I am proud to say that the "Duke of Wollongong" went off without a hitch despite the unexpected arrival of a player which required a last minute re-writing of the draw! I'm pleased to say that Brad Smith's Austrians were made to suffer for their unexpected arrival on the Field of Honour! (Yes, well - in fairness Ian I didn't know I'd be coming down until the day before and other players who were aware that someone was going to stand in for Phil Jones failed to tell you! I reserve the right to extract suitable revenge for my drubbing at a future date! - Ed.) With eighteen (yes 18!) players struggling for the crown, competition was fierce but good humoured. The defending Duke did not surrender his title without a fight (indeed he did not lose a battle on the day!) However, the results were so varied that Robert Horton was unable to reach the finals despite a sound performance in the field. For those interested in results the following people finished in the prizes; Duke of Wollongong. Darren Benvick, whose Hairy's swept all before him in the final. Darren returned from Elba with vengance leaving many players wondering - how do you stop his Tartan Army? Still Paul Hummerston's Ottomans did beat him which I'm sure warranted a prize (You'll get one next year Paul!) The Elba Andrew Rouen, whose Polish Lancers charged and were rebuffed by the Highlanders on that fateful evening. Needless to say, the dice in question did not return from their long journey to Wollongong! [They might have been a trifle difficult to locate after being hurled across the room!] The Grouchy Yours truly despite a frugal challenge from Simon Hughes. Not too many letters to write to those poor lead widows and children thank goodness! I stood down from the final to give Andrew his shot at glory. I'm not sure he'll forgive me for the honour! The Borodino Plate: Greg Kolleher won perhaps the most sought after trophy in the competition, for his continued and heroic assaults on the foe irrespective of losses! Both Greg and Mark Baker also probably deserve awards for the good humour in which they play their games. The competition also highlighted the different and varied interpretations applied to WRG (surprise! surprise!). Despite several mail outs many people were unaware of the local variations which were to apply in this competition. Things will be different next year! On matters organisational I've decided to simplify some of the scenarios to ensure that they could be fought to some sought of conclusion during the allotted period. However, I plan to stick to the frenetic pace of four rounds which ensures that everyone has a shot at the title (and a headache!) by the end of the day! After the competition several players reported to me that their opponents fielded armies with a total value in excess of 750 points. Sacre Bleu, zis is unheard oF Whilst I don't want to introduce spot checks (after all we're not playing for sheep stations!), I would appreciate it if all players provided me with a detailed OB prior to the first roll of the dice. This will be made available to participants in order to minimise the risk of being hood-winked. At this stage it is usual to thank the sponsors. I'd Eke to thank Garry Wells of Tin Solider for providing me with the figures for the Trophies, and Crusader Books (care of Kriegspielet), for donating a book. Assuming the latter's support will be ongoing, I propose to include a "Best & Fairest" award in next years comp. Anyway, I'd like to thank all who participated, and look forward to over twenty entries for our millennium competition! Good to see that Ian had the good taste not to award himself two of his own glorious trophies! Congratulations and thanks must go to him for organising and running a H&M competition that won the justifted praise of all who took part in it - well done Ian, a great comp! -Ed. Back to Table of Contents -- Kriegspieler #6 To Kriegspieler List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Kriegspieler Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com