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The Brosius family attends the 2007 World Boardgaming Championships
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In 2006, my wife and son joined me in attending the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster PA. My wife took 6th place in the Lost Cities tournament, and she was eager to return for 2007. My son was also looking forward to the trip; he played enough games of Lost Cities with the two of us during the year to know that if we could place in the tournament, he could do it too! Here's a link to last year's tournament GeekList: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/15890What did we do this year? Here's the scoop!
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Posted On: 2007-08-13 21:15:02
Edited On: 2008-01-22 17:31:45
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The World Boardgaming Championships is described as a Tuesday to Saturday event, but the action actually starts during the preceding weekend, in the "pre-Cons." This year's WBC tournament was scheduled back to back with Historicon at the Lancaster Host hotel. Historicon is a convention for miniatures gamers, with about twice as many attendees as WBC (they had to park cars in a field because Historicon was too big for the parking lot!)
We arrived on Saturday and spent some time walking around from room to room admiring the beautifully painted miniatures and scenery. We couldn't check into the room we had asked for that day, because the Historicon guest didn't check out until Sunday, but they put us in a room with a king and provided a free roll-away bed for our son. After checkout time on Sunday we moved to a better room, non-smoking with two doubles, not too far from the gaming area.
After my first few years at WBC, I knew I had to learn a game to play at the pre-Con. I wound up choosing Paths of Glory, a game I've now played approximately 15 times. In Round 1, the GM seeded the top players in the AREA rating system to make sure they didn't have to play each other, and I was assigned to play Jim Falling, a former WBC Paths of Glory GM and the 7th-ranked AREA player. This made two years in a row I got to play a celebrity in Round 1, though last year I didn't realize that Scott Moll is a podcasting celebrity until I got home and noticed that he's half of the "Point2Point" team.
I won the die roll for the right to make the first bid for sides, and I bid 2 VP to play the AP against Jim. I had lost with the CP twice in 2006, and I know Jim is an outstanding AP player, so I wanted different scenery this year. Jim accepted my bid, explaining that he'd been playing the AP a lot and was also interested in a change. Paths of Glory is a low-luck game in which the better player will almost always win, so I wasn't expecting to prevail, but I wanted to give Jim a good game and learn some things from him.
We shuffled the Mobilization decks and dealt the initial 7-card hands. I looked at my cards and realized I had some challenges in front of me. I had received all four 4 Ops cards (Blockade, Rape of Belgium, BR1 and BR2,) two 3 Ops cards (FR10 and Entrench) and one 2 Op card (Severe Weather, a useless card in August 1914.) These were great cards, but they meant I'd be looking at three 3 Ops cards and four 2 Ops cards in Turn 2. Worse, I could not play either British reinforcement on Turn 1, leaving me at risk for falling behind in the War Status and reinforcement games. I managed to get Blockade and Rape of Belgium played, used BR2 for RPs, and held BR1 to play in Turn 2. Of course, it's easy to see your own problems in Paths of Glory, but it's important to remember that your opponent has problems as well!
We both made it to Limited War in Turn 3. I was hoping to get the Italian entry card right away, before Jim could mass armies on the Italian frontier, but I didn't succeed. Jim brought Bulgaria in on Turn 4, and I didn't get Italy in until Turn 6 or 7, near the bottom of my Limited War deck. I did get the Russian Caucasus army into play and attacked once successfully with it, but I left it in an exposed position and Jim attacked it from two separate spaces using Turkish and Bulgarian corps, flipping it when I had no corps to take the losses. Jim taught me a lesson by using more Ops than I would have used, taking opportunities when I made them available. I tend to focus single-mindedly on War Status and RPs, missing good opportunities at times. When I finally brought Italy into the game, it took Jim only a few turns to capture the entire country, giving him 7 VP and putting him firmly into the lead. I did press the Russian attack on Austria, pushing easily through the Carpathians and taking 4 VP, but he entrenched successfully in Budapest and some surrounding spaces, stopping my attack.
