robo rally 

Updated 11/30/2009

2009 WBC Report   

 2010 Status: pending 2010 GM commitment

Brad Johnson, IL

2008-09 Champion

Offsite Links

  

Event History
1999     Daniel Lawall      40
2000     Bradley Johnson      41
2001     Jeff Ribeiro      44
2002     Jeff Cornett      42
2003      Brad Johnson      71
2004     Brad Johnson      61
2005      Bill Dyer      65
2006     Brad Johnson      56
2007     Scott Buckwalter      66
2008     Brad Johnson      68
2009     Brad Johnson      65

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Brad Johnson       IL    09    248
  2.  Bill Navolis       MD    09     53
  3.  Scott Buckwalter   MD    07     40
  4.  Bill Dyer          IL    05     40
  5.  Jeff Cornett       FL    02     40
  6.  Jeff Ribeiro       NH    01     40
  7.  Dan Lawall         VA    00     39
  8.  James Kendrick     uk    08     36
  9.  Tamara Houde       VA    04     30
 10.  Rich Shipley       MD    07     28
 11.  Cliff Ackman       PA    06     28
 12.  Jason Levine       NY    01     26
 13.  Brian Schott       MD    07     24
 14.  Lance Ribeiro      NH    05     24
 15.  George Seary       NY    01     24
 16.  Steve Cuccaro      MD    06     21
 17.  Ralph Gleaton      SC    08     20
 18.  Ken Samuel         VA    06     20
 19.  Jeff Power         MI    05     19
 20.  David des Jardins  CA    03     18
 21.  Jeff Finkeldey     OH    09     16
 22.  Brad Davis         VA    08     16
 23.  Alex Henning       CT    07     16
 24.  Jonathan Tivel     VA    04     16
 25.  Dan McGowan        ME    01     16
 26.  Curt Collins II    PA    09     12
 27.  Tom McCorry        VA    04     12
 28.  Clyde Kruskal      MD    03     12
 29.  Rodd Polsky        PA    02     12
 30.  Vic Hutcherson     MD    00     12
 31.  David Davis        OH    99     12
 32.  Josh Githens       SC    09     10
 33.  David Kyle         PA    99      9
 34.  Scott Chupak       IL    09      8
 35.  Reiko Brooks       TN    08      8
 36.  Carl Sykes         SC    07      8
 37.  Mark Neale         RI    05      8
 38.  Nick Henning       CT    03      6
 39.  Kevin LeRow        MA    99      6
 40.  Craig Trader       VA    08      4
 41.  Pat Mitchell       DE    03      3

2009 Laurelists                                              Repeating Laurelists:

Bill Navolis, DE
2nd

Jeff Finkeldey, OH
3rd

Curt Collins, PA
4th

Scott Chupack, IL
5th

Josh Githens, SC
6th


Past Winners

Daniel Lawall, VA
1999

Brad Johnson, IL
00, 03-04, 06, 08-09

Jeff Ribeiro, NH
2001

Jeff Cornett, FL
2002

Bill Dyer, IL
2005

Scott Buckwalter, MD
2007
       

Another big turnout for Robo Rally ... so what else is new?

These bots are starting to look a tad belligerent.

Brad again ...

Another year, another - wait I actually won a game? How did that happen? Despite a poor start in the second heat, and the near miraculous luck of Henry Pfeiffer, who with only three cards to program managed to touch Flag 2 despite, or perhaps because of, being interfered with by two other robots on the same turn, I managed with consummate skill to not only catch, but surpass the leaders on the very last hand of the game. Surely this was to be the year of the GM.  Perhaps I would even play in the Final instead of just taking notes on the outcome.

I came out strong in the semi-final taking an early lead by virtue of spending the first five turns as a virtual bot. The last register phase of each of the first four turns found my bot sharing a space with Josh Githen's bot - a distinct benefit to both players as neither needed to worry about the actions of the other players. I  managed to continue this trend another turn without Josh's help, then the trouble began, and by the end of the game I was back in fourth (or fifth) place.  Fortunately this game is almost as much fun to watch as it is to play. Unfortunately, Josh came by at the last minute to drop out of the Final as he had apparently made the Final in some other race game, for which he was allegedly earning team points, so we started our Final with only five players, the fewest we've ever had. The realization of this has caused me to start considering strategies for choosing alternates for next year's Final.

Brad Johnson gave the lie to his frequent insistence that he's really 'not that good' by handily winning his sixth title, then running off and leaving behind a book,  coffee mug, and pop-tart. The pop-tart I ate, but the book and coffee mug await the annual unpacking of the convention boxes after which they will be mailed out.  Last year this happened in June, so I make no promises about promptitude.  Meanwhile, Robo Rally remains a Brad lake dominated by one player that the rest of us may visit from time to time, but no one dare contemplate taking up residence. So ends another year of Roborally, and for the second year running I have failed to bother with the copious notes of the doings in the Final. Perhaps next year I will return the format of detailed action, counting out the fact that Brad won the game despite having to shutdown three times, or that the race for third was so much more intense than that for first, or perhaps not.

GM Marc Houde checks out his perpetual champion in the Final ...

... as Jeff Finkeldey, Bill Navolis and Curt Collins vie for second place.
 GM      Marc F. Houde  [11th Year]  113 Lee St., Front Royal, VA 22630 
    march@asg.com   NA

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