|
|
A selfie by our favorite photographer
and Erica Kirchner |
Mark Kennel, Helen Powell and Trella
Bromley |
|
|
Ken Gutermuth, the latest winner of
sand, WBC rookie and new Canuck recruit Sara Vanderwal, Jenn
Thomas and Andrew Drummond - another Canadian newcomer. |
GM Bob Stribula awarding the Tom Dunning
Memorial Medal and the Best Möbius Rails Medal to Jeff Jackson
as Rich Shipley observes. |
Do the Loco Motion ...
Once again, we gathered at the Lancaster Host to determine
the greatest Empire Builder player in the world! Hyperbole
aside, this was the beginning of our week of schedule coordination,
camaraderie, and competition. On Tuesday evening Bill Peeck commenced
the event by ably teaching a half dozen prospective gamers the
rules to our favorite boardgame. It never ceases to amaze and
gladden the GM that this 32-year old game still attracts new
players. From a quick survey of Bill's students, it was obvious
that some of them weren't even born when Bill taught the GM this
game.
Preliminary Round
The Empire Builder event is unusual in how it handles
the preliminary rounds. There are 14 published titles/geographic
maps in the series. They include: Agent of Change (AoC),
Australian Rails (AR), British Rails (BR), China Rails (CR),
Empire Builder [without Mexico] (EPBno), Empire Builder [with
Mexico] (EPB), Eurorails (ER), India Rails (IR), Iron Dragon
(ID), Lunar Rails (LR), Martian Rails (MR), Nippon Rails (NR),
North American Rails (NAR), and Russian Rails (RR).
In addition, GM Bob Stribula brought a late stage playtest copy
of Möbius Rails (MöR). Agent of Change, also
known as West Virginia Rails, is disallowed in tournaments because
of its nonstandard nature. Empire Express, the lighter,
faster variant is also disallowed for this tournament. Players
are welcome to place any of the other titles on a table and solicit
opponents. As long as four gamers are willing to play a title,
the game may start. With odd numbers of players remaining, 3-player
games are allowed. Furthermore, players are allowed to select
which game and influence which opponents they face. There is
an element of meta-gaming during the preliminary rounds.
After the tournament rules were explained, ten tables saw
action during the first heat. The first table to finish was a
3-player game won by Trella Bromley (BR), one of last
year's finalists. Over an hour later Patty Davis - who we haven't
seen since the pla test days of Lunar Rails - won ER when
her closest opponent flooded the Rhein River and disconnected
his track network. Duncan McGregor next held off Pam Gutermuth
in a close 3-player Iron Dragon. Sam Packwood learned
the hard way to most carefully count the cost of his initial
track build. He was forced to take a very long sea voyage when
he ran short of money. Other first heat winners were Jeff Jackson
(CR), Mark Kennel (MR), Mike Holmquist (EPB),
Debbie Gutermuth (EPB), Bob Stribula (MöR),
Donna Balkan (ER), and Dave Steiner (ER).
Debbie Gutermuth's EPB win was helped when Sue Lanham,
finishing second in the closest Heat 1 game, was severely shaken
by the Mexico City earthquake. Sue lost two turns and all onboard
loads. Near the start of his MöR game and with no
cash, Bob Stribula made his first two deliveries to Vega for
exactly 50M. He then drew the tax card and immediately lost 10M
to taxes! In an ER game, Donna Balkan helped herself by
delivering speculation loads of oranges and cork for 70M.
Heat 2 began at 9:00 A.M. Wednesday morning. Seven tables
were filled with four players each and three tables seated three
players. The second heat had what must be the closest game possible.
Mark McCandless (IR) reached 251M while, on the same turn, Jeff
Jackson reached 250M. So, both declared but Mark won. Meanwhile,
Eric Brosius would have had 268M in one more turn. He came in
third. In another game, Richard Curtin (EPB) declared
first with 258. That was barely enough to hold off Ken Gutermuth
with 254. In a third notable Heat 2 MöR game, Trella
Bromley experienced the Spindizzy Field. This event, occurring
just as the game was ending, caused the Sol III city to depart
the map. Besides the gap disrupting her track network, she was
en route to Sol III with a big delivery. This sparked a rules
discussion on the differences in crayon rails at WBC and with
the Train Gamers Association (see below). Other Heat 2 winners
included: Tony Newton (BR), Mark Kennel (LR), Rich
Meyer (EPB), Alexandra Henning (MR), Catherine
Raymond (ER), Bob Stribula (MöR), Erica Kirchner
(EPB), and Norm Newton (EPB).
