Round 69

FINAL MATCHUPS April 1, 2017 to May 31st, 2017

UPDATED 5/25/17

Congratulations to Greg Hultgren atop the ladder AGAIN!

Round 69 Matchups (Second player listed has the first bid)

1. Greg Hultgren (Allies-1.5) vs Mike Brophy (Axis)  Allied Victory

2. Rob Drozd (Axis) vs Mircea Pauca (Allies-1,5) Axis Victory

3. Jim Kramer(Axis) vs Dennis Nicholson (Allies-2.0)  Allied Victory

4. Bruce Monnin(Allies-1) vs Greg Smith(Axis) Axis Victory

5. Avi Solomon (Axis) vs Karl Bodenheimer (Allies-2.0) Axis Victory

6. Mike Ussery (Axis) vs Jonathan Lockwood (Allies-2.5) Allied Victory

7. Dave Elkin (Axis) vs John Lindley (Allies-1.5) Allied Victory*

8. John Pack(Allies-1.5) vs Tim Tow (Axis)  Axis Victory

9. Andy Choptiany(Allies-2.0) vs Jeff Lange (Axis) Allied Victory

10. Bob Jameli vs Lee Kendter Kendter Wins (No Report!)

11. Rick Vrost (Allies-1.5) vs Jim Bodenheimer(Axis) Allied Victory

12. Mike Kaye (Allies-1.5) vs  Bob Hamel (Axis) Axis Victory

13. Vince Meconi(Allies-1.5) vs Richard Beyma(Axis)  Allied Victory*

Extra Games:

Rob Drozd (Axis) vs Mircea Pauca (Allies-1,5) Axis Victory this time by only 1.5!

Allied Victories 7  Axis Victories 5 Ties 0

Players looking for extra games (contact players directly)

Lee Kendter

Jonathan Lockwood

Vince Meconi

Mircea Pauca

Avi Solomon

39 Comments to “Round 69”

    
  1. Rick Virost
    May 27, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Extremely favorable dice results with the auxiliary forces gave the Allies (Rick Virost) a maximum victory of +10 POC Allies (+8.5 Allies with bid) over Jim Bodenheimer’s Axis forces. In Turn 1 the Allies successfully avoided the Axis attempt to break the blockade in the North Sea, with air strikes sinking one pocket battleship and disabling another even before the surface firing started. Then ten ASW rolls in Turn 4 sank four U-Boats and disabled a fifth, followed by seven ASW rolls in Turn 5 that sank one U-Boat and disabled the remaining three to allow Allies to retain control of the North Atlantic (and eliminated most of the blockade busting potential of the U-Boats.). Allies also won major surface battles for the Barents in Turn 6 and 8. This is the second match game that Jim and I have played.

    Reply
  2. Mike Kaye
    May 19, 2017 at 8:09 pm

    My dice vs Bob have been pretty consistent with all my recent WAS games. I got one hit for about every 15 shots from my Brit surface fleet. Going into turn 4 vs Bob I did get a US BB and a CA into the game (those two 6s must have used up my quota for the turn) — gave me the only cruiser I had on the board (all the Brit CAs were under it)

    Reminds me of a great quote from a quarter limit game of chance in which I was involved one evening while on an IG inspection trip. One participant had partaken of a few more beers than the rest of us and kept knocking a coin or two off the table to the floor. After this happened a few times, one wit said: “leave it there, it can’t fall any farther.”

    So, just as the coin, I can’t fall any farther–sure, why not–I’ll play the next round and looking forward to a fun game with Richard. You say he’s only a rookie? If we were the only two horses in the Preakness tomorrow (hey–I’m near Baltimore though I don’t bet on horses) the bookies would put me as at least a five to one long shot and I wouldn’t advise putting any money down on me.

    One more note on “game of chance”: one of my favorite lines of all time from a W.C. Fields flick: he’s playing poker with a person who’s never played, cheating to the max. Someone asks: “Is that a game of chance?” the reply: “No, not the way I play it, no.”

