Dear Diary: My 2010 WBC
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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Date: August 9th, 2010.
Time: around 7pm.
It's been just over 24 hours since I returned from my annual 5-day gaming odyssey known as the WBC. I've had time to spend with the family, help with the shopping, get caught up on comics and puzzles ... I think I'm ready to reflect on the events of the past week.
I'm just gonna say it now: I still haven't won an event. Seriously, no one would ever have watched all those Rocky sequels if Balboa kept losing the title fight!
It's frustrating to come so close so many times. For the second straight year, I won games in no less than eight different events. One would think, with so many chances, that I could finally break through to my first win. Alas, whether it was an agonizing one-point loss, a demoralizing thrashing, or a mere scheduling snafu, whatever the reason was, I failed to come away with that which I cherish most: the ability to say that, for at least one shining moment, I was the best at something!
This is not to say that the week was a total loss. In fact, I had a lot of fun, played well in most games (with one notable exception), met some incredible people, and contributed to the running of two events this year. I had my share of successes; in fact, I probably fared better than most, taking home three pieces of wood (my greatest haul to date).
It's hard to savor those successes, though, when you're sharing accomodations with (arguably) the greatest Euro-gamer of our time: Alex Bove. While I went winless once again, Alex racked up wins in three events, bringing his WBC grand total to 9 first-place finishes. (Deny it all you want, dude: the numbers back me up.)
My inferiority complex will wane over the next couple weeks (right before school starts up again and I return to work), and it'll be another long year before I have the chance to try it all again. Until then, I have the memories of a week that lasted forever but was over all too soon ...
For those interested in my previous exploits, check out the following links:
WBC 2005, WBC 2007, EQ 2007, WBC 2008, WBC 2009.
(Scores in bold are my own.)
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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UNPLAYED GAMES
Scheduling conflicts are nothing new at WBC, but with so many 3-hour games planned, I had to let much of what I liked to play go by the wayside, including (but not limited to) ...
Power Grid: Once again, PG ran up against El Grande for pretty much the whole Con. In the end, I just prefer EG more (I don't take it too seriously) and it's a 2-hour slot versus PG's 3-hour slot. Until things change, I can't see myself playing this again any time soon.
Age of Steam: the first heat ran up against the Agricola Semis, the second heat was opposite a Semifinal I never thought I'd make. Wouldn't have made much difference: even if I had made it to the Final, it conflicted (like many games) with the Caylus Final, which I was obligated to GM and take notes on, whether or not I was actually in the Final.
Brass: I don't fare well at this game at the online site anyway, but with heats opposite Goa and the Le Havre Final (I was recording the proceedings of that one), I had no time this year.
Automobile: Even the demo conflicted with something, and I've never played the game (though I very much want to).
Medici: Different time slots from a year ago, but again, games like Le Havre and Goa took precedence for me.
Transamerica: Again, I was busy that Sunday morning.
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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Traditionally (for me, anyway) 6pm on Thursday is my jumping-off point for the convention. By the time Wednesday noontime came around, I felt like I jumped into a pool of acid.
(I did do that once in a D&D game, some time ago. But I digress.)
I had enough conflicts this year to make this attempt my only one at making the semis and possibly repeat (or, dare to dream, improve on) last year's one-point loss at the Final. Not this year.
Wasn't for lack of trying, though. Every player was in the lead at some point in the game, and most were also in last at some point. My undoing came at around Round 7, when the 'Score the Firsts' special scoring card came out. I was leading in two provinces to begin the round; by the time that card got selected and played, I had lost both regions and scored ZERO points for that card, putting me in last at the time. That did allow me to hover under the radar, and in the final scoring I managed to get first in the Castillo and 3 regions ... but it wasn't enough. Final score: 99-98-92-91-85. In an ironic twist, Greg Thatcher won this game on the final province, scoring 2 for his 3rd-place showing in Valencia. He literally lept over the 2nd-place finisher at the very end, much like Rob Flowers did over me at last year's Final.
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3.
