Despite
one of the mildest winters on record, WAM
IV drew an all-time low 33 players to the
annual off-season CDW gathering of card sharks
vying for BPA laurels. Perhaps it was all
the buzz from the highly publicized electronic
football superbowl being held across the street in the Embassy Suites
whose vibrator giriron outdrew WAM—or
the absence of any hint of danger from the
unseasonably warm weather—or
the bright glow from the casino-like day
glow carpeting of the newly refurbished Hunt
Valley Inn, but the sparse player fields left BPA officials scratching
their heads and pondering the future of WAM. Apparently, there are
changes in the offing if WAM is to continue. Many pickup games of
the newest CDW Twilight
Struggle suggested
that it might be added to the field for WAM
V. But then the debate began about what events
should be dropped to make room for it. In all likelihood, the matter
will not be settled before this summer’s big conference at WBC where
all eyes will be on the various CDW tournaments to see which should
provide the focus for WAM V.
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17
competitors
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Tom Drueding, MA
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Nick Anner, NY
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PATHS OF GLORY: 17
PoGers participated in the annual WAM touney. Six elected to play
four games of Barbarossa-to-Berlin (an optional game within the PoG
tourney), with the rest of the field getting their semi-annual fill
of strong BPA competition. Four former WAM and/or WBC champs participated,
with only Hassard (a proud new father) and Reese (bowing out when
the field reached 16 in size) not running with the big dogs this
year. A number of rookies (with a strong level of play) entered the
competition—and we look
forward to seeing them at WBC this summer.
The Final matched the current WBC POG champ (Tom Drueding) against
Nic Anner (a former WBC champ). On his way to the Final, Tom defeated
former WAM champs’’ David Dockter (Round 1 in a 20-turn affair) and
Marvin Birnbaum (in the semi’s). Tom played the CP all weekend long,
utilizing a modified Rob Hassard (rumored to be inspired by Keith Wixson)
Defend-the-Rhine defense (always with an AP bid of 3; with the AP winning
ties).
The Final
began when the CP (Drueding) took an initial small foray into Belgium, but returned to the Rhine to dig in. The effort
left the CP a turn behind the Allies (Anner, dressed smartly in his
usual WWI allied helmet) in getting to Limited War. With the extra
turn, the Allies brought in Italy and dug in before the CP could prepare. So
with the West and Italy looking stable, the CP sent two German
Armies (originally planned for Italy) to polish off the Serbs. Once
the Serbs were removed, all CP attention focused
on Russia and playing events.
The MEF
and Yudenitch came in a little late and were
quickly countered. A
quick SR of three corps allowed the CP to take
Basra (although, the first attempt with the Trench Buster failed
on a “1” to “5” roll). Allenby was the very
last card draw for the Allied deck and then was held for a few
turns to keep the War Status below the Fall of Tsar is allowed.
The Russians
tried to prepare for the coming storm by
digging and got trenches in K-P, Lublin and Warsaw. On Turn
8, the Germans made a quick dash for Riga and Kiev around the sides, with
at least six German armies (and about seven armies holding
the West
Front), forcing the Russian armies in Warsaw and Lublin to pull
out or suffer attrition. With Riga, Minsk, Lodz and Vilna, we
waited for the War Status to build up. Although the CP threatened
to cut-off Warsaw, it was allowed to stay AP
until the Tsar Fell. The
AP was able to bring in Romania just in time,
but any threat was short lived. The following turn, the CP played
the Revolution and the Treaty catching some Russian armies in Bulgaria
and Persia. With
Russian lines static, the Germans dug in Trench
2 on the West and Italy defended at the mountains,
the only thing to consider was the Near East.
It didn’t look like the AP could gain enough in the Near East, so he
conceded.
Two interesting notes: The
Treaty was signed on Turn 15 and every available reinforcement was
brought into the game (including the Libyans). Although the Treaty
was played and the game ended in Turn 15, it was very close and would
have ended with 1 or 2 VPs difference.
So, Tom
Drueding became the first PoGer to win the
triple crown: WBC, PBeM and WAM—and he did it all in the same
year. There can be no doubt that Tom is the
top dog…until
next year!
