 |
 |
|
The Final table allowed five former
Laurelists to add to their totals. Only Chris Trimmer (left)
was new to the final round. |
Kevin Sudy (right) en route to his
first AOR championship as Steve Simmons gains sixth place laurels. |
Fortunes Reversed at Last
It wasn't much of an increase, but the four additional players
realized in 2007 put an end to eight straight years of declining
attendance. This year, misery increased through a new training
style at the Age of Renaissance demo! Men, women,
and children were all laughing, moaning, and groaning through
the dark ages and loved it so much that they had to do it again
immediately in the first heat.
The attendance from this influx of new blood and the "never
seen before" TIE in the first round gave the GM immediate
challenges! Further complications arose when there were six winners
at five tables in the first heat!
With the increase in attendance, there was some discussion around
returning to the semi-final format or prior years which would
allow for a greater number of winners to advance but would increase
the time commitment to win the event. Some consideration will
be given to even adding another demo before the second heat to
continue the influx of new blood..
The games ran a little longer than usual, but Iwas prepared with
adjudication rules so that players got out in time for their
next event. Some people requested I explain the adjudication
at every opportunity so I will do so here as well. The tables
received a warning at the 4.5 hour mark that the games had 15
minutes remaining. They should complete the current turn and
end with a final card play phase and calculate scores. Many
people were heard indulging in "what ifs"? as three
tables were adjudicated this way.
The 6-player Final was a marathon session going deep into the
wee hours of Saturday morning, which is highly unusual for a
6-turn game! By the end, players could be heard saying wild things
like "You're scary! Expand!" or making deals for War!
where the winner can choose what he likes!
The pressure began in Turn 2 when Kevin Sudy as Paris went for
the quick gains of Holy Indulgence, making all others sacrifice
a crucial dom to his holiness. This and a severe lack of wool
in Era1 swiftly neutralized London, who had to sit through the
torturous 2-hour grand bazaar when 11 leaders came out (five
of them Kevin's!) and everyone struggled with the math.
I'm looking forward to next year and another boost in attendance.
If you want to share your comments and ideas regarding how to
make the game more enjoyable or available to you, or just want
to chime in on the policies used this year, feel free to drop
me a note at the address below.
 
2005 Age of Renaissance PBeM Tournament Results:
Harald Henning reigned supreme over 43 others in the latest
Age of Renaissance PBeM tournament. Even though both the first
two rounds advanced runner-ups, Harald didn't take any chances
as he won all three of his games. The Final saw Harald take on
some powerhouse competition with Chris Byrd, George Young, Thomas
Browne, Greg Stripes, and our AoR ambassador from Australia,
Nicole Kaiyan all earning laurels.
Harald played well as Paris and really took it to his competition,
winning by a substantial margin, Runner-up Chris Byrd as Barcelona
could only
manage about 75% of Harald's score. Rounding out the laurelists,
Greg Stripes (Hamburg) and Thomas Browne (London) finished tied
for third (but by virtue of having a higher advance total, Thomas
Browne earned 3rd place laurels). George Young (Venice) finished
5th, while Nicole rounded out the final game as Genoa.
You can read a complete summary of the Final (including Neutral
Commentary from GM John Coussis) at http://www.geocities.com/aorbpa2005/2005home.htm.
|
Ted Mullally [2nd year]
NA 
NA