    Reply
  3. Bob hamel
    May 19, 2017 at 2:35 am

    Bob Hamel (Axis) defeated Mike Kaye (Allies) – the game went to the start of turn 5.
    With the Alxis ahead by 9 before the bid of 1.5 Mike decided to end it.
    One convoy was already sunk as well as all his 117’s. German loses had been light with only 2 227’s and a 127 in graveyard. Multiple battles (and allied loses) in the Barents even allowed the subs and Italian 117’s to grap
    the S. Atlantic on turn 4 sealing the Allies fate. Mike and I have played before.

    Reply
  4. Tim
    May 17, 2017 at 7:37 am

    Tim’s Allies (Bid 1.5) defeated John’s Axis handily after six turns. The
    game started off with narrow Axis wins in the Barents on Turns 1 and 2, but
    the Axis have not been able to put down a flag in a contested area since
    then. Last turn, 15 ASW sunk 4 U-Boats (and disabled 5 more) to maintain
    the blockade. This turn, they did it again to ice the game.

    Reply
  5. chopper
    May 16, 2017 at 5:46 am

    Andy Choptiany (Allies) defeated Jeff Lange (Axis) in a very bloody game. The raw score was Allies 6 but was reduced by the bid (2) to 4. Jeff and I have played before.

    Reply
  6. James Kramer Jr.
    May 10, 2017 at 9:20 am

    In losing to Dennis in RD69 let me expand on his T1 reference. Dennis placed 4 R-class BB’s, a CA and Eagle in the SA. Aggressive (and risky) Axis player that I am, I sent both 3-5-7’s, the two 1-2-7’s and two 2-2-5’s south to be joined by the 4 Italian CA’s. One German 2-2-5 stayed in the Baltic and the 3 U-boats went to the NS. One 2-2-5 failed it’s speed roll. The 7 NS ASW were successful in removing the subs, closing down the NS. In the SA the Eagle missed it’s shot. Surface combat round 1 saw the Allied force sink a 2-2-5 and a 1-2-7 and disable the remaining 3 German ships with a 3-5-7 damaged. Axis return fire sank 2 BB’s, damaged the other 2 BB’s and disabled the CA. Combat round 2 saw 2 Italian CA’s disabled and 1 sunk. The Italian CA’s managed to disable both BB’s. So for round 3 the Eagle faced an Italian CA. Eagle was successful in sinking the Italian which with it’s shot hit Eagle but only caused 2 damage. SA lost, 5 Axis ships in the neutral port, NS closed, game score Allies +1! YUCK! On T2 I had to sail the 5 Axis ships against a good Allied fleet. I came out of that engagement with a crippled 3-5-7, the other 3-5-7 damaged and an Italian CA all back in the NP. Score now Allies +2. On T3 I kept those 3 ships in port and used the U-boats I had to open up the SA. Game score Allies +5. T4 sees the NP ships escape with the cripple to Germany and the other 2 to the Med. I also managed to sink 1A by air in the Barents and disable 2B by sub in the NA. Score still Allied +5. From that point on Dennis kept my remaining forces at bay and added to his score finally reaching +10 on T7. A well played game by my worthy opponent.
    Jim K.

    Reply
  7. dennis Nicholson
    May 9, 2017 at 11:08 am

    I defeated James in our match when he resigned on turn 7 with the score at Allies +10. I was the Allies for a bid of 2. The game was really decided on turn 1 when he went to the south Atlantic and lost with 5 ships in the neutral port.
    Dennis

