Its all smiles ahead as Bill Burch seems to be recruiting stewardesses for his flight.	Luke Koleszar, Mike Stanley, Jack Stalica, and Michael Holmquist prepare for Fare Wars.

Strategy is an important component in a game like Air Baron. Building your "empire" turn after turn, gathering cash and market share along the way, requires a cetain amount of planning, risk-taking, and calculation to succeed. But Lady Luck has a role as well, for better or for worse, as our tournament Final illustrated.

Starting with a banker's roll of "3", our five finalists began the game with decent cash, ranging from $4 to $8. At the end of the first round, the first Bid for Contract had been sold for $4, and three players were out of money, having spent all they had on their initial purchases. They bought West Palm Beach, San Diego, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Seattle, all of which have been the first steps to victory for many in the past.

Lady Luck took a stand early, keeping San Diego in the cup and the Green player penniless for the next four rounds. The second Bid went to Blue for $5. By the time Blue broke the $50 market share barrier, throwing the first calamity in the cup and clearing the way for $10 loans, he had gobbled up the other two spokes in Los Angeles on his way. By the end of Round 4, Blue and Red were both at $50 market share, Yellow was at $30, and Orange was concentrating on spokes in New York and Miami.

Finally, in Round 5, San Diego and Los Angeles were drawn, yielding $8 profit for Green. On his turn, he took the first $10 loan, immediately lost $7 of it to Crash, and plowed the rest into Minneapolis-St. Paul for $8. As the last player in the round, Blue went into Fare Wars, drew the Bid for the $3 Contract (which went to Orange for $10), and diced his way into control of Phoenix and $90 market share before losing his takeover attempt in San Diego on a tie.

In Round 6, Yellow and Orange both got to $60 market share, and Blue left Fare Wars to buy Singapore and add one more "plus" in a future attack on Green's beleaguered San Diego.

Yellow began Round 7 by acquiring Baltimore-Washington Int'l, which took him to $90 market share. The round ended with Blue taking the Fare Wars plunge again, winning San Diego, Omaha, Reno, Anchorage, and Sacremento, stopping only when his money got low and his market share had risen to $180.

In Round 8, Red bought Birmingham, which took him to $120 market share, Yellow took a $20 loan for Fare Wars but was stopped on his first attempt, Orange bought the last spoke in New York to push his market share to $120, and Blue came out of Fare Wars and immediately pulled the Fuel Cost Hike chit. He sold Seattle and San Diego to pay the gas bill, then took a $20 loan and bought San Diego back.

Round 9 saw the purchase of the first Jumbo (Green, placed on St. Louis), Orange taking a $20 loan and buying Montreal, Red taking a $20 Loan, going into Fare Wars, and being denied on his first roll, and Yellow getting to $110 market share still in Fare Wars.

In Round 10, Orange added Paris to his New York-based empire, Red, still in Fare Wars, picked up Austin, all of Dallas-Fort Worth, then was stopped trying to take over Omaha. Yellow left Fare Wars and bought Columbus outright, taking his market share to $130. Green sold Kansas City to pay his loan interest.

Orange, who had gotten several nice $20 payouts from Montreal, started Round 11 by paying off his loan and deploying a Jumbo Jet on Minneapolis-St. Paul. Blue's purchase of New Orleans pushed his market share to $160. Red left Fare Wars and picked up Salt Lake City.

Blue picked up Portland to begin Round 12, taking his market share to $200. Green paid off his loan and bought Milwaukee, Red made no purchase but bought down his loan by $10, and Yellow paid off his $20 loan and replaced it with a $40 one. He went into Fare Wars with his new war chest, but was stopped on his first attempt. Orange, still swimming in cash, bought a Jumbo for Boston.

Blue led off Round 13 (Lucky Thirteen!) by pulling Recession, which inspired Orange to go into Fare Wars. He proceeded to romp through Yellow's hubs, taking over all spokes in Detroit, Washington, and Miami, knocking Yellow's market share to zero and raising his own to $280. With $55 cash in hand, Orange declared victory.

Each of the finalists had won two or more games to get to the Final, so their strategies were proven and their skills sharp. But Lady Luck made the difference, keeping Green's pockets empty, Orange's pockets full, and Yellow's dice ineffective. Congratulations to all of our Air Baron players! They play with energy, passion, and good humor, rarely missing a chance to help or teach a less-experienced player.

Young Mr. Shea seems to prefer jumbo jets to cheerios. Better give them a heads up in the Juniors room.	Champion Chris Storzillo shows GM Henry Richardson the secret of his success ... a generous draw cup.