. Event Results Previous Winners Event Results Previous Winners  Robert Kircher, RI  Chris Yaure, PA 2008 K. Gutermuth, NC • 34 2006 Bruce Monnin, OH • 32 O O Tom DeMarco, NJ 2009 Curt Collins II, PA • 40 Aran Warszawski, il 2007 Jeffrey Martin, CT • 40 O Bob Hamel, CT 2010 Tom DeMarco, NJ • 33 O Max Jamelli, PA 2008 Bruce Monnin, OH • 38 2009 A. Warszawski, il • 38 O Suzanne Tuch, NY 2013 John Pack, CO • 25 O Sean McCulloch, OH 2010 D. Nicholson, NY • 42 O O Derek Landel, NJ Sharee Pack, CO 2011 Bob Menzel, VT • 44 O Greg Thatcher, CA O Jeremy Billones, VA Next event in progress 2012 Bruce Monnin, OH • 46 2013 Derek Landel, NJ • 49 29 44 Next event in progress John Pack, CO Bruce Monnin, OH

Event Results Previous Winners Event Results Previous Winners  Mads Lunau, dk 2012 Mads Lunau, dk • 31  Sean McCulloch, OH 2010 L. Gutermuth, NC • 34 O Javier de la Fuente, es 2013 Kevin Youells, PA • 28 O Robert Kircher, RI 2011 D. Nicholson, NY • 41 O Kevin Youells, PA O Laurie Wojtaszczyk, NY 2012 M. Yoshikawa, CA • 44 O Dan Morris, MI O Harry Flawd, PA 2013 D. Nicholson, NY • 48 O Kevin Worth, ab Next event in progress O Terry Coleman, CA O Jonas Lundquist, se O Rebekah Monnin, OH Next event in progress 38 51 Kevin Youells, PA Bruce Monnin, OH 66 PBeM Champions Board of Directors 67

ll Boardgame Players Association (BPA) 15, so that the newly-elected Board may con- Event Results Previous Winners members of record as of June 1, 2015, are vene to conduct business during WBC. The  A Ed O’Connor, NJ 2000 Gary Dickson, CA • 22 hereby notified of their right to vote for up three candidates receiving the most votes will O Pat Flory, CT 2001 Doug James, NC • 23 to three members to serve on the BPA Board be elected. All members are urged to vote. O John Malaska, NJ 2002 Gary Dickson, CA • 44 O Doug James, NC 2003 Tom Gregorio, PA • 40 of Directors. Any BPA member may run for Failure to generate sufficient votes will invali- O Bert Schoose, IL 2006 Doug James, NC • 34 election as a Director. These individuals give date the election and force the organization to 2008 Tom Gregorio, PA • 31 O John Ohlin, FL their time without recompense to ensure that hold another with consequent expenses that 2010 Gary Dickson, CA • 31 WBC continues on an even keel, representing will be borne by the membership. 2012 Gary Dickson, CA • 24 30 all interests fairly. Candidates for the Board Note that all paying attendees of WBC— Doug James, NC Next event in progress in 2015 include Andy Lewis, Don Greenwood, other than one-day guests—are BPA members Ken Whitesell, Joel Tamburo, Chris Yaure and with voting rights. Ballots will be available Event Results Previous Winners Tom McCorry. only on the BPA website. The ballot includes a  Tim Mossman, MD 2012 Doug Schulz, MD • 37 All members have a vested interest in brief statement by each nominee. Alternately, O Rob Kircher, RI 2013 T. Mossman, MD • 26 the operation of BPA which can be exercised members may e-mail their vote(s) to election@ O Michael Aubuchon, PA through their vote for members to serve on boardgamers.org from an e-mail address O Martin Burgdorf, de the Board in rotating three-year terms. When on file with BPA as their official e-mail O Doug Schulz, MD contemplating their vote, members are urged address. An electronic ballot is available at O Curt Collins II, PA to consider that the BPA conducts most of its boardgamers.org/forms/boardballot.shtml. 26 business by email and needs Board members All members are invited to attend the who are able and willing to offer their time Annual Meeting of the BPA at 3 PM on Robert Rund, MA and skills to the organization in a timely man- Tuesday, August 4th, 2015, in Lampeter Hall ner. Board members should be considered of the Lancaster Host Resort in Lancaster, Event Results Previous Winners more for their ability to contribute to the run- PA. NOTE: This meeting will take place  Keith Dent, IL 2010 Eric Freeman, PA • 23 ning of a successful company than for their during a break in the auction. At that meeting, O Andrew Emerick, CT 2012 Eric Freeman, PA • 28 interest in any particular game or group. members will meet the new Board and may O Curt Collins II, PA You may vote for up to three candidates, make inquiries and suggestions regarding O Tim Mossman, MD but only once per candidate. No votes will the activities of the association. This is your O Peter Staab, PA be taken during the convention. This election chance to influence the decision-making O Eric Freeman, PA will be completed by mail and e-mail by July process that drives WBC. 31 Max Jamelli, PA 2013 – 2015 2013 – 2015 2013 – 2015 2014 – 2016 2014 – 2016 Andy Lewis, DE D. Greenwood, MD Ken Whitesell, PA B. Sinigaglio, AK Joshua Githens, SC

Event Results Previous Winners  Rob Drozd, IL 1999 Vince Meconi, DE • 22 O Ed Menzel, CA 2000 Ed Menzel, CA • 39 O Andy Maly, TX 2001 Jon Lockwood, VA • 43 O Dennis Nicholson, NY 2004 D. Greenwood, MD • 44 O Jon Lockwood, VA 2006 Andy Gardner, VA • 46 2008 Darren Kilfara, uk •46 O Rob Flowers, MD 2010 Jon Lockwood, VA • 43 37 2012 D. Nicholson, NY • 50 2013 Timothy Tow, WA • 41 Bruce Monnin, OH

Event Results Previous Winners  David Rubin, NJ 2004* P. Gaberson, PA • 46 O Dan Leader, MA 2008* Dan Leader, MA • 50 O James Pei, VA 2012 James Pei, VA • 70 O Trevor Bender, CA * We The People version O Henry Rice, TX O Jonathan Moody, OH 61 2014 – 2016 2015 – 2017 2015 – 2017 2015 – 2017 Keith Wixson, NJ Bruce Reiff, OH Bruce Monnin, OH Ken Gutermuth, NC Stuart Tucker, MD 68 Team Champions Hobby Service 69

