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My WBC 2010
Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Another WBC week in the books for me. I usually go into WBC with a few objectives:
1 - play as many of the games I don't get a chance to play as much as I can
2 - reconnnect with my friends
3 - make some new friends
4 - learn some new games
I can look back at this WBC and say I did all 4. It was a long week, but a fun week. ... and the countdown is on again. 51 weeks until WBC.
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1.
Board Game: Hotels
[Average Rating:5.34 Overall Rank:7507]
Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I stay at the host. I share a room with my dad and our friend. It was a good size room, so we all had plenty of room. I got into town Sunday afternoon, even though I was registered for the week. I walked around and saw some people, ate dinner with my dad.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I saw my friend Terry downstairs and he said he was planning on playing FA with some of his friends. It's their ritual. I asked if they needed a fourth and he said sure. I then asked if it was tough to pick up, as I had never played before. He said I'd catch on and that the other guys would help. Terry ended up playing the American side. I took the southern end. The invaders ended up winning, but had it gone one more round, Terry most likely would have won. I thought the game itself was ok. Probably enjoyed it more because of the people playing. It was also interesting to play because it was an icebreaker with about 40 people coming up to the table surprised to see it. At one point that night, 3 FA games were going at once.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I finally got a chance to see what this was all about. It's one of those highly sought after games, so I asked a friend - Chris, to bring it along. We got a 4 player game going in the downstairs area and Chris taught me and the other players had a quick refresher on the rules. I picked up the rules very quickly (a testament to Chris' excellent teaching) and enjoyed the game. I came in fourth, but felt like I had a chance even late. I won't be going overboard trying to acquire this game, but if an opportunity presented itself, at least I know it's a very good game.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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First tournament game - Monday morning. I like the way Bruce set this one up. There were three rounds. You were given the option to play in 1, 2, or all 3 - but if you wanted a shot at the finals, it behooved you to play in many as the final table was built through points. If you played a 4 player game and came in first, you got x number of points (I think 5). If you came in 2nd, 3rd, 4th - you got less and less obviously. I played in all three rounds winning my second game. I had some awful track cards all game in round three though and I think I came in with a tournament low of 87 at the end.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Another tournament on Monday - another GM'ed by Bruce Reiff. He used a similar means in this tournament. If you won, you kept playing. If you lost one game, you played another, but if you lost a second game you weren't going to make the semis and you should go play something else. I (as well as my dad) lost my first round. My dad said he was going to look to play a new game (test a new game) and wanted to see if I would come. I told him if I lost my second game I'd be over. I played my second game and won pretty handily, but told my opponent (who was a young player) to take my place in the next round. He was unsure about doing so (thinking he was cheating) but I told him it was cool and made sure I told the GM that he won. I went on to the open gaming area to test a new CDG with my dad after this.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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This was the game my dad wanted to try out. He said CDG and I figured I like those so I would try it. I'm not a wargamer despite my father's best efforts, but I do enjoy combat games. This felt more like a wargame though as there were tactical decisions to make. I also feel that you need to spend some time with a CDG deck to read through the events to get a feel for what they do. It didn't help me that we were playing on a map of Vietnam and I had the upside down side. I don't know the Country's geography in the first place - reading things upside down was tough. I think it was an ok game though and I think my dad's looking to buy it.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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This was part of the Euro Sampler Demo along with Days of Steam. I had played Days of Steam before, so I stood by and listened to this demo. It seemed ok enough, but I don't think I'll end up picking this up or putting it on the wishlist.
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8.
Board Game: Egizia
[Average Rating:7.57 Overall Rank:109]
Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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This was one of the games in Cafe Jay. I noticed that this game was recently added to Yucata.de, so I hoped to learn it so I can play it online as well. I sat down at the table and waited for some people to come over, but no one seemed to take an interest. I ended up taking in some of the Euro Sampler, but on my way out I saw a few people standing around this table. I went over and asked if they were trying to learn and asked if I could get in with them. We hunkered through a 4P game and really had a good time with it. Later in the week I showed my dad in the open gaming area and he thought it was pretty good too. It's a different 2P game than a 4P game. I think I like 4P more. We'll see. I picked up a copy at the vendors area on Sunday before leaving.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Every year I will draft a team to play during my off-hours. This year it felt like there were fewer players, although this was my first actual draft. I missed it both previous times I entered. I was not able to play as often as I'd like to have, but I was busy with more open gaming than I had been in the past. I was able to play against the defending champion Rich. He was a very nice guy (could be because he whipped me 9-1 and 8-0)
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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WBC is great because you see some of the same people in the same tournaments and Air Baron is one of those. GM Henry gets some new faces every year, but the Limerock is like a reunion for many of us. I had some memorable moments this year. Ending a game with a score of -40. Joking about starting a boy band with three of the other guys at the table. And, as it's becoming a tradition, making a semi final table and busitng out at it. Had a good semifinal table at least. The eventual winner Ken came from my table. My dad made the final as an alternate - coming in fourth overall. The final was as back and forth as a final could be and it may have been a different game had the game not been called for time. Every player had a shot to win at one point though and that's all anyone can ask for.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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This is one of my favorites every year. I took the 1979 Indiana State Sycamores in my first heat hoping to take AA rated Larry Bird to the final four. I did make the final four of the heat, but dropped a tough game to eventual champ Bruce Reiff. I'm convinced the best way to beat Bruce in MM is to play him online. We even joked later in the week that he needs to "feel" the dice. I just think he's a wizard or something.