Heats 2 and 3 are scheduled back-to-back. It gets challenging
to wrap up the slower games and get players ready for the new
contests. Fortunately, the slowest Heat 2 game ended with 15
minutes to spare and another ten game got underway. Only one
of them was a 3-player game. 16 truly dedicated crayon railers
lined up to enjoy their third game. Others hoped for their first
victory to qualify for the semifinals. Due to previous scheduling
conflicts, 15 players signed in for their first try. Those participants
playing for the Tom Dunning Memorial Award (see below) wanted
to play a different title than they previously played. Others
held out for their favorite game or the one they thought would
give them the best chance to advance.
Winners in Heat 3 were Ken Gutermuth (BR), Richard
Irving (MR), Chris Gnech (EPB), Mike Zorrer (EPB),
Helen Powell (IR), Paul Van Bloem (EPB), Len Scensny
(EPB), Bob Stribula (MöR), and Bonnie Bogovich
(LR). Once again, Richard Curtin (EPB) won by a
very narrow margin, 258, against an also declared Eyal Mozes,
at 256. Yet again, Eric Brosius was close behind at 244. Helen
Powell won playing IR for the first time. To further embellish
her win, her opponents were all finalists in previous years:
Mark Kennel, Trella Bromley, and Debbie Gutermuth.
In the 30 preliminary games, there were three games with two
declared players at the end. Richard Curtin won two of them with
a combined margin of 6. Mark McCandless won the other by 1. Mark's
was the closest win of the tournament. In the preliminary round,
there were seven 3-player games and 23 4-player games. Going
first, second, third, or fourth mattered little this year. Statistically,
there was little correlation in starting order and finishing
position.
Of the 14 allowed Empire Builder titles, nine were
played. Empire Builder [with Mexico] was the most popular
map with 11 plays. Following in popularity, with the number of
plays in parentheses, were: Eurorails (4), British
Rails (3), Martian Rails (3), Möbius Rails
(3), India Rails (2), Lunar Rails (2), China
Rails (1), and Iron Dragon (1).
From the results of the Preliminary Heat games, the following
players deserve special recognition. Each had the highest winning
cash total in the named titles:
Title: # Played |
Heat |
Player |
High Score |
Empire Builder: 11 |
3 |
Mike Zorrer * |
265 |
Euro Rails: 4 |
1 |
Patty Davis |
280 |
British Rails: 3 |
2 |
Pam Gutermuth |
263 |
Mobius Rails: 3 |
1 |
Bob Stribula |
273 |
Martian Rails: 3 |
1 |
Mark Kennel |
279 |
India Rails: 2 |
3 |
Helen Powell |
255 |
Lunar Rails: 2 |
3 |
Mark Kennel |
276 |
Iron Dragon: 1 |
1 |
Duncan McGregor |
257 |
China Rails: 1 |
1 |
Jeff Jackson |
270 |
* During a semifinal game, Mike Holmquist bettered this Empire
Builder finish with a score of 270.
Tom Dunning Memorial Award
The Empire Builder players continued to remember our
friend, fierce competitor, and previous GM Tom Dunning. The Memorial
rewards expertise across the entire spectrum of "crayon
rails." Players total their ending cash from three different
games. Given that the semifinal was to be Empire Builder with
Mexico, and that the Final was Eurorails, contestants
were required to avoid those titles. 16 players played in all
three preliminary rounds. Five of them met the stated requirements.
Jeff Jackson's score of 756 was the highest combined score. Close
behind were 2012's and 2013's Dunning medalist, Mark Kennel (719)
and 2011's medalist Jen Thomas (675). Trella Bromley and Sam
Packwood were runners-up. Jeff became the fifth recipient of
the Tom Dunning Award. His scores of CR (270), IR
(250), and MöR (236), are more impressive when you
realize that he had never seen Möbius Rails before
and, as a TGA officer, he is familiar with slightly different
rules than we use at WBC. Jeff was presented the medal before
the semifinal games began.
Best Möbius Rails Medal
New this year was a medal for the player with the Highest
Cash during any preliminary heat Möbius Rails game.
(The game's designer was disqualified from winning this medal.)