WBC exists due to the volunteer efforts regulatory agency and navigating those ~ Now Playing ~ of your fellow gamers—from the GMs that hazardous waters is scary stuff indeed— run the events, to the support staff that does even moreso, given recent revelations about the behind-the-scenes work, to your unpaid the IRS. Back then we even had something Board of Directors that calls the shots. WBC called “interest” income. If there’s a harder will draw over 2,000 people—the vast ma- job than navigating the bureaucratic maze jority of whom will never give a second of government regulation, I’m not aware of thought to how any of this happens. Less it. He must have done a good job because than 20% will take a moment to vote in our we’re still solvent. elections. Yet, we return year after year Bruno scored 82 out of 96 pos- Dave Meyaard, NY Jon Gemmel, MD Karl Henning, DC Nick Henning, DC thanks to the same tried and true sible points in our scoring sys- Elchfest • 8 Carcassonne • 5 Galaxy Trucker • 9 Automobile • 8 hobby stalwarts. Our Service tem to best the runner-up by teams entered the 24th “Run for the Sliv- nament 12 times in years past. But the Dice Lovin’ Award is devoted to recogniz- twelve points. He earned 80ers”. The scoring record was shattered by Canucks were the biggest overachievers in the Top ing the efforts of the best of three of eight possible top Now Playing as the next generation continues to Ten, overcoming 223-1 odds to finish sixth with 17 these with an annual mo- votes and was the only show their elders the door. The 30 points racked points. Another Canadian team not getting much ment of recognition for their nominee to receive more up by the 54-1 entry was 25% more than any team respect at 181-1 odds, Les Patriotes from Quebec, selfless participation. than one such accolade. has ever achieved. The victors were led by the 17 At WBC, he can usually points of the Henning brothers, Nick and Karl, were right on their heels with 16 points to finish The CD nominates 11 who together won seven tournaments—thus im- seventh. A trio of veteran squads, Lampeter Swamp individuals. Although GM be found splitting his time proving their odds considerably of correctly call- Dogs, Gang Greene, and Band of Fools at 86-, 57- and duty is the most common between wargames such as ing their shots in the Team Tournament. The nim- 39-1 odds respectively rounded out the Top Ten to qualifier, it is not the only fac- Great Campaigns and Break- ble fingers of dexterity king Dave Meyaard who provide the correct answers to our annual Bracket tor with consideration given out: Normandy and just about correctly called his fifth antlers title in repeating as Bustin’ Contest. to other unseen volunteer tasks B all of the various sports tour- r Elchfest champ added another eight points as the The contest record of six correct picks by Mark and the 2014 honoree was well u o naments—having earned lau- n nd team racked up its third predicted title. The lone Love in 2009 and Dave Meyaard in 2013 was nev- qualified in that regard—having o ta rels in most of them. slacker in this foursome was Jon Gemmel whose Pass can er threatened. It was a tough year for predictions never been a GM—but instead serving a 4th place finish in the 166-player field of Carcas- with 72% of the field scoring two or less correct sonne nonetheless added five points for good mea- the organization throughout the year. The sure. He can take solace in the knowledge that he picks. However, that proved to be good news for Board votes by secret ballot, weighing their Past Winners Andrew Maly who won our annual prediction singlehandedly outscored 46 teams. votes according to their own individual 2005 Finishing second with a much higher pedigree contest in a 5-way tie for best prognosticator in a values as to what constitutes the greatest Stuart Tucker but far less points were the ringers of Harry B’s tough year with a mere four correct picks—albeit contribution, by ranking Kathy Stroh with 24 points to match their 24-1 odds. The third the top four. each nominee from 12 Steve Okonski ranked team composed solely of Boardmasters Now Playing led four teams with strength (strongest) to 1 (weakest). Vince Meconi added to their string of titles in their chosen spe- throughout by scoring with every team member. A “No Award” option is Mark McLaughlin cialties while scoring eight points apiece but no KGB A (19), Cold Fusion (12), and Band of Fools also included. Ken Whitesell (10) also managed to score across the board. On 2006 bonus points for their repeat wins whereas Now The 2014 recipient the other side of the coin, 23 teams were shutout Keith Wixson Playing included three bonus points in their re- was an ex-Board member (down from 27 last year) led ignominiously by my 2007 cord breaking total for daring to test new ground. who earned our grati- The game plan for the Harry B’s came a cropper own We Ain’t Dead Yet—the top rated team to be Bruno Sinigaglio shut out. Maybe we are dead. tude for serving as Trea- when head recruiter Bruce Reiff was shut out. Life surer for more years than 2008 The Hero Award for highest individual score Debbie Gutermuth is better than fiction sometimes. I can recall and has been The remainder of the Top Ten was composed went to Mark Giddings for his Dominion title that a regular since 1994. Bru- 2009 of more homegrown squads with geographic won the field tiebreaker with Carter Waite’s Titan Alan Applebaum no Passacantando vol- ties. Taking third and fourth with 19 points were The Arena victory by a difference of 12 opponents. unteered his expertise 2010 the boys from Greenville as the Mafia War squad Noobz proved the most sociable team in the David Dockter as a CPA—gained from lived up to their 33-1 odds and the DC environs field—averaging 197.5 players per event. The op- years of operating his 2011 of KGB A continued to punish the handicapper for posite of that ledger entry was Peckofpickledpeppers Scott Pfeiffer their 83-1 ranking. A difference of three players drawing only 25.75 players per tournament. Our own firm—to safeguard our finances. If memory 2012 in the combined fields tiebreaker set them apart. 