I suffered through the early game from a lack of BRc's. I had played only the BR1 reinforcement, and when I finally saw another BR reinforcement card, I got BR2, BR3 (with the two BRc's) and AUS/CND in the same turn. I decided to play BR2 for the War Status, but this continued the corps shortage, and I hamstrung myself with a foolish SR, allowing Jim to SR three corps down to attack and take Basra from its lone BRc defender, giving him two more VPs. When I entered the MEF, in Gallipoli, Jim SRed three corps to attack in hopes of retreating it. His first try failed, but he continued his efforts and eliminated it on the second attempt.
Jim is a friendly, easy-going, patient and methodical person. He's what a friend of mine once described as the type of person you'd want as a bridge partner. He's obviously a competitor, given his record, but he didn't want to win through a foolish oversight on my part. After a few turns he warned me about an out-of-supply risk in Russia, explaining that it probably wasn't a problem right now, but could become one. I was happy, because I had noticed that risk and also decided I had a little time to spare before addressing it.
In theory, the AP has the edge in the Near East, but the CP can be dangerous, especially in Total War, when the Turks get two armies. I entered the British NE Army in Alexandra and moved to Sinai to attack Beersheba. I realized a favorable roll could cause significant problems for the CP, especially when combined with an Arab attack, but I rolled poorly and lost my BRc's, leaving the NE Army as easy meat for the CP counterattack that soon followed. Again, Jim burned a lot of Ops attacking, but his reward was another 3 VPs for taking Egypt, together with the end of any risk in the Near East.
Most of the games I play involve a defensive stance by the CP on the Western Front, and in fact, Jim stopped at Sedan in his initial attack. I was therefore surprised when he made a move several turns later to take Belgium and Calais. I have in my mind that the answer to this is British and French attacks, but I still didn't have all my reinforcements in play, and Jim responded with this well-timed attack, playing a 5 Ops card and surging westward. I hit Calais at least a dozen times, using armies in London and Amiens, but he kept rolling for trenches and succeeded after about six digging attempts. Even though the GE17 & 18 card was at the bottom of Jim's Total War deck, I was not able to bleed him dry, as he continued to play RPs as needed to stay in business.
By the middle of Turn 15, the CP was up to 20 VPs, an auto-win if I didn't do something. I could probably have staved off the end for another turn (for example, by re-taking Lodz,) but I knew it wouldn't last, and I conceded at that point. It was a pleasure to play Jim, and although I lost, I did learn a lot more about the game.
During the first round of the tournament, my friend Jim McCarthy also played Paths of Glory. I had taught Jim the game during the year and he was eager to get some games in. GM Peter Reese paired brand-new players together in the first round, so as to avoid matching brand-new players against the sharks, and Jim was matched against one of Chris Youse's sons, who is an excellent player for a first-timer. Jim lost the game, and afterward he expressed to me his disappointment that he'd have to play someone from the loser's bracket in Round 2. Jim told me he'd rather play an expert, because you learn more that way. When I saw the Round 2 pairings, I had to laugh. Jim was matched against Marvin Birnbaum, the 5th ranked player on the AREA list! I told Jim that his wish had been fulfilled.
I did not enter Round 2 of the Paths of Glory tournament because I wanted to play in the San Juan tournament, which would be starting at 11am on Monday, and Round 2 would still be in progress at that time. |
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1 Comment []
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Posted On: 2007-08-12 13:52:10
Edited on: 2007-11-03 13:11:23
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Although most of the tournaments don't start until Tuesday evening, the WBC schedule contained a Swiss elimination-style San Juan tournament starting on Monday at 11. I enjoy San Juan a great deal, and I think of myself as a contender (I finished 3rd in 2005 and made it to the semis in 2004.) It didn't fit into my schedule in 2006, so I was looking forward to resuming my participation. San Juan was only a Trial event for 2007, but I wanted to demonstrate my support, and perhaps get a shot at the wood.
The 2007 event featured a significant change in format. Instead of the 4-player games used in previous years, this year's games would be 2-player games. This mano-a-mano approach eliminated any complaints that a third party might tilt the game to your opponent by making suboptimal moves (though of course, you can still complain about the cards!) I signed in at the GM table and was amused to see Marvin Birnbaum arrive at the last moment, fresh from a quick victory in the Paths of Glory tournament!