Ten player positions were filled in three Möbius Rails
games. Seven individuals participated. One was the designer,
two were playtesters, and two had played the game at previous
WBCs. Trella Bromley and Jeff Jackson bravely volunteered to
play the map without ever having seen it before. Jeff Jackson
came very close to beating the designer in Heat 3 when his 236
nearly caught the winner's 259. Jeff was also awarded the Möbius
Medal before the semifinals began. The pewter miniature locomotives
were awarded to the first-place EPB winner, Dave Steiner.
Semifinal Round
The qualifiers and highest seeded hopefuls gathered for the
semifinal round at 9:00 A.M. Thursday. Of the 30 preliminary
games, there were 26 unique winners. Bob Stribula won three games.
Mark Kennel and Richard Curtin won twice. Of those 26 winners,
five played and won their only preliminary game. Given the number
of participants in the event, the convention's rules allowed
25 players to advance to the semifinals. If all the winners were
able to make the semifinals, winning one game would not have
been sufficient to guarantee advancement. However, Patty Davis
and Richard Irving had previously told the GM that they would
not be able to attend the semifinals. With only 24 winners present,
one three-time runner-up alternate - Sue Lanham - was able to
advance. The five top seeded players were rewarded for their
efforts by being placed at different tables. The next five seeds
were seated in reverse order. The remaining15 seeds randomly
filled the five tables. Teammates, family members, and the GM/AGMs
were placed at different tables. The previously declared map
for the semifinal game was Empire Builder with Mexico.
A 5-player semifinal usually takes longer than a 4-player
preliminary game. The additional player and the extra deliberation
by most players cause the game to proceed slower. Therefore before
the round started, the GM reminded everyone that the eliminationrounds
were each allotted four and one-half hours. Nevertheless, four
semifinals finished within four hours. Norm Newton (258) posted
the first win. He bested Ken Gutermuth (222) and Rich Meyer (207)
with Mark Kennel and Alexandra Henning following. The next to
finish was Trella Bromley (251). She bested Donna Balkan (161)
and Chris Gnech (158). Assistant GM Paul Van Bloem and Duncan
McGregor. Next to finish was Michael Holmquist whose 270 easily
beat Mike Zorrer (173), Bonnie Bogovich (166), Richard Curtin,
and Mark McCandless. Dave Steiner was the last to finish in the
allotted time with 250 to best Pam Gutermuth (179), Catherine
Raymond (161), Jeff Jackson (161), and Sue Lanham (157). As usual,
the last semifinal to finish was the GM's. This table required
all the extra time previously announced and still needed to be
adjudicated by Assistant GM - Paul Van Bloem. Partly this was
due to interruptions for the GM's responsibilities. However,
Helen Powell had terrible cards and subsequently pitched numerous
times. This, of course, increased the number of disasters for
everyone and slowed their strategies. Bob Stribula and Debbie
Gutermuth seesawed for the lead throughout much of the game.
However between the time that Paul gave the 10-minute warning
and the time limit, Bob delivered two commodities to Los Angeles
and Debbie delivered one to the Seattle area. That and a number
of disasters near the end were the difference. Bob finished with
233, Debbie with 217. Rounding out the table were Len Scensny,
Erica Kirchner, and Helen. After delivering in LA, Bob drew a
demand for sugar (from San Francisco) to Mexico City which would
have given him the required 250 within a few more turns.
The results were in. Ken Gutermuth's 222 was the best runner-up
finish across all five tables. He was awarded sixth place to
take his second sand plaque for Empire Builder! The irony
is that Debbie Gutermuth's adjudicated game left her only 5 short
of Ken's score. If her game had finished with everyone remaining
in the same relative order, Debbie most likely would have won
the coveted sand plaque. Even more ironic is that Debbie had
finished in 6th during the 2011 event, but there was no 6th place
wood that year. Life just isn't fair!
Final
After a necessarily very short break, the finalists gathered
for the ultimate challenge. Dave Steiner and Trella Bromley had
been to the big game previously: Trella last year in her first
WBC , Dave in 200708 and 201011. Although Norm Newton
finished sixth in 2010, Norm, Mike Holmquist, and Bob Stribula
were the "newbies" to the rarified air of an EPB
Final. Since the GM was playing, he reminded the others of the
EPB rules beforehand and then turned the game over to
the Assistant GM, Paul Van Bloem. Paul directed the table in
the dual role as acting GM and gme recorder. Part ay through,
Steve Cameron volunteered to record the action long enough to
give Paul a lunch break. After the pressure of getting there,
the Final was going to be fun.