320 players selected 147 different events.Dominion Keith Levy Kentucky also displayed some skills as the Lions again proved to be the most popular choice with serves, he was around for the crucial early dealings 2013 of Winter overcame 111-1 odds to finish fifth with eight players, followed by Robo Rally and Ticket to Roy Gibson 18 points—a total that would have won the tour- Ride with seven each. with our favorite federal 70 Caesar Award Consul Award 71

ames Pei won his second Caesar title ten Nick amassed 169 laurels in eight different n keeping with our Roman theme, the ironic because Richard scored most of his Jyears after his first in upset fashion—over- events—mostly Euros—including 60 in the IConsul Award is given to the player laurels in Grognard events whose prelimi- taking the record setting five-title WBC per- shark-infested Though the Ages tournament earning the most laurels in WBC week as nary round was partially contested during formance of Nick Henning to become that began the week, but lesser sums opposed to the Caesar Award that in- the Pre-Con. However, none of those our surprise Top Gamer of the for the smaller Trial events enabled cludes all BPA tournaments in a events required play during the year while increasing his record James to overtake his total. given laurel year. In a year when Pre-Con and all can be won laurel total to 2,146. It was a re- Rounding out the top six for the same player is atop both without Pre-Con attendance. It sult only a rules lawyer could 2014 were Richard Beyma, Rob- totals, no Consul is awarded. is a distinction that blurs the love. James was the 2013 ert Kircher, Nathan Barhorst Pre-Con events are excluded eligibility lines for the vari- Caesar runner-up when his and Nick’s bother, Karl. Only from WBC totals for pur- ous metagaming awards 36 laurels for placing sec- seven of 2013’s Top 25 man- poses of this award but the and will be revisited by ond in his For The People aged to retain their top billing growing number of such the Board in their 2014 ses- specialty was not credited led by Pei who, alone of all events that start in the Pre- sion to determine whether because the email event had BPA’s Top Dogs, has man- Con but can be won during Pre-Con events should be not officially finished before aged to appear in the Top 25 WBC week are increasingly included in Consul scoring yearend while awaiting the each of the past six years. You blurring that distinction. in the future. If so, the only conclusion of a consolation have to revert to 2006 to find the For the second time this difference between Caesar match. Those laurels were thus last year “The Master” did not R and Consul would be the inclu- year, Nick Henning was denied ic a pushed into 2014 and proved to J place in the Top 25. Others retaining h ym sion of email tournaments in the ame Pei in a surprising upset as Richard ard Be be the difference in overtaking Hen- s that Top 25 status were Nick Henning Beyma surpassed his WBC total to take former. ning’s great WBC a year later. Adding to and Robert Kircher, David Platnick, Randy Consul honors for 2014. This time, Nick was The current Caesar, James Pei, finished the irony was that his 176-laurel total topped Buehler, Sceadeau D’Tela and Trella Bromley. done in by the loss of 60 laurels for Through third in the Consul totals, so he lost the Henning’s WBC haul by exactly seven lau- the Ages when it was determined that the opportunity to rule alone. But perhaps the rels—the same amount by which he would event should be considered a Pre-Con since most surprising contenders were Nathan have won the 2013 Caesar title over Andrew Past Caesars it was not possible to win the event by play- Barhorst and Karl Henning in their first ap- Emerick had those delayed 36 laurels been 1999 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 135 ing in only the Monday heat. The result was pearance in the Top 25. Nathan parlayed a credited in 2013. As they say, one door clos- 2000 Ewan McNay, CT 120 1st and 2nd in only two events (both level es, another one opens. 2001 Nick Benedict, CA 138 6) to finish 4th with 96 laurels. Karl com- Mini-cons no longer play a role in the 2002 Marvin Birnbaum, NY 146 Past Consuls pleted the Henning brothers’ magical week 2003 Nick Benedict, CA 113 Caesar outcome 2004 Devin Flawd, PA 111 2004 James Pei, VA 293 with a pair of but email tourna- 2005 None – 2005 Arthur Field, SC 224 firsts in B17 and 2006 Jeff Cornett, FL 134 ments do, enabling 2006 Jeff Mullet, OH 166 Galaxy Trucker to 2007 None – James to bank 2007 Raphael Lehrer, MD 170 claim fifth with 2008 Andy Latto, CT 129 60 laurels before 2008 Alex Bove, PA 159 2009 Rich Moyer, MN 100 92 laurels. Bruce WBC 2014 began. 2009 Stefan Mecay, TX 295 2010 Bruce Reiff, OH 151 Young edged Da- 2010 Stefan Mecay, TX 182 James then added 2011 None –vid Platnick via 2011 Randy Buehler, WA 241 116 laurels in four 2012 Nick Henning, DC 133 2012 Randy Buehler, WA 205 the first tiebreak- CDWs to overcome 2013 Ken Gutermuth, NC 108 2013 Andrew Emerick, CT 177 er to claim sixth Henning’s quintet. with 90 laurels.

