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  GUTERMUTH NAMED WBC 2017 CD: The BPA Board of Directors has hired Ken Gutermuth to replace the retiring Don Greenwood as the WBC 2017 Convention Director effective April 1, 2017. Ken has put in a year as Assistant CD in preparation for assuming his new duties in what is hoped will be a smooth transition. Besides his long history of active involvement in the traditions and leadership of WBC, Ken brings invaluable gains in technology and business acumen to the position. The organization is expecting continued success under his coming stewardship. Ken will be replaced by Andy Lewis as the new Chairman of the Board and by a new Treasurer to be named before his elevation to President in April.
BOGUS HOBBY SERVICE AWARD: I should have known there was something rotten in Denmark (or in this case, Seven Springs) when the votes came back for the 2016 Hobby Service Award showing no winner. Instead, your Board of Directors ignored the rules against awarding such honorariums to serving Board members and held a cabal to award it to the retiring CD. As a staunch conservative, I hereby reject their illegal executive order and refuse to write my own eulogy while thanking them for the gesture and deploring the action. I will, however, try to pen a last long-winded “Tenth Seat” From the Director’s Chair message before I step down in seven months for those so inclined to read my take on the voyages of the good ship WBC these past 18 years.
NEW ERA WBC OFF TO STRONG START: Despite dire predictions that a move 160 miles west to Seven Springs would cause major defections, the new look WBC got rave reviews from most quarters thrilled with the improved resources and greater amenities that greeted them on arrival. Although the overall paid headcount was down 22% from 2015 totals, attendees arrived earlier and stayed longer in the nine-day conference that no longer was split between pre-con and WBC week activities. 25 events drew triple-digit participation—up one from 2015—as the average tournament field declined by only .7 player from 59.6 to 58.9 and 14 returning events actually posted their largest fields of the past decade. 152 of the scheduled 154 events achieved tournament status with fields ranging from a minimum of eight to 288 players for Splendor! This year's champions are now shown online. A more complete listing of the top six places, updated laurel totals, photos and anecdotes for every event as only WBC does them will appear on our website in November.
14 reigning WBC champions successfully defended their titles, led by the current Caesar, James Pei, who extended his dominance in For The People to eight straight years to maintain his hold on WBC's longest winning streak. Perennial 18XX champ Bruce Beard remained Pei’s closest pursuer with his fourth straight 18XX title. He is followed by four others who won their third straight tournament: Harry Flawd (Paydirt), William Burch (Ace of Aces), Sweden’s Bjorn von Knorring (Manoeuvre), and Pei himself (Sekigahara).
On the other side of the title spectrum, 38 claimed their first WBC title (up one from 2015) while 73 earned their first laurels of any kind to claim genuine contender status in the years to come. 13 gents managed to win two events each while two managed to claim three titles: the perennial Caesar duelists Pei (For the People, Hannibal and Sekigahara) and Nick Henning (Automobile, Galaxy Trucker, and Vegas Showdown). But all were outshined by newcomer Moon Sultana who became the first multiple winner (Castles of Burgundy, Tzolk’in) among the ladies since Rebecca Hebner managed it as a teenager in 2001. The gals, for their part, outdid themselves in 2016 and obviously found Seven Springs to their liking—tripling their titles won from 5 to 15!
 HARRY B’s REPEAT AS TEAM CHAMPS: The same old ringers won in the same old way as the top-seeded Harry B’s repeated as Team Tournament champs in 2016 over 69 teams - the smallest field in the past 16 years. At least this time the margin of victory was slim as they were tied by the Uncivil Servants at 18 points each—the 16-1 favorite edging the 35-1 runner-up by virtue of a total field tiebreaker—having bested the Servants by contesting seven more participants. Actually, only three more players playing War of the Ring would have been worth a 19th point and victory to the Servants, but this ain’t horseshoes and close is not good enough. The Servants can take solace (or not) that they were the only team to score with all four players. Taking third two points back were The Greenville Mafia’s “I Am Standing Up” team. None of the top three teams scored a bonus point since each of their players had won their chosen events previously. More details including a list of the Top 25 teams appears on the Team Results page.
