2010 CODCon Open Results

This Post Has 12 Comments

1. 

   Jim O'Kelley 13 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   I’ve updated the Den of Records: [url]http://windycityweasels.org/records[/url].

2. 

   Christopher Michael Davis 13 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   In game 1, I want to thank Jim O. for letting me live and come back. I was seduced by the docent tones of Mike F., and I stabbed Jim thinking I had support from Mike F. and Jon D.. Instead they used it as an opportunity to invade me. In the end, that was their own undoing. While I lost my home centers, Jim kept me alive after pledging blind support of him. Slowly we moved up the Balkans, eventually taking back my home centers, and then I did a microstab on my benefactor, taking Serbia. This gave me a build and saved me from elimination. Jim admitted after the game that his intention was to roll over me at the first opportunity. With Peter growing into a monster in the west, it became time to hold the line, which we did. There was some discussion about whether we could have taken out Germany, especially after Germany pointed out that Peter could take Kiel. The last few years were mainly holding the line while Peter gobbled up the remaining dots he could. Not a great victory point wise, but I am most happy with coming back from the dead for a 3rd place, 7 center finish. In the end, it would make the different between myself and Thom C.

   In the last game, Christian K. and Kevin O. and I opened Western Triple. France (Christian) threw himself east against Italy. Germany (Kevin) and I moved against Russia who had grown significantly with Italian support. My stab of Germany came on the same season as we shut down Russia. I supported him into Moscow while at the same time relieving him of two of his home centers. I was going to do a unilateral stab, but Christian asked me if it was time to stab Kevin, so I showed him my moves, not wanting to antagonize him. He asked for one of the centers, which I gave him. Russia and Germany went down two each. Meanwhile, France continued to use all of his forces in the south against Italy, leaving large tracts of land open to being liberated by me. My stab of France cost him two centers, and I also took two more off of the remains of Germany and Russia. I would have been invincible if not for France picking up 3 from Italy. This allowed him to build a Fleet in Brest. That slowed me down enough that he was able to move his fleets from the Med. It was looking like I would either finish at 13 or have to forge an alliance with Italy or Turkey to gain a couple of more dots. I knew that Thom already had an English solo, so best country was out as was the lead unless I could do the same. Fortunately, Turkey kept dotting France as France moved against me. In frustration, France suggested that he would let me have the centers I needed to win.

   Going into the third round, I hoped to accomplish two goals: defend my best Russia from last year and improve on my second score. Instead it was similar to my last board at Weasel Moot, where as Russia I received no builds. Quickly my strategy became how to ensure that Peter Y. playing Italy did not have to good a finish. (In the scoring system, two strong finishes can beat a solo.) I had three units on a Turkish owned SEV, and I could have taken it, forcing Turkey to fight me. Italy certainly suggested it, but I recognized that it would have been short-lived. I would not have gained any centers, and Turkey had too much to stop him. Slowing him down would have allowed Italy to have a freer hand. Instead, I pulled back. I also helped Germany into STP, pointing out to her that with two units she could hold the northern line. In my final move, I vacated War and Mos to allow Turkey and Germany in. Then all I could do was sit back and hope that Thom C. did not have success as Germany on the other board (he did not), and that Turkey would stab Italy on my old board, which he did. Then I had a new worry…what if Andrew soloed? Fortunately that did not happen.

   It was great to finally meet two-time CODCON champion Mike French. He was the model of a player keeping up a positive attitude even has his hopes for a third title slipped through his fingers.

3. 

   Thom Comstock 13 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   I will keep this shorter than normal. :-*

   I had fun.

   1. Never Solo in the first round (and Thomas Haver once told me “never solo at all”).

   2. I am an alliance player (though many weasels may not have thought so since I have allied against them).

   3. The scoring system for the tournament is one that does not reward my ‘normal alliance’ play. And, I wasn’t thrilled with the scoring system when announced before the tournament simply because as I have stated before just pick one system and stick to it uniformly. No scoring system is going to make everyone happy all of the time.