Board Game: Le Havre
[Average Rating:8.09 Overall Rank:6]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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Last year, Ken Horan helped me in my first-ever try at GMing an event; this year, it was my turn to help out a newcomer to the ranks. Keith Layton, president of my gaming group (EPGS), had the task of GMing this newcomer to the WBC. He did, IMHO, an admirable job in his first effort, starting with the Demo and continuing throughout the heats, straight to the Final. I was assisting him in his efforts, and he reciprocated by assisting me with my 2nd year with Caylus.
Keith decided not to partake in his event, but I did play. My first game (on Tuesday night) was as tight as one could be. I got a bad start draw (4th, ended up taking a single grain for my first action), brainfarted by grabbing the early clay & iron at the Marketplace but NOT beating an opponent to building the Sawmill, came back in part to a heavy bread-baking strategy, and ended up with 153 points. One problem: the opponent across from me also had 153 points.
A tie. I've never been involved in a tie at this game before.
The tiebreak: value of excess goods. It didn't help that, right before the end, he bought the Shipping Line and I had to use it. I only had a single wood left over, far below his 9 points from 3 goods (including a bread I used to pay the entry fee for the SL). Keith was fairly sure that I'd qualify anyway as an alternate, but I didn't want to risk it and entered the 2nd heat on Thursday (giving up on the 2nd heat of Amun Re).
I fared better this time, racking up 188 points to win by 29 over 2nd. (We were running a bit late, and one of my opponents seemed flustered by our increased tempo, but she swears that it was all good after the game was over.) The Semifinal started immediately afterward, and with 12 players, we split into four 3-player games.
It was here that I learned the true meaning of the 'heavy loan' strategy. In my early games, I got to around 3 loans before getting out of debt. I felt at the time that one shouldn't go too far beyond that. Nick Page showed me otherwise.
Sitting to my right, Nick got as far as six loans before leveling off. Meanwhile, I got some early buildings and sold off to buy an early wood boat (3 food per harvest in a 3-player game); I would later get a 2nd wood boat to get early food control. I felt I was in decent shape by around the one-third mark of the game.
Then Nick raced past me and our other opponent. He got the Wharf and Shipping Line, built a number of boats, hoarded a ton of cattle, and converted numerous shippings into cash which immediately went to buying up more buildings. He hit the Local Court twice before paying off his remaining loans on the last action ... but he had won it long before. Final score: 264-224-170.
Nick ended up at a Final table with another Nick and two Dans; I suggested to Keith that we make the Final a tag-team affair. The Dans and Nicks were opposite each other but played as individuals nonetheless. Nick and one of the Dans hit the debt strategy again, each getting to seven loans before getting out of the red, but in the end it was the financially-responsible Dan (Eppolito, to be specific) who went on to win that Final.
I was actually the one recording the proceedings, as Keith had a scheduling conflict. He would return the favor later on.
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4.
Board Game: Goa
[Average Rating:7.75 Overall Rank:28]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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From the time I got to Lancaster on Tuesday afternoon until the time I went to bed, I only had a slice of apple pie to eat. I would regret it come Wednesday morning, as I woke up with a splitting headache and no medication to take. (Next year, I pack some Advil.) That wasn't gonna stop me from playing, though, so I arrived at the first Goa heat at 9am sharp. (Well, 8:45 or so; I always get to these things early.)
I got off to a poor start, getting the double-red plantation at auction but failing the first attempt at Quilon. (Had I made that first one, I would've gotten down to the third card level and drawn two cards before the next auction.) When I did get to draw cards, my first pull yielded a pair of 'advance with cash' cards (which, to me, are the most useless cards in Goa). I struggled the whole game with the auction (never getting a '5-coin' or 'sell spices' card) and was well back by the last auction, but I had one last trick up my sleeve.
I was able to win the 'Swap' tile at auction, and with my last action of the game, drew to 5 cards and then swapped for 3 more from the board. I needed a lot to win; specifically, 17 points on 8 cards. I did get a 4-of-a-kind, but only after my first five cards were completely unmatched. My 4-1-1-1-1 set yielded 14 points, and I lost, 48-46-40-30.
