Ron Fedin and Keith Wixson display the special ceremonial period weapon replicas Keith provides as extra prizes.	Gary Phillips and Bruce Monnin check their hands to see what fate has in store for them in the preliminaries.

2003 Champion Paul Gaberson became the first double winner in the event, breaking a string of five different champs in as many years. Gaberson went undefeated in beating Michael Ussery, Bruce Wigdor, Bruce Monnin and Randy MacInnis in the preliminary rounds, George Young in the semi-finals and 2004 Champ James ("The Master") Pei in the championship game. MacInnis was the other semi-finalist, surviving his loss to Gaberson in Round 4 by gaining tiebreakers in upset victories over #2 Seed Tom Drueding in Round 2 and #1 Seed/defending Champ Keith Wixson in Round 3.

Here are some highlights:

* Young was the only 2006 laurelist to make it into the top six this year. A complete or near complete turnover of the laurelists in this tournament every year has become something of a tradition.
* Attendance was up 17%, increasing to 35 from 30. There were six new players. Since attendance for the other CDGs appeared to be generally down, the future of the event in this timeslot appears to be bright.
* There are preliminary plans to add a quarterfinal round next year.
* MacInnis won the Biggest Upset Award for his win over the defending champ.
* The Top New Player Award went to Grant LaDue who went 3-1, losing only a close game to the GM.
* After last year's relatively good results for the Brits, the French came back strong winning 61% of the 46 games played (as compared to 52% in 2006). The average bid to play the French crept up to 1.02 VPs from .93 VPs last year (it was 1.11 VPs in 2005). There were 23 bids of 1 VP to play the French and 12 bids of 2 VPs.
The French record in the 2 VP bid games was seven wins and five losses and in the 1 VP bid games it was 14 wins to nine losses. In the eleven games without bidding there were seven French wins.
* Perhaps the most interesting story this year was that Gaberson is really the only player to have embraced a bid of 2 VPs. He was involved in half of the 2 VP bid games, making that bid in all of his games and accounting for five of the seven French wins in the games with that bid (in his other win he played the Brits when his opponent also bid 2 and won the rolloff). Something tells me that this might start a trend!
* For the third year in a row the eventual winner had to defeat The Master and that game went down to the final card and die roll!
* Prizes: In addition to the plaques, the Champ received a Missouri River War Hatchet and the runner up received a Ball Head Warclub. The losing semi-finalists each received Ceremonial Medicine Arrows. A book, a DVD and some period 54mm toy soldiers were also awarded.

Championship Game:

I don't have a formal AAR this year as the game was played very late at night and the players and I were too exhausted to remember the game that clearly. As mentioned above, the championship game of Gaberson (French) against Pei (British) went down to the final card and die roll. The final turn saw a large British army under Wolfe driving up the Champlain Valley towards Montreal against the much weaker main French army under Montcalm, while another British army secured Ohio Forks which had already been abandoned by the French. Quiberon had been played so the Brits had more cards, but towards the end of the turn Paul had skillfully maneuvered Montcalm between Wolfe and the British supply line and it became apparent that Montreal would not fall. There was no margin for error, however, as VPs only stood at FR1 once the Forks were secured; James needed 2 VPs to win as Paul ran out of cards.

The first point was easy enough because Paul just gave it away. As Wolfe moved against Montcalm to force a battle, a small French force with Regulars under Drucour inexplicably attempted to intercept to slow the Brits down. The interception failed, but James realized that Paul was willing to give up a VP so he bore down on Drucour and wiped his force out. VPs were therefore at zero, which is a French victory if it ends that way, as James was down to his final card. He used it to activate Wolfe and Rogers' Rangers to raid Sorel with a 5/6 chance at success and a VP to put him over the top. This is a standard British play late in close games but Paul had obviously forgotten about it with fatigue setting in. But James rolled a "1" and the raid failed miserably. Perhaps the guy hasn't sold his soul to the devil after all.

Here are some observations of the game by the the new and only two-time champ:

What I want to take away from the experience is the memory of struggling with a man who is undoubtedly the finest player of card driven war games on the planet, taking him to the last card play where I had a 1 in 6 chance of winning and being rewarded with the victory. What I would like to forget is the fact that with three cards left to play I had about a 90% chance of winning and I managed to play that down to the 17% chance I ended up with.