   4. I had a great alliance with France on board one, and was encouraged and tempted to stab him by K. O’Kelly. (The extra e goes in Jim’s name, the mnemonic device is K. is only half as (e)vil as J.

   5. I had no intention of Soloing at all. I’ve passed on the [i]opportunity[/i] in the past numerous times.

   6. K. O’Kelly the TD kept hammering on the score that I would end up with if I ended the game in a relatively evenly matched 3-way or two larger powers on the board with some smaller powers.

   7. At a key point France wanted to feign a stab by taking Belgium (one dot). I suggested that was not ‘believable’ as a stab, and concerned that perhaps it was a slow bleeding “real” stab. France advised that he would never stab for one dot, maybe 3 or 4. [b] Coincidentally[/b], I was sitting on a possible 4 dot stab of France. This reminder that others might stab for 3 or more centers also influenced my stab.

   8. It then became a race to grab the required dots. Initially, France pulled from the east. Eventually, he pulled some armies. I did ask, negotiate, and promise whiskey . . . but I think the pulls by France were reasonable and fair.

   9. I think the solo was well earned by myself. I regret honestly that the scoring system required that move.

   10. As a result of a round one solo, I became the temporary leader. As a result, I was jumped on board two and essentially on board three (though Sunday morning board 3 I did have some diplomatic opportunities that I did not believe based on the pieces sitting on the board.)

   11. Thanks to Haver, Sundstrum, and Brown for not attending –you were missed (others not named as well). Thanks to Jim O’Kelley for truly mentoring me at the start of the club.

   12. Thanks specifically to Mike French and Andrew Bartlein for attending (and everyone else) they added a legitimacy to the tournament.

   Thom C

4. 

   Jim O'Kelley 14 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   Just noting that Peter Yeargin’s Best Russia award was for his second-round score of 3.571, not his third-round score of 17.112, as noted here. I corrected the spreadsheet in the Files Section and the link to it from the article.

5. 

   Tony Prokes 14 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   Hey all, I just wanted to add my 2 cents to the listings.

   First of all thanks to everyone who came out and played as well as those (Kevin/Jim) who ran the event. I think everything ran smoothly and while no fights or arguments broke out, I was threatened and yelled at by Kevin after slipping a shiv into his back (It was bound to happen as I had to share 3 of his 4 boards).

   1) It was my first Diplomacy tournament ever and the thought of playing for score/prestige is a new twist for me. One that I’m still getting used to.

   2) While Thom soloed on the board I was on, it sure wasn’t from a lack of trying to prevent it on my part (15 supply centers on my part)… Congrats Thom, I believe we made you earn that one. 😉

   3) Nate, my hat goes off to you. You took being at 11 centers with France and dropping down to 1 center at game end with grace, much better than I would have at the time.

   4) I have to thank Jim O’Kelley, Mai Ling, Grant, and Don for a lesson in humility in the third game. I was playing France, was sitting at 8 centers, and thinking of how to draw the game out and keep my score. Exactly two years later through their combined efforts I was out of the game. (Thom, I should have listened to you… and I’ll never, EVER repeat that phrase.) It was a spectacular finish, though not the spectacular finish I was looking for.

   5) It was great meeting new faces, I was impressed that we had people from Wisconsin and St. Louis drive up for the tournament.

   6) Having been a CoDCon attendee for years, I have often watched the tournaments from afar while running Star Wars RPG events in the same area. It was an interesting twist to be on this side for a change. Thanks for making this new weasel feel welcome!

6. 

   Jim O'Kelley 15 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   Here are my thoughts on the fourth annual CODCon Open.

   [b][u]Round 1, Board 1[/u][/b]
   This was a tough board. The opening was really fluid and engaging, with a lot of back and forth in the East, where I played Turkey.

   In Fall 1902 or so, Mike French, playing Russia, pointed out that he and I could roll the East. I think he was right, but I chose to work with Chris Davis’ crippled Austria instead.

