Talia Carr explores a new universe.	David des Jardins combats the Finlander Antero Kuusi.
Duncan McGregor, Jay Boring and David Finberg lost in space.	Wounded GM Dave Finberg with his finalists.

We saw roughly the same number of bodies in all three heats. Participation in the earlier rounds was mixed among the choices of games played, with about half going for the basic game, and the rest opting for a mix of expansions. With 11 winners in 15 heat games, it was a natural bump to 12 for the semis, and four 3-player tables. A quick teaching session for those who hadn't had much experience with the expansions, and away we went.

Unlike previous years, the carnage in the Final was de minimis. Defending champ Karl Henning reprised his dominance, but David desJardins made it close, and might have had enough to win if many of the valuable foes had fallen toward the end of the flights, instead of the beginning when Karl was in front. Karl started Round 3 ahead and quickly collected valuable pirates before David's ship recovered.

Karl flew to victory on the strength of a huge second flight, finishing with lots of cargo for extra dollars. The space junk rough road card that round was no problem when you're out in front. Other highlights included Darin finishing Round 1 with a 4-tile ship (and two loans), not bad for a newcomer to invaders. Since he managed to finish the third race positive he's clearly a quick learner.

The other rough roads were a Big Baddies in Round 1, combined with a hazardous sector, but few enemies actually appeared, rendering it fairly harmless. In Round 3 it was Cosmic Psychosis, but it never hit, partially because most people were short on human crew.

The format again seemed to work well. Allowing a mix of options in the preliminary heats allowed newcomers to learn the system and enjoy the experience, but the more complicated setups in the elimination rounds allowed the creme to rise to the top. I don't think any significant tweaks are required for next year, but we may change the boards used. The biggest change considered would be going to two rough roads cards in the Final. That would significantly increase the carnage, possibly at the expense of allowing superior play to dominate. I think sticking with just one makes more sense, even if sometimes they don't have a huge effect.