As with Le Havre, I likely had enough to qualify as an alternate. I opted for another heat (giving up on the ever-popular Can't Stop), where I was fortunate enough to play against Steve Scott, the popular GM of Ra. The whole table had a blast for the game; at one point, two players argued for about 5 minutes about whether to force another player to bid high on a tile ... only to have the whole point rendered moot when the next player overbid anyway. We laughed, we joked, I really don't remembered how the game played out (though I do remember getting down to the third card level quickly here, too), but I racked up fifty to win, 50-45-39-37.
My third Semifinal of the Con (Vegas Showdown's Semi took place the night before) was easily my unluckiest. I failed my first colony attempt (drawing 1-1), barely made the 2nd attempt (drawing 2-1 and burning all of my colonists), missed a 3rd attempt later on with another 1-1 draw (allowing a rival to beat me to the fourth card level and the associated card), and nearly failed on my 4th attempt (getting another 1-2 draw, again burning all colonists). I couldn't recover, suffering my first DFL of the Con, 48-43-42-39.
If this game was any indication of what would have happened last year, it's just as well that I couldn't play then.
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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By the time my first Goa game ended, my head was severely aching. I was able to get some Ibuprofin from a friend, and that, combined with some slices of pizza, helped soothe the pain. The mental anguish of losing my first three games (El Grande, Le Havre, Goa, all Heat 1) would be alleviated as well soon enough.
VS was the 2nd of what would be 7 games played that Wednesday, and would also result in my first win of the Con. It was also the first time I didn't have the red pieces, leading me to debate as to whether or not I should abandon 'my' color of choice. (I would win later games with red, and lose later games without red.) Having the blue pieces in this heat, I racked up a number of early slots, got an early and cheap Fancy Restaurant (which I built later on, as I had no Restaurant at the time), eventually filled up both the Hotel and Casino sections, connected them, built the Steakhouse, and rolled to a 19-point win, 82-63-63-52.
The 2nd heat conflicted with Caylus this year, so I was glad to win the one heat I could play. My Semifinal game pitted me against the GM and last year's winner (and fellow EPGS member), Eric Freeman. I had two great strokes of luck in the early- and mid-game. A timely 'Taxes' card allowed me to beat a rival to the Dragon Room, and a later 'Visionary' card let me play leapfrog with another player for a couple free points, much to Eric's chagrin.
My luck was undone near the end, though, as Eric was mounting a charge to offset my early lead (helped out by a Night Club). Soon the small and big building stacks were gone, and now two draws had to be made. If the game ends now, I'm sure I win.
The first card specifies a medium building. The second card is 'Pull Strings', which was as good as another medium building.
The game went two more rounds, long enough for Eric to grab the Steakhouse and position it for a full diamond. When the scores were tabulated, Eric beat me by a point, 57-56-53-53. I can only assume that my one-point loss was enough for 5th, but I honestly don't know.
One thing was certain: my time in Vegas was over.
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6.
Board Game: Amun-Re
[Average Rating:7.45 Overall Rank:97]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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My only attempt at this game paired me up with some familiar faces: Raphael Lehrer and (oh dear gawd, NO!!!) Alex Bove.
Dude! Where's YOUR board?
OK, in all seriousness I have no problem playing against Alex in any game. I do it often enough at EPGS anyway. (I don't expect to win very often in those games, but I still enjoy them.)
I actually felt that I got off to a good start this game. I was the only player to get a set in the first half AND the most on a side (Memphis with 2 pyramids and a brick). I played a Master Builder card every round of the game. I even made 2 bonus cards at the halfway point, getting to 18 points. I was cash-poor though, and got lucky when all five provinces in Round 4 has a pyramid (with Berenike having 2). I took Dakhla for 3 while Berenike went for around 15. I started Round 5 with 21 bucks and numerous cards (including a Bid Blockade). The provinces: Kharga and Abu (both with no pyramids), Buto and Mendes (each with one) and Memphis (with the aforementioned 2 pyramids and a brick, soon to be 3 pyramids).
