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Bruce, Braveheart and the blocks
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Jerry Taylor's innovative, award winning, design about the
Scottish Wars of Independence had a spectacular debut at the
WBC. The turnout was the highest ever for a block game. Fifty-five
players showed up for six rounds of single elimination play,
including such sharks as Marvin "Caesar" Birnbaum and
Tom Drueding, among others.
 After
four rounds of play, the semi-finals consisted of George Seary
versus Phil Barcafer and Tom Dueding against Rick "Prezcon
Champion" Young. Searey's English attacked aggressively,
and Edward was almost always in Scotland, Barcafer, with control
of the north, barely managed to hold onto an 8-6 lead, as the
game was called one turn before completion due to time. At the
other table, Young took the English north and rolled over the
Scots, leading to an early surrender. This set up a final of
Barcafer and Young.
The final may have been the shortest game of the entire event.
Barcafer drew the English. The turn 1 levy was fair, consisting
of the Lancaster Archers, Durham Knights, and Lancaster and Westmore
Infantry.
Barcafer played a 3 card, bringing the first three units up
to Lothian, to join the Cumbria Infantry, while Young played
a 2 card and sent Wallace north to bring Angus into the Scottish
side, and Moray and Fraser to Buchan to have a talk with him.
Angus decided that a kilt would look good on him and quickly
succumbed, then headed into Fife to act as a buffer. Buchan ran
to the protection of Mar while Moray headed back to join Grant
in Strathspey. The second card from Barcafer was another 3 card,
met by Young's Truce. Unable to attack, Barcafer used the turn
to bring the four units from Lothian to Mentieth and Stewart
and Lennox north to Atholl. The third card was a 2 from Barcafer
and the Sea Move from Young. Braving the North Sea waters, Moray
and Fraser joined Wallace and company in Angus. Barcafer moved
the six units now in Menieth to Fife and Stewart and Lennox over
to Mar.
The fourth card was another 2 from Barcafer and a 1 from Young.
Barcafer moved six units from Fife into Angus to attack, and
brought Lennox and Stewart into Angus as reinforcements, while
sending Buchan back home to cut off Wallace's retreat. Young,
for his part, moved Bruce north to occupy Lennox's home. In the
first round of combat, Wallace missed, while the English hit,
reducing the Scot units to 2 each. In the second round, having
been reinforced, the English inflicted even more damage, and
in the third round, eliminated all the Scot units. With their
leader dead, the utterly demoralized Scots surrendered to Edward
Longshanks. It was over before the end of the first turn.
In Young's own words, "I didn't even get the license
of the truck that hit me."
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William Alderman [1st Year]
1609 Syracuse Lane,
Schaumburg, IL 60193-3314
847-895-0436