Bring on the accountants ...
History of the World w/ bidding is a variant that brings a
dynamic element to this excellent game. Instead of waiting for
the distribution of empire cards at the start of each Epoch,
each player bids for the current empires. No longer are you dependent
on the whims of other players, each player significantly gains
more control over selection of his empires. By elimination of
this lucky element, fate rests squarely in the hands the players.
With each empire open to all players, equity is introduced.
The basic concept is that at the start of each Epoch the players
secretly bid for a given empire. Empires are taken by the highest
bids. Ties are broken by whoever has the higher bids for any
other empire. The minimum bid is an empire's Strength Points
(SP). For each claimed empire, the player's Victory Points are
reduced by the amount of the empire's SP. Although a bid
of zero is permissible, the empire's SP is still deducted from
the bidder's score.
Bidding brings to HWD a better, more controlled, and subtle
way of playing. Players can now plan their own campaigns with
their event cards. Destiny is theirs for the making. Now, players
can blame no one but themselves. For a complete description of
the (scanned) bidding rule from General Vol. 29-1, pg 26, please
email the GM.
The tournament last year showed an encouraging sign that people
were starting to appreciate the finer points of the bidding method
as 41 would-be conquerors vied for the championship, over half
of whom were newcomers to this event. In the first Heat, three
games were played. Mike Destro bested the defending champion,
Bill Crenshaw, who got off to a rocky start and was never able
to recover. Hmmm, maybe there is a trend here. All past defending
champions have been pounded unmercifully into the ground. Assistant
GM, Joe Lux, who started this wonderful tournament four years
ago, played in his first tournament game and came out the winner
at his table. He won despite being a bit rusty and competing
against several of last yearís finalists. The last table
saw several newcomers competing against old veterans, with newcomer
Harald Henning emerging the winner.
The second Heat featured five games. At table 1, Robert Navolis
edged out others by following in the footsteps of the great Middle
Eastern empires of Persia, Arabs, and the Ottomans. Table 2 saw
the experienced play of Kevin Wojtaszczyk, who bid wisely, staying
close to the leaders until the end when he vaulted into first
place with the backing of the Spanish Armada. Table 3 saw another
veteran, GM James Pei, whose fanatical Arab armies spread the
teachings of the Prophet into a strong win. Table 4 witnessed
an amazing run by another newcomer, Robert Sohn, who scored a
record-breaking 86 points with Great Britain. Robert barely scraped
by Keith Altizer who was sitting in the driver seat behind his
Mongol hordes. I guess that's one reason why the sun never sets
on the British Empire. Veteran John Weber won the last table,
whose Celts scored more points than the Romans, Arabs, and the
Mongols.
One observation was noted from the past and present games
played. The person who bids high for the Roman Empire rarely
wins. The bids this year ranged from a high of 43 to a low of
33 points. Out of a total of eight games played in two Heats,
only one Roman player won (with a bid of 34). The reason may
have been that Mike Destro's Roman legions were followed by waves
of Arab horsemen and later, Spanish conquistadors. This just
shows that over-bidding for any great empire, even the mighty
Romans, is not a viable strategy. Granted, the strategy is to
snowball the points again early in the following Epoch. But too
many things can go wrong, including not being able to go first
in the next Epoch. At the same time, everybody is targeting you
as the leader and promptly sacks you.
The final was a tight game. The scores were well balanced
throughout, all within a narrow range of each other. Everyone
had a chance of grabbing the plaque going into the sixth Epoch.
Robert Sohn made the fateful mistake of not snowballing the Mongols
with any early Epoch VI empires. Even the Incas would have helped.
Instead, he wound up with the Mughals. Thereafter, his fortune
was doomed and he came in 6th place. Joe Lux committed another
type of sinful mistake of forgetting to play his event cards
correctly. His biggest error was forgetting to play the Mayans,
which cost him a potential 19 points and he finished 5th. Mike
Destro tried to use his Roman strategy again, but this table
of finalists was not going to let him snowball his points so
easily. He made a last desperate attempt with the British Empire,
but came up short with a 4th place finish. Kevin Wojtaszczyk
did not realized until too late that he bid incorrectly for Epoch
VI. His pieces were everywhere but in China. Instead of bidding
for the Ming, he bid for Portugal and settled for 33 points,
when he could have had nearly 50. He finished 3rd .
James Pei looked like he might be the winner as his two Turkish
empires presented a strong presence across the board. By going
first with Russia, he ensured that his presence would gain him
enough points for a commanding lead. Only a miracle would dethrone
him. Enter Harald Henning, who had been using the low ball bidding
strategy, picking up empires at a bargain and still managing
to score respectfully. He still refused to bid high in Epoch
VII, and so got stuck with Germany with the minimum bid. Not
resigned to his bad choice, he displayed an amazing determination
by methodically attacking all potential high scoring places.
Leading his fanatical stosstruppen, Harald blasted his way to
victory, winning every single battle. He shattered another record,
scoring 53 points with Germany, barely edging out James for the
championship.
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