I was able to bid 15 with the Blockade (causing someone to have to bid 28), then watched as everyone else bounced around the board. Just when I thought I would get Memphis (and have a terrific shot at winning), Alex, off another outbid, went 28 for Memphis. By now, the other provinces were bid up to the point that I had to settle for Kharga. That moved pretty much ended my chances, as I had to spend most of my money catching that province up to the two-level. Furthering my problem was the fact that I had no bonus cards down the stretch; the one I got in Round 6 didn't match my last province grab.
Alex broke himself to get Memphis and couldn't hold off a hard-charging Raph, who went on to win, 39-35-34-26-26. I did have a gripe with Alex's table talk after the last sacrifice (when he convinced another opponent to flip-flop on his decision with the 'move 3' card and subsequently edged me for 2nd), but that issue didn't linger for long.
In any event, my luck with Amun Re remains nonexistant. That game (my 5th at the Con) was my 4th loss in 5 games. By now, my confidence that I would even come close to my success from a year ago was shaken.
I would win my next 7 games (including previously mentioned heats of Le Havre and Goa). Matching last year, it turned out, would not be a problem.
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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After wins in heats of Ra and Agricola (more on those later), I had my biggest surprise of the Con: I actually won a game of Princes of Florence.
I got a good set of starting professions (had a pair of the same Building, a pair of the same Landscape, a pair of the same Freedom ... can't really ask for more) and, after some heavy bidding for Jesters, Builders, and Recruit cards, I opted for an early $400 Prestige card. I drew well, nabbing the 'Jester-Builder-2Landscape' card (7 pts) for my efforts, then proceeded to go for bargains in subsequent auctions. Only in Round 5, when I went 1100 for a Jester, did I have to push hard. The bargain-basement strategy worked well, as I got to 57 points and won relatively comfortably, 57-51-50-41-40.
I was greeted in the Semis by Aran W, a strong gamer who annually makes the trip from Israel. The two of us actually met in three games within a 24-hour span from Friday night into Saturday. Aran got the best of me in our 4-player Semi here, tying me for Best Work in the last round (I had bought a Bonus card, which added 4 to my work-total; he was able to re-recruit an occupation he had already maxxed out) and winning by six, 67-61-61-51. I earned 2nd by the 3rd tiebreak (lowest-numbered profession on the table), but failed to qualify for this Final.
Well, I was on 'house money' for this event. No regrets here. That would come in the following event ...
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8.
Board Game: Agricola
[Average Rating:8.25 Overall Rank:2]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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Last year, I remarked that if I were to win an event, it would most likely be either Caylus or this game. Making it to the Semis would be hard enough, as a single win would not do with a 19-table first heat.
The first round paired me up with Winton Lemoine, who might be the one person at the Con who can relate to what I go through: so far as I know, neither of us have taken home a 1st, though both of us are strong gamers. Playing with the 'E' deck, I asked whether we could ban the 'Ratcatcher' from play. (In fact, I usually leave that card out of the deck.) Winton would have none of that: put it in play and see what happens.
So of course, he gets and plays the Ratcatcher (costing me and another opponent actions in Rounds 10 and 12; the other opponent didn't get his family up until the middle of Round 12 itself); he insists that I forced him by playing the Reeve (bonus for most occs) early on. Somehow I overcame this obstacle and won a close battle, 44-41-30-28.
Heat 2 featured the 'I' deck, which normally contains the Taster and Chamberlain. This time, I was able to convince the others at my table (including Keith, the Le Havre GM I've been working with) to do without those cards. I had also hoped to get done in two hours, in order to make the Vegas Semi. (It helped that another opponent was in the same Semi.) We ended up playing so fast that, in Round 6, I noticed that three of us had taken FG ... closer inspection revealed that we were really in Round 7, and had to redo the round to account for the harvest! I had great cards from the get-go (Market Crier + Field Watchman, and lots of useful Imps; I did have to deal with the Sycophant), and parlayed it all into another close win, 49-45-30-28. Those two wins put me into the Semis, where I met up with some familiar faces once again.