If my mind had been a little clearer I think I would have known that it was going to be my night. James is often accused of being able to control the die with some form of Zen mind control but his usual mastery was definitely missing in our game. I'll relate one sequence where a lot of operation cards were burned which is always to the advantage of the French player. During the first turn after Montcalm was able to take Ft. William Henry, James hit me with Vaudreuil Interferes and off Monty went to inspect Louisbourg. James had already played a British Regulars reinforcement card so Murray and 18 strength points were waiting at Halifax. This was the first big decision of the game for me: can I afford to leave Montcalm there? The chance of getting Montcalm trapped for good was 39%. I decided to take a chance and played Small Pox on Murray's army and I was successful in getting two hits so they were down to 16 strength points and Monty's odds improved to 22%. James immediately sent the Royal Americans battalion from Philadelphia to Halifax to make up the loss. At this point I decided I couldn't risk losing Montcalm in early 1757 so I shipped him back to Quebec and moved Villiers to Quebec just in case it was all a bluff. Of course it wasn't as Murray immediately made the amphibious move and I withdrew the garrison inside for the siege. No siege rolls were made in what was left of early 1757 because James was out of cards (he had used the Amphib card and had also played Massacre when Montcalm took the fort).

In Late 1757 I got Bastions Repaired so I was looking forward to stretching out the siege. There were no British reinforcements so Murray was going to be doing all of the work. The first siege roll was successful and I immediately removed the siege point. The next attempt failed. Two more cards were required to get siege level 2 and the first assault. The die rolls were something like 4 for me and 3 for James. I was on the 9-12 column and he was on the 13-16 column so with losses 3 to 3 the assault failed. Perhaps this was the harbinger of things to come for James and the evil die. Other things had been going on and we both needed to get units into winter quarters so cards were running out fast. When he eventually got around to making the next assault attempt I don't think he had many cards left. This time I was on the 6-8 column and he was still on 13-16. Again he rolled low and I rolled high so again we both got three hits. This eliminated all of my units but in a siege it isn't a win. He was now out of cards and as I recall needed to use the Quiberon card to move Loudoun and the main army in New York into winter quarters. Murray's army suffered attrition at Louisbourg.

That sequence was a lot of fun for me and not so much for James I suspect. Of course Louisbourg fell in early 1758 and Quiberon managed to jump back into the British hand almost immediately so I suffered with only seven cards for the last few turns. But in the end James ran out of cards and had to attempt that last card play raid with Wolfe and the Rangers. If it hadn't taken six or seven cards to reduce Louisbourg perhaps the final result would have been different.

 Of course if I could count to two at 2:00 a.m. I wouldn't have thrown away a VP I couldn't really afford to lose and I would have won even if the final raid had been successful. Fortunately for me, fate decided to reward a fool and I'm not too proud to take it and run.

The tournament concluded after two years and a total of 124 games played with 50 players participating. Congratulations to the champ, John Buse, who made his Wilderness War tournament debut and beat out several veteran players to take first. Buse twice defeated 2004 WBC Champ James Pei, who is arguably the top overall CDG player in the world, to secure the crown. Very few people have a lifetime winning record against "The Master"!
 
Entering the final round of the pure swiss format tournament, the leader was GM Keith Wixson, the third seed and lone undefeated player. Wixson had to defeat top seed and WBC Champ Ron Fedin in order to claim the crown. Wixson's Brits survived an early appearance by Montcalm and the French capture of Albany in 1756 to claw his way back. Relying on the appearance of Wolfe in 1757 and great support by the Colonial Assemblies, Wixson took back Albany and was eventually able to besiege Montreal and threaten Ohio Forks by late 1759. He ran out of men and time, however, as the support of the Crown was very weak. Fedin was able to bleed Wixson white, relieve Montreal and earn the win. The tournament ended in a six way tie for first place and came down to the tiebreaker - the average AREA rating of defeated opponents. Buse's two wins over the highly rated Pei was the difference. Here are the final standings of the top ten finishers:
 
1. John Buse (5 wins - 1 loss was to Fedin)
2. Ron Fedin (5 wins - 1 loss was to Pei)
3. Keith Wixson (5 wins - 1 loss was to Fedin)
4. Tom Drueding (5 wins - 1 loss was to Wixson)
5. Gary Phillips (5 wins - 1 loss was to Drueding)
6. Bill Peeck (5 wins - 1 loss was to Phillips)
7. James Pei (4 wins)
8. Ken Gutermuth (4 wins)
9. Richard deCastongrene (4 wins)
10. George Young (4 wins)
 
An AAR of Buse's Round 6 victory over Pei follows:
 
France: John Buse
Britain: James Pei
 
Early 1755
The French start off with "Ministerial Crisis", costing the Brits a card, but that allows Johnson to clear out Cataraqui. The French then raid heavily while the Brits build up in western PA. Montcalm and reinforcements arrive at the end of the turn.
 
