Goodwin Wins His First Naval War Title!

Naval War 2023 used a Heat based tournament with 31 fleet commanders taking part in the 3 Heats. Game table assignments in each Heat were made thru card selection, generating as many 5 or 6 player games as possible. Each game winner would then move on to the Semifinal round.

Heat 1 – A total of 12 players signed in for Heat 1. The Heat consisted of 2 games of 6 players, including the GM at Table A. Table A went 5 rounds with Jim Bodenheimer winning with 92 points. Two other players also passed the 75 point winners’ threshold. That being former 3 time champion Jim Fleckenstein and the GM. Table B went 4 rounds with Jim’s brother Karl Bodenheimer, the 2022 champion emerging victorious with 78 points.

Heat 2 – A total of 18 players signed in for Heat 2, so this heat had 3 games of 6 players each. Table A was a 4 round affair. Mac Willingham was victorious with 77 points. Mac got this win even though he lost 10 points in the fourth round from fleet elimination. There were 2 other players just short of the winning threshold, Erin Weir (74 points) and David Brooks (73 points). Table B went 5 rounds with 2 players tied at 80 points in the end. The 2d6 tie breaker roll off for victory took 2 tries. Harry Flawd and Ben Collinson Sr. tied again in the first roll off with 6. Harry then won out on the second roll. Table C went 4 rounds with Jack Proksch scoring 94 points for the win. Again 2 other players, Jack’s brother Patrick Proksch (80 points) and former champion William Kendrick (76 points) crossed the winning threshold.

Heat 3 – A total of 15 players signed in for Heat 3 with the GM joining in again. Three games of 5 players each were formed. Table A went 5 rounds. Wade Fowble outpointed three time champion Jim Fleckenstein 86 points to 75 points to earn the win. Table B with myself here went 4 rounds. Andrew Buccheri got off to a slow start with a round 1 fleet elimination holding him to 1 point. He quickly made up for that getting to 57 points after round 3. In round 4 Andrew totally blew away his competition using 2 destroyer squadrons (DD) to score 71 points and win with 128 total points. Also, of note during the game, William Kendrick took 4 carrier strikes in round 2 with 3 hits scored. Table C only went 3 rounds with Brian Goodwin, being the lone survivor in round 3, scoring the survivors 10 point bonus to win with 85 points. Without that extra 10 points Brian would have been tied with Glenn E.L. Petroski at 75 points for the win.

Final: With only 8 heat winners qualifying for the Semifinal the tournament went directly to the Final. Before then Harry Flawd informed me, he would not be able to make the Final which was dropped to 7 players.

The 7 finalists selected cards to determine seating order for the Final table. Seating order was (1) Brian Goodwin, (2) Karl Bodenheimer, (3) Mac Willingham, (4) Jim Bodenheimer, (5) Wade Fowble, (6) Andrew Buccheri and (7) Jack Proksch. Seat position 1 would deal to begin round 1 of the Final. The deal for subsequent rounds would be the leader, per standard game rules. The Final would be played to the 75 point score conclusion. Player round highlights follow.

Final – Round 1: Karl, Jim, and Mac each have a carrier (CV) to start play. Preliminary red card play sees Andrew miss with a torpedo boat (PT) and Jack sinks the Yamato (9) with a sub. Mac and Karl each drew an additional ship.

• Brian: Smoke 1 time. Received a minefield (M2). Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Aandrea Dorita (4), Caio Duilio (4) and Sscheer (3). 1 (11 minus 10 eliminated) points
• Karl: Used CV 8 times. Drew 2 additional ships. Sank New Jersey (7 – CV eliminated Brian), King George V (6 – CV) and Hood (5). 18 points
• Mac: Received minefields (M1 and M2 - Akagi sunk). Used CV 2 times. Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Revenge (4). 4 point
• Jim: Used CV 5 times. Sank Musashi (9 – CV), Bismarck (8 – CV), Missouri (7 – CV) and Conte Di Cavour (4). 28 points
• Wade: Smoke 1 time. Sank Fuso (5) and Ramillies (4). 9 points
• Andrew: Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Iowa (7), Ise (5), Kirishima (5), Lutzow (3) and Akagi (3 – by M2 mine). 23 points
• Jack. Received a minefield (M1). Minesweeper used. Played destroyer squadrons 1 and 2 (both sunk). Sank Yamato (9 – prelim sub), Nevada (5), West Virginia (5) and Graf Spee (3). 22 points
• Jim will start round 2

Final - Round 2: Mac (1) and Jim (2) have CVs to start play. Preliminary red card play sees Jim and Andrew each receive an M1. Jim misses with a sub, Mac has a PT sink Yamato (9). Jim draws an additional ship and Wade gets 2 additional ships.

• Brian: Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Bismarck (8) and Roma (6). 14 points, total 15
• Karl: Smoke 1 time. Sank Haruna (5) and Kirishima (5). 10 points, total 28
• Mac: Smoke 1 time. Used CV 5 times. Sank Yamato (9 – prelim PT), Missouri (7 - CV), Iowa (7 - CV), Andrea Doria (4) and Enterprise (3). 30 points, total 34
• Jim: Used CVs 9 times. Received an M1. Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Musashi (9 – CV) and Tirpitz (8 - CV). 7 (17 minus 10 elimination) points, total 35
• Wade: Drew 4 additional ships. Played DD1 (Roll 1 – sank Rodney (6). Sank Akagi (3) - eliminated Jim). 9 points, total18
• Andrew: Smoke 1 time. Received an M1. Sank Renown (4) and Graf Spee (3). 7 points, total 30
• Jack: Smoke 2 times. Received an M2 – used minesweeper. Received another M2. Sank Giulio Cesare (4) and Scheer (3). 7 points, total 29
• Jim will start round 3,

Final – Round 3: Brian, Karl, Wade, and Jack each have a CV to start play. Preliminary red card play sees Jim receives an M1 and Jack receives an M2. Jack misses with a PT. Brian draws 2 additional ships.