Dave had the highest single demand on any of his four cards
so he became the first player to build. With the switchback start,
he was the last to build in Turn 2. Dave built from Paris southwest
to Bilbao. Norm also built from Paris southwest through Toulouse
to Valencia. Mike connected Birmingham, Cardiff, London, the
Portsmouth ferry, Paris and south to Lyon and Marseille. Bob
initially built track from London to the Ramsgate ferry and towards
the Ruhr. Separately, he also built from the Ruhr southeast to
Frankfurt and München. Trella built from Madrid to Lisboa
and Toulouse.
Dave started his train in Bilbao and ran sheep to Paris. Later,
he would extend his track to the Ruhr, east to Berlin, and southeast
to Wien and Sarajevo. He built a spur to Milano from Lyon. He
continued to have high value sheep and fish runs to the east
and wood, tourists, or flowers to Iberia. He connected to all
the Iberian cities except Valencia.
Norm started with two orange demands but did not see the number
of high value deliveries that Dave did. Norm's track ran from
Valencia to Paris, east to the Ruhr and Berlin with a ferry from
Holland to London. Norm also had track to Warszawa, all four
cities in the southeast corner, and a route to Milano from Zagreb.
Mike loaded steel on his train in Birmingham, picked up hops
in Cardiff and headed south. He had good deliveries but he could
not get the great combinations. Mike had by far the most track.
He spanned from Porto in the west to Marseille, then north to
Paris, London, and Glasgow. He had a spur to Zürich and
another to the Ruhr and Holland. His mainline ran through Frankfurt
and then split northeast to Berlin, Hamburg, and Lodz. Southeast
from the split, his track ran to Wien, Zagreb and Beograd. He
also built the Chunnel which speeded his travels between the
United Kingdom and the continent. It earned him track rental
fees as others used the Chunnel to speed their own trains under
the English Channel.
Bob started his train on Mike's track in Cardiff, He picked
up hops and reached his own ferry on the first movement turn.
Because of the number of major cities on his initial route, it
took a few turns to connect all parts of his mainline. Later,
he extended track to Aberdeen in the north and to Milano, Roma,
and Napoli in the south. His longest spurs were to Marseille
from Milano and from the Ruhr to Bremen, Hamburg, and Berlin.
Bob mostly dealt in Europe's unhealthy commodities - hops, beer,
wine, tobacco, and chocolate. Bob met the most demands, built
the least track, but paid the most to rent other player's track.
Trella had the most ambitious start. She began in Toulouse
and delivered wheat to Porto. Her next builds were to connect
Bruxelles to the Ruhr, Berlin, and Szczecin. She was delivering
cork to Szczecin despite the gap in her tracks between Toulouse
and Bruxelles. Fortunately, Norm had already built exactly this
track. Trella had $8M left over from track building and she used
it all for track rental fees! Coming back was a similar story
only this time Mike's track to Lyon bridged the gap. Later, Trella
closed the hole in her network with track from Toulouse to Lyon
and to the Ruhr. A spur connected from Bruxelles to Paris with
another to Holland. Other track linked Bern to Zürich, Milano,
and continued to an interchange near Sarajevo. From the Ruhr
- Berlin line, she linked Leipzig, Praha, and Wien. Trella seemed
to use a high risk/high reward strategy. She stretched her cash
to the limit in the early game and she pitched multiple times
in hopes of really good cards. Unfortunately, the demands she
wanted were not forthcoming.
The Tax Card cometh early. Players knew that Dave was having
a good game. Most of the action proceeded like the simultaneous
solitaire game we all know and love. Deliveries were made; track
networks were expanded; cash was accumulated. One player interaction
was when Dave tried to pick up a speculation load of cork only
to find all cork chips were already on board. Disasters occurred,
usually when someone pitched cards. As intended, they disrupted
plans. When Dave finally hit for $52M on a cork spec load to
Leipzig, it was over. There was a flurry of riding others' track
to make one last delivery. On Dave's fifth trip to the big game,
he had finally earned the largest plaque. Readers can see the
ending order and some interesting statistics in the Final Round
Details below. Coincidence or not, the end results were quite
similar to this game's starting order.
|
The ending track and positions for
the EPB Final. The different colors correspond to the
players as follows:
Dave Steiner (Green), Norm Newton (Purple),
Bob Stribula (Blue), Mike Holmquist (Red), Trella Bromley (Black). |
Thanks and Next Year
The GM would like to thank all the participants. Without
you, all this would be moot. The GM continues to document the
rules for the 14 titles and up to seven editions of some titles.
