Money is Golden Again

For the past several years I have reported the Amun Re final results with wondrous joy. The competition in the game is among the best at the WBC. Nearly everyone is considered an experienced and/or strong player. Therefore, it is of no surprise the final table consisted of several players ranked in the top 25 of all time. Perpetual final table qualifiers Greg Thatcher and Eric Freeman were joined with the consistently strong Rob Flowers, Mike Kaltman, and Micah McCormick.

The first three rounds saw no deals to be had. All provinces went for $6 and the weakest province went for $0. Similar results occurred in rounds two and three. At the end of the first epoch, Greg had the lead with 12 points thanks to satisfying two power cards and a generic set. Both Mike and Micah had 11 points thanks to splitting most on either side of the Nile, one temple, and satisfying a power card. Rob and Eric rounded out the group with nine and eight respectively. Money, which was even weaker in this game since farmers did not make it to level 2 sacrifice until the end of the game, was fairly tight at the end of the first epoch with Mike having 32, Micah 31, Greg 28, Rob 24, and Eric trailing at 17.

The beginning of the second epoch had interesting bid blockades utilized to lock up Mendes with two pyramids (Rob for $10) and Abu with one pyramid (Eric for $10). After standard round four purchasing, round five, had the games most valuable and timely province auction. Mike, bidding first, snagged a 3 pyramid Baharya for a measly $21; immediately giving him the lead for most on the west side of the Nile.

The final round saw Greg use a bid blockade with a bid of six for Damanhur with 1 pyramid (which, in my opinion, was a mistake given I had $32 going into the round). It was trumped by Micah’s bid of $15 and Greg was forced to vacate the province, taking Avaris with one pyramid as consolation.

Rob and Greg were in a fight for most pyramids (4.1/4.1) on the east side of the Nile, while Mike and Micah were fighting for domination on the west side (4/3.2, respectively). Micah’s bid on Damanhur, however, left him with too little money to truly challenge Mike for most on the side.

With temples and farmers being sacrificed to a level 2, Mike had enough money to take second place points. That proved the difference in the game as Mike pulled in front of Greg and won 38 to 34. Micah (27), Rob (25), and Eric (25 – but one less brick to lose tie-breaker) finished in the remaining positions.

A great game and so much fun to continue the tradition of Amun Re excellence!