• Brian: Used CV 4 times. Played DD1 (sunk). Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Tirpitz (8 – CV), New Jersey (7 – CV), Nelson (6 – CV), South Dakota (6 – CV), Revenge (4), Caio Duilio (4) and Lutzow (3). 28 (38 minus 10 elimination) points, total 43
• Karl: Used CV 10 times. Sank Musashi (9 - CV), Missouri (7 – CV), Littorio (6 – CV) and Renown (4). 26 points, total 54
• Mac: Drew 2 additional ships. Sank North Carolina (6), Kirishima (5), Repilse (4) and Ark Royal (3 eliminated Brian). 18 points, total 52
• Jim: Received an M1. Played DD2 (eliminated before use). Sank Scheer (3). -7 (3 minus 10 elimination) points, total 28
• Wade: Smoke 2 times. Used CV 3 times. Drew 3 additional ships. Sank Iowa (7 – Jim eliminated) Conte Di Cavour (4). 11 points, total 29
• Andrew: Received an M2. Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Rodney (6 – Jack eliminated), Nagato (6), West Virginia (5), Ramillies (4) and Shokaku (3 – by M1). 24 points, total 54
• Jack: Used CV 1 time. Received an M2 and M1. Sank Yamato (9 - CV), Giulio Cesare (4) and Graf Spee (3). 6 (16 minus 10 eliminated) points, total 35
• Karl and Andrew had a roll off for round 4, Andrew won and will start round 4M/li>

Final - Round: Brian, Jim, Wade and Jack each have a CV to start play. Preliminary red card play sees Karl receive an M2 and Mac receives an M1. Jim draws an additional ship.

• Brian: Smoke 1 time. Used CV 3 times. Played DD2 (roll 2, sank Musashi (9) and Maryland (5). Also sank Mutsu (6) and Ise (5). 25 (Brian miscounted his score so 24 was used) points, total 67
• Karl: Received an M2. None sunk. -10 (0 minus 10 eliminated) points, total 44
• Mac: Smoke 1 time. Received an M1. Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Yamato (9 – sub), Fuso (5) and Conte Di Cavour (4). 18 points, total 70
• Jim: Used CV 4 times. Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Tirpitz (8 – CV), Hood (5), Scharnhorst (5), Ramillies (4), Repulse (4) and Lutzow (3). 29 points, total 57
• Wade: Smoke 1 time. Used CV 3 times. Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Vittorio Veneto (6 – CV eliminated Karl), Revenge (4) and Renown (4). 14 points, total 43
• Andrew: Received an M1 – used minesweeper. Played DD1 (sunk). Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Missouri (7) and Graf Spee (3). 10 points, total 64
• Jack: Used CV 6 times. Received an M2. Drew 3 additional ships. Sank New Jersey (7) and Hiei (5). 12 points, total 47
• Mac will start round 5

Final - Round 5: Wade has a CV to start play. Preliminary red card play sees Mac use 2 subs with YAMATO (9) sunk. Brian misses with a PT. Mac receives an M2 and Wade receives an M1. Wade, Jack, and Brian each draw an additional ship.

• Brian: Received an M2. Drew 2 additional ships. Sank New Jersey (7 – Mac eliminated) and Iowa (7). 14 points, total 83
• Karl: Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Andrea Doria (4). 4 points, total 48
• Mac: Received an M2. Sank Yamato (9 – sub prelim) and Scheer (3). 2 (12 minus 10 eliminated) points, total 72
• Jim: Played DD1 (sunk). Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Valiant (5), Caio Duilio (4) and Graf Spee (3). 12 points, total 69
• Wade: Smoke 1 time. Used CV 5 times. Received an M1 – used minesweeper. Drew 1 additional ship. Sank Musashi (9) and Ise (5). 14 points, total 57
• Andrew: Received an M1. Sank Rodney (6), Roma (6) and Lutzow (3). 15 points, total 79
• Jack: Smoke 1 time. Played DD2 (sunk). Drew 2 additional ships. Sank Missoouri (7), Hyuga (5) and Renown (4). 16 points, total 63

After 5 rounds 2 players reached the winning plateau. Brian Goodwin outpointed Andrew Buccheri to become the 2023 Naval War champion. Final scores: Brian 83, Andrew 79, Mac 72, Jim 69, Jack 63, Wade 57, Karl 48.

In closing, for the first time since I moved the event to a Heat format player participation was down at 31. I noted that several of my regulars and some of the one-and-done players were missing this year. I also would note some new and returning players did make the event (Welcome back William Kendrick from across the pond). It has been my hope to push the event attendance to 50 players which would be a record figure in the event history. I plan to continue to use Heats as player support for the format remains positive. As to play tactics, deployed DD cards and carriers continue to be potential game changers. As always, I want to thank all of the players in the tournament, new and veteran alike, for your positive support. I look forward to returning as GM of Naval War in 2024.