Nick Henning, DC Richard Beyma, VA Robert Kircher, RI Nathan Barhorst, MI Karl Henning, DC Nick Henning, DC James Pei, VA Nathan Barhorst, MI Karl Henning, DC Bruce Young, SC

169 128 102 96 92 109 98 96 92 90

- The 2014 Caesar Line of Succession - - The 2014 Consul Line of Succession - 72 GM of the Year Sportsmanship 73

ur 23rd GM of the Year is Nick Fer- Michael Garton and John McLaugh- harter member Tom Gregorio became ning. Nick, whose five won tournaments Oris. Nick earned the award in only lin teamed up to earn 65 points for third Cour 22nd Sportsman of the Year and in set a WBC record, had just lost close counts his second year on the job. He had en- place with their always visually spec- so doing, proved that not all nice guys finish for both Caesar and Consul metagaming tered our GM ranks two years ago with tacular Stockcar Championship Racing last. The proud owner of no less than nine honors in 2014, largely due to rarely in- an impressive debut at the helm to the delight of 46 drivers. Their WBC titles and our 19th ranked career voked bookkeeping rules, and it was of two events that each drew 13th appearance netted one laurelist, is now the highest ranked his destiny to fall just short again player with a Sportsmanship with 12.6% of the vote. Nick had in excess of 100 players, fin- first place vote and earned Award to his credit. Tom earned his nomination in the ishing second to Larry Lin- their second Top Six nomi- earned his nomination in the Tzolk’in semifinal for allow- gle for the 2013 award. He nation. Every year they Bitter Woods tournament—an ing a player to redo his last won the Award by a wide bring enough copies to event he has won six times. move—and as a result—did margin in his sophomore accommodate every en- He noticed his opponent not qualify for the Final and season by amassing 88 trant plus gorgeous 1:24 had left a hole in his defen- his chance at a sixth title! points—just one shy of scale diecast NASCAR sive line with potentially Open Gaming got its first Claire Brosius’ record. He cars and tracks sufficient crippling consequences. He nod in the 2014 vote as Tim attracted three of the eight to build a gigantic oval for pointed out the error and al- Horne’s donation of his time possible first place votes, the 24-car final. A projector lowed his well-versed adver- in helping a newcomer family three seconds, a third and illustrates each turn for all sary to correct the error before enjoy its first WBC by helping a fourth to average 11 points to see. playing on. It cost him the game, T them learn several new games N s om rio per voter in our 12-point maxi- ick Ferri the tournament and team points in Grego gave a great first impression worthy Terry Coleman, our March one fell swoop. His fellow members re- mum scoring system. of 8.7% of the vote. Katharine McCorry Madness guru of the warded him for his chivalry with 13.3% of His Seven Wonders was fourth with 8% for enduring the whin- past 11 years, picked the vote to claim our biggest prize—a free ing of someone who needs to learn how to and Dominion events Past Winners up his third Top Six week’s lodging at WBC 2015. lose with a bit more class. Doug Smith fol- drew 151 and 108 play- 1991 – Russ Gifford, NE – ASL performance with 59 However, an even bigger story may have lowed close behind in 5th with 7.7% for 1992 – Jim Burnett, TN – WPS ers without resorting points to take fourth. been his opposition for our highest honor. filling the void in a Princes of Florence game to multiple heats and 1993 – Glenn Petroski, WI – VIP 1994 – John Ellmann, MD – MMS Placing fifth was Bill This was a two-man race. Who else could when a player committed the multi-play- gained acclaim for an 1995 – Ken Lee, PA – GCA Morse whose eight be the foil but 2014’s Mr. Almost; Nick Hen- er faux pas of abandoning his position in amazing random seat- 1996 – David Terry, MD – B-17 years as the power be- midgame. And last, but hardly least, our ing system that instantly youngest nominee, 11-year old Julia Carri- 1997 – Will Wible, VA – ROR hind the throne that Past Winners directed players to pre- 1998 – Bruce Monnin, OH – WAS keeps the nine Grog- gan, filled the sand position admirably by 1999 – Bruno Wolff, WI – TTN accepting with charm and good grace her numbered tables for nard events going Chuck Stapp, NJ – 1992 rapid seating. 2000 – Vince Meconi, DE – WAS Tiger Von Pagel, FL – 1993 random elimination from advancement in 2001 – David Terry, MD – B17 garnered 55 points to Rob Kilroy, PA – 1994 the Settlers Junior tournament when the GM Placing second and 2002 – John Jacoby, VA – CMS earn his second Top Ian Lange, AE – 1995 had to cull a winner from the next round. earning his first Top Six 2003 – Chuck Foster, TX – EPB Six recognition. In Jim Matt, MI – 1996 notice with 68 points 2004 – John Coussis, IL – ACS all, the grognard free Ed Connery, NJ – 1997 in only his third GM 2005 – John Sharp, FL – VIP format events logged Frank Sinigaglio, NJ – 1999 2006 – Don Chappell, TX – WTP Robert Sacks, NY – 2000 year was John Corrado 2007 – Ivan Lawson, MD – LST 378 wargames played, Bret Hildebran, OH – 2001 whose humorously de- 2008 – Tom McCorry, VA – CAR and Bill entered them Kaarin Engelmann, VA – 2002 livered Power Point pre- 2009 – Jim Jordan, MD – BRI all in his computer to James Jordan, MD – 2003 sentation and well pre- 2010 – Stuart Tucker, MD – HRC print out twice daily Steve Okonski, MD – 2004 2011 – Claire Brosius, MA – TTR Bruno Sinigaglio, AK – 2005 pared trivia puzzles had standings. One point Phil Barcafer, PA – 2006 2012 – Brad Johnson, MI – DUN Facts in Five on the SRO behind was Greg Rebecca Hebner, CO – 2007 2013 – Larry Lingle, PA – PRC threshold of a triple dig- Crowe whose 12-year Kaarin Engelmann, VA – 2008 it field with 96 entrants. run as GM of both the Mark Yoshikawa, CA – 2009 The beckoning larger media rooms of adult and junior versions of the Titan: John Emery, SC – 2010 Larry Lingle, PA – 2011 Seven Springs may mean even larger at- The Arena event earned the last of our Peter Eldridge, uk – 2012 tendance is in the offing. Top Six GM recognitions. Emily Wu, NY – 2013 74 Looking Ahead Looking Ahead 75

