The Boardgame Players Association proudly presents the Sixth Annual
Waterloo
A Dedicated Mini-Con for play of The Napoleonic Wars with a novel new and improved format

WHEN: Starting 2 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 24, 2008; ending at 3 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 26, 2008. For those wishing to stay longer, open gaming space will be available until 10p.m. on Sunday. NOTE THAT THE LOCATION HAS CHANGED, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE STAYS THE SAME!

WHAT: Play will begin Friday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. Those present will be divided into three player games. New games may commence whenever a threesome is available until midnight. Play will resume Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and continue until midnight. Three finalists will commence play Sunday morning at 9 a.m. while the remainder of the field may enjoy some four- and five-player action.

SECOND EDITON: Although the long awaited 2nd edition of the game is expected out before the 2008 Waterloo, we will adopt the WBC standard of using the former version of the game as the default version until the year after its introduction. This means that players may agree to play the new version by mutual consent, but if anyone declines, the original version will be played. If all goes well, 2009 should see the 2nd edition adopted as the standard default version.

WHY 3-PLAYER: In the opinion of your hosts, the three-player game is the best balanced of all the versions. Waterloo will provide a competitive forum for repeated play of this popular card-driven wargame with the "buckets of dice" combat resolution system without distraction from other events.

CHOICE OF SIDE: A player's first Power assignment is random. Thereafter, player's choose sides in reverse order of the standings. For example, if player A won his game, B finished second, and C was last, they select sides for their next game in reverse order. If tied, they dice off to determine who selects first. Choice of sides in the Final will be random.

There are no “Rounds.” When you complete a game, you merely wait until two NEW opponents are available and play again. The Game Master will assist in making tables, with the emphasis on each person getting to play each other player once, and maximizing the variety of opponents. You can play as many games as you can get in during the tournament time. You can take breaks between games as needed and breaks during games as agreed.

To determine which players advance to the Sunday Final, tournament VPs will be awarded for each game played as follows:

To prevent a player with a big lead from nursing a game along without actually winning it so as to keep gaining points for being in the Lead at the End of a Turn, players are allowed to concede if both TRAILING players agree. The leading player should have no say in this decision. If one player wanted to concede, but another doesn't, the penalty point for losing will be doubled for the player who concedes. (This usually happens when France is battered beyond reasonable hope of recovery. However, until the VCs are actually achieved, it can be very unfair to the third player when the French concede the game prematurely, since the lead could well change hands if played to conclusion. Consequnetly, an extra penalty point will be inflicted on any game conceded against the wishes of one of the trailing players to lessen the incentive to rush off to play in another game rather than play out the current one to its conclusion.)

Strength of Schedule points can be controversial to some, but I am firmly convinced that any format that has some players playing more than twice as many games than others due to their wide duration disparity and which allows players to more or less select their own opponents based on availability at the time must provide an incentive not to dodge the better players. Going 3-0 against winless opponents is not better than going 2-1 against the creme of the field. The current system reflects that well and has been battle tested as a qualifying device at both D-Day and all the Grognard WBC Free Form events. Waterloo essentially uses Free Form scheduling of preliminary games to qualify finalists for the championship.

TIE-BREAKER: In the event of ties, the player advancing first will be the player who has won the most games with the Power with the least wins in the overall tournament, and then the next lowest Power, etc.

Any ties remaining will be determined by Waterloo ­ Randomly assign Allied or French side. One side gets Napoleon + 8 and Ney +4 in Picardy. The other side gets Wellington + 6 in Brussels and Blucher + 6 and Bulow + 4 in Munster. Each side draws one random card from the deck. The French have the Guard. Nappy must attack Wellington in Brussels. Wellington can evade to Munster or bring up Blucher/Bulow to fight in Brussels. If Wellington falls back to Munster, Nappy must follow but the French get to draw another card. The To The Death event is active. Neither side will withdraw after the first battle. Thus, there will be between two and four battle rounds. Either side may play the card(s) they have. The winner of the battle wins the tie.

PLAQUES/LAURELS: BPA plaques will be awarded to the winner, plus best overall performance plaques for each nation determined by average performance with that nation, providing plenty of wood opportunities, as well as a chance to improve your standing in BPA's annual Caesar competition.

REGISTRATION: Admission for Waterloo will be $40 at the door. However, current BPA members are eligible for a $10 discount if they pre-register by Oct. 1, 2008. To pre-register, go to our Waterloo Registration Page, print the form, complete it, and send it wih your check made payable to BPA to 1541 Redfield Rd, Bel Air, MD 21015. The Waterloo pre-registration fee is a discounted rate extended in exchange for a guarantee to attend. As such, no refunds or substitutions are allowed. THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS.

WHERE (THIS IS A NEW LOCATION): The convention will take place at the Comfort Inn, 8801 Loch Raven Blvd, Towson, MD 21286. Phone 800-235-3297 or 410-882-0900. General website: http://www.comfortinn.com/. The hotel is located off 695,  exit 29B, near the intersection of Joppa Rd.

LODGING: BPA has received a very favorable group rate of $79 per night, plus applicable state and local taxes of about 13%. It is only available if you identify your affiliation with the BPA's Waterloo gaming conference and make your reservation before Oct. 1, 2008 (or when our roomblock sells out, whichever occurs first). Call 410-882-0900 on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Eastern Time, for a reservation. The reduced rate will NOT be honored if rooms are booked on the website. After Oct. 1, reservations will be accepted on a space- or rate-available basis. Please identify your affiliation with our group, both to get the best rate for yourself and to credit our group with your stay. Regular weekend rates are $99 per night plus applicable taxes.

Reservations should include arrival and departure dates, estimated time of arrival, room preference (single or double, smoking or non-smoking), cedit card type to be used for payment including number and expiration date.