Fare Wars ... a wargame for capitalists
The
2001 tournament was again filled with outstanding game play and
exciting finishes. This year, perhaps due to one less opening
round heat, our smallest field ever vied for the wood, but that
still numbered an impressive 72.
When the semi-finals dust had settled six players emerged
for the final Flight Crew (from left to right): Robert Sohn,
CEO of Skyhigh Airlines (orange), Patrick Mirk, head of Trans
Toucans (red), Steve Katz, guiding Aero Flamingo (green), John
Wetherell, at the helm of of World Domain (blue), Jack Jaeger,
leading Olympic Lines (yellow), and Bob Foster, as CEO of Jet
Stream (purple). In the early rounds, Patrick went into fare
wars early and had an Atlanta and DFW concentration. Bob began
in the Denver and Phoenix hubs. Robert started split between
Detroit and Washington and owned Boston with a jumbo jet. Stephen
focused on JFK and owned Honolulu with a jumbo jet. Jack concentrated
in LAX and San Francisco and also owned St. Louis with a jumbo
jet. John went into fare wars early and dominated Miami and Houston.
By round 7 John took a 110 market share lead with great success
in fare wars by capturing control of Miami and Houston. Bob went
into fare wars and nearly took DFW but was thwarted attempting
to capture neutral Tulsa when the bank rolled an "11".
The fireworks began in Round 8. John played first, took Cincinnati
and control of Atlanta, thus placing a large bull's eye on his
forehead. Bob then stayed in fare wars and chose to expand his
domain by taking DFW, Phoenix, and nearly Denver before skidding
to a halt. Patrick bought Tokyo. Robert went into fare wars and
took Dayton and Norfolk gaining dominance of Washington, but
lost while attempting to take Buffalo-Rochester. Jack placed
a jumbo on Las Vegas and gaining wealth as St. Louis being drawn
two turns in a row with a jumbo. Stephen bought Montreal.
Round 9: Bob again went first and opted out of fare
wars, then successfully garnered Austin from John reducing the
latter's market share from 210 down to 180. Robert went into
fare wars and lost his first attempt against Jacksonville on
a head-to-head roll. John had a "Crash" and had to
pay 7 million. Stephen drew "Strike," settled it for
5 million, and then bought a jumbo for Philadelphia. Jack went
into fare wars and captured two major spokes from Bob, Sacramento
and Seattle, but lost against San Diego.
Round 10: Jack bought Hong Kong. John took Austin from
Bob. Patrick went into fare wars and took neutral Indianapolis
and netted his first 60 market share, then immediately failed
into neutral Providence. Stephen bought Paris. Robert purchased
Toronto. Bob went into fare wars but lost into Kansas City.
Round 11: Robert bought an undeployed jumbo. Bob lost
again into Kansas City. John bought Bogota. Patrick stayed in
fare wars and captured Jack's jumbo-defended St. Louis and then
took Providence. Jack seized Reno from Bob and the carrion birds
continued their swirling over his head. Stephen, in fare wars,
took Syracuse/Albany gaining 60 market share for dominance of
JFK, then abruptly lost into meager Providence.
The score at the end of Round 11: Pat Mirk - 20; Bob Foster
- 140; Robert Sohn - 70; Stephen Katz - 60; Jack Jaeger - 40;
John Wetherell - 200.
Round 12: Bob bought an undeployed jumbo. Jack went
into fare wars and took control of San Francisco and Los Angeles
when the jumbo defending Honolulu fell. John entered fare wars
but lost attempting a final takeover into DFW against Bob. Stephen
rode fare wars into Boston and Providence successfully. Patrick
failed to take Omaha.
The highlight of Round 13 came when John lost on his last
roll of fare wars into Memphis. He had 240 and would have won
outright with a successful takeover. Jack stayed in fare wars
and took Tucson, and El Paso but lost into Albuquerque. Robert
took Tampa/St. Pete.
Round 14: Robert bought Panama. John came out of fare
wars and attempted to take Memphis but failed. Patrick tried
and lost into Salt Lake City. Bob came out of fare wars and deployed
a jumbo to overtake Memphis, much to the dismay of John. Stephen
failed in an attempt to break into Jack's world at Reno. Jack
paid his loans down to 20, came out of fare wars, and bought
a jumbo for El Paso.
Round 15: Jack lost into Jacksonville. John drew "Crash"
and paid $8 million. He then bought an undeployed jumbo. Stephen
bought a jumbo for San Juan. Patrick's undeployed jumbo went
to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Bob went into fare wars and failed in
an attempt to take Jack's jumbo-protected El Paso. Robert bought
an undeployed jumbo. Storm clouds were gathering!
Round 16: Stephen bought an undeployed jumbo. Jack
invested in one for defense in San Diego. Patrick passed, hoping
for a few lucrative draws. John drew "Crash" and paid
$8 million again but was forced to sell Tulsa to pay his debt.
He then took out a loan for $30 million and bought Tulsa. Robert
used an undeployed jumbo in a successful capture of Pittsburgh.
Bob stayed in fare wars but failed in his attempt again.
Round 17: The first draw was a $38 million lottery
for Stephen in Montreal and jumbo-covered Boston. Bob lost into
Tulsa. Patrick bought an undeployed jumbo. Robert bought London.
John drew "Crash" for the fourth time and paid $5 million.