 KEVIN YOUELLS IS 2016 TOP PROGNOSTICATOR: Only three of the top 26 rated teams in the 69-team field made the Top Ten in this year’s team Tournament—making it a tough year for prognosticators. Among the hardest hit was the Happy Handicapper himself who could muster only the Harry B’s (duh) in his Top Ten picks to tie for worst performance in the Bracket Bustin’ contest with but one correct pick. He had a lot of company in ticket tearing territory with Nest of Spies nestled at 16th and the usual favorites burning brackets galore. Only one handicapper managed to get four correct out of ten: Kevin Youells. He (as did many others) correctly selected the top three teams and then added the 6th place Think First at 72-1 odds to be the only player with four correct answers. His 2017 Sustaining membership is thereby duly entered in the books.
2017 WBC RESERVATION POLICY: The Seven Springs Mountain Resort has announced prices and policies for the 2017 WBC season which includes an exciting new Week long Condo rental offer with welcome news for those on a budget. Be sure to read all of the new details at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbclodging.html because deposit and cancellation policies have changed from those in effect in 2016. Condo rentals are now open on a first come, first served basis for these unique lodging options.
WBC AUCTION RESULTS: The 2016 version of the WBC Auction sold all 566 lots that were received, led by a $470 bid for Jake Jacoby’s annual Circus Maximus miniatures set. Many more details and a complete list of Auction Sales are available. Auction Store sales are NOT listed on line. If you want an accounting of your items individual sale prices, inquire at Treasurer@Boardgamers.org.
2016 ELECTION RESULTS: The membership returned the three incumbents to another three-year term. Bruce Reiff, Bruno Sinigaglio and Josh Githens each won another term over two challengers. Reiff led the voting with 593 votes followed by Sinigaglio with 518 and Githens with 403. Challengers Marcy Morelli and Grant LaDue registered 313 and 290 votes respectively from a voting bloc of 282 members. We thank all the candidates for their participation and all members who took the time to vote. Without sufficient participation by the membership we are unable to continue our Non-Profit Corporation status.
WBC HONORS: The coming months will unveil our annual awards for Sportsmanship and GM of the Year, but we can’t do them justice without your input. Take a moment to tell us why someone you encountered should be considered for the Sportsmanship or GM of the Year Award by emailing us at conventiondirector@boardgamers.org.
WBC EVENT REPORTS IN PROGRESS: Event After Action Reports are still being collected and used to update 154 Event pages for a scheduled November unveiling - and in an improved format befitting our new website look by hardworking webmasters Kaarin Engelmann and Max Jamelli. 15 GMs who have yet to fulfill that part of their obligation are being notified that the clock is ticking and that prize level and eligibility penalties will apply for those events whose GMs do not comply. WBC is unique among all gaming conventions for providing not only this coverage but also archiving such reports for posterity. Check out the Event Reports for the progress of your favorite event over the past 16 years.
WBC 2017 EVENT SUBMISSIONS: Every WBC is followed by requests to add Game X to our schedule. If only it were that simple. No event takes place without a dedicated volunteer GM to run it. No one gets paid to run events at WBC. if you want Game X, you need to step forward and offer to run it! The internet frequently gives voice to those who can’t understand why WBC caps the number of its events. Of course, those folks can’t be found when it comes time to prepare pre- and post-event web pages, event kiosk, plaque art, and all the other bells and whistles we lavish on WBC event support. As long as we have more events than GMs, I’m not very sympathetic to calls for more events. So, unless you are motivated to lend a hand, we already have all the events we can handle. On the other hand, if you are such an enlightened individual who wants to contribute to the unique nature of WBC, start by reading our GM Guidelines at http://boardgamers.org/gmguide.htm. Then, when our monthly newsletter calls for event submissions submit the event form cited in that newsletter to get the process started.
