Windy City Weasels

March Madness tipped off last weekend with regional action in Chicago, Houston and D.C.
 
Chicago got the ball rolling last Saturday at 9 a.m. Central. Seven Weasels gathered for a taut game that ended in Fall 1910 in a four-way draw. Sam Bassett topped the board as England with 15 centers.
 
Houston joined the action at 2 p.m. Conrad Woodring celebrated his birthday with six friends by playing Diplomacy at his home in Beaumont. The witches had their way. In a game that ended after Fall 1906, Bryan Arensman's Turkey topped the board with 11 centers; Conrad's England was second with 10.
 
The Potomac Tea & Knife Society played two games on Sunday with 11 players participating. The group had so much fun that they gathered again for another game with quick deadlines on Wednesday night.
 
The PTKSers and the Weasels will be playing again today. Joe and Lori Wheeler are hosting the PTKS game, and they've encouraged players to outfit themselves in the gear of their favorite ACC team. Dan Burgess will be hosting in Chicago, and the Diplomacy game is expected to blend gently into Hockey Night in Canada. Burgess is a Canucks fan. 

Exactly one month from now, maybe at this exact moment, you may be looking at
your board at the third round of CODCon on Sunday morning. It's Fall 1903 and
you are preparing your stab on your ally and tournament co-leader. They don't
suspect a thing. But why not, you ask?

Over the first two rounds, 6 boards have already been played. You've managed to
pull off two good scores, and almost solo'ed in round 2. Your ally in round 3
managed to slow you down enough in round 2, preventing you from the solo, and
now it's time for them to pay. You're ready to pull ahead of everyone in the
tournament for good. You hear the timer expire, everyone is throwing in the
booklets and the sweat begins to form on your brow. The first couple sets of
orders are read, including the orders of your unsuspecting ally. WOW! You
can't believe they left open a home center and another neutral center. This is
too good to be true...

UNLESS you do not sign up for CODCon 2010.

CODCon is a great gaming festival in the western suburbs. It's about 30-40
minutes from downtown and there is housing nearby if needed. Check-in time on
Saturday April 10th is at 9am, with another round to be played that evening.
Side gaming will be going on all weekend, both during the rounds if you are
eliminated early and after the rounds. Lunch on Saturday is usually had at
Alfie's, the greatest burger joint this side of the Mississippi (I don't know
that to be true, but I like that phrase).

For any questions or to sign-up, please feel free to email me [kodiplomacy at
gmail(dot)com], go to our Meetup CODCon Page or post back to this
message. We look forward to seeing you in Glen Ellyn at the College of DuPage
on Saturday and Sunday April 10th-April 11th.

-kevin


Kevin O'Kelly
2010 CODCon Tournament Director


P.S. Make sure to read the tournament rules before the start of the games. The
rules are posted at www.windycityweasels.org in the Files section.
 

Our third annual March Madness tips off tomorrow at the Prime Weasel's pad in Oak Brook. The game will begin at 9 a.m. (And as an aside, one of the players is seeking a replacement, so if you want to play, speak up.)

This year, other clubs on the continent are getting in on the action. The Houston group also will be playing tomorrow, while the Potomac Tea & Knife Society will tip off on Sunday. Later in the month, we expect to see games in the Bay Area, Vancouver, New England and possibly Toledo.

We still need one more for next Saturday's game at Dan Burgess' home in Downers Grove. And to free Dan to concentrate on blogging and serving you beer, we could actually use two more players.

The event at Thom Comstock's home in Oak Park on March 20 needs two more players to round out a second board. Thom is promising prizes, including a Diplomacy game and one of Greg's cool linen maps.

Finally, the wrap-up event at Guthrie's Tavern on March 25 needs one more player for a second board.

Don't miss an opportunity to tune up for the CODCon Open, which is right around the corner on April 10-11. Grab one of these openings today!

We followed up a five-board January with two house games in February. Thirteen players participated, including two who were playing with us for the first time since June 2008.

We've now had 30 different players in our seven 2010 games. Five of those 30 were playing with us for the first time, and one of them played his second game in February.

Of our 2010 membership goals, I expected the seven reactivated members to be the most difficult to achieve, but we've already reactivated three, and two more are signed up for the March 20 game.

Speaking of that, we're working hard to fill a second board on March 20. If you're interested, speak up. The March 20 event will take place at Thom Comstock's place in Oak Park. We also have room for Dan Burgess' game on March 13 in Downers Grove. Dan's games are always fun, thank in equal parts to his hospitality, chili and hand-craft beer. Don't miss out!

We may open a Guthrie's game in March as well. Stay tuned.

Game 90 is set for 11 a.m. tomorrow at Gary Przybocki's home in Montgomery. It will feature the following players:

1. Amanda Baumgartner
2. Bob Kramford
3. Gary Przybocki
4. Jim O'Kelley
5. Michael Schoose
6. Peter Yeargin
7. Thom Comstock

If anyone gets injured or is unable to perform the duties of a head of state, then Bert Schoose will be waiting in the wings.

Following the game, watch for endgame statements. Also, as this will be another landmark game on our march to 100, watch for another classic game report from yesteryear.

Next Up: March Madness!

• The March 6 game in Oak Brook is full.
• The March 13 game in Downers Grove has five spots available.
• The March 20 event in Oak Park has one full board. We're now looking for seven more players for a second board.

Sign up for a March game today! It's your last chance to work the rust off before the fourth annual CODCon Open, April 10-11 at the College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn.

March didn't always belong to basketball. There was a time when the month belonged to our pastime. March was once known best for a backstab.

On March 15 in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was stabbed in the back, face, ribs and 32 other places by his closest friends and advisers.

This March, the North American Diplomacy Federation wants to re-create that scene in bars and living rooms all over the continent. We need your help. We urge your group to hold at least one Diplomacy game in March, and preferably more. In Chicago, the Windy City Weasels will take a stab at four boards, possibly five. We expect our friends in D.C., the Potomac Tea & Knife Society, to equal that.

Et tu?

Grab a knife and join the fun. Together, we can reclaim March for backstabbing! Sign up for a March game here!

Jim O'Kelley, Chicago Representative
North American Diplomacy Federation