The second presentation of Medieval at WBC drew 24 players who competed in ten exciting games over two qualifying heats and a Final. This is down from 29 the previous year, which I attribute to a combination of some having to bow out this year (like the designer) as well as my decision to reduce the number of qualifying heats from three to two.

The Living Rules from GMT Games (http://www.gmtgames.com) were used, and were well received, as were the several examples of "enhanced" game sets brought by players. For those unfamiliar with the game, it is a euro/light wargame covering Europe in the 13th Century. The playing board is composed of map cards which are assembled during play, and which are also removed by the Mongols.

After exciting competition in the qualifying heats, Jim Jordan (defending champion), Steve Cameron, Ahmet Ilpars and Jim Dougherty advanced to a 4-player Final.

Following a trend seen in the preliminary games, the possession of Hungary turned out not to be nearly as important as commonly believed heretofore. Also noteworthy was an increased emphasis on naval affairs, as more opposed naval operations were attempted this year. For most of the Final the scores remained close, with the four players being separated by less than five points. Then, however, came the Mongols, and the key Mongol attack was the last one, which succeeded in destroying Asia Minor. Jim Jordan was able to ride this to victory as repeat champion, with Ahmet Ilpars coming in second, Jim Dougherty third and Steve Cameron fourth.

This year, my nomination for the Sportsmanship award goes to Jim Jordan. Not only did Jim act as a mentor, he pointed out plays to others that would hurt his chances (even in the Final). This is what sportsmanship is all about.

Before presenting the statistical information from the event, I would like to express my gratitude to this year's players for making this event the fun time that it was. I as the GM can try my best to do my part, but it is the players themselves, through their attitude and approach to the game, that truly define this or any tournament. I look forward to seeing all of you, and more new players, next year.

The games showed some interesting trends. First, here is the distribution of powers that were selected for each game:
France 100%
Venice 100%
England 100%
Russia 100%
Holy Roman Empire 85.71%
Spain 42.85%
Mameluks 57%
Almoravids 85.71%
Selijuks 100%
Hungary 14.28%
Poland 14.28%

Second, here is the distribution of powers chosen at start by the player who won the game:

Holy Roman Empire 57.14%
Russia 28%
France 14.28%
Selijuks 57.14%
Venice 28%
Almoravids 42.85%