All these notes are documented in The Definitive Crayon Rails
Book. It and the latest EPB Tournament Rules are available
at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railgamefan/files.
You must have a log-in ID and approval from the moderator to
join this group. The information is available in the files section.
The latest version of this book and the rules are also available
by request from the GM.
A thank you is also in order to Bill Peeck for volunteering
to run the demo for new players. A special thank you is extended
to Claire Brosius, Trella Bromley, and Paul Van Bloem for volunteering
to be the Assistant GMs. Claire and (just-in-time volunteer)
Trella, with their excellent penmanship, signed in the participants
and helped organize the games. Paul and Steve Cameron recorded
the Final. Each helped in countless other ways. Thank you also
to Steve Okonski, Steve Cameron, my initial Assistants (Claire
and Paul), and the previous GMs (Rich Shipley, Chuck Foster,
and Debbie Gutermuth), who answered numerous "what if"
questions and gave opinions on scenarios while developing the
event's rules.
At this time, the GM hopes to continue running EPB
another year. No major changes are anticipated. However, additional
coordination with the Train Gamers Association is in order. Trella
Bromley and Jeff Jackson are Senior Tournament Directors for
the TGA. Together they handle their tournament operations, systems,
and rules for all railroad games in their Puffing Billy Tournaments.
Admittedly, their tournament encompasses more games than the
crayon rails games. However, we could try to make more of our
rules identical. For example, as the final action in a TGA crayon
rails game, players are allowed one final build-only round. EPB
at WBC allows an end-of-game rebuild-only round if a game is
adjudicated. EPB suspends new events after a player declares
since unresolved disasters complicate cash total comparisons
between games. At one time, the TGA handbook stated that disasters
still take affect after a player declares. Steve Okonski's EPB
Pronto has explicitly coded rules. Anyone that plays against
his AIs knows that his rules also are slightly different. Finding
a consistent set of rules would make playing and running a tournament
easier. If any readers would like to help in this process, they
are encouraged to do so. An e-mail dialog with this author is
the way to start. Metagaming also remains an issue. With numerous
titles and players allowed to choose which one they want to play,
getting a heat started can be a frustrating process. Sometimes
multiple boards will be vying for the few uncommitted players.
Other times, a player will decline a spot at an open table because
an already seated opponent is "too good". How can we
continue the flexibility of multiple titles yet seat players
fairly for the preliminary heats? Much thought and discussion
has gone into finding a solution for the dilemma of metagaming.
Of course, if anyone has comments or suggestions, the GM is interested
in their ideas.
Meanwhile, happy gaming to all and save the blue locomotive
for me. See you next year!
Final Round Details
The following After Action Detail is recreated from Paul's
and Steve's notes. However, any inaccuracies or errors remain
the fault of this author. Note: Cash figures are shown as $##M
even though this game's currency is millions of Euros. Although
the GM's Macintosh will properly display the Euro currency symbol
(¤), it often gets lost in translation to the web page.
Build Turn 1: (1:45 P.M.)
Dave built southwest from Paris towards Bilbao.
Norm built southwest from Paris past Toulouse.
Mike built northwest from London to Cardiff and Birmingham and
southeast from Paris towards Lyon.
Bob built London to the Ramsgate -- Oostende ferry, towards the
Ruhr and southeast from the Ruhr towards Frankfurt.
Trella built west from Madrid to Lisboa and east from Madrid.
Switchback Build Turn 2:
Trella continued building to Toulouse.
Bob built out of Holland towards the Ruhr and extended his Ruhr
track through Frankfurt to München.
Mike connected London and Paris via the Portsmouth - Le Havre
ferry and extended through Lyon towards Marseille.
Norm extended his track southwest through the Pyrenees to Valencia.
Dave connected to Bilbao and built from Paris to Bruxelles and
Antwerpen.
The Regular Move and Build Turns:
Dave started his train in Bilbao with 2 sheep.
Norm started in Valencia with 2 oranges. He built from Paris
to the Ruhr.
Mike started in Birmingham with steel and quickly picked up hops
in Cardiff.