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Keep up with WBC electronically by joining the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC) Facebook group and the BPA_WBC Twitter Page. You can also easily find us in the Boardgame Geek Forums under Gaming Related, Conventions, WBC.
PBeM NEWS
     
SINIGAGLIO WINS 4TH STRAIGHT BITTER WOODS TITLE: The eighth BPA Bitterwoods PBeM Tournament ended recently after 34 games with Bruno Sinigaglio's Americans defeating Bill Morse in the six-turn scenario as the last two survivors of the 34-player field vied for the title. In three of those titles, including the latest, Bruno survived to win against Morse on the last die roll of the game. Other laurels were claimed by Steve Lapierre, Marty Musella, Michael Kaye and Daniel Tierney who finished third through sixth respectively. Statistically, Bill should have won both the earlier contests, as Bruno only had a 16% probability of victory in each of the final battles. More details plus the latest laurels totals are posted on the Bitter Woods Event Report page.
BIRNBAUM WINS 13th MARCH MADNESS PBeM TITLE: A record field of 49 players contested the 13th running of the BPA March Madness PBeM tournament. 97 games later we had our 11th different champion, as Marvin Birnbaum became the fifth player to achieve the WBC/PBeM championship double. Also scoring laurels were Bob Hamel, Chris Bauch, Nicole Reiff and Jeff Martin who finished third through sixth respectively. Marvin survived six rounds with his 1956 San Francisco team to earn the championship plaque, after finishing in the runner-up position last year. His average winning score was 80-68, a 12-point margin of victory. More details and updated laurel totals are available on the March Madness Event Report page.
KIZER WINS 7th PRO GOLF PBeM TITLE: Chris Kizer won his first BPA tournament ever over a field of 44 duffers in the annual dice fest that precedes WBC for those who just can’t get enough wristage practice. 92 rounds proved insufficient to determine a champion when a late surge by Michael Pacheco necessitated a playoff that lasted six additional holes before Chris dropped a three-foot birdie putt to win the hole and the title by two strokes. Also earning laurels were Scott Nerney, defending champ Debbie Gutermuth, Rob Kircher and Marshall Collins who finished third through sixth respectively. More details and updated laurel totals can be found on the Pro Golf Event Report page.
    
    
LATEST WATERLOO TOURNAMENT UNDERWAY: The current Waterloo PBeM tournament is nearing the end of its first round with 21 players marching to the sound of the guns. It is single elimination using standard WBC tournament rules and clarifications including the Prussian/Anglo-Allied noncooperation rule. Details and game status are available at http://watgame.com/.
NEW AFRIKA KORPS PBeM TOURNAMENT TO COMMENCE SOON: An Afrika Korps email tournament will start Sept. 18. 25 players have already entered and invite your added participation. Please let GM Ed Menzel know if you would like to play at edmenzel@roadrunner.com. This is a single elimination tournament using standard WBC rules and three month rounds. Players will be matched based on AREA rating with the top half matched against the bottom half. All results will be submitted for AREA rating. See http://afk-game.com/ for details.
THIRD TZOLK’IN PBEM TOURNAMENT STARTING: A third season for the dynamic worker placement game (loosely) based on the Mayan calendar is in the offing. This tournament will be played on the boiteajeux.net game portal and all participants will get the chance to play six games in the preliminary rounds (roughly between October and March) with the top eight advancing to semifinals. Visit http://epworthian.wordpress.com/tournament-format/ to view the tournament format, and email Rob Flowers at epworthian1@gmail.com by Oct. 23 to enter for an Oct. 30 start.
SEVENTH PATHS OF GLORY CAMPAIGN TO OPEN OCT. 1: Be bold, fellow gamers! Join the 64 stout lads worldwide who have already enlisted in the 7th iteration of the BPA PBeM Paths of Glory Tournament. The time-proven WBC Historical Scenario will be used. BPA members of all skill and experience levels are welcome. A new double elimination format will be used so that all combatants will get a minimum of two chances to progress to laurel glory. All with stout hearts and willing hands should drop GM Tom Gregorio a note by Monday September 26th. Hostilities will commence on Saturday, Oct. 1. The POG tourney page has all the details at http://www.bitterwoods.net/paths-of-glory-bpa-tourney-page/.
