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Richard Beyma wonders which Mafia
member is out of uniform for the day. |
New GM John Emery marches against
Matt Russell. At least he remembered it was yellow today. |
Grinding dad beneath your heel
...
The five victors of the Nappy Wars semi-finals decided to
get together one evening at WBC and hash it out to see who among
them would take the crown home. Naturally, the highest finisher
in the semis, Mike Casselberry, chose France, and wanted to see
how far he could go in that spot again. In the wargamer's version
of family feud, his father, Melvin Casselberry - one of two ex-champs
amongst the survivors, chose Britain, so it was certain that
there would be little harmony at the breakfast table the next
morning! Rounding out the five finalists were Bruce Young as
Prussia, defending champ Henry Russell as Russia and Daniel Broh-Kahn
as Austria, playing in his first ever Nappy Wars Final.
Before the campaign started, Britain firmly laid down the
law for the other members of the Third Coalition: The Parliament
card in exchange for giving up a resource. It was an intriguing
offer, but one that was ultimately ignored by both Russia and
Austria, and Prussia too. Would it be to their peril? Read on
and find out.
The first turn proceeded in the regular fashion, with Spain
moving into Portugal, Russia coming to Austria's aide and France
moving anywhere she wanted. As usual, france started things off
swiftly by concentrating her forces for the inevitable assault
on Vienna. Britain responded by applying pressure at sea, taking
out as many fleets as possible and securing control of the all
important six sea zones. Austria actually had some decent cards,
and so was able to build defenses before tackling France in northern
Italy. That campaign swung too and fro the entire game, with
the French usually having the advantage. Russia brought as many
forces as possible to the vicinity of Vienna, to make sure that
any battles there would be costly for France. And Prussia, of
course, manipulated the diplomatic track.
As the game progressed, there was a trend that was observed
by neutral observers and active participants alike. France was
sweeping all before her on land, while Britain was doing the
same at sea. Other members of the coalition were dismayed that
Britain was using her resource strength to beat up on Sweden
and Denmark, instead of fighting the Corsican Ogre. In response,
Britain reiterated her standing offer: The Parliament card in
exchange for giving up a resource.
But for Austria, this was not a good deal. Although Austria
could certainly use a fresh card from the draw pile at any time,
there was no way she was going to burn her last reserve, the
all important resource, while there were large standing French
armies next to Vienna. Tactically, burning the resource for the
Parliament card was a good deal, in that Austria would get two
cards for the price of one resource. But strategically, it doesn't
make sense to utilize one's last reserve when the enemy is at
the gates.
Finally, Austria had enough. Russia also felt the same way,
although Russia's situation was not nearly as precarious . And
when Prussia failed to join the coalition at the golden opportunity,
Austria acted rashly! Tired of seeing Britain earn keys while
Austrian boys were dyin' Austria played a card that was "less
than friendly" towards the nation of shopkeepers. Austria
felt, rightly or wrongly, that Britain was more concerned about
her own status than in defeating Napoleon, and this angered Austria
somewhat! Apparently, it was a crack in the dam that was holding
back a lot of resentment.
France saw the writing on the wall, and through a fortunate
series of naval moves and combats, had managed to secure La Manche
for a turn. Swiftly moving her forces back to the channel, she
prepared to invade England for the second time since 1066. The
results were predictable! Large French armies marched all across
England, Scotland and Wales, eliminating everything in their
path, and securing all the keys, including London. And with that,
the game was over, with a decisive French victory, as poor Dad
got beat up by his loving son! But hey, at least Vienna never
fell!
In tribute to designer Mark McLaughlin who was the original
GM for Nappy Wars these past seven years, GM John Emery gifted
each of the finalists with spirits from their namesake countries.
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The finalists pose for posterity. |
The new champ and Peter Gurneau celebrate
the fall of London. |
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