and amenities should be worked out with in two of the main gaming areas we’ll use is a reservationist. However, be aware that all brand new and different parts of the resort of these options will put you further away are renovated every year. from the gaming meeting space, and except Access: Despite the greater number of for the chalets, are not within convenient rooms, you will find yourself closer to the walking distance. While the resort provides meeting space. This is a 10-floor hotel ser- shuttle service anywhere on property, it is viced by five elevators in the tower section not instantaneous and those selecting con- alone. No more jokes about being farther dos or cabins would be well advised to have away on property than those staying else- a car available. There are numerous bud- where. Disabled access is also greatly im- rd st WBC at Seven Springs July 23 -31 2016 get lodging options within a 15-mile drive. proved. There is a laundromat on site. Some condos There’re big doings ahead for WBC in 2016. the resort’s website once it is prepared for also have laundry facilities. After a decade in Lancaster, we are pulling our group. BPA does not book guestrooms up stakes and moving our tent to spiffy new and will not act as a reservationist; do not Reservations for WBC 2016 at Seven Springs will open in mid-August, 2015. digs in the picturesque mountains of west- expect further information from us but refer However, reservations will only be taken ern Pennsylvania. Here is the advance scoop to the resort’s website once it has been up- for stays of five or more days. Commencing on what you can expect to find there. dated for our group in mid-August. February 1st, 2016 reservations will be taken Date: In response to many requests to wid- Due to BPA subsidies, the base rate for a for four or more days. On May 15th, 2016 en the gap to the school year, we’ve moved standard hotel room will be $129 per day. To reservations will open for shorter durations. our date up to the last nine days of July. Two obtain this rate, maid service will be limited This restriction is intended to prevent ear- whole weekends and the week betwixt them to every second day, although fresh towels ly sellouts denying rooms to those wishing will become Valhalla for boardgamers. and such will be available. We figured you’d longer stays. There will be a one-day deposit appreciate the lower rate over having your Accommodations: 414 guestrooms backed required for each reservation. Reservations Parking: Parking is plentiful and free—and bed made every day. However, there is a by overflow accommodations in nearby cha- can be cancelled or transferred to another while it may not be close to your room, it lets and condos plus a neighboring Hidden class of 66 rooms called Junior Suites that— person up to 60 days prior to the event but will be closer to the meeting space for those Valley property offering a somewhat lower among other differences—come with a re- there will be a $75 fee for any such cancel- who use their car trunks as a game cache. room rate will provide a surplus of high qual- frigerator. The rate for these will be $139 per lation or transfer thereafter. There is no fee Meeting Space: Overall, the space is some- ity lodging. This is a huge improvement over day. Other rooms do not contain refrigera- for lengthening any reservation, but cancel- what larger than we have been using, al- our past roomblocks that we’ve consistently tors. A limited number of mini-fridges can ing any portion of a reservation will result in though it tends to be more spread out with a quickly sold out. The much larger inventory be rented for $40 per stay. If you’re staying forfeiture of the deposit. second building similar to the Expo Center for six days in a standard hotel room, we’re of available rooms in the facility, as well as Shuttles: Anybody who has taken a shuttle in distance from the hotel. Navigating the going to rebate $10 per day and since the the greater variety of nearby lodging choices, from an airport into the adjoining city knows site will be like seeing the Lancaster Host for taxes are 2% less at Seven Springs, your final is a big step forward. The annual rush for how expensive it can be for a relatively short the first time or akin to finding your classes reservations on site should be a thing of the hotel cost will actually be less than a corre- trip. So, how much would it be for the 70 during your freshman year. In short, lots of past. Explore for yourself the many lodging sponding stay at the Lancaster Host! miles to Seven Springs from the Pittsburgh individual rooms as opposed to one large options at http://www.7springs.com/. How- There is no cooking allowed of any kind airport? Try $20 (round trip). There will be concrete hall. Much of it sports a panoramic ever, our special rates will not be posted un- in guest rooms so microwaves and hotplates three trips per day. If and when these fill up, view of the countryside. til August, 2015 so do not attempt to make a are forbidden. Blown fuses can ensue and we will add more to the schedule. If you pre- There will be more space for vendors, open reservation until we post the relevant infor- guests causing such issues can be evicted fer the