Grab Your Skis, and Win the Maps!

This year, we’re going back to 1939 and the Russo-Finnish War for a set of exciting scenarios that feature Ski Troops, Snipers, and Molotov Cocktails. We’ll be playing scenarios from the 2016 Dutch Open, and thanks to a generous donation from Memoir'44 Brigade Nederland, we’ll have pre-printed maps to play on. (That’s right, much quicker setup!)

Tournament scenarios:

• Mulligan and Round 1: Taipale River
• Round 2: Kollaa
• Round 3: Tolvajarvi
• Round 4: Destruction of the 44th Division (44th – Motti)
• Round 5: Honkaniemi
• Round 6: Final Push

Note: Versions of these “DO2016" scenarios can be found in the Days of Wonder Military Archives database.

Game basics and special rules for the scenarios will be taught in the Demo hour before the Mulligan round. As always, special scenario rules will be reviewed at the beginning of each round and help sheets will be distributed.

Equipment: As always, we give an advantage in tie-breakers to players who bring a game. If you bring a base game, we’ll provide sufficient pieces for you to play all scenarios. The Eastern Front expansion would be aesthetically useful for its badges and Russian figures. If you don’t have the necessary badges, tournament staff will provide what you need.

Tournament news will be posted at https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3660150.

For news about this year’s five multi-player Overlord battles, see below.

Tournament Format

The schedule for Memoir '44 will be the same as previous years. The format will be six rounds, Single Elimination with a Mulligan Round after a Demo with instructors for new players and for experienced players who want to brush-up on special units and rules. Then, we will play the Mulligan Round. Winners in the Mulligan Round are excused from Round 1 the next day and can rejoin the event in Round 2. Losers from the Mulligan Round can rejoin the event fresh in Round 1. The tournament will then run continuously for the rest of the day.

In each round, competitors will play two games against each other: One from each side. Best total medal count for the two games wins the match.

Tie-breakers: In the case of a tie, the player who inflicts the most casualties on his opponent wins. In rounds 3 and later, matches won, cumulative wins, and cumulative medals will serve as additional tie-breakers if necessary. A bye counts as two games won, with full medals. The last tie-breaker for all rounds will be a number drawn at random by each player upon registering for the tournament. Players who bring games will be rewarded with a higher series of tie-breaker numbers. Please Bring Your Game!

Rankings: Players eliminated in the same round will be ranked according to the above tie-breaker procedure.

Semifinal Rule: If there are 3 surviving players for Round 5, then instead of using an eliminator as a fourth, the three contestants will play a three-game Round Robin as follows, in order to determine which two of them will meet in the Finals. Game 1: 2nd and 3rd ranked players face each other, with randomly chosen sides. Game 2: Loser of game 1 changes sides and faces 1st ranked player. If the loser of game 1 also loses in game 2, then he is eliminated and awarded 3rd place. Otherwise, Game 3: Winner of game 1 faces 1st ranked player, with each playing the side he hasn’t played yet. If either player loses for the second time, he’s awarded 3rd place, and the others meet in the Final. If all three players win one game, use the tie-breaker procedure to determine the two finalists. (This Semifinal Rule is the same as last year but described more clearly.)

Five Multi-Player Overlord Games

We’ve scheduled five multi-player games this year. "Overlord" games are the source of many of the greatest Memoir stories. Players of all levels are welcome. If we have too many players, we’ll open up a second board.

• Thursday 2 PM – Moyland Wood (Basic scenario – great for Overlord newcomers.)
• Friday 11 PM – Kursk (Dutch Open 2021 with special units)
• Saturday 10 AM – Geilenkirchen Salient (Interesting Western Front scenario by jdrommel.)
• Saturday 2 PM – Operation Market Garden (Every time the Germans kill a unit, they gain a card and the Allies lose one.)
• Saturday 7 PM – Stalingrad: End of the 6th Armee (jdrommel scenario, with Combat cards.)
• Overlord scenarios subject to change if something new and irresistible comes along.

Memoir 44, like its cousins from other eras: Battle Cry, BattleLore, Commands & Colors: Ancients, Commands & Colors: Medieval, Commands & Colors: Napoleonics, Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles, Commands & Colors Tricorne: American Revolution, Commands & Colors Tricorne: Jacobite Rising, Red Alert, and The Great War, combines a strong element of strategy with just the right amount of luck from cards and dice. A typical battle can be fought in under an hour, including setup time. First released more than 20 years ago, about 500 official scenarios have been published, along with more than 5,000 player-created scenarios. Many of these so-called “Scenarios from the Front" are excellent.

Also, Memoir’s new online implementation at < href="www.BoardGameArena.com">Boardgame Arena gives players a ready source of opponents most times of the day or night. There are online Memoir tournaments year-round. You can find the “Military Archive" of scenarios and more at Days of Wonder website.

Special thanks to Jeroen “Jeronimon" Nieuwenhuis for choosing this year’s tournament scenarios and arranging for the maps, and to Memoir'44 Brigade Nederland for donating the maps. The next Dutch Open will be held February 20-21, 2027. They’ve earned a reputation for excellent, and sometimes particularly creative scenarios.

Special prize: The winner of this tournament earns the right to compete in the online 2026 Champions Trophy tournament.

Additional Prizes - Free Gift: We have a generous but limited supply of the 6 tournament maps. If you win your Round 2 match (assuming we have more maps than matches), you’re automatically entitled to a set of all 6 maps. Any remaining sets will be offered first to those who lost in Round 2, and later in the day any still left will be made available to others. Procedural Note:: Mulligan and Round 1 maps will be collected at the end of those rounds and will then be distributed with the other maps.

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