Around ten interested people attended the Demo Friday afternoon, but only a few of those got the courage to try their hand in the tournament where the Beyma clan composed a third of the field of nine players. Patriarch Rob, the eventual champion, authored this report.

Players had the choice of playing the Quatre Bras, Ligny, or Mont St. Jean scenario. For play balance, a draw in the Ligny scenario was considered to be a Prussian win. Round 1 saw one Ligny scenario played with the remainder of the games being the short Quatre Bras scenario. Rob Beyma (French) bested Lembit Tohver (Prussians) in the Ligny scenario. The Prussians fought hard but were broken by the French Guard late in the scenario. Allen Kaplan played the British in the Quatre Bras scenario versus Brooks Beyma. Allen tenaciously defended the Quatre Bras crossroads for the entire game.

In the semi-finals, Allen Kaplan once again played the Iron Duke in the Quatre Bras scenario against Chris Orszak. Allen defended the woods just west of Quatre Bras. Chris maneuvered the French to the southeast of the crossroads. The battle hung in the balance for several turns. However, by the time that the French made their move towards Quatre Bras, the British infantry were in position and held the field.

Allen and Rob squared off in the Final using the Ligny scenario. The two adversaries had faced each other numerous times during the past 20 years in other games. Allen set up a Prussian defense anchored on St. Armand and Ligny. The Prussians refused their right flank. Rob advanced cautiously on the French left with the III Corps and maneuvered to the right with two cavalry corps. The French cavalry couldn't do much to the defenders behind the stream.

The French attack picked up when the IV Corps reached the front. The French artillery bombarded the Prussians and the Prussian guns responded. At this point, Blucher ordered an attack on the French left. The attack was beaten off; however, the French lost time as well as several steps.

A fortuitous Leader Card permitted four French Guard units to arrive a battle turn early. Under heavy attack by Turns 5 and 6, the Prussian defense began to waiver and units started to demoralize. Napoleon sent in the Guard late in the scenario to collapse the Prussian line and secure the objectives. Rob had earned his first Waterloo: Fate of France plaque.

We are going to change the format and schedule next year to make it easier for players to participate. Eventually, we would like to see a four-player campaign game Final.