You never know what the cards will bring in San Juan, but you have to play with what you draw. In the first round, my opponent drew nothing but 5 and 6 cost buildings, leaving him unable to build anything useful turn after turn. I never saw a 6-cost building all game, but I built 12 buildings to my opponent's 5, giving me an easy win. It's one of the most extreme set of card draws I've ever seen in San Juan.
In the second round I played Gadoon "Owen" Kyrollos, a young man who is trying to start a game store in northern New Jersey. He's a fine gamer and I wish him the best of luck with his business. We were neck and neck through the whole game, and I was delighted to sneak past him by a score of 27-26. The third round was easier, as I built an early Gold Mine that paid off several times. Of course, those who live by the Gold Mine can die by the Gold Mine, as it's a disappointing building if you never get a card from it.
With my 3-0 record in the first three Swiss rounds, I could skip the final round and still be assured of a spot in the playoffs. I went to get lunch, skipping the in-hotel food to buy a burger at the little snack shop on the golf course. Beth at the snack shop makes a terrific burger, and I visited her establishment numerous times during the week. Sometimes Matt was manning the counter, but it was usually Beth. By the end of the week, Beth would have a burger already grilling by the time I walked in the door; she would see me coming and slap one on.
I returned at 3pm for the elimination rounds. There were 12 qualifiers, and we were randomly assigned to six games. I was matched against Jeff Mullet, GM and former tournament winner. Jeff is an excellent player, and when his first-turn Gold Mine yielded a card on the first try, and then a second one a few turns later, I knew I was in for some trouble. I fought him tooth and nail, but he polished me off by a 40-36 margin. I still think I'm good enough to compete, as long as the cards cooperate, so I'll be back next year if the schedule permits.
I understand that Pete Stein went on to win the tournament. Pete is a Columbus-area gamer who has taken a lot of heat in the past for his lack of wood at WBC, but he won a tournament in 2006, and with his success this year the boot is going to be on the other foot! |
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3 Comments []
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Posted On: 2007-08-12 14:33:13
Edited on: 2007-08-13 18:44:33
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My friend Andy Latto rode the train down from Boston to Lancaster on Sunday, arriving late in the evening. Andy stayed across the street at one of the alternate hotels. We had packed Andy's games in our minivan so he wouldn't have to try to carry them onto the train. One of Andy's games was War of the Ring, a fantasy miniatures/wargame that takes the basic Paths of Glory CDW framework and modifies it brilliantly to produce a wonderfully-themed, tense game about Middle Earth.
Andy has played War of the Ring a number of times, but it's hard to know before playing in a WBC tournament just how competitive you'll be. Sometimes a player who has swept all opposition in his or her local area is an also-ran at WBC, but in other cases you'll find that your local group is composed of good players, so that you go further than you expected at WBC.
In Andy's case, he had success in the early rounds of this Swiss Elimination tournament. Bidding for sides was based on how many corruption the FP could take before losing the game, and Andy played the FP with a bid of 13 corruption twice, winning both times. In one game against Chris Youse, Chris put a boatload of eyes into the Hunt box, slowing the Fellowship down to a crawl and changing the nature of the game entirely. That game was a struggle all the way, but Andy managed to dunk the Ring to prevail. During and after the San Juan tournament, I was able to duck into the Cornwall Room to see how Andy was doing. When the semifinalists were announced, Andy was one of the four, meaning that he'd be playing one and perhaps two games on Tuesday for all the marbles.
In the semis, Andy was paired against Kevin Wojtaszczyk, who bid 15 corruption to play the SP. Kevin played a full-out DEW line rush strategy, pushing the Mordor armies north and placing no dice in the Hunt Box at all. In these circumstances, the FP would like to move the Fellowship as fast as possible, but Andy was not able to roll the Character or Will of the West dice needed to carry this strategy out, and Kevin rolled over Andy's strongholds to win the game, despite never inflicting a single corruption point on the Fellowship. In effect, Kevin could have bid 115 corruption and it would have made no difference. Andy was disappointed not to make the finals, but Kevin is obviously an excellent player, and in fact Kevin went on to win the tournament in a game that was similar to the one he played with Andy. I selected a picture of the dice for this GeekList entry to reflect the key role the dice play in the game.
