Rob Schoenen vs John Stevens	Peter Perla vs Johnny Wilson
Paul Gaberson vs Roberto Fournier	Former champ Antero Kuusi returns from Finland.

One of the best pieces of advice that Don Greenwood ever gave me was to turn EOS into a teaching tournament. So, this story begins one hour before the tournament started with an enthusiastic group of individuals who had wanted to play EOS but had never had the time to learn. Over the years I have developed a decent enough banter on how to play that most of my new friends entered the tournament and went from classroom to war room in 60 minutes. For those who would like to get an idea on how to ease into this title quickly I would recommend this fine review that does a great job of teaching the basics.

http://theboardgaminglife.com/2011/11/19/empire-of-the-sun-review/

The new reinforcements caused a shortage of game sets that was quickly addressed by my veterans getting their copies. I played on a giant tournament set loaned to me by Bill Alderman and away we went.

For those looking to make the plunge, the tournament uses the 3-turn 1943 tournament scenario. As I promise my new recruits each year if you play one round with a veteran you will learn the game. What this has meant for the event is the number of EOS players grows each year with some folks returning the next year.

The 1943 scenario begins just after the Allied conquest of Guadalcanal with the Allies positioned to continue their offensives in the South Pacific. This is counterpoised by the Japanese ability to initiate attacks in the China-Burma-India Theater. What is most exciting for me is there has been a continuous series of staff games on Consimworld and many of my friends that I correspond with all year show up in person to compete for the wood. In fact there is a traditional armistice that is declared each year as all of the major online players are at WBC and have little time for internet gaming.

This year came down to two former world champions, Antero Kuusi of Finland and Dennis Culhane of USA, squaring off again with the Finn getting the upper hand. I look forward to seeing you all again next year in Lancaster.

For those who would like to get some strategy tips for the 1943 scenario from one of the true experts go to:

http://theboardgaminglife.com/2012/10/25/empire-of-the-sun-in-an-afternoon-strategies-for-the-1943-scenario-in-mark-hermans-empire-of-the-sun/

Designer Mak Herman and Johnny Hasay enjoy Bill Alderman's big board version.