War of the Horticulturalists ...
Let me start out by saying that it was a pleasure to run Kingmaker
this year at the WBC. I met many familiar faces and many first
timers. Kingmaker is one of those games where house rules
reign supreme. Being that this was my first time being the Kingmaker
answer man, I used the former GM, Heikki Thoen's Tournament rules
pretty much as they were. After nine years of playing in this
tournament I found out how demanding GMing can really be. Most
folks took to the tournament rules ok, but there were a few rules
that caused some of my would be Kingmakers to cast a few votes
for change. I promised all our Lords and King wannabes they could
send me their wants and requests and the King would work on it
for next year. All in all, the tournament was a great success.
This year a new star was born in the form of Will (Sandy)
Wible. A Top 5 player for many years, he finally took his place
as champion. Sandy has won lots of other wood iand it was just
matter of time before he showed us commoners how to win at this
game. We played three heats and a final this year. Sandy got
wiped out in his first game by finishing 4th in a 4-player game.
He knew that he would need to win one of the next two rounds
to make the final. In the second round, he had to play against
a very good board of players that included, Alan Witle, Scott
Pferiffer, Tony Cadden, Jeff Mullet and myself. It was a hard
fought game that saw many twists and turns. After four hours
Sandy had won his way into the finals with a sole King Victory.
There were 35 players this year and 11 games played. You have
to win to advance and being a sole king winner is an automatic
tiebreaker for going to the final. This tournament tests your
ability, skill, diplomacy and, most of all, your Will to win!
After ten games, six lords took their shot at the crown.
Robert Kircher: Fitzalan, Warden of the Northern Marches
Will (Sandy) Wible: Audley, Constable of Dover Tower
Justin Thompson: Grey, County of Palatine of Chester
Mike Hall: Pole, Constable of the Tower of London
Kevin Bromwell: Mowbray, Steward of the Royal House
Keith Wixson: Neville, Warden of the Cinque Ports
King Henry is a fool. The nobles are restless. Richard of
York is demanding his rightful place in the government. The carrion
crows are gathering.
Turn 1
-Richard of Gloucester
is dead of natural causes at Carlisle
-Margaret of Anjou seized by Mowbray in Newark
-Pole takes Windsor Castle and acquires King Henry
-Grey sieges Cardigan but weather delays attack
Turn 2
-Parliament must be summoned due to no sole king (Henry
doesn't count in this case) at Ecclishall near Shrewsbury. All
items in the Chancery are voted to the discard pile.
-Pole lays siege to Canterbury and wins.
-Mowbray sieges Shrewsbury but bad weather delays the attack.
-Grey claims possession of Shrewsbury and Richard of York.
-Fitzalan dies of plaque in Berwick.
Turn 3
-Pole, Constable of the Tower of London, is killed in siege
of Wallingford. Herbert is also killed.
-Neville hires French Mercenaries in Calais.
-Mowbray dispatches Hastings to ambush Richard of York
near Cardigan, but the attack fails.
-Audley attempts to siege Wallingford but was denied due to last
minute reinforcements.
Turn 4
-Richard of York crowned second King of England by
Grey in St. David's of Wales.
-Audley attacks Mowbray at Royston, but the battle was inconclusive.
Stafford is killed
-Neville sieges Carisbrooke and wins, but dies of his wounds.
-Mowbray sieges Chester and wins.
Turn 5
-Audley sieges Shrewsbury and wins.
-Courtenay, The Admiral, sieges Carisbrooke and wins. Takes possession
of Edward of March. Courtenay dies of his wounds.
-Mowbray sieges Lancaster and wins. His ally Talbot was killed
in the battle.
Turn 6
-Gray sieges Beaumaris and wins, capturing Edmond of Rutland.
-Audley sieges Oxford and bad weather delays the attack.
-Catastrophe for two Turns.
-Neville attacks Mowbray outside of Chester. The battle was in
conclusive. Mowbray was killed.
Turn 7
-No Movement
Turn 8
-Plaque strikes Canterbury killing King Henry, Percy,
Holland.
-King Richard of York is sole king.
Turn 9
-King Richard at Ecclishall calls parliament. Sandy's
faction with Justin's Faction controlled parliament and
gathered the spoils.
-Turn of peace where parliament took place.
Turn 10
-Neville attacks Pole (Justin) at Rochester. The battle
was inconclusive. Borchier was killed.
Turn 11
-King Richard at Thetford calls parliament.
-Turn of peace where parliament took place.
-Cromwell attacks Mowbray at Castle Framlingham and wins. Cromwell
dies as well as Edward of March.
Turn 12
-Stanley sieges Lincoln and wins. Crowns Margaret Queen
of England.
-The Chancellor of England at Hereford calls parliament.
Turn 13
-Catastrophe for one round
-Sandy faction moves to Shrewsbury
-Justin's faction moves to Rhuddlan
-Kevin's faction moves to outside Lancaster
-Mike Halls faction moves north to Carlisle.
-Robert plays the spoiler and follows Kevin and Mike
north.
-Keith's faction sits outside Shrewsbury.
Last Round
-Justin Thompson has 550 men outside of Rhuddlin because the
Catastrophe ended at the start of his turn. He splits his forces
and sends Grey with the King to Caernarvon and leaves the rest
of his faction in Rhuddlin.
-Sandy Wible has 400 men in Shrewsbury and makes his move and
brings to bear over 770 men to siege Caernarvon for a possible
win. He wins the siege and claims King Richard for himself.
-Kevin sends Queen Margaret into refugee in Scotland
-Keith's faction has the last opportunity to attack Sandy's group.
He fails and we go to the points due to having two kings.
The final standings were:
Sandy Wible 143
Kevin Browell 120
Justin Thompson 58
Mike Hall 21
Keith Wixson -6
Robert Kircher -8
We also gave out plaques for most victory points in any Single
Game and one for most victory points in any three games. Those
winners were.
For most Victory points in any one game: Greg Gerenza
(185) (Who made the final but could not attend)
For most Victory points over any three games: Justin Thompson
(367)
Note: There were many other moves in this five-hour final. We
highlighted the ones that were of most importance. Anyone interested
in playing or would like to help, please contact Justin Thompson.
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