    Reply
  8. Vince Meconi
    May 7, 2017 at 11:09 am

    Vince Meconi’s Allies have defeated Richard Beyma’s Axis. Although the players did not roll out all of turn 8 once it became mathematically impossible for the Axis to win, the likely final POC would have been Allies +2.5 after the Allied bid of 1.5. The Axis sailed into the Barents against the Allied’s Barents on 1 setup on Turn 1 and looked good up until the last die roll of the battle. The Allies had lost 2 BBs and 2 CAs against the Axis with only the Scharnhorst sunk. However, a max-damaged Allied BB managed to sink the Gniesenau with its death gasp final die. That turned a decisive Axis win into more of a small Axis win. The 2nd key moment came on Turn 4 when the Allies successfully fled from the Barents and landed the Convoy in Russia because the remaining German fleet was so damaged that it was not fast enough to pursue. Despite the Axis winning the Barents, the Allies managed to gain POC on the turn due to the convoy landing. Most of the other turns were very chess-like, with the game coming down to turn 8. The Axis needed to win the Baltic, the Barents (occupied by one Russian BB), and the South Atlantic to prevail by a half POC. To pull this off the Axis had 6 German ships, 6 U-boats, and 4 Italian cruisers, with the North Sea open against a heavily damaged Allied fleet (17 ships sunk and all 3 convoys out of action). The Axis took the Baltic and South Atlantic but the Allies prevailed in the Barents to preserve the victory. Richard and I have not previously played an AREA game of WAS.

    Reply
  9. jlindley61
    May 2, 2017 at 10:01 pm

    John Lindley (Allied with a bid of 1.5 POC) defeated Dave Elkin (Axis) after 6 turns. A last effort by the Axis in the Barents resulted in Bismarck and Tirpitz being sunk and prompted the Axis concession. This was our first match.

    Reply
  10. Mircea Pauca
    May 2, 2017 at 1:05 am

    *Extra-Ladder Game*
    Mircea Pauca (Axis) defeated Rob Drozd (Allies; bid 1.5) by 1.5 PoC net or 0 raw at end of all 8 turns. Sharply fluctuating luck helped me more overall.
    We have played before WAS for AREA.

    T1: Rob’s Barents-in-1 has weaker SATL than usual (2x 553, 443, 124/1) so I go with all 7 German + 4 Italian ships even knowing the positional risk. One 2+25 fails SR. The Axis sinks all except a critically damaged Nelson, getting only 4 damage on Scharnhorst. 4 German ships refuel successfully. So obvious German luck so far. Score +2 Axis.
    T2: Rob surprisingly gives up patrolling Barents Sea to concentrate in the other 3 areas strong enough to punish the pinned Axis. SATL is strongest; NSEA is strong enough; NATL is weaker; allows reinforcements from Germany to flag Barents and Baltic POC for free; but has the known risk of failing speed rolls and Neutral embarassment costing 1 POC. So I choose NATL. Fortune reverses sharply; Lutzow indeed fails SR and pays 1POC in gold to Neutrals. the Axis lose 3+57, 2+25, 2x 1+27 and Italian 117 while sinking 2x 443. 3 Italians return to blockaded France. Axis gain 1 POC, total +3 Axis.
    T3: German fleet is weakened enough so the British extend patrols to all areas. Germans still stay home. Scharnhorst’s repairs are interrupted by RAF bombing inflicting… the same 4 damage. Lutzow and the 3 Italians desperately sortie in the closed SATL. Only one Italian survives, they only disable 2 British cruisers. Doenitz opens NSEA with 5U vs 12 ASW at the expected loss of 2U, keeping viable threats. Score stays +3 Axis.
    T4: German fleet concentrates to Barents and with outstanding ‘tactical dice-rolling skill’ sinks 336, 2×117, Ark Royal and Convoy 1A while losing nothing, Axis gains 1 PoC, total +4 Axis.
    T5: Doenitz open threats again, NSEA 7U vs 15 ASW, losing 3U. Germans stay home. Convoy2B successfully lands in Russia, gaining 3 PoC to Allies. Total +1 Axis.
    T6: Marat sails so Doenitz splits (2U to Baltic, 5U to NSea). Germans mass again in Barents, knowing an easier opportunity won’t come. At first English shooting is abysmal (no sinking vs losing 447, 336, 117) then survivors disperse. Tirpitz d2 cockily pursues Prince of Wales d4. Now Tirpitz gets sunk! Graf Zeppelin also fruitlessly pursues a carrier, only disabling it. Axis gains 2 PoC, total +3.
    T7: It seems risking the German fleet is no longer necessary(?) so Germans stay home. 7U pick the easy SATL (8 ASW but those sink 3U!). With Convoy3C landing, Allies gain back 3 PoC, total score 0.
    T8: Germans stay home and sink Okt.Rev. too while 5U pick SATL again. Final raw score 0. or 1.5 Axis including bid.
    Thanks to Rob for his very prompt and ingenious play.

