conquest of paradise   

Updated Nov. 12, 2014

2014 WBC Report  

 2015 Status: pending 2015 GM commitment

Dave Cross, VA

2014 Champion

 

Event History
2008    Mark McCandless    19
2009    Nick Smith    32
2010    Steve Simmons    31
2011    Daniel Pappas    28
2012    Rejean Tremblay    23
2013    Keith Ferguson    23
2014    Dave Cross    30

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  David Cross        VA    14     77
  2.  Mark McCandless    LA    10     44
  3.  Nick Smith         uk    14     40
  4.  Rejean Tremblay    on    14     39
  5.  Steve Simmons      NJ    11     33
  6.  Daniel Pappas      MD    11     32
  7.  Charles Drozd      IL    13     30
  8.  Keith Ferguson     VA    13     20
  9.  Andy Lewis         DE    13     20
 10.  Steve Cameron      PA    14     18
 11.  Phil Rennert       MD    11     18
 12.  Brian Greer        VA    13     14
 13.  Guy Ferraiolo      PA    14     12
 14.  Keith Ferguson     VA    11     12
 15.  Alan Arvold        LA    10     12
 16.  Scott DeBrestian   on    09     12
 17.  Ed Beach           MD    08     12
 18.  Dave Stiffler      VA    12      9
 19.  Jay Laughlin       VA    10      9
 20.  Dave Dentel        VA    13      6
 21.  Ted Drozd          IL    12      6
 22.  Alan Sudy          VA    08      6
 23.  Jack Stalica       on    08      4
 24.  Brian Goodwin      VA    14      3
 25.  Kevin McPartland   MD    12      3
 26.  Brian Keller       VA    09      3

2014 Laurelists                         Repeating Laurelists: 

Steve Cameron, PA
2nd

Guy Ferraiolo, PA
3rd

Rejean Tremblay, on
4th

Nick Smith, uk
5th

Brian Goodwin, VA
6th

Past Winners

Mark McCandless, LA
2008

Nick Smith, uk
2009

Steve Simmons, NJ
2010

Daniel Pappas, MD
2011

Rejean Tremblay, on
2012

Keith Ferguson, VA
2013

Dave Cross, VA
2014
     

Mark McCandless and Mark Hinkle ready their war canoes for the inevitable conflict in paradise.

Brian Goodwin, Guy Ferraiolo, Charles Drozd and Steve Simmons go exploring for new lands.

Aloha ...

Beware Newcomers ...

Change was in the air for the 2014 tournament! First, in response to popular demand, two additional preliminary heats were added to the tournament—now you could play in four heats before the semifinals, instead of just two. The change was overwhelmingly popular, with all of the preliminary heats (scattered across different times and different days) very well attended. Some players couldn't get enough of the game, attending session after session reguardless of whether they had won or lost.

The other big change was in response to the upcoming publication of the second edition of the game. For the first time, Advanced Rules were used in the tournament—nearly all of them. Also, the Random Event cards that were published in C3i Magazine were added. They will be included in the second edition printing, so they were included in the tournament as well. The GM also used wooden markers for villages in his copy of the game (in use in every round)—in response to the upgraded components for the new edition.

The first rounds saw the full range of game styles. In one game, there was not a single attack, as all four players were finding good places to colonize, and expanding nicely—until one player declared victory. In other games, there was the more usual warfare—sometimes only near the end of the game, while other times there was raiding and fighting throughout.

The semifinals ewere composed of three 4-player games, with nearly all players winners from the preliminaries. Starting positions were determined by seeding from the four heats. All three games were close, hard-fought battles; so close, in fact, that one ended in a draw! Both of those players advanced to the Final, with the tie-breaker rule determining who had the better seeding. So the Final table was set: Rejean Tremblay as Samoa, Guy Ferraiolo as Tonga, David Cross as Hiva, and Steve Camron as Raiatea.

The game began with some very lack-luster exploring, with nobody finding anything of note—until Raiatea found Tahiti. Then, both Raiatea and Hiva discovered Aotearoa (New Zealand)! Since the advanced "South Island" rule was in effect, the two players cut a deal to share the riches. Then suddenly, the Fijians struck. Their Random Event card activated them, and due to an incredibly lucky series of die rolls, the Samoan home islands were destroyed. Tonga was also hit by the Fijians, but not as devastatingly—they were able to step into the empty Samoan Islands. The battered Samoans then showed that they were not completely out of it, by revealing Hawaii in their control. Samoa later attacked Tahiti, but Raiatea stopped the attack with his Arioi card. Meanwhile, Hiva had been quietly stringing together an empire of many small island groups—along with the South Island of New Zealand. His final Arts & Culture card purchase showed that his people had invented Surfing, putting him over the top for a decisive win!

So, for the seventh year in a row, we have a first-time WBC champion in Conquest of Paradise: David Cross and his victorious Hivans! He had been to the Final several times, but had never won. The funy thing is, at the very start of the tournament, Dave had told me that CQP would not be his Team Game this year—his team had neglected to get their paperwork turned in on time. "So watch", he said. "I'll probably win it this year." And he did!

Stan Buck seems to be taking the volcanic eruption a lot calmer than Rejean Tremblay.

Dave Dentel and Steve Cameron are dreaming of hula girls and coconut drinks.

 GM     Kevin McPartland (7th Year)  2885 Jessup Rd, Jessup, MD 20794 
   k4mcp@verizon.net   NA

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