Attendance rebounded in 2006 despite being greeted by workmen instead of bellhops as Host underwent major renovations with all the adventures that entailed for some in the affected guest rooms. Nevertheless, our 148 tournaments again included ten events with triple digit entries, averaged 43 participants overall, and crowned champions from 28 different states and provinces. Those winners included 13 incumbents who retained their respective titles another year, 45 who won their first-ever BPA championship, five GMs who won their own event, seven members of the fair sex, and 11 who claimed multiple titles. One might say that 2006 was the year of the slugger at WBC, as prodigious performances abounded with seven double winners, two triple champs, and a pair of rare four-baggers dominating the box score. Bruce Reiff, he of the massive plaque collection, added to his string of always having taken home wood, by toting home four more with wins in Auction, Attika, Pro Golf, and San Juan. Alas, it could have been even worse for those who root against WBC's lumber king were it not for Ken Whitesell, who narrowly upset the five-time champ of Football Strategy 17-14 in the Final to deprive him of an unprecedented fifth wood and fourth Century event win. Thus, by the slimmest of margins, was the never-achieved WBC Grand Slam, four Century championships, averted.

Fate swung an even sharper double-edged sword for Jeff Cornett, who also homered with titles in Euphrat & Tigris, Slapshot, Battle Cry and Medici but was denied the Grand Slam moniker on a technicality, as the latter two had lost their Century status to probation rules. With both events returning to the Century in 2007, Jeff can't be blamed for cursing the umps. He wuz robbed, but at least he had the title of Consul as the top WBC laurelist in 2006 to console him. And, thus, two more tales go into WBC lore to weave the fabric of past glory and vicarious feats denied. Anne Norton led the ladies with a triple win in Saint Petersburg, Cleopatra's Society of Architects and Thurm & Taxis. Meanwhile Nest of Spies managed a first by repeating as team champions and thereby set the Board to work pondering rule alterations for the long standing event to handicap the teams.

In the continuing ebb and flow of WBC game lives, there were the usual winners and losers as the events themselves competed for the players that meant another year in the WBC lists. Among events with at least a three-year track record, ten raised their attendance bar by posting their own personal best entrant numbers. The other end of that spectrum, beset by the natural tendency of new events to draw the curious and then begin a steady decline, saw 31 tournaments drop to new attendance lows in the eight years since WBC sprung from Avaloncon in 1999. Are these one-year scheduling aberrations or signs of things to come?

Zenith: Those setting new high water marks were: Ivanhoe + 17, Slapshot +15, Superstar Basaeball + 14, Santa Fe Rails +8, Gettysburg +5, Die Macher +4, Successors +4, Afrika Korps +4, Princess Ryan's Star Marines +3, B-17 +2, Elchfest +2, Bitter Woods +1.

Nadir: Those sinking to new lows in their WBC reign were: Monsters Ravage America -31, Attika -25, Union Pacific -24, Memoir '44 -21, Puerto Rico - 16, Goa -13, Merchant of Venus -11, Euphrat & Tigris -11, Battle Cry -10, Tikal -8, Princes of Florence -8, Royal Turf -8, Breakout Normandy -8, Rail Baron -7, Great Campaigns -5, Galaxy -5, March Madness -5, Power Grid -5, San Juan -5, Adel Verpflichtet -4, Attack Sub -4, Amun-Re -4, Brawling Battleships -4, Hammer of the Scots -4, The Russian Campaign -3, ASL Starter Kit -2, Diplomacy -2, Enemy In Sight -2, Age of Renaissance -1, Hannibal -1, Titan -1.