The 2041 Worlds will be held, as usual, at Origins. This year Origins is July 3 to 7 in Baltimore, MD. The next issue of ADQ is going to the printer in February, and will be on the stands in March.
ADQ 9-1 should contain the results of all club championships, and the date and location for every regional championship.
That means local clubs have to start right now coordinating regional championships with local cons and other clubs in their region. The 1991 regional championship season is April 1 through June 15. These dates are firm. Each local chapter should make it their responsibility to see that their region has a championship during this time, and that it's scheduled and announced to ADQ by Feb. 1.
Club Championships should be held in January or February. January is best, so you can report your club champion to ADQ before Feb. 1, in time for us to print the results in 9/1.
Remember, you're not officially a champion until your victory has been reported to ADQ!
Round One saw a turnout of 35 racers lined up and ready to drag. Tournament referee David N. Searle exercised his official's prerogative, making the first of several spontaneous changes in the published rules -- players were given the choice between two stock vehicles, rather than being allowed to design their own dragsters. He also improvised a rule giving drivers with high reflex rolls 1/4 or 1/2 inch bonuses at the start.
Both models reached their top speed long before the 88" drag race was over... It all came down to who was willing to push their engine the hardest for the longest time. All the races were exciting runs with transmissions and engines shredding left and right. This became important, as Searle tightened the published rules, giving racers only two mechanic rolls between races. Eventually the field was narrowed to 10 finalists.
Searle scrubbed the second day of round-one qualifications, instead substituting a one-lap race on a custom track. After losing several vehicles to spins, and even a roll, the field was cut down to six that moved into the Final Round.
In the true spirit of the event, only two vehicles in the final round possessed weapons. The finals used a one-mile track designed by Ken Scott. Searle and the other duellists present agreed that there was no way to complete the prescribed 30 laps in the allotted time for the tournament, so he initiated a staggered start to allow immediate weapons fire. When two hours of playing time saw the lead driver only 1/2 way through his first lap, Searle decided that it would be fairest to declare the three fastest ETAs around one lap of the track the winners. At about the 3-1/2 hour mark, the first driver completed the first lap in about 34 seconds of game time.
In First Place was Jeff Rakow, with a awesome time of 27 seconds from start to finish line. Second Place went to Jacob Abrams with a time of 28.3 seconds, and Third Place to Jeff Wilder with 29.4 seconds. You may recognize the two Jeffs -- they tied for last year's championship.
Here's Rakow's winning design:
Pixie: Streamlined lux, x-hvy. chassis, hvy. suspension, 500 ci engine with tubular headers, V.P. turbo, 4 gal. economy tank, 4 standard racing slicks, driver, 6 PDGs, 1 smoke discharger, 3 99 Ib. RB, 3 198 lb. RB, 2 2-space EWP, EWP eject, 5 links (EWP ejectors, 198 Ib. RBS in EWPs, all three 99 Ib. RBs, PDG 1-2-3, and PDG 4-5-6), overdrive, spoiler, airdam, FP armor: F50, R20, L20, B55, T9, U1. Accel. 20, HC5(6), 6,598 lbs., $39,724.
If you're interested in being a tournament referee, please send us a brief note telling us your name, address, age and a little bit about your experience with Car Wars, with a special emphaSis on any tournament and referee experience you may have. Also mention whether or not you'd be willing to referee your local regional championship -- regional referees who want to participate in the next World Championships will be seeded in the same round as the club champions. Referees do not have to be active AADA members at the time of application.
SJG will keep a file of all qualified referees, and notify the best-qualified when there's a convention in their area. If you accept a referee's job, your duties will include: 1) coordinating the event with the con's games director; 2) selecting or preparing an arena, and defining event rules, scoring, number of rounds, maximum number of competitors and division of competition; 3) refereeing the event; and 4) notifying SJG, in writing, of the names and addresses of winners (first, second and third place) and seeing that they receive their prizes, and preparing a short, concisely-written account of the event for publication in ADQ.
Once you've refereed an event for us, in return for your efforts SJG will waive your next year's AADA membership fee -- you get full membership privileges, including your subscription to ADQ, free for a year. Also, as an official representative of SJG, you will (in most cases) be able to attend the con without paying a membership fee or admission price. Referees who preside at more than one tournament in a year will be eligible for further bribes, in the form of complementary Car Wars merchandise.
Anyone who might be interested in becoming an official Car Wars tournament referee, send a letter -- including your name, address, phone number and age -- to Steve Jackson Games, P.O. Box 18957, Austin, TX 78741, attn. Steve Jackson.