This year's tournament started off in the dark as over 100 attendees lined up to put their hats in the ring for the Catan Championships. Once the lights came back on, the tables of four were randomly set and the entrants got into the fray.

This year's tournament went back to the original game. Random maps, random decks, random rolls. All of the things that make the game the wild ride that it can be.

Taking the tournament rules straight from the Kosmos tournaments in Germany, there were a few additions to help speed play of the games. Once order of play was determined and the board set-up, a Settlement and Road were placed (as usual), on the second play, a City and Road were placed, followed by a third play of a single Road. The only other rule change was to not allow a Knight to be played prior to rolling for Production. These changes were designed by Kosmos to help speed the games along while allowing for all of the game play that makes this one of the most popular games in Europe.

For 2002, the tournament consisted of three preliminary rounds. Entrants could miss one, but it made the chances of advancing to the Semi-Finals very difficult. With over 100 participants, the competition was both fierce and friendly. Each player was awarded five Tournament points for a 1st place, three points for 2nd, two for 3rd and one for 4th. A set procedure was designed based on percentage points per table to resolve ties. With 90 minutes dedicated to not only setting up a board but playing the full game, it's a credit to all entrants, and perhaps the Kosmos tournament rules, that none of the more than 83 games were adjudicated!

As the dust settled after the initial three games, the point groupings were very close. 11 Tournament VPs couldn't guarantee being a member of the sweet 16. A special mention goes to Alan Sudy (age 11, pictured at right), who after each round, went to check with his parents to see if he could stay another round. As the 16 best scorers sat down to their four tables, the semi-finals were underway. The winners at each table would advance to the final, the others, would have to wait until next year. Once the semis were finished, yours truly waited as Alan Sudy, once again, had to check with his parents to see if he could stay (good call mom & dad!).

As the Finals began, (right on schedule), Chis Moffa, Marvin Pinkert, Alan Sudy, and David Buchholz sat at the last table. Each finalist must have gotten into the groove of the Kosmos rules. When offered the opportunity to go "straight Settlers", each voted to continue with the tournament format. With the best four players in this year's tournament, I thought for certain we'd have a long game. However, true to form, our champions finished in well under the 90 minutes with David Buchholz arriving at the 10 point goal ahead of the others.

Thanks to my Assistants who gave up their chairs to make tables even and to everyone who entered the tournament this year. With your support, Settlers will continue to grow at the WBC.

 Thirteen little Settlers were still around on Sunday morning to contest the WBC Settlers of Catan Juniors title. The best of these proved to be Natalie Beach who won, not only WBC wood, but better yet, braggin' rights over her brother Mathew who finished second. The other finalists, in order, were:

Jessica Finkeldey

Scott Uhrich