train, your options are limited. The gaming and dedicated tournament and mation on our website in mid-August, 2015. without refund. Those wishing such ameni- closest stop is Connellsville some 30 min- seminar rooms. Best of all, the table inven- Those attempting to register early will find ties should inquire about the chalets or con- utes away with limited service, but Seven tory is a big improvement in terms of num- the rates much higher outside our room- dos that come equipped with full kitchens. Springs will provide shuttle service for $10 ber, type and quality. We’ll even be able to block—if available at all—and not eligible for The availability of condos, cabins and cha- roundtrip. In both instances, you must call have our own “monster gaming” room with any rebate. lets for larger groups is an exciting aspect of at least 24 hours ahead, have a reservation at prolonged setup of multi-table games. To confirm or correct, as the case may Seven Springs which we expect will aid our Seven Springs, be pre-registered and make a Smoke Free Facility: The resort, specifically be, some of the speculation that has arisen intended evolution of WBC into a full sum- non-refundable payment in advance. the hotel rooms, cabins, chalets, hallways, we offer the following clarifications, but all mer vacation destination. Clubs and families Renovations: This property has been recent- lobbies, meeting rooms, lounges and dining such information should be considered sec- will do well to seek out these special accom- ly renovated, and like Disneyland, is in an areas are “smoke free”. Smokers may re- ondary to what you will eventually get on modations. Details pertaining to cost, size, almost constant state of rebirth. The AC unit quest ashtrays at checkin by contacting the 76 Looking Ahead Looking Ahead 77 front desk staff for use on the hotel lodging the local Wal Mart to stock up on munchies $100 will buy you NINE days admission room balconies only. will be a trip. On the other hand, those who for $11.11 a day—still the best bargain in Alcohol Policy: The resort, like all establish- fly should not feel the need to rent a car. We gaming. No more Pre-Con separate fees. No ments with a liquor license, does not allow will be subsidizing shuttles to/from the Pitts- event fees. No ribbons. No parking costs. alcohol in meeting spaces unless purchased burgh airport, so as long as you plan ahead, To get that $129 room rate, we’ve subsi- from the resort. pre-register, and make the necessary shuttle dized you with a five-figure purchase that, Food Service: 7 Springs has 12 different res- reservations with the resort you should be depending on attendance, will probably taurants on site, ranging from fast food to able to dispense with the expense of a rental amount to between $7-$15 per head… let’s fine dining—some of it within steps of the car. However, you will need to be flexible call it $10 for the sake of simplicity—and in gaming areas. with arrivals and departures as the shuttles the process we’ve saved you $10 plus taxes will only be operating at peak times. Somerset is really the closest place to get Kid’s Camp: For children aged 5 to 10. per day. We’re now down to $90 remaining groceries (12 miles). There is a small market Camp may include fishing, paddle boating, from your admission fee. at the Trent House Inn, about 3 miles away, scavenger hunts, team games, swimming Moreover, to offer you a room rate equal but is limited to basic items like milk and and crafts. Lunch and snacks are included. to what you would have had at the Lancaster bread. The Signatures Retail Shop on prop- Daycare: Children walking age through 5 Host, if you book a regular room at Seven erty carries a few basic items. years-old can enjoy fun with toys, crafts, Springs for six days (not a condo, cabin, cha- songs, games and movies in a supervised let or suite) and are a pre-registered Sustain- playroom while mom and dad enjoy their ing or Tribune member of the BPA, you will boadgames. Open daily from 9 am to 4 pm. receive a $60 credit on your hotel bill. That Lunch and snacks provided. leaves us all of $30 with which to pay salaries, Cost for both of the above children’s pro- insurance, prizes, advertising, printing and grams is $30 for Half day; $45 for full day. the myriad other expenses of running such Your Membership Fee an enterprise right down to the Paypal fees Reservations are required. NOTE: Use of It should be no surprise that admission fees that save most of you the price of a postage the Kid’s Camp and Daycare facilities will will increase to pay for all of this, although stamp but cost us many times that. You want depend on an indication of interest by the the amount will vary and in some General the convenience, but you don’t want to pay membership. If you anticipate using these Admission cases will actually decrease. for it. Well, sooner or later the bills come due. facilities please notify us ASAP at CD@ Please consider the following: Boardgamers.org so that we can gauge in- But we’re still not done! If you fly toSeven 1. Our per diem base fee of $10 per day for our terest in time to book these services. Springs via Pittsburgh and avail yourself of Amenities: This is a resort with lots to enter- lowest pre-reg rate has remained unchanged Weather: Even the climate is attractive with the shuttle service, we’re on the hook for tain the non-gamer in your family. Among for 17 years. Think back to what a dollar mountain breezes dispensing with all but the subsidizing part of that as well. the attractions are an outstanding golf purchased in 1998 and compare that to what worst summer heat and humidity. Weather When we started this process, I was not course, Zip-line