Roger Taylor tres to find Dan Hoffman in Pakistan.	An unusual map for an unusual war.

The Travails of a Rookie GM ...

The Labyrinth WBC debut proved successful with a Mulligan and five elimination rounds providing many hours of intriguing play. I was pleasantly surprised as despite the superb quality of the design, the subject matter left me wondering if the game would draw sufficiently well to hold an audience.

The Tuesday night Mulligan featured 12 games of the default "Let's Roll" scenario in a single deck configuration, with seven USA victories, including one by the GM. This trend favoring the US player would continue throughout the tournament, countering internet speculation that this scenario favors the Jihadists. Winners of the Mulligan received a first round bye in the Single Elimination play that began Thursday.

Thursday brought not just elimination rounds but also the arrival of designer Volkho Ruhnke and his son Andrew. Volkho brought some extra special prizes, and served both as Assistant GM and successful eliminator player whenever we had an odd number of players in a round. In fact, he eliminated me in such a round.

The Final found a victorious Chris Yaure upsetting the reigning Caesar and CDW master Stefan McCay to become our first Labyrinth champion. In addition to the "wood" and a GMT merchandise credit, Chris also received a framed proof print of the Labyrinth box cover. Stefan McCay received a copy of Bernard Lewis book "The Crisis of Islam".

Overall, a total of 44 games were played, all of the default "Let's Roll" scenario in a single deck configuration. Of those 44, the US player won 29 times for a 65.9% win ratio. Based on this it is likely that next year will see the use of some type of bidding system for side selection.

In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone who played and made this event a success. Some names come to mind, such as Martin Sample who on his own initiative taught the game to inexperienced players, highlighting the volunteerism that is a key strength of WBC. Also Volkho Ruhnke deserves special thanks for working hard in support of his game.

GM Joel Tamburo enjoys a game with designer Volko Ruhnke and his son Andrew.	Caesar Stefan Mecay and major cardshark is upset by Chris Yaure in the Final.