Thanks to all those who decry the
retention of classic wargames ...
1776 was returned to the Century for the third time
thanks to membership vote. The format was changed to the first
nine months of the Campaign Game for all rounds, except the final
which remained the first 12 months. All optional rules except
hidden and decoy counters were used. The players bid the number
of strategic towns (out of a total of 24, including Montreal
and Quebec) that the British player must control on the last
turn. Even though attendance was down 38% this year, the participants
overwhelmingly preferred the Campaign Game format over the scenarios.
This scene was not repeated this
year as 2002 champ Rob Beyma (shown above) did not compete -
leaving only 1993 champ Mark Miklos as a past champion present
to attempt to prevent Steve Packwood's seventh crown.
Although no two games unfolded identically, some trends emerged.
The British pushed south from Canada and brought the majority
of their reinforcements into the Southern states, where the Americans
are unable to quickly counter them. The players bid cautiously
in the first round: four games with bids of 12 towns and one
with a bid of 13. The British only lost the game where 13 was
bid.
In the semi-finals, Steve Packwood, the six-time title holder,
bid 13 towns to play the British against Robert Frisby. In a
game characterized by more maneuver than bloodshed, the British
maintained a presence in every area in every interphase, except
in the Middle States in the first interphase. At the end of the
last British turn, Packwood controlled 18 strategic towns. The
Americans launched attacks against one town in the Deep South,
two in the South Central, two in the Middle States, and Montreal.
The Americans needed to win all six attacks to attain victory,
but failed with the lowest odds attack, a 1:1 with a -1 modifier
on the die roll.
In the final, Steve Packwood again bid 13 towns to play the
Redcoats versus GM Matt Burkins. This game was also primarily
one of maneuver - the first large battle occurred in October
when the Americans destroyed a 10 SP mixed force of British Regulars,
Tories, and Indians at Philadelphia with a loss of five Continental
SPs. However, by November, the relentless Packwood had solid
control of 16 strategic towns, including all of the South Central
area and all but Hillsboro in the Deep South. Although the Americans
had large forces in Philadelphia and Hillsboro, they were too
far out of position to reduce the number of strategic towns below
13 and Steve Packwood wore Centurion garb again in 2003 thanks
to a combination of his own skill and voter reaction to internet
politikin' comments on the merits of voter retention of old classics.

2003 PBeM RESULTS:
Jan Orband of Belgium faced Doug Pratto of Massachusetts for
the first ever BPA 1776 PBeM championship using the first
nine months of the campaign game and the Boardgamer's Guide leader
rules. Doug bid 13 towns to play the British in an exciting,
but relatively bloodless, game of maneuver and counter-maneuver.
Both players showed a superb grasp of using troops and terrain
to block their opponent. Small, well placed British forces impeded
American reinforcements to Charleston in March. In May, after
Charleston fell, small American forces then impeded British expansion
out of the city. The British maintained a few BRs aboard ships
at all times, thereby forcing the American to spread his forces
thin in order to counter this constant threat to his coastal
towns. By August, the American had formed four main blocking
forces: Greene in Albany, Arnold in New England, Lincoln in South
Carolina, and Washington in Virginia. Although the British player
controlled the 13 towns he needed for victory at the end of his
September turn, the wily American found a back door into Alexandria
and overran the British garrison. Coupled with seizing Newport,
Jan Orband reduced the British to 11 victory towns and became
the champion.
Others earning laurels in the 20-player event were:
2nd: Doug Pratto, MA
3rd: Stan Buck, MD
4th: Jim Engler, MD
5th: Stu Bieber, WI
6th: Rod Coffey, GA |