twilight imperium   

Updated Nov. 23, 2012

2012 WBC Report  

 2013 Status: pending December 2012 Membership Trial Vote

Peter Putnam, PA

2012 Champion

Event History
2009    Dan Raspler     25
2010    Dan Raspler     24
2011    Michael Buccheri     28
2012    Peter Putnam     23

 Laurels

 Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
   1.  Dan Raspler        NY    10     60
   2.  Michael Buccheri   MD    12     54
   3.  Peter Putnam       PA    12     48
   4.  Will Kenyon        GA    11     30
   5.  Peter Walsh        PA    12     27
   6.  Rob Olsson         MD    12     24
   7.  Joe Harrison       KY    09     18
   8.  James Griffith     MD    12     12
   9.  Ed Jones           uk    11     12
  10.  Patrick Neary      NY    11      6
  11.  Dylan Routh        MD    10      6
  12.  Michael Rogozinski NY    09      6
  13.  Matt O'Connor      NJ    12      3
  14.  Steve Enzor        FL    10      3
  15.  Ryan Myslinski     NJ    09      3

2012 Laurelists                                          Repeating Laurelists: 

Peter Walsh, PA
2nd

James Griffith, MD
3rd

Rob Olsson, MD
4th

Michael Buccheri, MD
5th

Matt O'Connor, NJ
6th

Past Winners

Dan Raspler, NY
2009-2010

Michael Buccheri, MD
2011

Peter Putnam, PA
2012

Three galaxies ... no waiting.

GM Michael Buccheri and his finalists.

Xxcha Rules ...

For 2012 Twilight Imperium III was one again a century event after falling to trial status in 2011. That meant that those competing for control of the galaxy would be fighting for one of three coveted pieces of wood. The schedule and format for 2012 was the same as in 2011, and again I believe this is the best format available to us with the numbers we attract and the length of the game. Heats were held on Thursday, one in the morning and a second that evening. Advancing players played in an early morning Final Friday, which is scheduled to last most of the day.

Once again I tried to keep the heats limited to a timed 4-player game, with winners advancing. This year we did require one 3-player game in the early heats due to player turnout. Six winners and two alternates became finalists. (We use the in-game tiebreak rules to determine rank and take the top ones as alternates.) Many of the finalists were familiar names with only one player who had not been in a prior Final.

We also introduced a new custom map for the championship game. We chose between three map options and opted for a 3-galaxy map with many wormholes to keep all home systems tight. I was pleased with the way this map played, as there was plenty of room to expand, but no one was more than four systems away from any other player's home system. This made for a balanced game where players could spread out without stepping on one another, but needed to keep a strong deterrent force if they wanted to avoid being overrun. I look forward to playing this map again.

The finalists and their races were Peter Putnam - Xxcha, James Griffith - Jol Nar, Rob Olsson - Winnu, Pete Walsh - L1z1x, Michael Buccheri - the Naalu, Will Kenyon - Mentak, Matt O'connor - The Arborec, and Pat Neary - the Saar. The game went the distance, ending on Victory Points in a record time of six hours! It was a close match that any one of the top players could have won, but Pete Putnam and the often-maligned Xxcha made the ten-point victory requirement first. In the end, there were three other players who finished the game at nine VP and an additional three who were still in striking distance at eight VP. Only a single straggler, obviously playing the "long game," was out of contention at six VP. Had the game gone another round it would have been a tossup for the win, but Pete managed to hold onto his home system and score the needed points to trigger the game end.

I was impressed by the overall play, especially during the Final where everyone kicked it up a notch. The reduced playing time is a solid indication that most of the game is spent maneuvering and outthinking your opponents, and not in trying to grasp the rules. This was a far cry from the 12-hour affairs of past events, and it is good to see that the level of play is where you would expect it to be at the WBC. It was also fantastic to see someone win with the Xxcha as their race choice. This will help quell the noise coming from those who claim the Xxcha are not viable.
I look forward to seeing everyone next year.

 GM      Michael Buccheri  [4th Year]   NA
   buccheri@gmail.com   NA

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