mexica [Updated October 2002]

MEX  Trial Experienced Swiss Elim Scheduled 
 Rnd1 Heat1 18   Rnd1 Heat2 10
  
 Round 2 18 Semi Round 3 20 Final      

   Maryland 2

John Weber, MD

2002 Champion

2nd: Jeff Bakalchuck, NY

3rd: Sean Vessey, NY

4th: Bruce Bernard, PA

5th: Mario Lanza, PA

6th: Barbara Flaxington, NJ

Event History
2002    John Weber     23


AREA Ratings


GM: Harold Siegelman

The newest Euro from Rio Grande ...

Mexica was introduced as a trial event at this year's WBC. It is the third game in a series of tile placement games that include Tikal (a Century tournament) and Java all by Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer. Canals are placed to form districts and buildings are placed to gain control of districts.

Twenty-three entrants entered the event. The two 15-player heats consisted of six four-player and two 3-player games. The eight winners qualified for the semi-final. Five heat winners appeared for the Saturday evening semifinal/final. An alternate was added to create two 3-player games. Both semifinal winners and the closest second-place finisher advanced to the final.

Jeff Bakalchuck, Sean Vessey, and Mario Lanza played at table 1. Jeff gained an early advantage in turn 2. He created a 7-space district that included the five starting squares. Since no building is permitted in the five starting squares and the square containing the district marker, he gained exclusive control of this district with a single 1-story building. The play was worth an 18-point advantage in a game that ended in a tie at 114. Jeff had an action chip left at the end of the game so he was the winner on the tiebreaker. Sean also advanced to the final.

John Weber, Bruce Bernard, and Barbara Flaxington played at table 2. They played a close game that John won on the final turn. He used his position as the last player to secure first place of an unfounded 22-point district and the 11-point district and get home for the 5-point bonus to win by six points.

The final may have been the shortest game ever played. It began with a strange twist. Jeff drew the first position, one he did not want. His first play was essentially to skip his turn. He wasted four canals along the edge of the board. In the early play, each player founded one of the three largest districts available for the first half. Over the next few turns, John and Sean created two more districts and placed a few buildings. Meanwhile, Jeff placed canal tiles side-by-side to create a large mass of water. The supply of canal tiles is limited. When the supply runs out the remaining district markers are removed from the game. Only five districts had been founded when Jeff made it impossible to found any more. The result was a huge unfounded district that would be worth 73 points in the second scoring period. Unfortunately for Jeff, John was better placed to gain control of this district. While John and Jeff fought for control of the decisive huge district, a battle that John won 24 to 17, Sean tried to sneak into second place. He grabbed control of most of the smaller districts, but in the end, he could not overcome the difference between second and third place in the huge district. Final score: John 140, Jeff 93, and Sean 87.

 GM      Harold Siegelman [1st Year]   NA
    harold.siegelman@verizon.net   NA

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