    Reply
  11. Gregory M Hultgren
    April 21, 2017 at 1:01 pm

    Gregory Hultgren (Allies) defeated Mike Brophy (Axis) who conceded at the end of Turn 6. Bid was 1.5 for Greg to play Allies. Difficult rolls for Mike throughout the game. Only 4 British battle wagons sunk by Mike and one Russian. With all Allied Carriers afloat on T6 and POC sitting at zero before application of the bid, Greg’s ASW sunk 5 and disabled 2 subs in the South Atlantic on T6 leaving an outnumbered Axis fleet to deal with a significantly larger Allied fleet in the area. By the end of T6, Allies held all four areas outside of the Baltic and the Med and landed their second convoy. With POC plus 4 Allies before application of the Axis +1.5 bid, Mike called it quits. End score with bid applied being 2.5 plus Allies. Greg has been very lucky in these ladder games and fears when he returns to the WBC he will do miserably as he has used up all of his good luck here. Greg thanks Mike for a very enjoyable game.

    Reply
  12. Karl bodenheimer
    April 18, 2017 at 10:52 am

    Avi Solomon (Axis) defeated Karl Bodenheimer (Allies). Bid was 2 for the Allies, game conceded after turn 7 with no chance for the Allies. Avi commented that Karls ASW rolls were possibly the worst he had ever seen. That along with good decisions by Avi sealed the fate of the Allies.

    Reply
  13. ROBERT DROZD
    April 13, 2017 at 7:11 pm

    In Rob Drozd vs Mircea Pauca, Rob played the Axis side in exchange for 1.5 POC. We have played before. We played all 8 turns with the final score of Axis 6.5 as adjusted by the bid. Poor ASW in the early turns allowed U-Boats to be at their maximum complement until Turn 7.
    Axis earned 3 POC in Turn 1 with Med and NATL control and U-Boats decontrolling SATL. Axis lost 2×225 and Allies lost 2×444. LBA in Barents put 2 damage on Repulse.

    Turn 2 was POC-neutral as U-Boats decontrolled NATL. LBA in Barents Put 3 damage on Renown.

    Turn 3 gives 1 POC to the Allies (now Axis up 2 POC before the bid) as no zones were contested. LBA in Barents sinks Valiant. Pola sunk by LBA.

    Allies get 3 POC for Turn 4. Allies focused on maintaining the blockade and left Convoy2B with little ASW protection in NATL. Convoy1A reached Russia, but the U-Boats connected and sank Convoy2B.

    Turn 5 gets us back to POC 0 overall as Axis earned 1 this turn. Allies make another effort to maintain the blockade. It works, but U-Boats were split between the NATL and SATL and decontrolled both. LBA in Barents sinks Illustrious. Gorizia sunk by LBA.

    Turn 6 is POC-neutral. 4 of 7 U-Boats are sunk in Barents, but the blockade is broken. Marat Challenges entire German fleet, but whiffs and is promptly sunk. LBA in Barents sinks Hood and Sussex! Zara sunk by LBA.

