Too Late to the Program
Poor Jambo deserved better ... a 2005 nominee for Europe's
Game of the Year, it was only added to the WBC schedule late
as a replacement for Gloria Mundi which ran into production problems
and remained unpublished by the time WBC was in full force. Consequently,
this event was too late to be listed in the program and doubtless
suffered for it. Nevertheless, 16 people managed to get word
of it and appear which was pretty good for a tournament that
was a last-minute addition to the schedule and wasn't even listed
in the convention booklet.
Since Jambo is a short, two-player game, we played a best-of-three
format, all against the same person. Since each game typically
lasts between 30 and 40 minutes this would make for a maximum
2-hour heat. There had been a teaching session earlier in the
day, but since Jambo is so easy to learn we accepted people who
had not attended the teaching session. The uninitiated were
grouped together and the game was taught by the GM as they played.
This seemed to work well and we probably converted a few more
fans to the game.
Eight people advanced, although only six elected to continue
and thereby became Laurelists. Among those six were a husband
and wife, Andy and Carrie Lewis, who were not to be matched before
the Final. However, only one of them kept that date with Carrie
falling to Eric Freeman in the semi. It was up to husband Andy
to exact revenge. The Final went three games and the deciding
hand was very close, but, in the end it was Eric winning by a
small margin.
Thanks to everyone who played. Jambo is a fun little game
and one of the better quick playing two-player games around.
It could easily be every bit as popular at WBC as Lost Cities
or Battleline once people try it. We hope you'll vote to bring
it back and join us next year so it will get another shot; this
time with schedule coverage in the program.
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