I drew Winton for the 2nd time this Con (and the 2nd straight Agricola Semi), as well as Aran (who I would play the next day at Princes). This was a 'K' deck game, which meant that the Lover (immediate FG without room), Wet Nurse (FG when you build rooms), and Reed Hut (Immediate FG with action, doesn't count towards points until moved into the house) were in play. In fact, the player to my right got the Wet Nurse out and, after accruing numerous resources and playing the Frame Builder, built 3 rooms at once and went from 2 family members to 5 in an instant. However, he didn't get that combo out until after the rest of us built our family to three (and, in my case, four) members.
(As it turned out, no one won a Semifinal game playing any of the 'big three' cards. Last year's winner actually beat all three cards to make a repeat trip to the Final table.)
For my part, I got the Educator out on turn one (pay 3f, later 2f, to play an occ when an opponent does), used the Wood Carver (my 3rd occ) to help build the Bookshelf (+3f when playing an occ), got out a number of food Imps (Beehive, Swan Lake), and snapped up all the maufacturing Majors with the help of the Manufacturer. The turning point came when the player to my right (start player this round) took 4 clay to block me from renovating and activating the Manufacturer ... but left 6 wood for me. I was able to build my fences before anyone else, got animals going, and eventually won by nine, 48-39-37-30. This set up a Finals rematch with Ted Mullally, who goes by the moniker NiteArtist at the online Agricola site we both play at. I had actually fared well against Ted online as of late, and felt that this might be the year I get the win.
One round in, I was finished.
The damnedest thing is, I actually had a nightmare the night before I left for the WBC. I dreamt that I got slaughtered in a game of Agricola! In my dream, I had only 2 family members during the middle rounds, nothing else on my farm, and still resorting to begging. A total failure of a game.
I told my wife about it before I left, and she laughed it off. Frankly, I didn't think much of it myself. I mean, I know I've erred in post-heat Agricola play in the past (losing with the Lover in the Semis two years ago, and getting snakebit by the Perpetual Student last year), but no way could I screw a game up THAT badly.
My first set of occs in the draft included the Perpetual Student. After last year, I decided not to bother and passed him on. My next set had the Educator (can I get that Perp. Student back?), and I figured, sure I'll try him again. This time, I didn't get the Bookshelf: my right-hand opponent kept it as his first Imp, knowing it'd be too powerful in my hand.
With no support, I should have just ignored him completely and played a regular game ... but I was first to go for the 2nd straight game, and knew him to be powerful anyway, so I went for it (and took the obligatory Day Laborer as my 2nd action). I activated it next round, getting down the Clay Worker (+c for a wood/clay grab) ... and then my game completely stalled.
I didn't want to keep taking DL, so I started grabbing wood ... but someone else beat me to the Fireplace. Also, Ted kept taking the reed-stone-food space (for good reason: he got the Reed Hut out in Round 3). Even the Fish and TP spaces were getting snapped up too quickly.
I was eventually able to get a Cooking Hearth, but I never had a chance to grab more than one sheep in the early going.
By the end of the first harvest, I had tons of wood but no food and no way to generate food. I also had no reed, couldn't build rooms, couldn't ... really, couldn't do anything.
I ended up spending much of Rounds 5 to 7 taking Day Laborer and other food spaces just to feed. The Educator went virtually to waste. By the halfway point, my nightmare from before the Con had come true.
(Not completely, I guess: I somehow avoided begging for the game.)
I finished the game a very distant 4th, getting to 30 only because another player got out the House Steward. I only wish I could have started that game over, played the Clay Worker first, ignored the Educator completely, and seen how that would've gone.
It was, without a doubt, the worst game I have ever played of ANY game in my entire life. And this is from a guy who made THIS GeekList!