Second heat I got a lower ranked draw and took ... shit, who did I take? Whoever they were, they were nothing special and I dropped another game to Bruce, this time in the first round. Overall, a 3-2 mark this year in tournament play. That puts me at 7-4 in the last two years. Not bad considering I was 0-fer before last year. This year's play by email - I WILL win a game or two, or 3, or 9.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I was able to get into two heats. Fell into a good time slot and I had just learned it recently. In the first heat, the game went well for me. I was right there for most of it. I think I came in second, but the scores were all very close. The second heat I played, I was also close, but not as close. I probably spent too much money early on tiles that didn't help me overall as much as I thought they would. Had a good time with the players in both rounds though.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I didn't have a ton of experience in this game on a 4P level. Actually, I had none. That's why I really wanted to try this at WBC. I had no illusions of winning a heat, so when I finished 4th I was neither surprised, nor overly disappointed. I was surprised the game took as long as it did, but I think that was an AP issue more than anything. It was an interesting game and I thought it was pretty good. I don't know I will really be chomping at the bit to play this again and again, but it's still a pretty good game.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I missed the first heat playing March Madness, so I had to skip another heat of MM to play this. I was able to make the semis in this the previous two years, but this year I fell short by 4 points. We played a close game throughout, but I always seemed to be a few bucks short on the buildings I really wanted. That's sort of the way things go with this one though.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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After Vegas Showdown, I went over to see what was going on in the March Madness room and I saw the GM Terry playing a game he designed. I asked if he would teach me too. Someone he had taught sat down with me and worked through the rules. It was a tennis game and the mechanics were familiar to me as a sports fan. I think in 32 years I've watched 5 hours of tennis - but I did enjoy this game a lot. Later in the week I taught my dad how to play and he enjoyed it as well. I can't say how much tennis he's seen, but suffice to say it's probably a close ratio to me.
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16.
Board Game: Acquire
[Average Rating:7.43 Overall Rank:99]
Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I played in one heat of this. The other players who have older copies noted that there were some possibly confusing differences in prices of hotel corporations, notably the Tower corp. I don't think that made a different in the game we played though. I was involved in each of the first two mergers taking minority money. The lady who took first in both (also the same person) won the game. The other two finished further back, not surprisingly. It's tough enough to miss out on the first merger, but both - there really wasn't anything they could do. I think I finished about 6K shy of first, which also to me was not a shocker. I like the game though and don't get to play very often so I do make sure to get in at least one heat.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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The late night fare drew a solid crowd again. I sat with my buddies Harry and Jim along with someone Harry knew and we all busted on our first go arounds -- the only thing was, on my bust I started out with a 6-7-8 combo. Harry called out four 1's! You'll never guess what I rolled. 1. 1. 1. 1.
We all continued along and the guy whose name escapes me eventually won our table. A fun time. I hadn't played in the tournament previously, so it was like a rite of passage for me. I could've done without the 1111 though - but it makes for a good story.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I had seen many people enjoying this throughout the week and was hoping to learn this one with someone I had known online, but would only recently meet that week - Justin. We sat down to a 5P game with my dad and two others and hacked through the rules. The game is surprisingly easy for as many cards as it has. I am glad we played. I played a few times later in the week as well and I think I had a better idea of what the importance of the debates was - as well as following what articles passed and didn't pass. A very good game that I can't wait to teach at home.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Light fare for Friday night. I laugh when I hear the description people give when asked if this is a hard game to learn . Basically it boils down to being able to roll two dice and have someone read a chart. I played in the online event and shot a +17. I shot a +3 this time around, so I was happy with my improvement.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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Opened Saturday by teaching a family how to play Stone Age while killing time before 1960. I was meandering in the open gaming area to peruse the library and saw a woman reading the rules with her kids. When I saw the little boy open his move by putting 1 cavemeeple in the gold area, I figured I should step in. I hope they enjoyed the game - the mom said she was mulling over whether or not to buy it. Back to 1960 - I hadn't played this in a while so I wasn't expected to get all too far. I drew the defending champ Chris in the first round and had a good time against him. He throttled me of course, but he was a gracious player throughout.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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I felt a little more confident about this game vs. 1960. It was making it's tournament debut and I've played a few games already. The GM ruled that if you were a first time player you had to play with the basic deck but if you had played before you could draft. I had a very good opening draft with McCain and won my first heat after 13 states. I won Florida and Ohio among some other mid-teen number states. I told my opponent that winning two of the big dogs isn't a game breaker, but it's tough to overcome when you also don't bring home some of the mid tier states as well. My second round opponent was also a new player, but since he had a game in his pocket already he drafted cards. I was also McCain in this round. Obama played his "McCain loses the card he just played" on my "move the issue track two spaces" and I did not have enough firepower to stop the economic onslaught. I kept it close enough that when the final state came into play, I had to win all 4. Kyle had 267 EV when the last state came down. I won 2 of the 4, but had to totally deplete my deck to do so and by then the writing was basically on the wall. I enjoyed the event though and I hope it gets voted back in next year.
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22.
Board Game: Path
[Average Rating:7.11 Unranked]
Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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A friend of mine hosts and produces a local TV show called Off the Beaten Path. He travels around PA looking for interesting things and I had suggested that he check out the convention. He stopped down on Friday and shot some video and a couple interviews.
Here is a link to Path's Facebook page
Scroll down to August 8th's post and see what the guys shot in Lancaster and see a few seconds of my interview. The show will run during Season 2 sometime in the fall.
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Max Jamelli
United States
Chambersburg
Pennsylvania
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The waiting now begins for WBC 2011. I may be able to make some of the mini BPA cons this year, but nothing tops the grand-daddy of them all.
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