FIFTH ADVANCED CIVILIZATION TOURNAMENT NEARING EXCITING END: As trading continues in Turn 14, Nils Brokkbak's Africa enjoys a razor thin 4-point lead over Dan Morris and his Iberians. However, four other players including three-time reigning PBeM champion Mads Lunau trail by less than one hundred points, so the title is still very much up for grabs. Will this be the year that Lunau gets dethroned? Or will he make it three straight? We should know in a few more turns. Stay tuned.
FIFTH FOR THE PEOPLE PBeM TOURNAMENT SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 1 START: E-mail GM Michael Day at MDay20@Cox.net. You will be randomly assigned to two concurrent games as both The North and the South. There will be four games played Swiss Format with the eight best records advancing to Single Elimination rounds. Visit the website below for additional information: http://forthepeople3.weebly.com/.
FOURTH DIPLOMACY PBEM TOURNAMENT SLATED FOR DEC. 1 START: Entry for the 2017 BPA Diplomacy Tournament ends Dec. 1. E-mail GM Michael Day at DiplomacyDayM@cox.net to join. You will be randomly assigned to three concurrent games. Visit the website below for additional information:http://diplomacywwi.weebly.com/.
FIFTH WILDERNESS WAR PBeM TOURNAMENT STARTING OCT. 28: The 5th PBeM Tournament for Wilderness War will begin on or about Oct. 28. All games will be played via ACTS and the tournament should take 18-24 months to complete. The format will be Swiss Elim with four preliminary Swiss rounds to advance eight players to elimination rounds. The details can be found at http://wildernesswar2016.weebly.com/. If you wish to play, please send an email to the GM at keithwixson@paulhastings.com.
NAPOLEONIC WARS TO COMMENCE NOVEMBER 1: The second Napoleonic Wars PBeM tournament is scheduled for a November start. Games will be of the 3-player variety with all players assigned three consecutive swiss games. The top nine players will advance to elimination rounds. See the details at http://tnwars.weebly.com and mail the GM at TNW3@Cox.net to enter.
VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC PROGRESS: Of those playing, the top two seeds advance to Round 4 with a USN and an IJN victory while the bottom two seeds both advance with Allied wins. Ted Drozd moves on with a bye, giving Joe Dragan (the third highest seed remaining) a bye into the lone semifinal game. The USN continues the dominance exerted in the last round -- with a total score of 9-3 in the advanced rounds. Tim Tow went all out in an unadjusted game to take the IJN with a bid of 9.5 but didn't score the early attrition against Michael Day (our top seed) to make that bid viable—and ended up surrendering before the big US reinforcements arrived. In fact, three of the four games ended on Turn 5 with only one reaching Turn 7. Congratulations to Scott Beall and Wayne Bonnett—our 14th and 20th seeds respectively—for advancing as well! Check out all the action at http://gameaholics.com/vitp_bpa/vitp_bpa_single_elim_15.htm.
Catch up on the latest PBeM News on the BPA website.
Remember ... all of the above PBeM fun is free to current BPA members. Others may qualify with a $10 Email membership in the year the event starts. All multi-day paid attendees to WBC are current BPA members for the balance of that calendar year. You need not keep your membership current in order to finish a PBeM event. Players may join the BPA throughout the year. See the BPA Terms page for details.
BPA members who would like to see an email tournament for their favorite game are encouraged to step forward as the GM of such an event. BPA does not run tournaments. Rather, we are an organization of gamers lending support to one another so such events can happen. No one cares as much about your hobby as you do. Get involved. See the requirements to host a BPA email tournament at http://www.abovethefields.com/top_pbem/.
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