Late 1755
The Brits continue their build up in PA, while Montcalm masses his army at Montreal, causing the Brits to abandon Oswego. Both sides raid several times unsuccessfully. The French play "Diplomatic Revolution". VPs stand at FR2 at turn's end.
 
Early 1756
Great hand for the Brits, who play "Pitt", the large "Highlanders", "Royal Americans" and a "Regulars" card. On top of that both Wolfe and Amherst appear! While the Brits play events, Montcalm marches down from Montreal to threaten Ft. Edward. A relief army under Wolfe boats up from New York but is beaten back in a close battle. Ft. Edward then falls to Montcalm. The British build up in PA continues, causing the French to torch Ft. Duquesne. Montcalm withdraws northward in the face of a huge British army under Wolfe advancing from Albany. The French are able to add many Indian allies, as the VPs are starting to mount.
 
Late 1756
The French Ft. Duquesne garrison is wiped out in a desperation attack with winter approaching. The Brits start a build up at Halifax. The French get several successful late raids. VPs stand at FR6 at turn's end.
 
Early 1757
The Brits continue their build up at Halifax, with Wolfe being shifted there, causing the French garrison at Louisbourg to abandon the fortress and sail for Quebec. The French raid heavily in the north. At turn's end Wolfe lands at Louisbourg.
 
Late 1757
Louisbourg falls and the Forks is finally taken. The French are heavily reinforced with Indians and launch massive raids, but suffer heavy losses against the British "Blockhouses". The French main army at Ticonderoga suffers an outbreak of "Small Pox". VPs stand at FR4 at turn's end.
 
Early 1758
The Brits begin to advance on Ft. Niagara from the Forks while also reinforcing Wolfe at Louisbourg, threatening Quebec. Montcalm's army suffers a second outbreak of "Small Pox" and starts building a string of forts in the Champlain valley. At turn's end he shifts to Kahnawake to be better able to respond to the threat against Niagara.
 
Late 1758
For the third turn in a row the main French army suffers through the "Pox" but is luckily reinforced with victorious troops from the battlefields of Germany. Montcalm shifts his forces to Quebec in case Wolfe lands. A large army under Amherst begins to advance up the Champlain valley from Albany. Both sides launch successful raids. VPs stand at FR4 at turn's end.
 
Early 1759
The Brits continue to advance towards Niagara and Montreal while threatening Quebec from the sea. The three British armies each outnumber the main French army under Montcalm. The French send out small forces to threaten the supply lines of the advancing Brits. Montcalm builds a fort at Ile d'Orleans to protect Quebec and shifts back to Crown Point to oppose Amherst.
 
Late 1759
The western British army under Bradstreet finally reaches Ft. Niagara, which will mean victory if he can take it. Fortunately for the French, however, Dumas has been able to slip behind Bradstreet and cut his supply line at Raystown, preventing a siege at Niagara. A French "Courier is Intercepted", though, and it is starting to look like the Brits will able to pull it out because of extra cards. But a British effort to drive off Dumas fails! Dumas' presence also threatens Alexandria and Baltimore forcing the Brits to waste time garrisoning both. With the offensive against Niagara stalled, the Brits shift their efforts to the east and land Wolfe at Ile d'Orleans. Montcalm shifts back to Quebec to join some recently arrived reinforcements, leaving the string of Champlain forts to protect Montreal. As Wolfe takes out the French fort at Ile d'Orleans, a small French force under Beaujeu crosses the Green Mountains and threatens Boston. The Brits are forced to waste one of their extra cards to protect it with a garrison. The game comes down to the Battle of Quebec, where Wolfe attacks Montcalm. In only the second major battle of the game the French are victorious, bringing their VP total up to 3. Both sides had launched successful raids. The Brits concede defeat.
 
Much like last year's WBC final, the British player probably allowed great early cards to go to his head and just played too conservatively against a skilled French opponent.

