Finals night: three hours, one dropped die and a very quiet winner
Four finalists, one long table and a die that rolled off the edge at the worst possible moment. This is how the season ended, as told by people who were watching.
Four players, one table, no clock
By the time the doors opened on Saturday the spectators had already claimed the good chairs. Four finalists took their seats at the long table, Trevor set out the rulings book like a pair of cutlery, and Andrea announced that the kettle had been refilled for the third time. A game of that length asks for stamina, and the room could tell. Several spectators had brought their own cushions, which says a great deal about the Mob.
The first hour was careful. Everybody built their little economies and watched each other's. The second hour was tense, with two finalists tied on points and one finalist quietly writing a plan on the back of a coaster. The third hour was mostly shouting, in the friendliest possible way. The teacher on duty gave up trying to keep score aloud and simply held up fingers.
How it ended
The turn that changed everything
With two rounds to go, one player rolled for a crucial result and sent the die straight off the edge of the table and under the shelf. The room went silent. Trevor consulted the book, found no precedent, and ruled that a die which leaves the table is a re-roll. The second roll was a six, and the cheering was loud enough to rattle the window.
The winner's speech
The winner stood up, thanked the volunteers, the teachers and the kettle, and sat down again in under ten seconds. It was the quietest winning speech anyone could remember, and the warmest applause. When someone at the back shouted “speech!” a second time, the winner replied with a single raised mug and the whole room cheered all over again.
What the winner got
A name on the shelf plaque and the right to pick the first game of the new season. They chose a tiny two-player duel, so the next season would start quickly and everyone could be home before the winter wind picked up.