Bob started in Cardiff with hops and rode Mike's track to his
own ferry. He completed the track to Ruhr and continued his track
southwest from München into the Brenner Pass. [Mike earned
$4M when Bob rode his track from Cardiff to London.]
Trella started in Toulouse with 2 wheat and moved southwest.
Dave delivered sheep to Paris for $19M. He built from Bilbao
to Porto.
Bob picked up steel in the Ruhr and finished the Holland to Ruhr
track.
Dave picked up imports in Antwerpen and built a spur to Nantes.
Norm delivered oranges to the Ruhr for $33M. He then started
building his track from the Ruhr towards Berlin and built from
Berlin south to Praha.
Bob delivered hops to München for $29M and picked up beer.
He finished the route to Milano, built from Milano to Torino,
and started building track from the Ruhr towards Berlin.
Trella delivered wheat to Lisbon for $26M and picked up cork.
She built one spur track to Valencia and one milepost northeast
from Toulouse to improve her interchange with Norm. She also
built from Berlin to Szczecin.
Norm built from Praha to Wien and finished his Ruhr to Berlin
track.
Mike completed the track to Marseille and built toward Barcelona.
Rounds Continued (2:30 P.M.)
Bob delivered steel to Milano for $13M. He built from Milano
through Firenze to Roma.
Trella connected Berlin and the Ruhr.
Dave picked up cattle in Nantes.
Mike delivered hops in Marseille for $29M, picked up bauxite
and built to Madrid.
Bob delivered beer to Torino for $12M and started back north
for wine.
Trella picked up oranges in Valencia.
Norm delivered oranges to Wien for $42M and built to Budapest
and Beograd.
Mike continued building toward Lisboa.
Bob upgraded his starting Freight train to a Fast Freight.
Trella connected Berlin and the Ruhr.
Norm delivered steel to Praha for $12M. He built toward Sarajevo
then finished this track when the following event expired.
Event: Gales - Mediterranean Sea & Adriatic Sea
Mike rode on Trella's track for $4M into Valencia to deliver
steel for $31M. He picked up oranges and built to Lisboa. [Trella
earned $4M when Mike rode her tracks to Valencia.]
Trella built from the Ruhr to near Bruxelles.
Norm upgraded his starting Freight train.
Bob delivered wine to Roma for $22M. He connected Roma to Napoli
and added track Ruhr towards Berlin.
Trella rode Norm's tracks from Toulouse northeastward. [Norm
earned $4M when Trella rode his tracks northeast from Toulouse.]
Dave delivered imports to Porto for $36M. He then built to Seville.
Norm delivered beer to Beograd for $17M.
Event: Derailments - no effects
Event: Tax Card
Cash on Hand was now public knowledge.
Dave: $ 21M
Norm: $ 34M
Mike: $ 4M
Bob: $ 13M
Trella: $ 4M
Bob delivered wine to Napoli for $25M. He built to Marseille.
Trella rode Norm's tracks to near Bruxelles. [Norm earned $4M
when Trella rode his tracks to the Bruxelles connection.]
Rounds Continue (3:00 P.M.)
Norm picked up wood in Sarajevo and then upgraded to a Super
Freight.
Mike delivered bauxite in Lisboa for $29M. He then upgraded his
starting Freight train to a Fast Freight.
Dave delivered cattle to Seville for $32M and picked up 2 oranges
since no cork was available. Dave then upgraded his starting
Freight train to a Fast Freight.
Norm built to Bremen and Holland.
Bob delivered tobacco to Marseille for $21M.
Norm delivered wood to Praha for $18M. He picked up beer and
then built to Wroclaw.
Bob built from London to Birmingham and Manchester and to Bruxelles.
Trella delivered oranges to Szczecin for $44M. She then connected
her track to Paris.
Dave picked up 2 sheep in Bilbao and built from Antwerpen to
Berlin bypassing the Ruhr.
Norm picked up potatoes and bauxite in Wroclaw.
Mike built from a milepost 5 southeast of Paris to Frankfurt.
Bob built to Bremen and continued track toward Berlin.
Trella pitched her cards.
Event: Derailments - no effects
Event: Gales - North Sea, Irish Sea & English Channel
Norm delivered bauxite to Bremen for $22M.
Mike delivered cork to Frankfurt for $46M and picked up beer.
Then he built to Wien.
Trella pitched her cards.
Norm delivered potatoes to the Ruhr for $11M and he picked up
tourists.
