War of the Horticulturalists crowns
a new King
The event made a great recovery this year. Last years attendance
was down, so the event was reduced to trial status. I would
like to take a moment to thank all of this years players for
getting Kingmaker back into the Century! I would especially
like to thank perennial finalist Justin Thompson for all his
efforts in getting players into the tournament.
In another show of the game's popularity, even though the
GM posted the finalists well before the 6-player final, 10 people
showed up! And one of the posted finalists did not make it so
we had five finalists and five spectators!
The GM allowed the first alternate into the game, so we still
had these 6 Noblemen vying to be KINGMAKER: Justin Thompson
(for the 11th consecutive year), Dan Long, Dave Hauas, Stan Buck,
Scott Beall, and Scott Smith.
The initial deal left no clear leader, but several weak factions.
Five offices and two titles had to be put in the Chancery!
Not to worry, it is a long war.
Beall (who had made few attacks in his winning heat) drew
first blood with an attack on Long. Victory was Bealls, but
Long had a Kings Pardon allowing him to save Hastings (the Admiral
of England), and about half his stack. Bouchier unfortunately
lost his head.
Seeing Beall's aggression, Smith besieged his force. Buck
traded Beall some mercenaries for Newcastle and a free move,
giving Beall a 330-300 advantage, but Smith dropped two towns
of his own for a 340-330 lead. The siege succeeded but Howard
died! Smith has won the day, but lost about half his faction.
He did pick up a town and about 80 points in mercenaries.
Catastrophe is next! Smith (with Percy and his mercs) has
a strength of 230 during the catastrophe! He easily takes Edward
Lancaster from Kenilworth.
About an hour and a half into the Final, Beall draws 'Parliament
must be Summoned'.. Having been decimated by Smith earlier,
Beall has only a 10 point noble (Bouchier) and is in charge of
Parliament! There are five titles, eight offices, and a King's
Pardon in the chancery. Everything is passed out evenly, and
Beall has some power again. Will it be enough?
About two and a half hours in, an unusually quiet Thompson
finally makes a big attack and crushes Smith who is left with
only Percy (he always seemed to miss the danger) who is in refuge
in Scotland with Edward. Smith's Plantagenet, Roos, and Berkley
die. Thompson collects a town and about 70 points in mercs.
Three players later, Huss attempts an assignation on Justin's
stack with Scrope and kills Edward of the March! Thompson is
heirless, and there are only two heirs left. Long has Edmund,
and Smith still clings to Edward Lancaster.
On Thompson's next turn, he attacks Huss and again wins a
big victory but at the cost of Pole and Fitzlan on one card!
Huss loses four nobles leaving him with only Stafford as the
Palatine of Chester. Thompson is now the strongest faction
by far, but has no heir. Long and Smith have the heirs, but
are relatively weak. Long has a total strength of about 230
to Thompson's 380. Smith is even more vulnerable..
About three hours in, Long's faction is called to Canterbury
to quell some peasants and he uses the opportunity to crown Edmund
the King of all England! He leaves Canterbury on his next turn.
The next event card drawn isPlague in Canterbury! The game
almost ended right there as the new king would have died in the
plague.
With one hour to go, Long and Smith both have heirs but relatively
weak factions. Thompson is the clear leader in strength, but
has no heir. Buck has quietly built up his forces and pounces
on Smith as he emerges from refuge. Buck has the odds, but Smith
has the heir. The only thing that can save Smith is a 'bad weather
delays attack'. With the odds so stacked against him, Smith
chooses to kill his heir rather than fight it out. Since Long
has the only heir left, he wins and is crowned KINGMAKER! The
players draw the combat card and it shows BAD WEATHER! Smith
would have survived. Such is the luck of politics.
It was a fine game, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
The GM would like to give full credit to Dan Long for his win.
He had a weak faction for much of the game, and an heir which
made him a prime target. He spent much of the game doing an
excellent job of dancing around the board and avoiding much larger
factions. Well done DAN!
Hope to see you all next year!
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