Thanks to membership vote, this longstanding Trial event joined the Century list in 2001. Its new status did not substantially increase the number of entrants for this old timer, but was appreciated nonetheless by its small, but loyal following.

For round 1, four games were the default Saratoga scenario and one was the Tory and Indian War scenario, a fast-playing, low-unit-density scenario published in the Boardgamer's Unofficial Guide to 1776. One of the four Saratoga games used bidding (three strength points for British) and the rest did not. The Redcoats won three of the four Saratoga scenarios, including the bidding version. Fred Barker's victory over Mark Miklos was the sole American victory. Fred then dropped out, thereby reducing our field to a perfect four, so round 2 became the four-player semi-finals.

In one semi-final game, Robert Frisby bid one SP for the British in the Saratoga Scenario versus David Metzger. The British captured the Albany supply unit on turn 1 through forced marching, but American forces recaptured the supply unit on the next turn when an unsuccessful British forced march left them vulnerable to an Automatic Victory. Later, the British lost nine of ten strength points in an unsuccessful attack at 1:1 odds, followed by a 2:1 counterattack by reinforced Americans in the next turn. The Americans maneuvered skillfully to threaten several objectives and the British losses were too great to hold the five towns required for victory.

The other semi-final Saratoga game pitted perennial champ Steve Packwood's Redcoats against Matt Burkins, with the sides decided by drawing chits. The British precluded sea invasion by sending almost all of their forces out of New York city. British forced march attempts failed to reach Albany, and the American supply unit retreated to Ft Stanwix. The British forces formed entrenched screens around Albany, New York, and Ticonderoga, which effectively limited American movement and concentration of forces. Although the British closed and attacked the American forces on several occasions, they were unable to rout them. However, the Americans lacked sufficient strength to recapture both Philadelphia and Albany for a.win.

In the final, Steve Packwood's British faced David Metzger in the first year of the campaign game using all optional rules. The players bid strategic towns that the British player must control in December 1776 in order to win the game. Steve bid 13 towns (out of a total of 24, counting Montreal and Quebec) in order to become the British player. By the end of December 1776, Steve controlled 14 strategic towns to become the WBC's first 1776 Centurion.

Additional information can be found at http://www.members.tripod.com/bkrusmins