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Sun worshipers among the pyramids
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Bruce Rae, Jason Levine, Dave Gagne
and Keith Layton |
Amun-Renaissance ...
Amun-Re enjoyed a large attendance increase with 77
players, its highest total since its debut 11 years ago. In the
heats, 23 tables yielded 22 different winners, with only Chris
Moffa managing to win twice. Owen Kyrollos won by the largest
margin (10 points), while David Platnick had the highest winning
score (48). On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest winning
score (34) was posted by Evan Cagwin to edge 2012 laurelist Cary
Morris and Edward Fear, who tied for runner-up at 33. Two games
finished in ties. One was also the closest game of the heats,
with eight points separating all five players and Scott Saccenti
edging Greg Crowe to punch his ticket to the semifinals (and
deny a seat to Greg, who finished as the first alternate).
 20
of the 22 winners opted to continue to the semifinals, making
four tables of five players each. The top seeds (Chris Moffa,
Alex Bove, Bob Cranshaw, and Aran Warszawski) were seated at
separate tables, but only Aran advanced. The other winners were
former finalists Eric Freeman and Andrew Emerick and relative
newcomer Owen Kyrollos. Rob Kircher - without an AMR laurel
to his name - was the closest runner-up, allowing him to join
the 5-player Final and forcing Haim Hochboim to settle for 6th
place laurels.
This year's Final had exactly the same winning (33) and last
place scores (27) as last year's, and in many ways it was just
as close, even though the margin of victory this time was four
points. The Old Kingdom saw players scramble for money as only
five positive sacrifices were made and farmer income never rose
above 1 gold. The pharaoh also changed hands three times. After
scoring, Andrew had the lead at 13, with Eric and Rob at 10 and
9 respectively and Owen and Aran slightly farther back at 7 apiece.
Only three scoring cards were played. As is common at the halfway
point, the two scoring leaders had the least cash while the lower
scorers were hoping to convert their larger stacks into comebacks
in the second half.
In the New Kingdom, the first half money leaders each bought
one of the most developed territories: In Round 4, Rob bought
Memphis and its two pyramids for 15; in Round 5, Owen used his
bid blockade to pay only 15 for Damanhur and its three pyramids;
and in Round 6, Aran paid 28 for the two pyramids and extra brick
on Sawu. While Rob fortified his pyramid lead on Memphis, Aran
and Eric worked toward double sets. Owen was out of position
and decided to complete two sets rather than compete with Rob
for the most-pyramids bonus. Andrew was very cash poor and had
to settle for a single set. Aran's purchase of Sawu allowed him
to take the most-pyramids bonus on the opposite side of the Nile.
The last sacrifice was crucial for Rob. He had built a second
pyramid on Amarna but left just one on Edfu. If his sacrifice
was the highest, he could build a second pyramid on Edfu and
complete another set for four points. Owen and Rob both bid nearly
all of their cash, but Rob came out ahead and completed his set.
Those four points were his margin of victory. Owen had to settle
for second. Aran and Andrew tied for third place, with Aran winning
the tiebreaker with seven pyramids to Andrew's three. Eric was
one point behind. The scores were 33-29-28-28-27.
Thanks to everyone who helped us reach nearly record player
numbers. Let's break 100 next year!
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Andy Latto and Perrianne Lurie mug
for the camera. |
GM Alex Bove oversees his finalists. |
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Alex Bove [1st Year]
NA
610-357-8308