    Turn 7 arrives with POC at 0, Convoy3C in Barents, and a lane for the Axis to get to NATL. Fortunately for the Axis, the Okt.Rev. is not available this turn. The convoy is escorted by 5×456 and 7×117. The North Sea has 6BBs and 4 CVs [2×553, 444, 444(1d), 443, 443(1d), 2×0272, 2×0162]. The NATL has 6 BBs, 2×117 and the Ark Royal.
    SATL has the Eagle and Resolution. The Fiume sails to the South Atlantic where it has the support of 4 U-Boats. The 9 remaining ships of the German fleet challenge the forces in the North Sea. LBA in Barents disables the wrong target and the convoy reaches Russia. The 4 ASW in SATL sinks 1 and disables 2 leaving only 1 U-Boat. But that U-Boat sinks the Revenge! Now it is Eagle vs Fiume in an almost even battle after Eagle’s airstrike whiffs. While Eagle whiffs in the surface action, Fiume finds a shot to disable Eagle in the second round of combat. In North Sea, the 8 Allied airstrikes were disappointing with only 1 damage on Scharnhorst. Axis airstrikes missed. 26 shots of Allied fire in Round 1 produced only 2 hits that fell on the same target, Graf Zeppelin. Bismarck, Tirpitz, Lutzow, and Scharnhorst(1d) were disabled. Axis Round 1 fire was devastating sinking Rodney, Nelson, and Revenge, and disabling the other 3 BBs. Round 2 saw Gneisenau and 3×127 against 4 CVs withdrawing separately. Axis had 1 pursuer for each CV and all 4 CVs were sunk! Despite the convoy getting through, Axis picked up 3 POC.

    For Turn 8, the Allies opted to try and hold 3 zones, 4 if you count Okt.Rev in the Baltic. Lutzow went to the empty Barents, Scharnhorst(1d) to the Baltic with 4 U-Boats and LBA for support. Going to NATL were 2×496, 357, and 3×127. However, Bismarck failed the speed roll and then Ark Royal disabled Gneisenau and put 5 damage on Tirpitz. After Round 1 it was clear that the Allies would hold NATL. U-Boats disabled the Russian to give Scharnhorst an easy time in the Baltic. Axis netted 2 more POC for Turn 8 to finish with a 5 (6.5 after bid) POC victory.

    Reply
  14. Jonathan Lockwood
    April 12, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Jonathan Lockwood’s Allies (2.5 POC bid) have defeated Mike Ussery’s Axis in a tough game that went the distance. Mike challenged Jonathan’s Barents on 1 setup by going to the NATL with six ships and sending 3 U-boats to the SATL. Adm Scheer failed its speed roll and was sunk by Allied LBA in port. Mike’s U-boats were neutralized in the SATL with 1 sunk and 2 disabled. In the NATL the Axis took control after 3 rounds that saw the loss of Gneisenau and Adm Hipper as compared to the loss of two British battleships and the Norfolk. Axis lead was 5.5 POC after handicap applied, but at the cost of significant initial losses. Turn 2 saw the Allies hold the blockade while the Axis challenged in the NATL unsuccessfully with 3 U-boats, losing 1 and having the other two disabled. Allies trim the Axis lead to 4.5 POC with handicap applied. On Turn 3 the Allies activated Okt Rev while continuing to hold the blockade. Axis stayed in the Baltic with its entire fleet and its 3 U-boats. Russian ASW sinks 1 U-boat and the Okt Rev puts 2 damage on the Graf Spee before being blown to bits by the German fleet. Allies gain 1 more POC to narrow the Axis lead to 3.5 POC with handicap applied. On Turn 4 Marat activates in the Baltic, to which the Axis responds with their entire fleet and 4 U-boats. Marat disables 1 U-boat and is able to cripple the Lutzow with 2 points damage while Allied LBA puts 1 damage on the newly repaired Graf Spee in Germany before being sunk. Convoy 1A evades Axis LBA and puts in at Murmansk to give the Allies a 4 POC gain and a .5 POC lead with handicap applied at the end of Turn 4. On Turn 5 the Axis successfully breaks the blockade in the North Sea with 1 U-boat wolf pack remaining after 4 were sunk and 1 disabled by Allied ASW. Allied LBA sinks the twice newly repaired Graf Spee in port. Axis LBA disabled Convoy 2B back to the US to create a POC push at the end of Turn 5 with the Allies continuing to hold its .5 POC lead. Turn 6 saw the most spectacular battle of the game in the Barents as all US ships were activated by this turn and the Allies deployed in as balanced a manner as possible to give the Axis no obvious good choices. The Axis sent its 5 U-boats, Axis LBA, and six German ships to the Barents, leaving the Prinz Eugen in the Baltic. Allied ASW leaves 3 U-boat wolf packs untouched to break control and return fire. The Axis then unleashed the dreaded “AntiChrist roll” (666) to sink the Ark Royal and the Victorious and put 2 points of damage on the Renown, giving the Allies NO airstrikes before surface combat. Axis air then disabled the Anson before surface combat. British initial volley disabled three German ships and sank the Lutzow while putting 1 point of damage on the Graf Zeppelin. Axis return fire was insufficient to remove the British fleet, thus forcing a retreat back to Germany. Allied lead holds at .5 POC with handicap applied. On Turn 7 the Axis attempted to break the blockade in the North Sea with 5 U-boats against 14 Allied ASW while sending 5 ships and its LBA against the British fleet escorting Convoy 2B, which now included the Formidable and Illustrious to replace the two sunk aircraft carriers. Allied ASW neutralized the U-boat threat by sinking 1 U-boat and disabling 4, while in the Barents Axis air disabled the KGV (-3) and Allied air hit the Scharnhorst for 4 points damage. After 3 rounds of combat in which the Blucher and Renown were sunk and the Bismarck further damaged at 4 points, the Axis were again driven back as Convoy 2B put in at Murmansk to increase the cumulative Allied lead to 4.5 POC with handicap applied. On Turn 8 the Axis still had a mathematical chance for victory, but it would require taking control of both the SATL and the Barents. The Allies deployed appropriately to block both attempts by the Axis, and the Allies scored an additional 4 POC to end the game with an 8.5 POC lead after handicap applied. A well fought match on Mike’s part, but the initial heavy losses on Turn 1 kept the Axis from seizing the initiative until after the Allies successfully landed Convoy 1A, which in my opinion was the deciding factor.