Mike picked up beer en route to Wien.
Bob paid Dave $4M to save a turn getting to his ferry. He picked
up chocolate in Bruxelles. [Dave earned $4M when Bob rode his
track to Bruxelles.]
Norm picked up flowers and two cheeses in Holland. He then built
to Zagreb. Later, he finished the route to Venezia and Milano.
Bob delivered chocolate to London for $10M. He built from Manchester
to Newcastle.
Trella connected to Leipzig and Praha to pick up china and beer.
Dave rode on Norm's track to deliver sheep to Wroclaw for $33M.
He then built from Wien tying into Norm's track where his train
ended and he built to Berlin. [Norm earned $4M when Dave rode
his tracks to Wroclaw.]
Bob delivered machinery to Manchester for $18M and continued
north to get oil in Newcastle.
Dave built from Wien to Sarajevo.
Bob upgraded his Fast Freight to a Super Freight.
Norm delivered cheese to Budapest for $21M.
Mike upgraded his Fast Freight to a Super Freight.
Bob paid Mike $4M to get hops in Cardiff. Bob built a connection
from his own ferry to Paris. [Mike earned $4M when Bob rode his
track to Cardiff.]
Trella upgraded her starting Freight train to a Fast Freight.
Dave traded sheep for wood and $44M in Sarajevo. He then upgraded
his Fast Freight to a Super Freight.
Norm delivered cheese to Zagreb for $19M.
Mike extended his track to Zagreb where he picked up labor.
Trella rode on Mike's tracks to Lyon to deliver china for $23M.
She then connected from just southwest of Lyon to her track near
Toulouse. [Mike earned $4M when Trella rode her tracks to Lyon.]
Norm built to Warsaw and shortly afterward picked up ham.
Mike built to Zürich to pick up chocolate.
Bob delivered coal to Paris for $13M.
Dave connected Ruhr and Holland to expand his network.
Bob picked up chocolate in Bruxelles.
Trella delivered beer to Valencia for $35M.
Bob delivered hops to Frankfurt for $21M and got beer. He completed
his track to Berlin.
Mike delivered labor and chocolate to Manchester for $36M and
$16M, respectively. Then he built to Glasgow to pick up sheep.
Bob delivered oil and chocolate to Berlin for $23M and $13M,
respectively.
Trella pitched her cards.
Event: Derailment in Berlin - hit Bob.
Event: Fog near Frankfurt
Event: Tooling (Machinery) needed
Mike built the approaches to the Chunnel and the next turn
he built the Chunnel.
Trella upgraded her Fast Freight to a Super Freight.
Norm rode on Dave's track to Bruxelles to get chocolate and built
the Harwich - Ijmuiden ferry to London, Birmingham, and a connection
to Mike's track northeast of Birmingham. [Dave earned $4M when
Norm rode on his tracks to Bruxelles.]
Trella built from Milano to Zürich to work on her new cards.
Mike began a long journey to pick up cork in Lisboa and cheese
in Bern en route to Hamburg. He built from his track southeast
of Leipzig to Berlin.
Bob built from Newcastle to Aberdeen.
Trella linked her mainline near Lyon to Zürich.
Mike connected the Ruhr into his network.
Bob paid Norm to get to the Harwich - Ijmuiden ferry, saving
a turn, and then built the ferry himself. [Norm earned $4M when
Bob rode on his tracks to the Ijmuiden ferry.]
Trella rode on Mike's track to Marseille to deliver oranges for
$18M. [Mike earned $4M when Trella rode on his tracks to Marseille.]
Event: Heavy Snow around Krakow
Dave delivered tourists for $48M and flowers for $46M to Sevilla.
Dave took his payout in green $50M bills! Dave then added Madrid
to his network.
Mike connected the Ruhr and Holland and thereby was the first
to complete his network.
Trella delivered oranges to Zürich for $31M.
Event: Wildcat Strike - on Trella's railroad.
Norm rode on Mike's track to Glasgow to deliver ham and chocolate
for $43M and $25M, respectively. Norm then picked up sheep and
rode Mike's track south. [Mike earned $4M when Norm rode on
his tracks to Glasgow]
Mike built from Berlin to Hamburg.
Dave picked up fish in Porto. [Mike earned $4M when Norm rode
on his tracks from Glasgow.]
Bob picked up fish in Aberdeen.
Trella picked up chocolate in Zürich and she built from
Milano towards ex-Yugoslavia.
