Up Front
Thanks to the GM efforts of John McLintock we ran our first Up Front Tournament at DiceConWest. As everyone recognised John was by far and away the best player in town it was very gracious of him not to compete for the bumper prizes on offer. Instead he lovingly guided two experienced and two less experienced players through a single elimination event using the basic first scenario.
The winner, by a whisker in a closely fought final, was David Evans. He overcame Mike Smith, the runner up. The losing semi finalists were Donald Hosie and John Evans. David picked up a copy of the much awaited Memoir 44 for his efforts but thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and supporters everyone who took part got a prize.
Although only a small event, it does show what is possible. And with that under our belts maybe we can grow the Up Front community a bit. Everyone who played was clearly having a good time. Not a single argument or cross word; just adults engaged in competitive fun. We need more of this.
Incidentally, you could easily tell it was Up Front in full flow by the chat round the table. Cries of "I hate that sniper!" and "How the hell do I get these guys to move?" accompanied lots of tense card draws and the unique Up Front experience of sending the deceased to a discard pile without the hint of a Magic card to bring them back from the dead.
Ellis Simpson
14 June 2004