As for Ted? He got out the Manufacturer, eventually nabbed the Joinery, Pottery and BMW, and finished with a sizable 47 points.
It wasn't enough.
Remeber how I passed the Perp. Student? The next guy kept it and played it first. Here were his next three (random) occs:
Brushwood Collector, Seed Seller, Lover.
He also had the Constable, and played it at the end. He was the only one who got the 5 bonus points for it.
Final score: 54-47-45-30. And who won it all? A guy I don't remember seeing before named Cary Morris. Turns out, he also goes to the online Agricola wesite, under the name DagKees. Three players from that site in the Final. (Maybe next year, we sweep the table.) I would see more of Cary later on ...
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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Here's a game I never thought I'd actually play at the WBC, but I had a hole in my schedule and figured, what the hey!
I knew in advance that, even if I did win, I'd never move on to later-round play. One win would never do.
Didn't matter: I made my initial tickets (Portland-NYC and Seattle-Memphis) but got crushed when my attempt at completing a 3rd ticket (Vancouver-Montreal) missed by ONE turn. The game ended before I could complete a single link from Seattle to Vancouver. At the time, I had one card in my hand ... a Loco.
That single link cost me 41 points (1 for the link, and would have turned a -20 into a +20). I lost by 40, 130-129-90-70. (As you can see, the game was still pretty close for two of my opponents.)
Still, a fun filler game for me.
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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One event where I really did NOT care how I did was this one; I was in it for kicks, but would certainly accept a place in the Semis if I got a win.
I didn't. My first heat, somehow got all 5 Civs on the first round (getting 2 on the final die roll of the round) and coasted to victory, 46-38-34-34. In my second heat, I lost to the same woman I played against earlier in Le Havre, 42-40-34-25. Still, a fun way to kill a couple hours and fill in my schedule.
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11.
Board Game: Fresco
[Average Rating:7.45 Overall Rank:124]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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As always, I saw a number of games available for play. One that I did try was this one, a game centered around painting the ceiling of a church by buying paints, mixing them (just like in elementary school), and using them in timely fashion. I particularly like the mechanism of getting up in the morning: wake up too early too often, and you lose a worker until morale improves. In contrast, waking up late improves your workers' moods, perhaps earning an extra worker. Getting up late also means getting bargains at the market ... but by then, many markets will already be closed by your opponents.
I taught myself the game, then showed it to three others as we played a 4-player game. Unfortunately, I had to bail just before the final turn to make a Puerto Rico heat, but the others were still thankful for my help. Moments like that, I really need to cherish more often.
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Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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I knew in advance of the Con that (a) the QF round of this conflicted with the Caylus SF, and (b) the SF round of this conflicted with the Final of Caylus. I had thought about moving the Caylus Final to another time if the others agreed, should I actually make the SF of Puerto Rico (like I did last year), but I knew there was no way I could make the QF. Thus, I had to win two heats to advance.
I won my first game (Heat 2) in dramatic fashion, shipping for 38 while getting the Customs House. For what I believe to be a first time, I put up 70 in a game and won, 70-57-54-46. One more win, and I'd worry about the schedule later.
Winners from the first two heats played each other, with the winners-among-winners making the Semis. I found my table ... and there was Aran, for the 3rd time! (By now we had already split our first two games.)
I got Tobacco going early, but couldn't ship for much of anything and got beat to the Guild Hall by Aran (settling for a 7-point Residence). In the end I DFLed to Aran's win, 56-51-47-47.
So much for that conflict. By Saturday night, I was down to two more cracks at greatness.
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13.
Board Game: Ra
[Average Rating:7.60 Overall Rank:48]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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I have had little success with Ra ever since my first WBC, when I qualified for the Semis as an alternate and won that game to make my only Final of that year. And of course, I lost to Alex (who won his first WBC title). I also lost to Alex in the Goa Final two years later (for his second WBC title). He had since won 4 more titles over the next two years, and had already won titles this year in Amun Re and Goa. (If you want more specifics, go read his summary!)
