monsters ravage america [Updated August 2000]

MRA   
    15
  15     15    
  16  19      9   11

  Hunt  Md 3      Salon EF    

Tom Meier, VA

2000 Champion

2nd: Steve Scott, CA

3rd: Rebecca Hebner, CO

4th: Joseph Sposito, NJ

5th: Reiko McQuiston, TN

6th: David Brooks, TN
Event History
1991    None      -
1992    None      -
1993    None      -
1994    None      -
1995    None      -
1996    None      -
1997    None      -
1998    Dave Long      167
1999    Marvin Birnbaum     106
2000    Tom Meier      83
AREA Ratings
 1    Joshua Garton      1621
 2    Marvin Birnbaum      1595
 3    Daniel Hoffman      1590
 4    Christina Hancock      1582
 5    Zack Metcalf      1569
 6    Joshua Dunn      1549
 7    Paul Bolduc      1546
 8    Olin Hertz      1536
 9    Mike Metcalf      1536
10    Ike Porter      1536

Anybody bring the Monster Repellant? ...

This game is a parody of MONSTER movies - but the MONSTERS win! Or do they? For the first time in tournament play, the two MONSTERS created by military research each won a game! The results for 43 games:

Navy 30%
Army 30%
Air Force 28%
Marines 12%

The MONSTERS still appear to be well balanced, regardless of military choice:

 Creature

Games Won

% of Games Won

Games Played

% of Games Played

Bronacle of the Depths

11

31%

35

20%
The Glow Wyrm

10

29%

34

20%
F'rothomir of the Ice

5

28%

18

11%
Tomangi the Carnosaur

8

23%

35

20%
Dreaded Swamp Lasher

2

20%

10

6%
The Dust Devil

2

18%

11

6%
Konk - the Great Ape

2

12%

17

10%
Ixitpla - the Snake God

1

10%

10

6%
Super Colossal Guy

1
     
Mecha-Monster

1
     

Tim Greene of Morristown, TN had the Biggest MONSTER on the Block, as his TOMANAGI THE CARNOSAUR accumulated a whopping 58 health, along with Atomic Breath. John Poniske Jr., who recently joined the real Marines, won notoriety as the Best Actor in a "B" Movie Award, along with his MON-STAR of the Silver Screen certificate and Movie
Theater popcorn, as he was sent to Hollywood twice in the same game. The GM picked up miniature pieces from swap meets to substitute for the game pieces at the "Fun Table."

In one extraordinary game, all four players received lousy starting lair rolls, so the military was mobilized and ready at the onset. All four players were sent to Hollywood (the only game in the tournament where this was reported). The military research Mecha-Monster won the game for Mike Lam's Navy, the first reported military win in the history of the tournament!

28 players participated in Round 2, including six of the eight semifinalists from 1999. But all six veterans were knocked out of the tournament. The room was rocking with the sounds of players yelling during the MONSTER challenges. Only Circus Maximus and Slapshot produced this much noise! In defeat, 1999 champ Marvin Birnbaum shouted "Super Colossal Guy JUST RAN THE TABLE." Seth Kirchner made the semifinals as his military research unit defeated three MONSTERS, entering the final combat with 40 health, and beating a MONSTER with Armor Scales and War Spikes, as the military recorded its second win! Seth was joined in the semifinals by Jonathan Gemmel of Brookfield, CT, and both David Brooks and Reiko McQuiston of Memphis TN.

The semifinals saw the first critical use of the scoresheets to break a tie and decide alternates. Both Tom Meier and Reiko
McQuiston had scores of 36, but Tom had four toys and Reiko had only two, so Tom advanced, while Reiko took 5th place.