canopy tours, alpine slides, it buys today. Most will agree an increase is varies from year to year and cannot be guar- optimistic about finding a better location mountain biking, rock climbing, Segway long overdue. The rate for a Sustaining Mem- anteed, but over time this location has proven while remaining in the mid-Atlantic region tours, paintball, disc golf, bowling, horse bership for WBC in 2016 will be $100. to be 8 degrees cooler than Lancaster per day with both the necessary space and improved riding, spas, and sporting clays as well as 2. Out of that $100 we will be paying rebates in July with nightly temperatures in the 60s. amenities at a price that would not be con- indoor and outdoor pools. Suffice to say and subsidies that can go over $70 per head My stays there have featured pleasant nights sidered prohibitive to many. However, I that those of us who have visited the place in some instances. Despite the increase in with open balcony doors. now find myself in the rare atmosphere of suddenly found ourselves with more atten- fees, even less funds will make it into the optimism regarding our future venue. In tive family members. Whether that’s a good Campsites: For the budget conscious, there BPA’s coffers after we’ve paid the bills. fact, I haven’t been this downright giddy thing or not for your personal family situa- are nearby RV parks and campsites. To minimize the disruption of the move since the year we sent Reiff home without tion, I leave to your discretion. So, what’s the downside? and encourage everyone to give our new any wood. I hope you’ll join us in 2016 to ex- Activity Pass: 1 day, rate to be determined One Word: as in real estate, it is all about lo- home a try we are budgeting our very first perience the next evolution of WBC—where in spring, 2016. A three-day midweek pass cation. Obviously, if you were commuting to year in the red. I’d like to lay out for you boardgamers come first. (do not have to be consecutive days) is $99. Lancaster Host, this is not as convenient for now a simple, and admittedly worst case An activity pass allows unlimited use of you. But more than that, it is off the beaten scenario, of how your increased WBC ad- Alpine Slide, Alpine Tower, Bowling, Disc path. If you’re used to getting off property mission fee is going to be spent in 2016. Golf, Euro Bungy, Hydrobikes, Miniature for a meal, you’ll find there is little nearby to I’ll start with the assumption that you en- Golf, Paddleboats, Rock Wall, Scenic Chair- choose from and there are no free breakfasts joy our biggest discount by joining during lift Rides and Summer Tubing. such as the Host provides. Even a sortie to the Annual December Membership Drive. 78 Patrons Patrons 79

BPA 2014 Patrons Tribunes (continued) BPA gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the following Sponsor, Jim Heenehan, Jeff Heidman, Eric Heller, Nick Henning, John Henry, Kevin Hillock, Mike Hischak, Eric Ho, Bruce Hodgins, Elissa Hoeger, Angela Hoffman, Dan Hoffman, Mike Horn, Charter, and Tribune members. 2014 Patrons will be listed next year. Ben Hull, Gregory Hultgren, Hein Hundal, Keith Hunsinger, Al Hurda, Wade Hyett, Richard Sponsors ($500 contribution in 2015): Alliance Distributors, Nicholas Benedict, Brill Crenshaw, Irving, Jon Izer, Romain Jacques, Max Jamelli, Tom Johnston, Lawrence Juel, Jack Jung, Nick David desJardins, Chris Easter, Ken Gutermuth, Rick Northey, Rio Grande Games, Jerald R. Tracy Kato, Jordan Kehrer, Andrew Kiefte, David Kiefte, Michael Kiefte, Tripp Killin, Erica Kirchner, Charter Tribunes (maintained Charter status since 1999 and purchased a $100 membership in 2015): Rick Kirchner, Nicholas Kiswanto, Paul Konka, James Kramer Jr, Aaron Krebs, Chris Kreuter, Alan Arvold, Matthew Bacho, Ed Beach, Mark Booth, Daniel Broh-Kahn, David Brooks, Steve Kelly Krieble, J. Carl Krosnick, Gregory Kulp, Mikaela Kumlander, Antero Kuusi, Michael Cameron, Rod Coffey, Terry Coleman, Gregory Courter, John Coussis, Tom DeMarco, Roger Kunin, Morris Kyrollos, Owen Kyrollos, Grant LaDue, Anthony Lainesse, Bob Laird, Colin Eastep, William Edwards, Jim Eliason, Kaarin Engelmann, Eric Eshleman, Matt Evinger, Matt Laird, Derek Landel, Douglas Landon, Alex Lange, Jeff Lange, Ted Lange, Andy Latto, Daniel Fagan, Daniel Farrow IV, Paul Fletcher, Ray Freeman, Paul Gaberson, Fred Gosnell, Herbert Law, Daniel Lawall, Ivan Lawson, Keith Layton, Daniel Leader, Kevin Leith, Winton Lemoine, Gratz, Don Greenwood, Tom Gregorio, Johnny Hasay, Mark Herman, Charles Hickok, Marc William Lentz, Chuck Leonard, Kevin Lewis, Jason Ley, Gary Libby, Philip Livingston, Houde, John Jacoby, Robert Jamelli, James Jordan, Allen Kaplan, Michael Kaye, Kevin Keller, Kathleen Lockwood, Lawrence Loiacono, Larry Luongo, Joel Lytle, Randall MacInnis, John Pierre LeBoeuf, Roderick Lee, Jason Levine, Keith Levy, Jonathan Lockwood, Larry Lingle, Malaska, Robert Malcomson, Chad Manna, Jeromey Martin, Dan Mathias, Bob Mazzi, Mark Mark Love, Thomas McCorry, Vince Meconi, David Metzger, Tim Miller, Bruce Monnin, McBride, Mark McCandless, Bradford McCandless, Jim McCarthy, Robert McCracken, Sean Theodore Mullally, Michael A. Mullins, Martin Musella, Steve Okonski, John Pack, James Pei, McCulloch, Robert McFadden, Robert McKinney, Glenn McMaster, Frank McNally, Ewan Peter Pollard, Joseph Powell, Bruce Reiff, Paul Risner, Shantanu Saha, Gregory Schmittgens, McNay, Stefan Mecay, Amanda Mecay, Ed Menzel, Doug Mercer, Bradley Merrill, Mark John Sharp, Bruno Sinigaglio, Peter Staab, Ray Stakenas, Michael Stanley, Peter Stein, Kathy Miklos, Jeff Miller, Fred Minard, Allen Mink, Pat Mirk, Dennis Mishler, Mike Mishler, Craig Stroh, Joel Tamburo, Roger Taylor, Bill