Barbarossa to Berlin (BtB) - A
- Thon
2004
saw a major drop-off in participation in this event. We had ten
players competing over three preliminary rounds, setting up an
elimination bracket of four people. When all the cards had fallen,
all the dice lay still, all the counters been put back in their
bags, Steven Brooks defeated Tom Gregorio to be named the 2004
champion. All games in this year's tournament were played using
the full game, and chess clocks helped keep people moving on
time.
Tom remembers the final game as follows: "My final match
was against Steven Brooks for the championship. Steve had the
Axis at +1 VP. I believe I had the game well in hand until a
disasterous oversight of mine cost my Allies the game. It was
1942 and the Brits were rolling the Axis back in North Africa.
The Germans were already on the defensive in Russia and the Red
Army was present in strength. Like a fool, I eliminated PAA near
the Egyptian/Libyan border. I then landed Torch and pressed
up to Tunis. At the end of the turn, Steve rebuilt PAA in Tripoli
and at the beginning of the next turn, he cut off my forces surrounding
Tunis. PAA then proceeded to move West, even though it, in turn,
became OOS, and he eliminated my beachheads. At the end of the
turn, Algeria was cleared and my Allies were in trouble. The
Russians pushed hard but could never get over the 'attrition
hump' that would wear down the Wehrmacht. The final straw was
Overlord not showing until Winter 45 (I recycled it on turn 6
or 7), at which point I surrendered. The game was probably already
lost long before then but I was hoping for a big defensive mistake.
This was the third time, I believe, I've played Steve FTF and
I've also gotten in a PBEM match with him too. Always a tough
competitor, he's also a gracious winner and I learned more than
a few little tricks from him."
The GM seconds Tom's praise of Steve's graciousness; all competitors
in this year's tournament were more than cooperative. Three
of them even had the chance to beat the GM, who amassed an unenviable
0-3 record! Nicholas Pei, the defending Champion of this and
seemingly every other CDW game in sight, placed third, defeating
designer Ted Raicer at his own game in the final round.
Designer Ted Raicer must be wondering
what he has wraught - sitting opposite Mr. CDW himself, James
Pei.
The players--and others who have played in previous years--and
GM believe that this game needs a tournament scenario, based
on the 1942-43 struggles on the Eastern Front; this scenario
would last three hours or so. Efforts are being made to accomplish
this for next year's tournament, trying to draw a bigger field
of competitors in 2005. I will be unavailble to GM in Lancaster
next year so another volunteer is needed if BTB is to continue
as an event at WBC.
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