Dave delivered wood to Bilbao for $44M. This one trip to Iberia
earned Dave $138M! Dave built to Lyon.
Mike delivered cork to Hamburg for $51M. Then he built from Berlin
to Lodz. Bob paid Mike $4M to use the Chunnel.
Trella continued to build to an interchange near Sarajevo.
Dave moved to Lyon to get wheat and considered building to Zürich.
He decided not to build further.
Mike delivered sheep and cheese to Lodz for $36M and $20M, respectively.
He then built from south of Wien to Beograd.
Bob picked up chocolate in Bruxelles and later rode on Trella's
track for potatoes in Szczecin. [Trella earned $4M when Bob rode
her tracks to Szczecin]
Trella rode Dave's track to Sarajevo to deliver oranges for $46M.
She then built to Wien. [Dave earned $4M when Trella rode his
track to Sarajevo.]
Dave rode on Mike's track to Zürich to deliver fish for
$38M. He built into Milano from Lyon. Dave was the second player
to link the required number of cities.
[Mike earned $4M when Dave rode his tracks to Zürich.]
Norm delivered sheep to Wien for $38M. [Mike earned $4M when
Dave rode his tracks from Zürich.]
Rounds Continued (4:40 P.M.)
Mike delivered imports to Zagreb for $23M.
Bob delivered fish to Milano for $37M and chocolate to Torino
for $8M. He linked München to Wien completing his network
requirements.
Trella linked to the Ruhr, completing her city requirements.
Dave delivered wheat to Berlin for $21M. He picked up steel while
in the Ruhr.
Bob delivered potatoes to Rome for $32M.
Trella delivered wood to Barcelona for $37M.
Cash Count:
Dave: $194M
Norm: $116M
Mike: $116M
Bob: $ 95M
Trella: $ 89M
Bob pitched cards.
Trella pitched cards
Event: Heavy Snow around Praha
Event: Donau River Flood
Event: Teamsters' Strike
Dave rode Trella's tracks to Szczecin to pickup potatoes.
[Trella earned $4M when Dave rode her tracks to Szczecin.]
Norm delivered copper to Birmingham for $29M. He picked up iron
and then rode through Mike's Chunnel back to the continent. [Mike
earned $4M when Norm rode on his track through the Chunnel.]
Bob picked up Tobacco in Napoli and 2 marble in Firenze.
Dave delivered potatoes to Wien for $9M. He drew the cork to
Leipzig card as his replacement. Since players' cash was public
knowledge, he advised the table that he had the winning load
on board.
Norm rebuilt his Donau River bridge for $4M.
Bob rebuilt his Donau River bridge for $3M and built to Hamburg.
Dave rode on Norm's track to delivere steel to Budapest for $22M.
[Norm earned $4M when Dave rode his tracks to Budapest.]
Norm rode on Bob's track to pick up wine in Frankfurt and to
deliver iron in München for $26M. [Bob earned $4M when Norm
rode his tracks to Frankfurt and Munich.]
Trella rode Norm's track from Toulouse to Paris. Then she built
track to Antwerpen. [Norm earned $4M when Trella rode his tracks
from Toulouse to Paris.]
Dave rode Norm's and Trella's track to deliver cork to Leipzig
for $52M. [Norm earned $4M when Dave rode his tracks from Budapest
to Praha.]
Dave declared meeting victory conditions. [Trella earned $4M
when Dave rode her tracks from Praha to Leipzig.]
Norm rode Bob's track to Milano and then Trella's track to Zürich
to deliver wine for $10M. [Bob earned $4M when Norm rode his
track from München to Milano.] [Trella earned $4M when Norm
rode her track from Milano to Zürich.]
Bob delivered marble to Hamburg for $27M.
Trella delivered workers to Antwerpen for $26M.
The game was over!
Final Statistics
Place/Player |
Final Cash |
Approximate Track |
# of Deliveries |
# of Pitches |
1. Dave |
261M |
178M |
13 |
0 |
2. Norm |
173M |
184M |
15 |
0 |
3. Bob |
121M |
164M |
16 |
1 |
4. Mike |
114M |
240M |
10 |
0 |
5. Trella |
109M |
175M |
9 |
4 |
|
The 2014 Empire Builder finalists:
Trella Bromley, champion Dave Steiner, GM Bob Stribula,
Norm
Newton and Michael Holmquist. |
|