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10
competitors
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James Pei, VA
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David Dockter, MN
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FOR THE PEOPLE: Mark Herman was unable to arrive until Friday
evening, so perpetual champ James Pei took over as the GM. Only ten
competitors vied for the title. Things started slow. but as the weekend
rolled on, more people started playing FTP. Henry Russell and Jon Gautier
both earned ironman status with the most games played. Bill Pettus
played one grueling 8-hour match against David Dockter, going the distance
to Turn 12.
14 games were played over the long weekend with victories split down
the middle with seven for each side. After nearly eight years, FTP
version 2.6 is very balanced. 1st through 5th place respectively went
to James Pei, David Dockter, Henry Russell, Chris Byrd and Jon Gautier.
David
Dockter as usual, was up for the challenge
and met Pei in the Final. He (USA) was very
sharp early on, and threatened to finally break Pei’s stranglehold
on the FTP crown, drawing consecutive great hands that hammered the
CSA so hard that Pei couldn’t do much the first two turns. He also
rolled lots of “5” and “6’s” in
his battles to attrit the Reb forces so that
the CSA was manpower challenged. The tide
started to turn on Turn 3 when Pei was able
to use a Minor Campaign to induct MO and KY into the CSA.
1862 proved to be a year of maneuver and counter maneuver. Lee arrived
just in time to form AoNV in Richmond with AoP staring down from nearby
Hanover. Pei used the breather to play a bunch of reinforcement cards
and reorganized his far flung forces. When he was satisfied with his
defense, he sent AoNV to push AoP back to Manassas. Unfortunately,
AoP was able to pull off a EP card play before he was ready to move.
Turn 5
saw Jackson forming an army in Dover, but not much action in the
West as Pei was focused on using the Forward to Richmond card to
destroy AoP. AoNV succeeded and pushed on to Frederick. But David
was able to sense danger early and formed another army under Little
Mac in Pittsburgh. When AoP was liquidated, AoC moved into a threatening
position in WV that made Pei hesitant to unleash AoNV upon the empty
north for fear of getting OOS. But with the last card play, Pei had
a good shot at DC. AoNV had +8 attacking, while DC only had +2 for
the fort. Only a “6” defense roll would
save DC. And wouldn’t you believe that was
what got rolled. David went from despair to howling happy.
Next turn
saw lots more maneuver as AoNV fought to maintain its foothold in
Frederick while trying to keep its LOC open. Union forces were constantly
cutting the supply lines in VA. Yet all these times, Jackson’s AoW
in Dover was patiently awaiting orders to move north. Pei had steadily
built up the KY area, hoping for a chance to unleash AoW. But David
put so much pressure on AoNV that every card play was either to re-establish
LOC or to play a juicy event. Pei decided to use his last card play
to make another shot at DC even though Union AoC under Mac was in
a good position to intercept. AoC failed its interception, but AoNV
rolled a “2”, needing a “3” or better to win with a Union
defense roll of “4”. David was so jubilant that he announced
to the whole room that his Big Boy has arrived,
and that James still had not gotten a raid
off yet!
1863 opened
to a gloomy CSA prospect (yes, James was beginning to sweat—finding
himself in unfamiliar desperation mode) while
the Union was deliriously happy with the
arrival of Grant. But when Pei saw his hand, he knew he still had
a good chance to pull out a win. He had two reinforcement cards (CSA
recog KY and Governor Harris), a Minor and a Major Campaign. Naturally,
he played the SP cards to set up AoW in Dover, chomping at the bit.
When Grant came crashing thru WV to fight Lee, AoNV intercepted and
won a big battle.
Now Pei
unleashed AoW (6 sp), picking up SP along
the way to boost it to a full 15 sp army
and smashed into Bloomington. However, in
one of the quirkiest relapses (at least according
to Dockter) he forgot that Pei had built a fort in Louisville earlier.
