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Virgin Queen (VGQ) WBC 2019 Event Report
Updated February 6, 2020.
33 Players Eugene Hourany 2019 Status 2020 Status Event History
2019 Champion & Laurels
 

From Walk-on To Winner

Attendance at the seventh Virgin Queen tournament was up slightly with 33 players. We continued to hold five games in the opening heat and four in the second. Six of those nine games were five-player games where the Holy Roman Empire was activated as a neutral power, a configuration that is proving to be a reliable approach to dealing with heats where we are not lucky enough to have a number divisible by six. Winners in these games included a cast of experienced veterans: Justin Rice, Chris Trimmer, Jeff Heidman, Manuel Bravo, Peter Card, Max Duboff, Henry Russell and Kirk Harris. Only the win by walk-on Eugene Hourany was a significant surprise; he guided the English to victory after a quick explanation of the game prior to our second heat. Wins were divided between England (4), Protestant (3), Spain (1) and Ottoman (1).

Having warmed up in the opening heats on the first day, our nine winners joined nine alternates for the semifinals the next morning. All three games concluded with a different type of victory. In the first contest, Chris Trimmer won on victory points with the English. In the second semi, Michael Kiefte stormed to the first Spanish Gunpowder Plot victory of the year, surprising Justin Rice’s England on just the second turn. And the third semifinal table was taken by Kirk Harris, who was able to steer the Protestants to a religious auto-win (having use the military route to win as Protestants in our second heat). Two of the wildcard alternates for the final came from Kirk’s table: Peter Card (Ottoman) and Eugene Hourany (England), who would be representing our new players. Gareth Williams was the sixth finalist based on his 21-VP finish as Holy Roman Empire at Chris’s table.

The first two power selections were predictable given the wins by power in earlier rounds: Chris Trimmer selected England followed by Kirk Harris choosing Protestant. Defending champ Michael Kiefte then once again allowed the gods to select his power, with that die roll coming up as Spain. Power selection concluded with Eugene Hourany (Ottoman), Peter Card (Holy Roman) and Gareth Williams (France). All three semifinal winners would be entering the final with the same power they had just played while each of the wildcard entries would be taking on a new role.

Turn-by-turn highlights of the two-turn final follow.

Turn 3

  • France obtains marriages for all three Valois royals (with two of those marriages being to Spain’s Philip II and Louise of Lorraine) and arranges alliances with Spain, England and Holy Roman.
  • Holy Roman chooses Catholic secret religious preference.
  • Ottoman gets off to a rocky start, losing two galleys to early naval battles and a card to the Knights of St. John.
  • Spain wins the Polish Royal Election and nets two more VP from the Dutch Revolt.
  • Protestant revolt to take Amsterdam.
  • Holy Roman uses Sultana Safiye to gain control of Venice and then intercedes in the
  • Ottoman/Spanish conflict, putting Buda under siege.
  • Ottoman however has extra cards from the Genoese Bankers and is able to break the siege of Buda, gain 2 piracy VP, and capture Malta before the end of the turn.
  • Ottoman is also the winner in Patronage with a roll of 12 to allow Seydi ali Reis to gain 2 more VP and the Excavation Science Bonus.
  • The biggest overall concern at the end of this turn is blocking Kirk Harris from obtaining a third Protestant auto-win. Space count is at 42 out of 50 needed (9 in England, 3 in Scotland, 13 in Netherlands, 17 in France)

VP: Ottoman 20, Spain 17, England 16, France 14, HRE 10, Protestant 17

Turn 4

  • Peace breaks out between Ottoman/HRE and Spain/Protestants. Numerous alliances form for the turn.
  • Suez Canal constructed. Suddenly the Ottoman’s 22 VP total is a concern for the table.
  • War in Persia is played for CP for second turn in a row; this time to send out Drake and Frobisher on potential voyages of circumnavigation.
  • Spain tries to spread Catholicism in England but his minor hits cannot penetrate a wall of English regulars. Holy Roman plays Puritans to at least put enough English spaces under unrest to drop the space count to 38.
  • Kirk plays his Home Card to try for the religious auto win. Only gains 7 spaces though putting his count at 45.
  • As the religious battle continues unabated, the Ottoman tries to steal some circumnavigation VP from the English. However, Murat Reis fails to reach the Strait of Magellan without excessive damage. England retaliates with a Witchcraft play to steal a card from the Ottoman.
  • England’s sea captains make the final push and both would succeed … except for a last minute Scurvy response card play (by Spain) that knocks out Drake. Denying England this VP would have terrible consequences at the end of the turn.
  • England assassinates Duke of Alva while France takes out Admiral Coligny.
  • France gains diplomatic control of the Papacy. But Alencon’s marriage to Louise de Coligny is cancelled at the last-minute, no doubt because the Huguenots have suspicions about who was responsible for the assassination of Louise’s father!
  • In Patronage, Sinan grabs a 2 VP award for his architecture, bumping the Ottoman total to 24. El Greco and Tycho Brahe score a point each for the Holy Roman.

FINAL SCORING AND STANDINGS

  • Ottoman: 24 VP (Suez 2, Piracy 2, Scientists 2, Artist 1, Architect 2, Base 15). (1st)
  • Spain: 18 (3rd)
  • England: 19 (2nd)
  • France: 17 (5th)
  • HRE: 12 (+0 from Catholic religious preference) (6th)
  • Protestant: 17 (4th)

In only his third Virgin Queen game ever, Eugene Hourany led all other players by 5 or more victory points at the end of Turn 4 to earn a Domination win as Ottoman. (Note that the game would have proceeded another turn if not for the Scurvy event). The experienced veterans were left to discuss what had gone wrong. However, one of them (Peter Card) did get to leave with a nice consolation prize, Virgin Queen’s first-ever sand plaque!

Play Balance

In the eight years that Virgin Queen has appeared at WBC, we have now played 101 games. Victories by the four powers that appear in every game are as follows:

  • Spain: 18 (including six by Gunpowder Plot and three by military victory)
  • England: 23 (all by VP)
  • France: 13 (all by VP)
  • Protestant: 26 (including eleven religious and nine military victories)

At least thirteen of the games were only 4 or 5-player games, but even after not appearing as player-powers in all games the other two sides have scored a number of victories:

  • Ottoman: 13 (including three by military victory)
  • HRE: 8 (one by military victory)

 
2019 Laurelists Repeating Laurelists: 1
Chris Trimmer Michael Kiefte Kirk Harris Gareth Williams Peter Card
2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
 
The negotiations have begun in Rathskeller. Diplomacy in one corner of the world.
Everyone is interested in Chris's moves. Ed Rothenheber waits as the scores are tallied.
Gareth Williams and Peter Card earning their laurels. Finalists with GM Ed Beach.
 
GM  Ed Beach [2nd Year]  NA
 NA  NA