   Chris got off to a bad start when he mistakenly opened to the Adriatic instead of Albania. That allowed me to grab Greece for two builds. Anyway, I helped him regain his home centers while taking his Balkan centers. I grew to seven, and he stayed at four centers but only three units.

   In 1906, I took two dots from Italy, but only went up one because Chris dotted me for Serbia. He now had two open home centers, so he was able to build two armies, and suddenly my puppet was pulling his own strings.

   At that point, my game was at a crossroads. I chose to remain allied with Chris, and I think that was a mistake. We took Moscow and Warsaw from Russia and pushed up against Germany, which undermined Germany’s and Russia’s ability to resist the French and ensured England’s demise.

   While Peter Yeargin gobbled up everything he could in the West, my Turkey was reduced to spectator status. For me, it was a disappointing end to a game that had once been full of promise.

   It finally ended in Spring 1914, which gave me a brief break before the second round.

   [b]Exchange of the game:[/b]
   [b]John Duca (playing Italy):[/b] Has Jim told you about my shortcomings?
   [b]Grant Smith, Chris Davis and Mike French:[/b] Yes.

   [u][b]Round 2, Board 2[/b][/u]
   Deja vu all over again. Nate Cockerill’s Austria asked my Italy to play a Key Lepanto. I agreed, but I think I also coaxed Amanda Baumgartner (Russia) into sneaking into Galicia. In the Fall, rather than pointing Amanda at Turkey, played by a contentious and unreasonable Mike Morrison, I offered to support her into Vienna, which I did.

   Nate stayed at three, I built two, and I was off to the races. Or so I thought.

   As I negotiated the Fall 1902 turn, I could taste my Best Italy plaque. I had convoyed to Albania in the Spring while also supporting Russia into Budapest. I was now expecting Amanda’s support into Serbia. And I also had a good shot at Greece, as long as I could prevent Turkey from supporting the Austrian fleet there.

   Mike wanted either Serbia or Greece for himself. I tried mightily to persuade him to take Sevastopol instead. He pointed out that the Sev attack wasn’t a sure thing. I suggested that he give his army in Rum two supports instead to keep that dot, which he had gained in the Spring. He asked again for Serbia.

   Finally, in frustration, he elected to support Nate in Greece.

   Ah, well, at least I had Serbia…except that Amanda decided to use all four of her units on Rumania to secure that spot for herself. As a result, my attack on Serbia failed for lack of support.

   To make matters worse, a Western Triple revealed itself, with Kevin O’Kelly’s Germany marching to Tyrolia, and Christian Kline’s France sailing to Lyon and Western Med.

   Fall 1902 was a terrible turn. From there, it only got worse.

   [b]Exchange of the game:[/b]
   [b]Mike Morrison (Turkey):[/b] I need the Ionian. If you let me have the Ionian. we can work together.
   [b]Me (Italy):[/b] Mike, I can’t let you have the Ionian. I need it.
   [b]Mike:[/b] You want the Ionian, and you’re calling [i]me [/i]the nutjob?

   [u][b]Round 3, Board 1[/b][/u]
   So, I was having a fairly mediocre tournament, but there was still one round, and I figured I could salvage it with a Best Country award.

   Then I drew England, which had already seen two solos.

   Our Tournament Director, Kevin O’Kelly, played a lot more Diplomacy than he wanted to at CODCon. This game was his fourth of the tournament, and as Russia, he was just looking to have fun. Most of it came at my expense, as he pursued a northern fleet-building strategy fueled primarily by annihilations and rebuilds.

   Once I accepted that his intent was to menace me for his own amusement, not harm me for his own gain, I was able to grow rapidly at France’s expense (Tony Prokes). Kevin even convoyed my armies twice, once with support.

   I finished with 13 centers, a shared board top, and enough points to finish fifth in the tournament. After 10th-place finishes in my first three Weasels tournaments, I was happy to finally take home a prize…even if it were only a framed certificate.