War of the Ring is an excellent game, and it makes for an excellent tournament, but bidding for sides using corruption may not be best approach. I suggested that one might allow the FP to freely convert a die to a different face some number of times during the game, and one could bid for the number of times the FP can do this. This would allow the FP to generate more character dice, keeping up in the race game. |
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0 Comments
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Posted On: 2007-08-12 14:53:26
Edited on: 2007-08-13 18:45:04
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The San Juan tournament, or at least my involvement in it, was finished in time to allow me to play in the third round of the Paths of Glory tournament. With a record of 0-1, I was out of contention for the elimination rounds, but I'm still in the learning stages of Paths of Glory and this was a ready-made opportunity to play another game.
The GM assigned me to play against Rich Janulis, a first-time Paths of Glory entrant at WBC. In this game Rich won the right to make the first bid, and he bid 2 VP to play the AP. I find that the easiest side to play in Paths of Glory is the side I've just been beaten by, so I was happy to take the CP. Jim had made it look so easy that I just had to give it a shot. Beside, I could use some of the techniques Jim had used so effectively on me!
I started with Guns of August and was delighted when Rich played Moltke on Turn 1, allowing me to respond with Falkenhayn, guaranteeing a speedy entrance to Limited War. I always worry about War Status, as I mentioned above, and this gave me a leg up. I continued to push War Status, spending the Place of Execution Combat Card to hurry things along, and as a result, I made it to Limited War one turn before Rich did. I hammered away at the Western Front enough to limit him to a single French army on the Italian border when Italy entered the war, and by this point I had four armies ready to plunge into Italy. I had a little more trouble taking Italy than Jim had experienced, but I got the 7 VP and entrenched an army in Turin to end the threat in this area.
In the Near East, Rich brought the MEF onto the board at MEF 3, and I SRed and walked some GEc's and BUc's into the Near East to contain Yudenitch and provide some firepower. I used Jim's trick, SRing two GEc's and on AHc next to the MEF, attacking it using Sud Army and satisfying the AH MO while eliminating the MEF via retreat. I then waited my time until I could SR three corps down to take Basra, again copying Jim's approach. Finally, I found the right moment to attack Egypt (I was helped by the fact that the BR NE army hadn't yet arrived on the board) for another 3 VP there.
I didn't manage to capture Belgium like Jim did, stopping at Liege, Sedan, Metz and Strasbourg, but on the other hand I held the Carpathians, and after defeating Italy I walked the Austrian armies north and began pushing into Russia, taking Lodz and Warsaw. Halfway through Turn 15 I was up to 22 VP and there was no way for the AP to retake the 3 VP spaces he'd need to prevent an auto-win, so he conceded.
It was remarkable how fundamentally similar my two WBC Paths of Glory games were, even though I played different sides in the two games. I certainly was able to put what I learned in the first game to use in the second. I'm planning to come back next year and keep learning!
At this year's Gathering of Friends, I conducted a Paths of Glory teaching session for six attendees who wanted an introduction to the game. I wrote up a teaching guide for the session, because although the rulebook works very well as a reference once you know the game, it's not the easiest document to learn the game from. The teaching session was a success, and in fact I plan to repeat the experiment next year. A few people asked me whether I would post the teaching guide to BGG, and I replied that I would do so only with permission from GMT. At this year's WBC, I was able to speak with GMT honcho Tony Curtis, and he encouraged me to post it. There are few companies that provide better user support than GMT! I'll be posting the guide as soon as I get a chance to go through it for one more editing pass. |
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2 Comments []
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Posted On: 2007-08-12 15:07:34
Edited on: 2007-08-13 20:56:35
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Posted On: 2007-08-14 20:18:09