17 players vied for the WAM 2007 Warclub provided by GM Keith Wixson. 19 games were played in the four-round Swiss, and the last man standing was Peter Reese. Reese defeated Ron Fedin (2005 WBC Champ), James Pei (2004 WBC Champ), Paul Gaberson (2003 WBC Champ) and Bill Edwards in the Final.

French dominance continued. The French won 13 games (68%) to the Brits' six. There was a bid of 1 VP to play the French in 14 games and a bid of 2 VPs to play the French in one game (a Brit win). The other four games (all French wins) had no bid at all. The average French score in their wins was 5.7 VPs. On the other hand, the British wins almost all came in later rounds by top players. The Champ was 2-0 as the Brits, and played them in the Final. Also earning WNW laurels were Keith Wixson, Paul Gaberson, Andy Maly and Ken Gutermuth who finished third through sixth respectively.

Early 1757.

Brits looked at their hand and concluded Janus the god of luck had annointed them. In their initial hand was the 3 Highlander, the 1 Highlander, a Brit Regular, a campaign card and an amphibious card. Was expecting a SHORT game. French started with drive to HCN and sieged it with their second card. Parliament had decided that North America was the critical theatre for 1757. The Brits played the regular card, got Amherst and sent him to New York with three Regulars, Then played the 1 Highlander card and sent Forbes to New York and the Highlander to Halifax. The French then started raiding. Card 3 the 4 x Highlander + Wolfe and Murray showed up in Halifax. With this play the French concluded Louisbourg was not a good place to be and evacuated it Wolfe and his mob then landed while Amherst took his mob to HCN. Wolfe too Louisbourg in two tries meanwhile the French started raiding with the first three tries successes (argh). Brits held over Vaudreill.

Late 1757

Fortune continued to smile on the Brits. First Montcalm was sent to Ohio for another Amphibous card (which just arrived this turn - the French had the other two so were not worried about a landing) permitted Wolfe and everyone to land at the gates of Quebec. The French had immediately started moving Montcalm back and when Wolfe landed they used a campaign card to put Montcalm and the army (which moved from HCN) together around Montreal. Wolfe then moved to siege Quebec (which looked like a real winner as the Brits also had a fieldworks card). Then disaster occured when Janus the fickle god of chance showed his favor to the French when the French made their desperate attack v. Wolfe sieging Quebec the dice result was French 6 British 1. To add insult to injury Monckton (who covering Wolfe's bungled retreat) stuck his head up and was clipped with a musket ball. The Brits retreated one space less seven steps to five for the French. End of year the Brits went back to Albany, the French wintered in Quebec (they had destroyed the southern fort along the Lake Champlain route) and Wolfe slunk back with his forces to Alexandria (I could not stand another battle with Wolfe's force). The French raids pretty much used up their indians (Brits were up to two militia in the southern zone) but they did end up with three points for raids for 1757. French held over Quiberon which turned out to be a very good choice as Brits played surrender causing a reshuffle.

Early 1758

Brits got last regular card, placed Bradstreet and three regulars in Alexandria along with Wolfe and Murray. French got a regular card placed them with Montcalm in Quebec. Montcalm deployed defensively to Winooski with his entire army (including a couple of French Marines (1-4s). Amherst with a gigantic pile of troops observed him from Albany (additionally provinicals had been added). Wolfe moved up to Allegheny South and built a fort. The French raided and picked up the marine detachments out west to avoid Wolfe.

Late 1758

Wolfe then moved to Upper Monogahela where disaster truely struck. A lone indian at Mingo Town intercepted and in the skirmish both Wolfe and Bradstreet were killed leaving Murray in charge of a BIG army he could not command. Still he managed to haul troops to Ohio Forks and finish the fort. Meanwhile the French did minor adjustments and began forming up a force to defend Niagara. Then with two cards left (the Brits had Foul Weather and Bigot) the French made a fatal error (the joys of face to face play). Instead of moving Montcalm and his troops into winter quarters they spent a card to further adjust their forces out west (looking at the map they could see the Brits needed two cards to get everyone out west to winter quarters) so they had no worries. However the British exposure was only two or three steps and the French exposure was on the order of 10 steps (including three regulars permanently lost). So the penultimate Brit card was Bigot and the French army got to starve and freeze over the winter in Winooski. At that point the French conceded.