So I had little expectations this year for things to go differently ... but I won my first heat by a lot, 47-35-25-21-18, in a game where the Ra tiles wouldn't stop coming out of the bag. (In a rare occurrence for almost anybody, I defeated Eric Freeman in that game. Probably should've taken a picture to make it last longer.)
I had similar success in my 2nd game, winning by a score of 49-36-30-24-24. That sealed up a spot in the Semis, and a new scheduling issue.
Normally, Ra games get done fast. However, the Final was to immediately follow the Semis, and I had to do the Demo for Caylus at that time. Keith told me he'd help out (to pay back my helping him out for the Le Havre Final), but I hadn't seen him all day on that Saturday.
To make matters worse, we didn't get started until around 5:15, about 45 minutes before the Demo. I asked the guys at my table to play fast so we could be done by 6.
They obliged. And how!
BrettSpielWelt games of Ra took longer than our 30-minute blitzfest. I was thankful to all of them for playing fast ...and amazed that, for the 3rd straight game, I won by double-digits, 43-32-31-28-20.
For the first time in 5 years, I was back at the Ra Final table. And guess who was waiting for me ...
(Hey, there's a reason why he's made nearly every Ra Final over the last 5 years.)
I was just glad not to draw a spot next to him; I was two seats to his right. History started very eerily familiar for me when I went out with 3 pharaohs only to have Alex grab two on his last bid to get to 4. Still, I had some early Niles which would accumulate throughout the game, and flooded each round. I was up on him by one after the first Epoch, and he was up by one on my after the second Epoch. Going into the third round, Alex had a good pharaoh lead (I was far from fewest), I had around 8 Niles, and we were virtually identical on monuments.
My suns for the 3rd round: 7-12-14. Alex's: 2-4-11.
(Not to take anything away from the others, but to me, this was now a one-on-one match. One of us was winning this night.)
Alex went directly for high suns, grabbing a bit more pharaoh insurance, a god tile (unused), and another monument for 5 points before bowing out. He had not gotten a civ, and with two bids to go, I really felt I'd have him.
I did get my flood, a gold, and another useful monument myself, but the first two Epochs depleted the civs to the point that the two that came out early in the round (which I never got) were the only two left in the game. I never did get a civ.
In the end, Alex got 5 for pharaohs and 2 for the god tile. I got 12 for my Niles and gold. We scored an identical 15 for our monuments.
The difference? Alex gained +5 for suns, and I ended up tied for fewest suns and -5. He won by 6, 48-42-31-24-22. His 3rd win for the Con, and 9th overall. And another oh-so-close for me.
(In retrospect, I'm glad I did tie for fewest suns. I had completely overlooked the god tile he had, and would have assumed that I had won by a point if I didn't have fewest ... but I would have lost by a point. Had that happened, I might be in an asylum right now.)
Interesting tidbit: Steve Scott gives out wonderful prizes for the top finishers, and I had the 4th choice of prizes. I don't know what possessed me to do so (other than possible overcompensation), but I opted for a 5'-by-2' picture of Tutankhamen that probably wouldn't stay on a wall if I tried to hang it. Alex himself told me it wouldn't fit in the trunk (he was right), but fortunately there was enough space in the wells of the backseats to place it. It's now leaning against a wall in my den. Maybe next time, I'll get something smaller.
Oh, I did find Keith right before 6; he and Winton (who lost a close Ra Semi himself) helped out immensely with the Demo and the start of the 2nd heat of Caylus. Once my Ra game was done, I headed next door to handle the last game on my agenda.
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14.
Board Game: Caylus
[Average Rating:7.97 Overall Rank:11]
Mike K
United States
Fairless Hills
Pennsylvania
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I didn't have to worry about missing the 2nd heat, as I had already won in the first heat back on Thursday morning.
