Convention Directors John Weber and Norman Rule are to be congratulated
for the best Euroquest conference run to date. Euroquest 2012
set a host of records during its continuing evolution with several
new faces gaining momentum and attention in the quest for BPA
laurels. An attendance of 340 was a 10% increase over our initial
year at the Pikesville Hilton and meant that the convention has
now more than doubled in size since its inaugural edition in 2003
and has us once again searching for additional space options.
This year's event had a truly international flavor, as attendees
representing four different continents, from as far away as Australia,
Israel and Rumania, converged at the Hilton Pikesville near Baltimore
for four days of fun and competitive gaming. This year's program
was jam-packed with tournaments, new game demos and a variety
of other activities in a welcoming environment. Tournament attendance
swelled as well, with eight of 11 returning main events setting
all-time highs, with the remaining three nearing their previous
highwater marks. The Hot New Game for 2011—7 Wonders—led the way with an all-time Euroquest single event attendance
record of 80, shattering the old mark of 68 set by Ticket to
Ride in 2009 when that tournament doubled as a qualifier leading
to the World Championships sponsored by Days of Wonder. Ticket
to Ride attendance also broke that old mark, by 10, with a
total of 78, while Stone Age tied the old mark at 68.
Dramatic finishes were the order of the day with new attendees
playing a leading role. Heading into the finals on Sunday, Haim
Hochboim of Israel stood atop the HLS leaderboard with 28 points,
while advancing to the final of Ticket to Ride, guaranteeing
even more points. Thus, it seemed likely that the HLS Trophy-
which had made it all the way to Seattle and back in 2010 (in
the custody of Randy Buehler) - might travel even further afield
this year. Former HLS winner Rob Kircher's bid for a second brass
plate on the trophy ended when he flamed out in the Settlers final, finishing fourth. However, all was not lost for the host
country as the Power Grid final also featured Daniel Eppolito,
another EQ rookie but WBC veteran, who was still in contention,
bidding for his second event win after having captured the Ra
title. The Power Grid game, which took a long time to complete,
went Dan's way, enabling him to surge past Haim in the HLS standings.
At this point the pressure shifted to Haim, as only a first or
a second in the Ticket to Ride final could tip the balance
in his favor. However, it was not to be, and the HLS Trophy went
to Dan Eppolito who amassed a record total of 33 HLS points. Haim
Hochboim (30 points) finished second, followed by California's
Bill Zurn, who zoomed to third place overall with a win in the
final event to finish - 7 Wonders. Bill's 28 HLS points
were good for third place ahead of a trio of former Siegelman
Trophy winners: 2007's Rob Kircher (25 points); defending Champ
Randy Buehler (25 points) and 2009's Sceadeau D'Tela (24 points)
who came in fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
Harold Siegelman Award
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Daniel Eppolito, CA
33 pts
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Haim Hochboim, Israel
30 pts
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Bill Zurn, CA
28 pts
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Rob Kircher, RI
25 pts
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Randy Buehler, WA
25 pts
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Dan's two wins in Power Grid and Ra were matched
by Ben Scholl, who was also a double winner in Agricola
and Puerto Rico. Like Dan, Ben was attending his first
Euroquest. Haim Hochboim put himself near the top of the Siegelman
charts with a win in Dominion, followed by a runner-up
finish in Agricola, assuring that there was going to be
some "wood" on the plane back to Israel. Haim's countryman,
Aran Warszawski, was not to be outdone, taking top honors in Princes
of Florence, which was the first event to finish. Bill Zurn
(7 Wonders), Vien Bounma (St. Petersburg) and Jim
Castonguay (Thurn and Taxis) rounded out the list of first-time
EQ champions. Only the Settlers, Stone Age and Ticket
to Ride titles were retained by prior EQ Champions. Brian
Reynolds took his fourth Settlers of Catan title, making
him only the second six-time event winner in history (his other
two Euroquest wins coming in Princes of Florence); he also
became the first to win the same EQ tourney four times (after
already becoming the first three-peat in this category in 2009).
Stone Age was won by Virginia Colin, who now had a different
event win to go with two prior titles in Ticket to Ride.
Sceadeau D'Tela won Ticket to Ride to become only the second
player to win four different EQ tournaments.
A complete listing of tournament winners from EQ 2012 follows:
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Ben Scholl, PA > 41 |
Haim Hochboim, Israel > 54 |
Daniel Eppolito, CA > 57 |
Aran Warszawski, Israel > 34 |
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Ben Scholl, PA > 58 |
Daniel Eppolito, CA > 42 |
Bill Zurn, CA > 80 |
Vien Bounma, NJ > 47 |
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Brian Reynolds, PA > 55 |
Virginia Colin, VA > 68 |
Jim Castonguay, MD > 45 |
Sceaudeau D'Tela, NC > 78 |
For a complete pictorial review of Euroquest as seen from the
camera of Eric Haas, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichaas/sets/72157627983277005/
For a more detailed account of Euroquest 2012's other activities
see http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/7813495#7813495
and http://euoquest.gamesclubofmd.org/
for additional information as it becomes available.
The winners and laurelists for all events are listed on their
respective event AAR pages at http://www.boardgamers.org/yearbook11
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