    Reply
  15. Dennis Nicholson
    April 1, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    I’m in for rd 69.

    Reply
  16. Jim Bodenheimer
    April 1, 2017 at 4:32 pm

    Sign me up!

    Reply
  17. Rick Virost
    March 31, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    Rick Virost will play in Round 69. (I also thought that I had signed up in late February.)

    Reply
  18. Phil Watkins
    March 31, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    Count me in

    Reply
  19. punditas
    March 31, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    I am in for Rd 69

    Reply
  20. Peter Shelling
    March 31, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    I am skipping this round

    Reply
  21. Bob Hamel
    March 31, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Hum…thought I had signed in but please mark me in for Round 69

    Reply
  22. Michael Ussery
    March 31, 2017 at 10:06 am

    I’m in for Rd 69

    Reply
  23. ROBERT DROZD
    March 31, 2017 at 9:41 am

    count me in

    Reply
  24. Bob Jamelli
    March 31, 2017 at 9:32 am

    i’ll play

    Reply
  25. Karl bodenheimer
    March 31, 2017 at 9:21 am

    I am in

    Reply
  26. Lee A Kendter Jr.
    March 31, 2017 at 9:10 am

    In

    Reply
  27. David Elkin
    March 28, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    I will man the decks in round 69

    Reply
  28. Jonathan Lockwood
    March 22, 2017 at 11:29 am

    In for Round 69

    Reply
  29. AChoptiany
    March 13, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    Will play Rd69

    Reply
  30. Mike Brophy
    March 5, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    Count me in.

    Reply
  32. Bruce Monnin
    February 26, 2017 at 4:55 pm

    I will play in Round #69

    Reply
  33. Richard Beyma
    February 26, 2017 at 11:23 am

    I’m in for round 69.

    Reply
  34. James Kramer Jr.
    February 25, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    I will play in RD69.

    Reply
  35. jlindley61
    February 25, 2017 at 10:37 am

    I’m in for round 69

    Reply
  36. Jeff Lange
    February 24, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    Count me in for Round 69

    Reply
  37. Gregory M Hultgren
    February 22, 2017 at 10:41 am

    I am in for Round 69

    Reply
  39. Vince Meconi
    February 19, 2017 at 11:55 am

    In for R69.

    Reply
    

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