Dyer Gains Control Of The Factory!

I have written enough of these post WBC RoboRally event Reviews now that I often find it difficult to make them interesting. What do people really want to read about in these. In the early years they were always a blow by blow of the Final, but I find it likely the only people who were interested in reading those were the finalists. As the years have advanced and I have become, hopefully, a better writer, I have tried to encompass the whole tournament, and even the whole convention into these. I think the best things to write about are the new and different or the unusual things.

This year, I managed to surprise my players with some new boards from the latest version of RoboRally released by Renegade less than a month prior to the convention. Not even my Assistant GM Brad Johnson who had pointed me at the renegade version had seen them yet. (Apparently if you also ordered the yet to be released expansions at the same time as the main game, they did not send your order out until it was complete. Fortunately for me, I was not able to find the expansions in my first pass of the renegade site, so I only ordered the main game in my first order.)

Of course, the new boards did not seem to trouble our first ever legacy winner Quinn Dyer, whose father Bill, unseated then 3-time champion Brad Johnson in 2005. Quinn was also instrumental, along with Ewan McNay in ensuring that yours truly, not only was eliminated in the Semifinal, but also achieved (for the second time) the Newer and Improved-er Kaarin Englemann Memorial Crash and Burn Award and player aid (Semifinal edition). Cannery row is not my friend, and yet I include it in either the Semifinal or the Final every year.

This was also the first year we have had a husband and wife team make it to the Final, Anna Brown made her first appearance in the Final this year and came in 4th place to the detriment of her husband Devon Smith who finished right behind her and two-time champion Keith Boone who tried very hard to be a good sport about things.

Rounding out the final 6, Bruce Rae took second after taking out the GM in a death-match heat, and past champion Ewan McNay who we have also to thank for yours truly not winning in heat one.

Finally, as we look towards the future. It is probable we will have a customized 3D set of boards for next year's final, so look forward to that.