Boardgame Players Association Newsletter — October 2012
Oct. 28, 2012

MAGIC MEN WIN WBC TEAM TOURNAMENT: In a year when the prohibitive favorites finished well down in the standings, a 72-1 shot led by the reigning Caesar, Randy Buehler, bested a field of 86 teams. Only two of the Happy Handicapper's Top Ten picks managed that lofty status in the standings as the also-rans had their way with the favorites. Complete details are available at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc12/teamtournamentresults.htm.

LATTO WINS BRACKET-BUSTING CONTEST: Despite many more entrants in our annual Bracket Busting contest, accuracy proved elusive as virtually everyone got taken by the prohibitive favorites and followed the Happy Handicapper down the primrose path with errant selections for Nest of Spies and some Bruce foolishness. The wisest prognosticator proved to be Andy Latto who picked enough long shots to alone correctly identify five of the Top Ten teams and win a free 2013 membership. Eric Freeman and Kyle Smith were close with four correct picks but no one else could muster more than three.

EUROQUEST 2012 LOOMS AHEAD: Our next convention is at the Pikesville Hilton in Pikesville, MD, Nov 1-4 featuring 12 Euro competitions and a wide variety of demos and plenty of Open Gaming. Check out the details at http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/eq12ann.htm. Pre-registration is closed but walk-ons are welcome. Stay tuned to http://www.boardgamegeek.com/forum/970241/boardgamegeek/wbc for any late breaking weather-related news that may affect the convention.

WAM 2013: A poll of the regular suspects has resulted in the following tournaments being scheduled for 2013's pre-Super Bowl weekend gathering of card sharks at the Timonium, MD Holiday Inn: Twilight Struggle, Washington's War, Hannibal, and Labyrinth. Get all the details at http://www.boardgamers.org/specific/wam13ann.htm.

WBC 2013 EVENT SUBMISSIONS: It's never too early to begin planning for next year—especially if you want to muster support for a new event by getting it on the membership ballot or move an event into the Pre-Con. There is a limited amount of space available for early starts so if you contemplate moving your event to Monday or sooner, you need to start the process now by getting approval early enough for us to acquire the required space. Such moves to or from Pre-Con or Monday status should be discussed asap with conventiondirector@boardgamers.org. Those merely wishing to get an event on the membership ballot who are willing to GM that event should complete the required event form at http://www.boardgamers.org/forms/SubmitEvent.php after reading the GM Guidelines linked from the start of that event form.

SOCIAL NETWORKING: Keep up with WBC electronically by joining the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC) Facebook group and the BPA_WBC Twitter Page. You can also easily find us in the Boardgame Geek Forums  under Gaming Related, Conventions, WBC.
        • BGG: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/forum/970241/boardgamegeek/wbc
        • Twitter: https://twitter.com/BPA_WBC
        • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381468400/
        • Consimworld: http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/?14@@.1dd15816

PBeM NEWS:

THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN: A Single Elimination 10-turn scenario tournament with random seeding will commence Nov. 20, 2012, with an entry deadline of Nov. 10. To enter email dgls.james@gmail.com. Full details can be found at http://www.russiancampaign.com/bpa-sponsored-pbem-tournament-2012.

MARCH MADNESS: There is still time (barely) to get in on the 10th Annual BPA March Madness PBeM tournament with a team draft scheduled to begin on Nov. 1. Check out all the details at http://www.nktelco.net/bdmonnin/mms_home_page.html.

PATHS OF GLORY:  The 4th BPA PBeM tournament for Paths of Glory is scheduled for a Feb. 1 start on ACTS. Details are available at https://sites.google.com/site/pathsofglory2013/. To register email the GM at preese444@gmail.com.

FOR THE PEOPLE: The fourth round ended on schedule with one adjudication. Things only got tougher thereby, however, as there were 13 players with 3-1 records and only five slots available in the Single Elimination bracket.  Five of the 13 were randomly selected to participate in the championship bracket.  With exactly eight remaining, a special “Trans Mississippi” bracket was created for fun, honor and “I coulda been a contender!” bragging rights.  While disappointment was clearly evident, all accepted this invitation in the spirit of good sportsmanship that is the hallmark of BPA members.

The Championship Quarterfinals feature Jean Louis Dirion (USA) vs James Pei; Tom Thornsen (USA) vs Jeff Donald; Gary Kirk (USA) vs Doug Pratto and Sean Dolbee (USA) vs David Dockter).  Shortly after the brackets were announced a flurry of unauthorized handicapping for a betting pool broke out on ComSimWorld.  It seems to me that the handicappers were basing their odds on their own experiences against these players rather than any valid mathematical analysis, so my advice would be to take the long odds in each case as I suspect that pay-offs are larger than risk across the board.  This bracket strikes me as a highly competitive one.  While Dockter and Pei are seeded to allow yet another Final confrontation, the path to both getting there is not going to be easy.  This may yet be the tournament that sees the beginning of an end to a certain dynasty… and if not, then the greater the glory as the story will continue for another chapter. Round Five of the tournament officially began on Sept. 29 and will end on Feb. 2, 2013.

As I suspected would happen, Round 4 ended with more balanced results with respect to the sides.  There were six Union victories vs five losses (and the one adjudication).  Additionally the games lasted longer with one, the contest between reliable grognard Bill Peeck and Mike Kunin going into the final turn before a decision was reached. For more details please visit our tournament website: http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/gmtom/FTPtournament.htm#Round%201%20games.

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All BPA PBeM tournaments require current BPA membership when the event starts. All multi-day paid attendees to WBC are current BPA members for the balance of that calendar year. Associate Calendar year memberships enabling play in all PBeM events starting in that year cost only $10. You need not keep your membership current in order to finish a PBeM event. Players may join the BPA throughout the year. See the BPA Terms page for details.

BPA members who would like to see an email tournament for their favorite game are encouraged to step forward as the GM of such an event. BPA does not run tournaments. Rather, we are an organization of gamers lending support to one another so such events can happen. No one cares as much about your hobby as you do. Get involved. See the requirements to host a BPA email tournament at http://www.abovethefields.com/top_pbem/

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