SpielByWeb

[The Hammer]

Greetings fellow gamers - and in particular fellow Tikal gamers. Trust all out there are having fun playing their various games of Tikal be it the straight up or the auction variant. From newbies to the hard core vets the strategies run wild.

I'm curious to know if there are any players out there who would be interested in participating in a small Tikal auction tournament. And when I say small I'm talking 6 players. Let me list off the particulars and parameters of the tournament.

1) The tourney would consist of 6 players
2) All games would be three player
3) All games would be the auction variant
4) There would be a total of 20 games played to determine the top 3 players
5) Each player would participate in a total of 10 games of the 20
6) The tourney will be designed to allow each participant to play all other participants in every conceivable 3 player pairing
7) Points are awarded for each position a player finishes a game. 5 pts for 1st / 3 pts for 2nd and 1 pt for 3rd. (I feel a player deserves to score something for their efforts even if they finish dead last).
8] In case of a tie for either 1st or 2nd the points awarded for 1st & 2nd and/or 2nd & 3rd are added together and divided by 2 and awarded to each player. (5 + 3=8 divided by 2 = 4 pts each for a 1st place tie. 3 + 1=4 divided by 2 = 2 pts each for a 2nd place tie).
9) If two players do tie for 1st the 3rd place player still scores 1 pt. If two players tie for 2nd the 1st place player still scores 5 pts.
10) The tourney would be divided into 4 rounds of five games - three players participating in 3 games and three players participating in 2 games a round. The players involved in the 3 games the 1st round would only have 2 games the 2nd round and visa versa for the other 3 players. Rounds 3 and 4 would mirror rounds 1 and 2.
11) With the conclusion of the 20 games (rounds 1 thru 4) the three players with the highest point total will play in a final game for bragging rights.

That's pretty much the lay of the land for the rules of the tourney. A couple of other things that I want to mention follows.

1st off - with a tournament like this - being auction style of play - there is going to be a definite time factor for the players to consider. This tourney is not going to be completed in 6 to 8 weeks. As all auction fans know with the bidding process marbled thru out the whole game it just plain out takes somewhat longer to play a complete game. So with that in mind I need to stress that players understand the importance of being punctual and able to check in several times a day. This means we're looking for people who like auction style and also like to play "fast". There are a lot of good players out there who aren't as concerned with playing fast. As long a people check a couple of times a week they are happy. But this being a tourney - even though we're well aware of auction style taking more time - we still want to proceed at decent clip to keep the games fresh and interest as peeked as we can. Folks lose interest if things drag out to long. So if you aren't able to check in at least a couple of times a day and take a turn if it's your move then please refrain from signing up. I think I drove the point home!

2nd - Don't forget what I mentioned above. There is going to be a time factor. Please don't sign up all ready to plunge into the games and then decide later it's taking to long. Please consider the number of games and how long this tourney can take. I anticipate at least three months - possibly as long as 4 months to complete.

I set up a tourney back in the spring and we played through 3 rounds - and it took almost 5 months. But that was due to some definite down time in several of the games - something I want to bypass this tourney. And because of slowness of play some decided to bow out before the tourneys conclusion. We want to avoid that from happening. That's why I'm stressing being punctual and speed.

Naturally - the holidays are going to figure in the time table. Everyone may have some down time in there with T-giving, X-mas and New Years. And that's fine. To be expected. If anyone would be absent for a period of time just let your fellow players know by using the callender.

3rd - We would ask for X amount of experience for those signing up. And by experience - I'm talking experience playing online. There may be some out there who have the board game and have played over the years at the kitchen or dining room table. That's something I covet. Much of my experience is online. Probably 98% -and I have the board game - just not many people who have any interest in playing in my circle of friends. We're going to ask for participants who have a minimum of 75 games under their belt. It may seem like a lot - but it's really not.

That's about it. Anyone who feels they have the qualifying criteria feel free to sign up. I might add that this will not be 1st come - 1st served. The sign up will be available for a few weeks. The tourney will start at the 1st of November.


Thanks for reading. Happy gaming - The Hammer

[JokeToy]

i'm in, hammer. good format. shuffle up and deal!
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thanks for reading this far, JokeToy

[NoMoreCheese]

I'd be happy to play if you will have me.

[jimsluyter]

I'm in - Looking forward to some good matches

[jamesparauda]

I'd like to be in the tourney as well.
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Gunner

[Saul Pum]

im in as well.

[klingone]

I want play

[andyp]

love the chance to improve - started off playing hacienda, only recently started playing tikal last few months but have improved my win % to around 50% in recent games hopes thats enough considering i've only played 50 or so games (all last 3 months really).