Mine was one of two (randomly-selected) 3player games, and I drew as one opponent the eventual winner of Le Havre, Dan Eppolito. I have played him before on BSW, and know him to be strong at all games. I also knew in my mind that going for wood buildings (a personal preference of mine in 4player games) usually fails in 3player games. That didn't stop me from building all four wood resource buildings before any stone resource buildings could come out. I was able to get enough from those and the castle (hitting the VP track often) to hold off the others and win, 89-80-73.
Once I was done with Ra, I oversaw the 2nd half of the second heat of Caylus. All told, we had 11 different winners. (The one double-winner, Kevin Walsh, bowed out to play the QF round of Puerto Rico.)
After numerous jugglings (to account for which people could not commit to a 9am Final), we had our 12-player Semifinal round. All three winners and the closest second would move on. (One player at my table, Chris Trimmer, told me in advance that he couldn't play the Final. Fortunately, it didn't become an issue.)
I got two of the first four wood buildings in play while Rich Meyer was positioning himself for the Building Track. I made my move at the start of the Wall phase, hitting both carpenters to flood the pre-goldmine spaces with more wood resource buildings. The strategy worked: despite getting only one castle batch in the first two phases combined (and I didn't even get a favor for that one), I finished with a strong castle push at the end, hit the Mason a couple times, and hung on after some opponents' late Prestige buildings to win by eight, 81-73-72-61. (Originally I thought I only had 79, but I never took my favor for doing my big castle push at the end; it was worth 2 points, so I adjusted. This didn't affect the high-second, which still came from my table. Rich missed out by a point for that 'wild card' spot.
(I'd be remiss if I didn't point out: Chris hit the goldmine 5 straight times in this game! Too bad the Jeweler never got built, and too bad the Lawyer didn't come out until way too late; all that gold netted him 15 points, and he finished with the 61.)
The Final was set: I made it along with Eric Harthan (2nd at my table), Jeff Meyer (his 3rd straight Final appearance) and ... Cary Morris, the same guy who took down Ted to win Agricola. (Turns out, he goes to BSW too; I know I've played him at Caylus online before.)
I posted a Session Report already, so I'll be brief: Jeff and I were neck-and-neck early, I pulled ahead in the Wall phase, Jeff hurt both of us in the Castle in the late stages, and Cary passed both of us to win by six, 82-76-76-42. I played as well as I could, but once again came up just short.
Here's a link to the Session Report for that Final table.
I had some consolation in that the gift I gave away to the winner (a framed, Caylus-themed drawing by my wife) was well-received. I trust that it has a wonderful home now.
(I got to know not only Cary, but his 7-year-old son Luke ... who reminds me of what my son Aaron will be like three years from now. Someday I hope to bring him with me. But that's for another time.)
* * * *
I didn't think it'd be possible to, at the same time, improve upon last year but still fall short of that elusive win ... but I turned the trick. I finished with two 2nd, a 4th, a likely 5th in Vegas Showdown, and assorted Top 10s (I assume) in Le Havre and Princes of Florence. I took home three plaques, the most I've earned in a year. With one exception (that unfortunate Agricola Final), I played as well as I've ever played.
And it still wasn't enough. And it still stings.
It'll be another long year before I have this opportunity again. All I can do is what I already do: go to my gaming group, play online, and continue to hone my skills.
One thought pops into my head as I wrap this up. As my screenname might allude to, my favorite cartoon character remains Wile E. Coyote.
Would anyone have cared about him if ever did catch that Roadrunner?
Hmmm.
Well, until next year. Ta ta.
There's no such thing as a failure who keeps trying;
Coasting at the bottom is the only disgrace.
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East Lansdowne
Pennsylvania
Sunnyside
New York
Pennsylvania
Sunnyside
New York
But as long as we're into sports comparisons, I guess my lack of wins is appropriate since I'm from West Virginia and a big fan of the WVU Mountaineers, whose football team is the winningest team in college football never to have won a national championship! Not to mention our basketball team, whose most well-known player is the freakin' NBA logo, but no NCs there either. You're right Kenneth, WHEN it finally does happen (for Mike, for me, and for the Eers), it will be all the more sweet!