Commands and Colors Ancients VASSAL Open Tournament 2017
The VASSAL Open Tournament for 2017 is open to all players, and requires a login ID to https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/
The tournament will consist of 5 rounds played from March to July, 1 per month in a Swiss draw format. Contestants have to play a scenario twice in a month.
The top 8 players will then move to an elimination tournament, played from August to October, again two games per month.
ORGANIZATION
A). This tournament consists of two phases. The first phase is a Swiss-style format of five rounds.The scenario for that round will be played twice, with sides for the first game decided by rolling a die and then alternating sides for the second game.
B). Each round will be worth three points. All 3 points will be awarded to the player that wins both games, 2 points will be awarded to the player that wins one game and wins the total banner count for both games, 1.5 points will be awarded to the player that wins one game and ties in banner count, 1 point will be awarded to the player that wins one game and loses the banner count, no points awarded if both games are lost. After each round, positions on the Ladder will be adjusted in descending order by points, and further sorted by Ranking Strength (the sum of your opponent's VP) banners won, banners lost, and blocks lost.
C). At the end of five rounds, the players in the top each positions will move on to Phase II and be seeded according to position.
D). The second phase is an 8-player single elimination bracket. The scenario for each round will be played twice, with sides for the first game decided by rolling a die and then alternating sides for the second game. The player with the most banners will move on to the next round, ties broken by lowest Blocks Lost count. In the event of a tie still existing, the winner of a one game play-off, scenario decided by the tournament referee and sides determined by rolling a die, will advance to the next round or win the tournament if it is the final round.
GENERAL RULES
1. A game ends immediately when one player earns the required number of banners to achieve victory.
2. Once the schedule for the tournament is published, players are responsible for contacting each other and setting up a time to play their games. There will be a tournament page with the schedule of games, standings and player list with contact information provided.
3. All players should use the current version of the Commands and Colors Ancients module available fromhttp://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Commands_%26_Colors_Ancients
4. Both players should start a logfile once the game is open, but prior to drawing cards.
5. The score should be reported by the winning player into the forum page provided in https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/
The format for reporting results is as shown below:
Player 1 Vassal ID: # banners won/# banners lost/# blocks lost
Player 2 Vassal ID: # banners won/# banners lost/# blocks lost
6. Unless otherwise noted, all scenarios will be played following GMT's living rules for the 6th printing of the game, found on the GMT website, and, when applicable, GMT's Epic Ancients II rules. Please do not let rule disputes interfere with the enjoyment of the game, but if rules cannot be resolved between those playing the game, contact the tournament referee to have the dispute arbitrated. In addition, players should also familiarize themselves with the “Commands and Colors Ancients Vassal Conventions” given below.
7. It is up to the individual players to arrange and play their games. The schedule will give a deadline in which all the games in a round should be completed. If a player does not respond to emails, please contact the tournament referee. It is important to keep the referee informed of problems as they occur. Generally, if a deadline passes without communication to the referee from either player involved in a game, both players will be counted as having forfeited the game.
8. The tournament referee will be the final arbiter of disputes. If the referee is playing in a tournament and is involved in a dispute, the designated assistant referee will arbitrate. Hopefully, this rule will not be necessary as this tournament is being set up for people to play games and have fun. Most problems that arise in a game can be easily solved with good sportsmanship.
Commands and Colors Ancients VASSAL CONVENTIONS
1. The side determined to be moving first in the scenario will draw command cards first.
2. To play a card, drag it from your hand window to the map board. Wait for your opponent to place the card on the discard pile, allowing him time to read the card and ensure that both players are still connected to the server. When playing Epic scenarios, discard opponent's last play (unless playing Counter Attack for a particular section/Army Card, in which case place it beside the card to be countered) and reposition any used initiative dice, then place cards on the designated space for the corresponding section. If any initiative rolls are to be made, place the initiative die for that section into the designated space in lieu of a card.
3. Issue orders to all units being ordered prior to making any movements. Units which are ordered but not moving should be highlighted before the battle phase of your turn by right-clicking the unit and selecting “Order Unit” from the pop-up menu. The same process will remove the highlight from a unit, if necessary.
4. When moving units multiple hexes, make sure to move them a single hex at a time to generate an accurate movement trail.
5. Until the first battle roll of the turn has been rolled, orders and movements may be altered. However, if this becomes abusive or ritualistic and reasonably interferes with any player's enjoyment of the game, a more rigorous turn phase enforcement may be adopted in the future.
6. To battle, right click the attacking unit and select “Attack Marker” from the menu to place a yellow attack marker on the attacking unit, and then right click the target unit and select “Target Marker” to place a red target marker on that unit. Once the markers are placed, the attacker should notify his opponent of the number of battle dice to be rolled in the chat window (by typing “3d” for a 3 battle dice attack, for example). The defender will then confirm the attacker’s note (with a “y” for yes, or similar) or will make a First Strike play if possible. Of course, if the attacker has entered what the defender believes to be an incorrect number of dice, he should instead advise his opponent of this. Once the attack is resolved, the attack marker should be converted to a “Battled” (blue) marker via the right-click menu. The target marker should be either deleted or dragged to the next target unit. To avoid confusion, there should never be more than
one yellow attacker marker and one red target marker on the board.
Until the announced battle roll has been rolled, decisions about the battle may be altered (e.g. changing targets, or decided against the battle, etc.). However, if this becomes abusive or ritualistic and reasonably interferes with any player's enjoyment of the game, a “once announced, set in stone” enforcement may be adopted in the future.
7. If you roll too many battle dice, simply use the results of the correct number of dice, counting from left to right, from the roll already made and ignore the excess results. If too few are rolled, simply roll the remaining dice necessary to make the total amount rolled correct.
8. After your combat phase is complete, draw command card(s). If playing Epic scenarios, please announce your Command number after your draw. Push the “Clear” button to delete the combat markers from the board and to remove all the highlights and movement trails from the units on the board. This ends your turn and signals your opponent that it is his turn.
9. When returning to a game after losing connection with the Vassal server, the player who returns should synchronize to the player who remained connected and has an uninterrupted logfile.