AoW then proceeded to convert IN and OH. Grant, smarting from the
bloody nose with Lee, received an infusion of SP from DC. He then
came charging in from Pittsburgh. But Stonewall intercepted and won
another big battle in Cincinnati. Even when David played Railroad
Degradation to pull the CSA Major Campaign card out, Pei was not
fazed because by then it was too late. He sent Lee thru Pittsburgh
to guard his right flank, thus forming two giant pincers around Grant
and trapping the Union army in between. David resigned shortly after—unable to prevent James from raiding two states which would give
him more than enough SW to double the Union SW. It was a close fight
until the end, but Pei retained his perpetual crown.
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13
competitors
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Keith Wixson, NJ
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Peter Reese, VA
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WILDERNESS
WAR Final Standings:
1. Keith Wixson (4 wins)
2. Peter Reese (3 wins)
3. Bill Edwards (2 wins)
4. Doug Mercer (2 wins)
5. Bruce Monnin (2 wins)
There were 17 games played by 13 players. The French Player won 10 times
(59%, down from 74% last year). The Champ won twice each as the French and British,
defeating Bob Jamelli, Paul Gaberson, Doug Mercer and Peter Reese.
The average bid was 1.3 VPs to play the French (seven bids of 2 VPs, eight
bids of 1 VP and two games with no bid), up from an average bid of .6 last
year.
In the final, Wixson as the British played the large highlanders card with his
first play and drew Wolfe and Amherst. Wolfe was able to besiege and take
Louisbourg while Amherst faced down Montcalm at Ft. Edward. The final British
card play of the first turn was Quiberon Bay. Demoralized by that crippling
blow, Reese resigned after seeing his Turn 2 cards. Ironically, the champ had
three very close games up to that point, winning twice on the final card play.
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10
competitors
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Jim Heenehan, PA
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Keith Wixson, NJ
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HANNIBAL
Final Standings:
- Jim
Heenehan, 3-0
- Keith
Wixson, 3-1
- Pete
Reese, 2-1
- Randall
MacInnis, 2-2
- Paul
Gaberson, 1-1
- Stuart
Tucker, 1-2
- Scott
Moll, 0-1
- Terry
Coleman, 0-2
- Mark
Yoshikawa, 0-1
- Charles
Hickok, 0-1
In a substantially reduced field, Jim Heenehan took
home his first BPA wood ever by topping past champ Keith Wixson in
the last of 12 games played. Heenehan, a colorful fellow who plays
in period headress with a mock ancient helmet, topped fellow laurelists
Pete Reese, Randall MacInnis, and Paul Gaberson who finished third
through fifth respectively.
Once again,
WAM brought together the top players in the
world. Unfortunately, several former Hannibal champions from
past WBC/WAM events remained in the hunt
for POG and FTP plaques, making it impossible
for them to get in games of Hannibal.
This left a small, but highly potent field
of ten Hannibal players,
which still included three former champions.
Stuart Tucker was the first former champion
to lose, falling in his Round 1 game against
Randy MacInnis, by virtue of three successful
Roman interceptions in Gallia Cisalpinia
in the last turn. That left Tucker’s
fate up to Hasdrubal’s final battle in northern
Sardinia, outnumbered 13-20 in battle cards.
Meanwhile,
Pete Reese, Keith Wixson, and Jim Heenehan
won their first round games. Heenehan,
having scraped by in his first round with
an 8-8 Carthaginian victory over Scott Moll,
advanced to a Round 2 game against Wixson.
Jim, as the Roman in this game, managed to kill Hannibal in Turn
6 and scraped by with a 9-8 victory with the help of a
Messenger Intecepted in the last turn. Meanwhile,
Reese led the Carthaginians against MacInnis,
managing to survive after Hannibal’s early
death crossing the Alps into Varro’s army.
With Syracuse joining him on Turn 8, the alliance
survived due to Fleet breaking the siege
in game Turn 9, and Rome ending the game with two siege points against
the city. Randy’s Scipio Africanus lost a 13-9 battle to Hasdrubal
, with the game ending with a 9-9 province count based on the last
card play. Unfortunately for Reese he was also doing well in the Wilderness
War tourney and was running out of time at WAM to complete his
games. His Round 3 game against Heenehan
had to be postponed while he vied for the
WNW hatchet. The late arrival of Hickok and
Coleman to the event gave fresh blood for
Paul Gaberson, MacInnis, and Tucker to shed
in an attempt to climb back into the standings.