   [b]Exchange of the game:[/b]
   [b]Kevin O’Kelly (Russia):[/b] You’re using seven units to take one dot. What would Dave Maletsky say?
   [b]Me (England):[/b] [I actually said nothing. Instead, I opened my black book and ordered a stab of my game-long French ally.]

7. 

   Thom Comstock 15 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   I did lobby for the best England, and as the TD says it had no impact. Mostly though I had a chance to lobby because Kevin the TD was on my third Board, and I had a single fleet sitting in Berlin for quite awhile.

   So it went something like this with literary license.

   My position went like this 🙂 not that it influenced anything.

   1. It is general consensus that it is often more difficult to solo with fewer powers on the board (mine had three).

   2. I could have stabbed much earlier in the game (which is true) but Kevin was still alive at that point and I did not want him rallying a defense (one more brilliant mind against me). So, I was very wise to eliminate Kevin first before making my move for a solo.

   3. My stab was brutal, and uncharacteristic of my play. (so what!)

   4. I soloed first in round one (so what . . . except I got jumped in round 2 & 3).

   5. I have club seniority. (lol)

   6. I’d buy him Whiskey because I owe Nate and Tony anyhow.

   7. If I didn’t get best england I’d never play Diplomacy again (you have to know the history of other weasels to appreciate this public ‘inside’ joke).

   8. Chris is a better player than me, so his solo wasn’t really all that impressive.

   9. Diplomacy is all I’ve got Kevin!!!!

   10. Let’s stick it to GREG!

   Thomas

8. 

   Christian MacDonald 15 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   Great EOG statments Jim. I’m still in awe that Nate would actually INVITE you into a key! Ouch. You don’t pull on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, etc, etc.

9. 

   Christian MacDonald 15 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

   Did anybody else notice that only 2 of the 11 players to play in 3 rounds managed to avoid any eliminations. (Peter Yeargin and Mai Ling) Sounds like a bloody and brutal tournament.

10. 

    Jim O'Kelley 15 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

    [quote]Did anybody else notice that only 2 of the 11 players to play in 3 rounds managed to avoid any eliminations.[/quote]
    I noticed that and mentioned it to Eric the other day. He and May Ling both should be proud of the way she played. And she’s committed to reading up to improve her play, so watch out.

    [quote]Great EOG statments Jim. I’m still in awe that Nate would actually INVITE you into a key! Ouch.[/quote]
    I know. Nate apparently didn’t read my endgame statement from January’s Guthrie’s game. And apparently I should have reread it, because I didn’t learn anything from the mistakes I made in that game.

11. 

    Jim O'Kelley 20 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

    Just wanted to briefly recap the Friday night open gaming activities before CODCon exits stage left.

    John Ritz drove down from Madison just for the Friday night gaming. We also had weekend-long house guests Peter Yeargin, Amanda Baumgartner and May Ling Chong, plus the Burgesses.

    We ended up playing five games of Wits & Wages and one game of Bohnanza. John and Peter each won a game of Wits & Wagers, but Dan was the big winner with three.

    Amanda was the model of consistencey. Unfortunately, she was consistently bad. She finished each of the Wits & Wagers games with zero points. I sucked slightly less.

    Bohnanza came down to a tie between Peter and Tracy. Tracy tossed her cards in before we could break it, so they shared the victory.

    On Saturday, Adam Berey, Grant Smith, Andrew Bartlein and Chris Davis joined the slumber party, and Kevin O’Kelly, Christian Kline and Mike French stopped by. We didn’t play any games, though.

12. 

    Thom Comstock 27 Apr 2010 Log in to Reply

    Right on the eliminations, but the reality is had Peter allied with me as he said he was in round two we both would have done much better overall . . . or at least he should have waited to stab me instead of piling on.

    Hindsight though is twenty-twenty, and Peter would have had an excellent ally in me as I was feeling the pang of guilt from stabbing nate, and to a lesser degree tony.