Two of the four finalists included Joe Sposito and Rebecca Hebner. Wait a minute, is this a review of the Junior tournament? They're both 12 years old and they both played in the MONSTERS Ravage America Junior event. But they both made the finals of the adult tournament, fair and square! Players who arrive in the teaching hour can start early. So Joe's table started early, and finished so fast that they played a second tournament game during the same heat! In the first game, one of Joe's victims was Joshua Garton, who had the highest AREA rating in the world at the time. Joshua won the second game and advanced to Round 2, thanks in part to three cups of coffee, chased by a Pepsi! We scraped him off the ceiling when the game concluded. Joe Sposito won his Round 2 and his semifinal game to advance to the final.

In Heat 1, Rebecca Hebner, whose MONSTER had Brain Rot, defeated Ben Knight, one of the game's co-designers, and...Joshua Garton. Ben was playing it as his team game. In Round 2 Rebecca beat the GM, Mark Love, who was also playing it as his team game. Rebecca and Mark each had two health in the last round of the last Challenge, and Mark had Armor Scales. Rebecca rolled a 5 and 6 to win! Rebecca went on to win the semifinal game and truly earned her place at the final table.

Steve Scott made the finals and had actually designated Monsters Ravage America as his team game - last year! He switched to something else this year! He won his heat game by getting control of the Challenge, since he had the MONSTER with the weakest health, at only 8. Steve won the Round 2 game with the only MONSTER with mutations that could be used in the Challenge. He made the finals as an alternate, after losing to Joe Sposito in the semifinal.

In Tom Meier's heat game, two other players were sent to Hollywood, including Paul Bolduc, recipient of the Best Sound Award for 2000, as he awakened the war gamers in the Valley room. Playing the Dust Devil, Tom stomped his goal and only three cities the entire game. His 13 health was the highest and enough to win. In Round 2, it appeared that Tom would fall to AREA champ Joshua Garton. Late in the game, the Blonde Lure sent Joshua's GLOW WYRM to San Diego, where five planes and Mech-Monster were waiting. With the Guard Commander research card, Tom used the entire National Guard infantry and two Army units to send BRONACLE to Hollywood just before the Challenge, as he won again with DUST DEVIL.

The final began with Joe Sposita's IXITPLA blocked from LA. Tom Meier's GLOW WYRM stomped DC/Baltimore. Rebecca Hebner headed to the northeast with BRONACLE and quickly became the Guard Commander for the National Guard. Joe obtained Super Colossal Guy, gave up on LA, and ravaged San Francisco with IXITPLA. As the MONSTERS got bigger, the health markers ran out, and M & M's were substituted, just as in 1999! Rebecca got Radiation Field for BRONACLE and the Blonde Lure military research. Tom's GLOW WYRM mutated at Three Mile Island and got Armor Scales with only five footprints left until the Challenge! Rebecca picked up Fusion Cells while Tom got Defense Satellites. Rebecca fired her newly-enhanced cruise missiles at Steve Scott's BRONACLE - and mutated him with Kinda Friendly, which
now immunized him from the National Guard units that she controlled! Joe's IXITPLA mutated at Roswell and got the Son of MONSTER egg - and his fifth toy! He SSSSSSS'd his MONSTER sound! Rebecca scored two hits on Tom's GLOW WYRM with her Air Force cruise missiles. She shouted "Yeah Bobby Lee!" (Must be a wargamer) Tom stomped his goal and two military bases in the process, with two footprints left!

Rebecca had a clear shot at LA, but she capitalized on stomping Sacramento to start the Challenge. Joe's IXITPLA jumped into
the Meteor Crater to steal the Challenge for himself, his only chance of winning, with only 18 health. He attacked his own
Super Colossal Guy first, adding two to his health. Joe faced Rebecca next, but her 31 health was too much and she took over
the Challenge, losing three health in the process. Rebecca attacked Steve Scott's BRONACLE, who had quietly accumulated 32 health and an infamy marker. Steve won the battle and increased his health to 42. But Tom Meier's GLOW WYRM had High Octane Blood, which gave him the first attacks, three extra attacks from Infamy, and his Armor Scales provided a defense of 4. Even though Tom's health was only 23, the extra attacks helped and the mutation held up famously as GLOW WYRM became King of the MONSTERS. Tom had never played the game before the convention and won the plaque and a copy of Rio Grande's T-Rex. Ironically, the two adults who finished 1st and 2nd had both advanced as alternates after losing to the same two12-year-olds, who ended up finishing third and fourth.


