Four First Time Finalists Compete For Title!

Another year, and another great harvest. Many critters gathered for the annual building of the city, and short of any surprises, I suspect Everdell will remain in the Century next year. Everdell tried a two Heat format this year, and the same stalwart folks showed up, with almost 50 players in the first Heat, and almost 40 players in the second. There were a few Heat winners who were not able to advance, however, everyone who showed up to play the Semifinal were seated.

Scoring trends were similar from prior years. The highest winning score in any game was 88 (down from 91 in prior years), and the lowest winning score was 57. In the Semifinal and Final, you needed at least 71 points to come out on top at your table.

It’s clear that winners score a few more points here and there among each of the categories to come out on top, as they scored 33 in base points (compared to 28 for non-winners), 11 in point tokens (compared to 8 for non-winners), 16 in purple prosperity (compared to 9 for non-winners), and 5 points in special events (compared to 3 for non-winners). Winners, however, were not as interested in basic events and journey scoring this year, using it only as an outlet for a couple points here and there.

It’s my theory that as players are becoming better at the game, resources are more bountiful, and certain cards are becoming more powerful because of it. The primary example here are “donation” style cards such as the Monk and Monastery, which both played integral roles in the strategies of the 79 point scores in the Final.

Yes, you read that correctly, the Final was determined by a tiebreaker. Jonathan Naylor triumphed with 79 points, narrowly edging out Aaron Birnbaum and also defeating Andrew Martin and Bailey Angstadt-Whitesell. Jonathan and Aaron scored a combined total of 51 point tokens. Aaron, notably, was fully focused on the internal structure of his city, with 0 journey and event points. For all four players, this was their first trip to the Everdell Final.

During the Semifinal, Jonathan advanced at the closest table, with final scores of 71-70-69-62, earning Scott Marcotte 5th place at the event. Bailey had a little more buffer with a 72-66-55-52 win. Aaron defeated his own father in the biggest victory margin of the Semifinal at 76-67-57-52. Finally, Andrew advanced in a close race over Madeleine Cesaretti, who scored 6th place laurels in her first ever WBC event, with scores of 76-74-53-52.

This event ran more smoothly than it has in years past, and I want to thank all the players who showed such incredible enthusiasm Heat after Heat. Extra thanks to all the players who bring their copies of the game and show up early to get set up so we can get started as soon as possible.

Next year, Everdell will have a new GM, as I’ll be stepping down in hopes of GM some new Trial events. There has already been a lot of interest but be sure to check the event preview next year to see if you can expect any changes.