Round 3 witnessed former champions Tucker and Wixson facing off in a well-contested
game that dragged into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Tucker’s Carthaginians
used Philip and Syracuse on Turn 4 to lock up a strong position on Sicily
and Sardinia, then fended off Scipio’s landward invasion of
Spain. Wixson’s early grab of Gades became a thorn in Tucker’s side, as
the situation left his armies frequently one space too far from ports
at the wrong
moments, particularly at the end when Syracuse was finally retaken and
Western Numidia became the key battleground of Turn 9. The 10-8 victory
made Wixson
eligible to play Reese in Round 4. In that game, Reese’s Carthaginians
killed Africanus on Turn 8 and were favored by the Messenger Intercepts
but still lost to a
10-8 count. So, Wixson played the spoiler to Reese in both the WNW and
HRC tourneys. Meanwhile, Heenehan played as the Roman against MacInnis.
In the most lopsided Hannibal game of the weekend, Randy resigned on Turn 3,
having witnessed Longus’ turn 1 invasion of Numidia and Marcellus’ defeat of
Hannibal in Samnium and Gaul—Marcellus finally running down Hannibal in Massilia
to kill him in Turn 3.
The postponed
Reese-Heenehan match would have no bearing on Heenehan’s position
at the top of the point standings, so it wasn’t played. Congratulations,
Jim. After many years of devotion to Hannibal, you are finally
the reigning champ. This year the Romans
kicked butt, winning 10 of the 12 games played, though in five of
those wins, the Carthaginians had 8 provinces. All five of the lopsided
victories (one sacking, one suit, three resignations) were Roman
victories. The average bid was 2.1 PCs for Carthage.
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13
competitors
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James Pei, VA
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Marvin Birnbaum, NY
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WE
THE PEOPLE Final Standings:
- James
Pei, 4-0
- Marvin
Birnbaum, 3-1
- Mark
Yoshikawa, 3-1
- Paul
Gaberson, 2-2
- Randall
MacInnis, 1-1
- Keith
Wixson, 1-1
- Pete
Reese, 1-1
- Bruce
Monnin, 1-2
- Ken
Gutermuth, 1-2
- Chris
Byrd, 0-1
- Jason
White, 0-2
- Stuart
Tucker, 0-2
- Terry
Coleman, 0-1
James
Pei doubled dipped once again by adding another We the People wood
to his collection by outduelling Marvin Birnbaum,
a two-time WBC champion in the last
of 17 games played. Also garnering laurels
were Mark Yoshikawa, Paul Gaberson,
Randy MacInnis and Keith Wixson who finished
third through sixth respectively.
Thirteen WAM players took a shot at being the last
man standing undefeated in the We the People tournament.
This popular short game has played a valuable
time-filler role between rounds of other tourneys
at WAM and has been hotly contested. Last year’s WAM
WTP champion, Marvin Birnbaum returned to face all
comers, defeating Chris Byrd, Randy MacInnis, and Bruce Monnin to re-enter
the final match against uber-card-driver James Pei, who mowed down tough competitors
Keith Wixson, Pete Reese, and Paul Gaberson to earn the opportunity.
In
a game that is decidedly pro-American (even
with draws counting as British victories), the bids
for side have escalated to an average of 3 PCs for
the American side. Despite this imbalance, though,
James earned his Final ticket with three British victories
(twice with seven colonies, once capturing
George Washington). Marvin had to win once as the
British and twice as the Americans (his key victory
coming on the play of George Rogers on the final turn
against Bruce Monnin’s British for a 9-4 win).
With
top players like these two—both comfortable
with either side—the bid was only 2, with Pei getting
the Americans. The game turned on a critical
Birnbaum error that Pei did not miss. Holding a Campaign
card in his hand, with Cornwallis’ army bottled up
by the French Fleet at Wilmington, Marvin declined
to go first, lost the army, and later in the turn
used the Campaign card poorly in New Hampshire. In
a game where the British see all too few Campaigns,
this cost him the game and the championship eventually
losing in 1780 with only three colonies.
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