WBC in Review

Last week, August 5th through 10th, was the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC) convention in Lancaster, PA. Five of us went down to try and swim with the many sharks there. The convention includes 135+ competitive tournaments in board games varying from hex-and-counter wargames to Eurogames, from 50 hour games (A World at War) to 15 minute ones (Can't Stop), and from classics (Acquire, Diplomacy) to the hottest new games (Through the Ages, Agricola). There are also plenty of demos from publishers like Rio Grande Games and Z-Man Games, as well as plenty of Open Gaming space and opportunities, including a well stocked library of games. Additionally, there was more than 6 hours of auctioning games on Tuesday (as well as an auction store) and the Ballroom was packed with vendors (and shoppers) from Friday morning through the close of the convention on Sunday.

The Schenectady Wargamers Association Team (S.W.A.T.) included two players who reached the Semi-Finals in their team games (Nick K. in Titan, Bill D. in Manifest Destiny) and two players who did not advance in their team event but reached the Finals in other games (Vince R. in Circus Maximus, Steve B. in Republic of Rome). Unfortunately, we came home empty-handed and did not score any team points, but at 9000:1 odds I guess that was expected. Additionally, Mike R. advanced to the Final of Here I Stand only to lose to fellow New Yorker Jeff Burdett from the Rochester Boardgaming Society.

The big news this year was the end of James Pei's unprecedented 8 year run as champion of the For The People event. A new face from Finland, Riku was his name I believe, came over to not only dethrone him, but also to knock David Dockter out of the Paths of Glory tournament. The final scores are not out yet, but the losses by James and David are expected to be the end of their team's 3 year run as champions in the team tournament, despite teammate Stefan Mecay's repeat as Twilight Struggle champion.

Reports are that the WBC again broke its attendance record and a few of the tournaments were threatening to break the event attendance record of 217 unique players. In addition to being on the front page of the B section of the local paper, the WBCs were also contacted by the CBS morning show for information for a report they were doing on how popular board gaming is becoming as the economy is softening and people are looking for more cost effective entertainment. All great signs that our hobby is enjoying a resurgence.

I personally had an excellent time once again at the WBCs and was not only able to play 5 of my favorite games (a total of 9 plays) but also played 3 games from my "dying to try" list. I was also able to pick up two out of print games that I had been looking for. I only averaged 9 hours of gaming per day at the convention, but it wasn't for lack of opportunity. I look forward to my next trip there, and hope to bring my young son along as well. With 20 Juniors events, two game rooms, an outdoor and an indoor pool, and more family events added each year, he will likely enjoy it as much as I did.