Thomson, Stuart Tucker, Sean Vessey, Ken Whitesell, Moffit, Lyman Moquin, Mark Moore, Justin Morgan, Cary Morris, Wayne Morrison, Bill Bruno Wolff, George Young, David Zimmerman Morse, Wayne Mucklow, Jeff Mullet, Stephen Munchak, Rob Murray, Anthony Musella, Stan Charter Members (purchased $100 Charter membership in 1999 and maintained at least a Sustaining Myszak, Srivana Nara, Bill Navolis, Yoshiya Narita, Lane Newbury, Tony Newton, Ken Nied, Membership since): Cliff Ackman, Paul Bean, Jeremy Billones, David Cross, Pat Duffy, Bill Dyer, John Ohlin, Robert Olsson, Jeemy Oppenheim, Daniel Overland, Steve Packwood, Nick Page, Harry Flawd III, Mark Guttag, Tim Hitchings, Brad Johnson, Edward Kendrick, Ben Knight, Chris Palermo, Mathieu Pare-Paquin, Philippe Parmentier, Jeff Pattison, Linda Pattison, Glen Andy Lewis, Carrie Lewis, Michael Mahady, Andrew Maly, Ric Manns, Kevin McCarthy, Pearce, Elaine Pearson, Bill Peeck, Nicholas Pei, Fabio Pellegrino, Jeremiah Peterson, Roy Pettis, Michael Mitchell, Brian Mountford, Bill O’ Neal, Forrest Pafenberg, Jeff Paull, Peter Perla, John Richard Phares, Randy Pippus, Bill Place, Dave Platnick, Doug Porterfield, Geoff Pounder, Poniske Sr, Robert Seulowitz, Robert Sohn, David Terry, Justin Thompson, Jim Vroom, Paul Derek Pulhamus, Peter Putnam, Edward Rader, Brad Raszewski, Steve Raszewski, Alexis Reece, Weintraub, Bruce Young Craig Reece, Pete Reese, Raymond Regular, Victoria Reiff, Rob Renaud, Henry Richardson, Pat Richardson, Michael Rinella, John Riston, Eric Ritter, Lance Roberts, Rich Roberts, Tim Rogers, Tribunes ($100 BPA membership in 2015): Carl Adamec, Geoff Allbutt, Mario Ales, Dawn Steven Rossi, Allan Rothberg, Paul Rubin, Kurt Runco, Henry Russell, Matthew Russell, Robert Amburgey, Jon Anderson, Steve Andriakos, Joe Angiolillo, Joe Appel, Marco Asteriti, Rich Ryan, David Rynkowski, Antony Saccenti, Donte Saccenti, Holiday Saccenti, Scott Saccenti, Atwater, Rodney Bacigalupo, Donna Balkan, Barry Barnes, John Bateman, Thomas Beach, Scott Scott Salvatore, Martin Sample, Paul Sampson, Michael Sana, Roberto Sanchez, Jim Savarick, Beall, Barrington Beavis, Bill Beckman, Jack Beckman, Chris Bennett, Samantha Berk, Bryan Gary Schaeffers, Bert Schoose, Chris Senhouse, Jeff Senley, Chris Shabsin, Lynda Shea, Michael Berkenstock, Richard Beyma, Marissa Bianco, Marvin Birnbaum, David Bohnenberger, Jesse Shea, Barry Shutt, Buddy Sinigaglio, Frank Sinigaglio, Gino Sinigaglio, Vincent Sinigaglio, Boomer, Keith Boone, Vien Bounma, Alex Bove, Nicola Bradford, Steven Bradford, Chase Derek Smith, Gregory D. Smith, Gregory M. Smith, Kyle Smith, Malcolm Smith, Mark J. Bramwell, Manuel Bravo, Peter Brickwood, Kevin Broh-Kahn, Trella Bromley, Claire Brosius, Smith, Nick Smith, Scott Smith, Michael Sosa, Herbert Sparks, Daniel Speyer, James Stanard, Eric Brosius, Sam Brosius, Sean Bryan, Michael Buccheri, Brandon Buchanan, David Buchholz, Gordon Stewart, David Stoy, Christian Strasser, John Sutcliffe, Patti Swift, Akihisa Tabei, Greg Karl Buchholz, Randy Buehler, Joe Burch, Jeff Burdett, Bailey Burdett, Jim Burnett, Chris Byrd, Tanner, Jonathan Tarquino, Don Tatum, James Terry, Alistair Thach, Nels Thompson, John Evan Cagwin, John D. Callahan, John H. Callahan, Matt Calkins, Peter Card, Charles Catania, Tighe Sr, Jonathan Torquino, James Tracy II, Lou Traini, Rejean Tremblay, Chris Trimmer, Carolyn Caton, Basem Chabaklo, Don Chappell, Ray Clark, John Clarke, Ralph Coleman, Michael Trobaugh, Michael Uhrich, Michael Ussery, Thomas Vickery, Mark Visocnik, Jennifer Emily Coleman, Laura Coleman, Bryan Collars, Walt Collins, Daniel Collinson, Otis Comorau, Visocnik, Harold Vogel, Bjorn von Knorring, Jason Wagner, Melissa Wagner, Patrick Walker, John Corrado, Matthew Craig, Robert Cranshaw, Colin Crook, Greg Crowe, Steve Cuccaro, Andy Waller, Kevin Walsh, Charles B. Ward, Bill Watkins, Frederick Webb, Michael Webb, Andrew Cummins, Sceadeau D’Tela, Michael Dauer, Robert Davidson, James Day, Francis de Donald Webster, Ed Welsh, Aaron White, Jason White, Bruce Wigdor, Gareth Williams, Bellefeuille, James Denam, Dave Denton, Gary Dickson, York Dobyns, David Dockter, Henry Theresa Wilson, Keith Wixson, Kevin Wojtaszczyk, David Wong, Robert E. Woodham, Robert Dove, Charles Drozd, Robert Drozd, Ted Drozd, Tom Drueding, David Duncan, Rick Dutton, Woodson, Emily Wu, Chris Yaure, Joe Yaure, Phillip Yaure, Chuck Yingling, Craig Yope, Mark Yossi Dvora, Sam Edelston, Robb Effinger, Andrew Emerick, John Emery, Kevin Emery, Yoshikawa, Greg Ziemba Eric Engelmann, Noah Engelmann, Daniel Eppolito, Jim Fardette, Scott Fenn, Jeff Finkeldey, Reuven Fischer, Rob Flowers, Andy Friedmann, Megan Friedmann, Ryan Friedmann, James Vendors: Academy Games, Against the Odds, Clash of Arms, Columbia Games, Conquistador Games, Fry, Doug Galullo, Andrew Gardner, Ben Gardner, Michael Garton, Pete Gathman, Roy Days of Wonder, Decision Games, Eagle Games, Foam Brain Games, Gamewick Games, GMT, Harmony Gibson, Mark Giddings, Josh Githens, Ron Glass, Ralph Gleaton, RJ Gleaton, Felix Goodson, House Hobbies, Lock ‘N Load, Lost Battalion Games, Mercury Games, Multi-Man Publications, Paul Susanne Goodson, Chris Greenfield, Alex Gregorio, David Gubbay, Peter Gurneau, Mark Koenig Games, Plaay.Com, Rio Grande Games, Shenandoah Studio, Stronghold Games, Tall Towers, Udo Gutfreund, Kevin Hacker, Robert Hamel, Brian Hanechak, Ty Hansen, Bryan Harker, Russell Grebe, Victory Point Games, Wickman Games, World Watch, Ye Old Toy Soldier Shop, Z-Man Games Harley, Kathryn Harley, Victor Harpley, Kirk Harris, Evan Harris, Mike Hazel, Bronwen Heap, For complete membership details refer to: http://www.boardgamers.org/bpaterms.htm 80 Things to do in 2016