Game 77 Solo Ends 59-Game Drought!

Congratulations to newcomer Adam Berey who soloed as Russia in game No. 77, played Oct. 25 at Chicagoland Games in Uptown. It was our group’s first solo in a club game since Eric Brown pulled off the feat in game No. 17, played at Barry Johnson’s home in Lake in the Hills on Feb. 10, 2007. Berey joins Marc Peters (Game 5), Christian Kline (Game 8), Jim O’Kelley (Game 15) and Brown as the only players to solo in club games.

Kudos again to Ted McClelland for organizing another successful recruiting game at Chicagoland Games. The game featured four people playing their first game with us, in addition to Berey, who was playing just his second with the Weasels.

Thanks also to Chicagoland Games for promoting the game and driving several players, including Berey and John N. from the Oct. 25 Guthrie’s game, to our Meetup and Yahoo groups. Chicagoland Games also provided us with two $50 gift certificates as prizes for Weasel Moot. The next time you’re in the market for a board game, please consider shopping at Chicagoland Games.

The game ended in a solo after the Fall 1912 turn. The final center counts were:

• Austria (Griffin Thomma): 0; 0 points.
• England (Jeremy Murhpy): 0; 0 points.
• France (Jeffrey Wood): 5; 0 points.
• Germany (Mike Morrison); 0; 0 points.
• Italy (Ted McClelland): 1; 0 points.
• Russia (Adam Berey): 18; 450 points.
• Turkey (Amanda Baumgartner): 10; 0 points.

Like most solos, this one was aided by mistakes, one of them of the adjudication variety. In 1911, France mistakenly removed a unit to play with six when he had seven centers. The extra unit might have made a difference, but the error was not caught until after Russia soloed the next year. Our club house rules (available in the Files section of the Yahoo group) are clear on this situation: Had the error been discovered prior to the Spring orders being read, then it would have been corrected, and the Spring negotiation phase replayed. Once the Spring orders are read, however, the player must wait till the next adjustment phase to correct the error. (Note that a different house rule covers situations where a player is discovered to be playing with too many units.)

And no, Dan Burgess, this isn’t an argument for using adudication software. The lesson here is to always tally the supply centers and make sure they total 34. If arithmetic isn’t your strong suit, have someone check your work.

Next up is the Weasel Royale and the Undercard game at (speaking of) Dan Burgess’ home in Downers Grove on Nov. 7. We may offer a Guthrie’s game and another house game before Greg’s game on the South Side on Dec. 5. Stay tuned.

Jim

Download the Game 77 Supply Chart