Jack went into fare wars, paid his $10 million loan off, then
took out a new $40 million loan to settle a $15 million strike.
He then continued his turn with a successful capture of jumbo-protected
Salt Lake City but was halted against Omaha despite a +3 on the
dice roll. Stephen failed in an attempt at John's jumbo-defense
of West Palm Beach.
Round 18: Patrick bought an undeployed jumbo. Stephen
opened a gash into John's empire by abducting Tampa/St. Pete.
Robert bought a jumbo for Columbus. Jack placed a jumbo on Seattle.
John bought Panama. Bob failed into Tucson.
Round 19: John placed a jumbo on Charlotte. Stephen
bought an undeployed jumbo. Bob lost an attack against Tulsa.
Patrick went into fare wars and made his move. He captured Tulsa
with an undeployed jumbo and continued to take all of DFW from
John. How the mighty had fallen! Patrick, with his newly garnered
200 market share, continued his plundering into two spokes in
Atlanta but ended meekly in a loss into lowly jumbo-shielded
Birmingham. Robert and Jack both bought undeployed jumbos.
Round 20: Jack paid his loans down to $20 million and
deployed a jumbo in capturing Tucson. Robert successfully attempted
to take Milwaukee, dropping Patrick's market share to 140. Bob
failed at Jack's Tucson with a jumbo. John lost against Jacksonville
with a jumbo. Stephen drew a large jumbo profit chip which benefited
everyone except Bob (who was without deployed jumbos) and Patrick
(in fare wars). He then failed to take Cincinnati. Patrick stayed
in fare wars, deployed a jumbo and captured Milwaukee.
Round 21: 12:30 a.m. Jack paid off all loans and defeated
Omaha. Bob failed against Tucson again. Robert went into fare
wars, deployed a jumbo and used it in attempting to seize the
Portland market but failed with a 10:10 roll. Patrick came out
of fare wars and lost in a bid to capture Omaha. John attempted
Charlotte with a jumbo and won but with no market share change.
Stephen went into fare wars, defeated Orlando and moved up 30
market share. He then attempted Tampa/St. Pete but lost.
Round 22: Steven won the lottery and was drawn first.
He came out of fare wars and bought Nassau. Patrick took Omaha.
Jack drew jumbo profits chip and captured Kansas City and increased
his market share to 200. Bob failed for the third time in a row
against Tucson. Robert came out of fare wars, drew the "Oil
Can" which slowed the game, but no one was too hurt. He
then attempted Minneapolis/St. Paul with a deployed jumbo and
won. John failed to take Birmingham.
Round 23: 12:52 a.m. Patrick used an undeployed jumbo
to protect a spoke. Robert attempted Little Rock and failed.
Bob was unsuccessful on his fourth try to find a chink in Jack's
armor in Tucson. John captured Birmingham. Stephen went into
fare wars, won Omaha and took control of Denver. He then moved
into Jack's Phoenix hub and captured Albuquerque but failed into
Tucson, which would have given him the victory. Jack, the final
player of the round was able to declare himself the winner based
on his accumulation of 200 market share and $103 million in cash.
Rank |
Player |
Cash |
Market
Share |
Total |
1st |
Jack Jaeger |
$43 M |
260 |
303 |
2nd |
Stephen Katz |
$135 M |
150 |
285 |
3rd |
John Wetherell |
$24 M |
140 |
164 |
4th |
Patrick Mirk |
$3 M |
140 |
143 |
5th |
Robert Sohn |
$28 M |
100 |
128 |
6th |
Bob Foster |
$2 M |
0 |
2 |
It was a tight, well-played game with three different players
having a shot at winning. We hope that everyone reading this
will take a shot at the title again next year.
Nine
budding airline tycoons took to the friendly skies to compete
in the 2001 Air Baron Junior tournament. A 45-minute opening
round was used to whittle the field down to six.
In the first opening round game, Matthew Beach went in to
Fare Wars early and often, building up a point total of 284,
highest in the opening round. Jed Shambeda (188) and Katie McCorry
(82) also advanced to the final from this game. The other preliminary
was closer, with Michael Eoppolo building an air empire worth
253 points and prevailing over Zach
Rucker (179), Natalie Beach (173), and Kelsey Lee (130). Zach
dropped out of play, allowing both Natalie and Kelsey to advance
to the finals (and balancing the final gender-wise between girls
and boys).
The final game was the closest of the tournament. Entering
the final round of play, Michael held a slim lead in market share
over Natalie, Matthew, and Jed, who were all three deadlocked
at a market share of 180. At that moment, game designer Ben Knight
dropped by for a cameo appearance, heightening the tension. Matthew
Beach started the round with an attack on
Michael's Los Angeles hub from his power base in the Midwest.
Matthew prevailed, dropping Michael out of the lead in market
share. However Matthew stopped short of taking over the entire
hub, realizing that he only had to drop Michael's total to ensure
a win for either himself or his sister Natalie. Natalie used
her subsequent turn to pad her already sizable bank account,
and when the final scores were tallied, Natalie had won her first
plaque with a final tally of 253. Matthew (227), Jed (164),
Michael (158), Katie (126), and Kelsey (67) all played extremely
well and are to be congratulated also! Kelsey's cheerful outlook
despite a lackluster final game earned her the tournament's honor
for best sportsmanship.
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