Tim Simmons, Tom Cannon, Gerald Lientz and Claire Pfeiffer enjoy life on the farm in one of the 49 games played in the tournament.	Rob Leveille, GM Malinda Kyrkos, Legend Dan and Daniel Broh-Kahn contest the closest game of the tournament from 1st to 4th.

Old MacDonald had a Farm ...

In its second year at WBC (and its first with any real availability of the game in the U.S., Agricola more than doubled in attendance, thanks to being available in English for a full year and rising to the top spot in the ratings on Boardgamegeek.com.  Although the game comes with three decks of Occupations and Minor Improvements, the tournament used only the "Complex" (K) deck. 
 
In the first heat there were 18 games played, including three 3-player games.  The highest score in Heat 1 went to Daniel Eppolito with 56 points, while the lowest winning score belonged to Alex Bove with 32 in a 3-player game.  The highest non-winning score of 43 went to Matt Tolman and Doug Faust.  The average winning score for the heat was 42.28, while the overall average score was 31.52. 
 
The second heat drew 14 4-player games, with an average score of 35.57 and an average winning score of 43.87.  The highest score and largest margin of victory of the heat and the tournament went to Steve Koleszar with 60 points, as he defeated defending champion Rob Kircher by 21 points.  Richard Jenulis and Don Tatum's tied victory with 31 was the lowest winning score of the tournament, while the highest non-winning score went to Ryan Sturm with 49.  The closest game overall, with only five points separating first and last place, was won by "Legend" Dan Hoffman with 41, defeating Rob Leveille with 40, Malinda Kyrkos with 39, and Daniel Broh-Kahn with 36. 
 
At the conclusion of the heats there were three double winners, David Platnick, Richard J. Shay, and Winton Lemoine.  15 of the top 16 qualifiers were present for the semi-finals, leaving one spot open, and the top two alternates, Herbert Gratz and Josh Ostrander, were tied right down to the final tiebreaker:  a die roll.  The dice were rolled and Herbert won, but Josh took it in stride and joked about how getting knocked out of a Euro tournament on a die-roll would make for a great story.  His great attitude and humor about an unfavorable outcome earned him the GM's nomination for the Sportsmanship award. 
 
The semi-finals consisted of four 4-player games.  Richard J. Shay defeated Jesse Dean, Daniel Eppolito, and Ryan Sturm, Bill Crenshaw topped Richard Meyer, Richard M. Shay, and John Fanjoy, while Theodore Mullally beat Rob Leveille, David Platnick, and Herbert Gratz.  The last table was won by Mike Kaltman with 46, defeating Winton Lemoine and Steve Koleszar tied for second at 43 and Doug Mercer with 33. Winton and Steve's margin of defeat of three points was the closest of the semis, earning them 5th and 6th place Laurels respectively.  The tournament tiebreaker of reverse turn order on the last turn gave the edge and 5th place to Winton, while Steve took 6th. 
 
Defending champion Rob Kircher and 2008 5th place finisher Joshua Cooper each won one game in the heats, but due to tiebreakers didn't place high enough to advance to the semis.  2008 runner-up David Platnick won both heats but lost in the semis, leaving 2008 6th place finisher Mike Kaltman as the last surviving previous Laurelist in the field. 
 
The Final was one of the closest games of the tournament, with Tedd Mullally's tally of 51 narrowly edging Richard J. Shay with 49, followed by Mike Kaltman with 43 and Bill Crenshaw with 37. 
 
The cards played in the Final were as follows: 
Tedd:  Lover, Corn Sheaf, Clay Oven, Constable, Cooking Hearth, Clay Worker, Granary, Clay Pit, Bread Paddle, Market Woman, Well, Ox Team, Horse.
Richard:  Seed Seller, Crooked plow, Cooking Hearth, Clay Hut Extension, Sleeping Corner, Sawhorse, Lumber.
Mike:  Perpetual Student, Slaughterman, Fireplace, Scholar, Bookshelf, Manufacturer, Fence Overseer, Stone Cart, Animal Breeder, Swing Plow, Wood Carver, Pelts, Turnip Field, Corn Sheaf
Bill:  Storehouse Keeper, House Goat, Countryman, Stone oven, Cattle Breeder, Yoke, Wooden Strongbox
 
A complete turn-by turn replay of the final game can be found at http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/437140
 
The final scoring: 
 

Finalist -	Mike Kaltman	Richard Shay	Bill Crenshaw	Ted Mullally
Type	# - Points	# - Points	# - Points	# - Points
Fields	6 - 4	5 - 4	5 - 4	5 - 4
Pastures	2 - 2	4 - 4	0 - -1	3 - 3
Grain	2 - 1	8 - 4	8 - 4	8 - 4
Vegetables	1 - 1	4 -4	4 - 4	4 - 4
Sheep	1 - 1	1 - 1	0 - -1	1 - 1
Wild Boar	3 - 2	3 - 2	0 - -1	0 - -1
Cattle	4 - 3	3 - 2	0 - -1	0 - -1
Fenced Stables	2 - 2	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Family Members	5 - 15	5 - 15	5 - 15	5 - 15
Clay Rooms	4 - 0	4 - 4	0 - 0	0 - 0
Stone Rooms	4 - 8	0 - 0	5 - 10	4 - 8
Unused Spaces	2 - -2	0 - 0	4 - -4	0 - 0
Begging Cards	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Card Points	3	2	4	10
Bonus Points	3	7	2	2
TOTAL	43	49	37	51

Thanks to generous donations from Z-Man and Lookout Games, lots of prizes were given out to the top players.  All 3rd and 4th place finishers in the semi-final received an Agricola Through the Seasons expansion postcard, while the 2nd place finishers each got to choose one prize and the finalists two prizes from among various official Agricola expansions and accessories.  Winner Tedd Mullally chose the most coveted prize, a full set of Agricola designer player boards. 
 
The score sheets that were used asked for the players to note the cards that were played by each player, so that statistics could be kept on how often cards were played and their success rates.  All but a few tables complied.  The most commonly played card was by far the Cooking Hearth, played 50 times, but since there are three of them (including the Minor Improvement), this is no surprise.  The most commonly played Minor Improvement and Occupation were the Horse and Clay Worker, each played 15 times. 
 
The most successful cards (those that were played more than once overall and won at least half of the time when they were played) were: 
Sawhorse (played 12 times/won 6 times), Swing Plow (11/6), Granary (5/4), Stone Cart (5/3), Clay Worker (15/10), Brushwood Collector (10/5), Market Woman (10/5), Slaughterman (10/5), Resource Seller (4/3), Traveling Salesman (4/3), Smallholder (4/2), and Veterinarian (3/2).  Some notable exclusions from this list are the Lover (11/5), Wet Nurse (11/3), Adoptive Parents (1/1), and Reed Hut (1/0). 
 
The number of wins scored from each seat position was tracked as well, with interesting results.  In the first heat, nine games were won by the first start player, and the other nine wins were spread among the other positions.  In the second heat, the victories were more evenly distributed, except for the fourth seat which won only one game.  Of all the 37 tournament games (including one tie), 15 of them were won by the first start player (first seat), eight games were won by the second seat, eight by the third seat, and seven by the fourth seat.
 
A few changes are planned for next year's tournament, including allowing any of the three decks to be played in the heats and instituting a card draft as outlined in the appendix of the game's rules.