Resurrecting an old Chestnut ...
The game normally is for five players. However, the tournament
format utilized the four-player variant published in THE GENERAL
31-4. The primary differences between the published game and
the variant are bidding for countries and usage of a USA Control
Table.
Germany, the perceived power in the game, is the first country
bid upon. Britain and Russia are then randomly selected for the
second and third bidding rounds. France is the default country
with a zero bid. The points bid by a player are subtracted
from the final score. Bidding is allowed in 1/2 point increments.
The control of the USA is randomly determined each turn. France
and Britain are the two countries with the best chance but even
Germany has a chance at gaining control on each turn.
The format for the tournament with sixteen players began with
four preliminary games with four players in each game. The preliminary
round was followed by a final game composed of the four preliminary
winners. The average bid for Germany in the four preliminary
games was 3.5. The interesting thing about the preliminary round
was the winners of each game won with a different country. The
winning scores (after bid deductions) ranged from 12.5 to 19.5.
The margin of victory ranged from .5 to 4. The games all appeared
to be closely fought contests.
Robert won the bidding for Germany with a four bid. Keith
then took the Russians with a three bid. Kevin got Britain with
a two bid. Bruce just wouldn't go 2.5 and settled for France.
The game came down to the last few rolls of the dice. Both Robert
and Bruce ended up with 16 points. A tie in the final! Fortunately,
the variant provides for the tiebreaker situation. Robert won
the game because the first tiebreaker was given to the country
that bid the most points and Robert had bid four for
Germany to Bruce's zero for France. Congratulations Robert, you
probably saved Bruce from adding another wing to his house to
hold his plaques.
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