MONSTERS RAVAGE AMERICA JUNIOR:

12 juniors appeared from their lairs to play in the junior version of the game available to those 12 and under. In the first round, Karl Henning earned sixth place in the tournament while Joe Sposito, who ended up in the finals of the ADULT tournament, didn't make the junior final, settling for fifth place.

The final was one of the most entertaining boardgames ever played, worthy of a MONSTER movie script! Michelle Arnold took a commanding lead, stomping New York City and Philadelphia. Patrick Crowe attacked his OWN cruise missile at his OWN military base, in the
hopes of mutating his DUST DEVIL. He took four damage instead! Rebecca Hebner succeeded with two military research attempts on the same turn. She got Super Colossal Guy and X-Fighters. Michelle mutated and got the MONSTER-slowing Brain Rot. She also got on the same turn the military's Stabilizer Ray, which removes all mutations if the military damages the MONSTER in an attack. Hmmm. Michelle was then attacked by Matt Beach's Rogue Nuke - and knocked it down before it could detonate! Rebecca fired a cruise missile at Michelle, saying, "It's nothing against you, but I don't want you to win." Michelle's GLOW WYRM slapped down that one too! Michelle then walked into Boston which contained Matt's laser mine. She lost
five health from the mine and gained five from stomping the city. Michelle was living a charmed life!

Rebecca offered to give Patrick a stuffed KONK that was being tossed back and forth over the game board if he would agree not to attack her with his three planes and cruise missile. Patrick immediately back-stabbed her, but Rebecca's F'ROTHOMIR wiped the entire force off the map without taking any losses! THAT'S payback! Meanwhile Michelle implemented a plan to rid her GLOW WYRM of Brain Rot. She entered a city that contained four of her OWN military units and declared the use of the Stabilizer Ray. If her MONSTER took any damage at all, the bad mutation would be removed. She proceeded to DEFEAT all four of her OWN units WITHOUT taking any damage!

Michelle was still running away with the game, by a wide margin, on health points. Patrick decided to make a suicide attack, as he entered a space containing a snack city and FIVE of Matt's Army tanks. Patrick took almost no damage, but he was retreated by Matt, who successfully rolled for military research for the retreat. Matt drew the only bad research card in the deck. He had to hand the Blob card to...Patrick, which was immediately use to WIPE OUT the stack of five tanks he had JUST attacked! YES, THIS REALLY DID HAPPEN!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Two 10 year-olds then rushed into the room to excitedly announce in triumph, "JOSH TOUCHED ME!"

Michelle took the last footprint marker to start the Challenge. Matt had a mutation which gave him the first attack in the
Challenge, so he attacked Denver instead of stealing it. Rebecca and Patrick also passed on stealing the Challenge, and Michelle's charmed life seemingly continued, as she retained the Challenge with 40 health and two Infamy markers. But her luck began to change for the worse. She defeated Patrick's DUST DEVIL, but his War Spikes reduced her health to 32 as Patrick took fourth place. She then defeated Super Colossal Guy and Mecha-Monster, with her health left at 30. Michelle then took on Matt's BRONACLE, who had 27 health and a defense of 4 from Armor Scales. The mutation turned the tide, as Michelle fell and took second place on points. Matt Beach now stood with 49 health against Rebecca's 33 and won the
tournament. Rebecca, who took second in the 1999 junior tournament, went on to take third in the 2000 adult tournament, proving that the juniors can hold their own with the adults in this game.

 GM      Mark Love  [2nd Year]   9890 Wahingtonian Blvd #705, Gaithersburg, MD 20878-5351
    lovemark@erols.com    (NA)

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