[The Hammer]

OK folks - the field is set for the 6 player Tikal Auction tournament. The participants for this endeavor are as follows in alphabetical order according to profile names:

jamesparauda
jimsluyter
JokeToy
klingone
NoMoreCheese
The Hammer

I've also notified each of you in a short message onsite. And thanks to the few others who expressed interest in playing. Unfortunately there are only six slots available.

All the games will be titled 3PTAT# with the game number following the number sign. Naturally the 1st five games will be numbers 1 through 5. Also - would the players setting up the games please include in the comment section the players names. It helps everyone find what games they're playing. All games are the auction variant and passworded with the password being auction!

Following are the pairings for the 1st round of five games. (Remember that 3 players will participate in three games while the other 3 players will only have two games. Round two the tables turn - and rounds 3 & 4 mirror rounds 1 & 2. And again, 5 pts are awarded for a win, 3 pts for 2nd and 1 pt for 3rd place.)

The pairings are as follows:

3PTAT#1 - jamesparauda , jimsluyter , JokeToy

3PTAT#2 - jamesparauda , klingone , The Hammer

3PTAT#3 - jimsluyter, JokeToy, klingone

3PTAT#4 - jamesparauda, jimsluyter, NoMoreCheese

3PTAT#5 - JokeToy, NoMoreCheese, The Hammer

That pretty much says everything needed. JT if you don't mind I'll ask you to set up games 1, 3 and 5 and James I'll ask you to set up games 2 and 4. Again - the password is auction.

Thanks to all for your interest and signing up. Looking forward to some spirited game play. Best of strategies to all. Any questions just drop me a line. Thanks folks - Happy gaming!

[JokeToy]

game 1, 3 and 5 are now on the list of password games waiting to start.

thanks for once again hosting, hammer. this is a great format and i reckon we'll all have some fun with it. with that said, good luck all (well, some skill will be needed to boot)
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thanks for reading this far, JokeToy

[JokeToy]

why are games 2 and 4 not end-to-end-worker movement? we should all be playing by the same rules. just sayin...
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thanks for reading this far, JokeToy

[The Hammer]

OK folks - tis the season . . . to set up the 2nd round of our 3 player Tikal contest. Though games 2, 4 and 5 are still being decided I feel it best to start the 2nd round to keep things moving along. Here are the pairings for the next round:

3PTAT#6 - jamesparauda - klingone - NoMoreCheese

3PTAT#7 - Jimsluyter - JokeToy - NoMoreCheese

3PTAT#8 - jamesparauda - JokeToy - The Hammer

3PTAT#9 - jimsluyter - klingone - The Hammer

3PTAT#10 - klingone - NoMoreCheese - The Hammer

Once the 1st round is completed I'll post the game results and everyone's pt. totals. Keep in mind that some will have played three games while some will have only played two games.

I will set up games 8 thru 10 and I'd like to ask NoMoreCheese if you'd would please set up games 6 & 7. Again - please title the games as shown above and put the players names in the comment section. The games are passworded with the password being auction and of course they are 3 player games. Finally - please check the auction variant box and leave the end-to-end worker movement box checked.

I believe that about does it.

Thanks again to everyone for your attention and participation. Win - lose or draw - hope everyone is having fun while implementing their best strategies. Happy Gaming - The Hammer

[JokeToy]

folks, The Hammer asked for brisk play in his 3-player auction tournament. here in round 2, which he expected to finish at the end of last year, only 1 game has ended so far. game 9 is in round 11 but the other 3 have not made it past round 9 yet. i would encourage all of us to pick up the pace now that the holidays are over.

good luck!
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thanks for reading this far, JokeToy

[The Hammer]

Thanks JT for your comments. I'd like to add to them.

If you will all remember my opening text in explaining this tournament a key part of my preference was to have players who like, prefer and DO play fast. That point was made pretty clear - at least I thought so. But it seems there has been little effort on some folk(s) part to adhere to that request. And I would like to appeal to all participants to please be mindful of this very point.

We recently had the holiday season upon us and I had no problem with anyone being somewhat tardy during that time frame. Was to be expected. I myself was out 4 to 5 days - and displayed the dates indicating so. JT is the only other player I believe who also put up the suitcase showing his possible absense as well. This is a courtesy all should have for their fellow players. It gives the rest notice of some lag time.

I understand these are simple games we all like to play. But that is also my point - we like to play. None of us like bringing up the website only to find the same player has two or three games tied up because they haven't made a move in the past two to three days!
Sometimes things come up and we may be absent. In that case - please let the rest of us know. We don't need any facts - a simple suitcase with dates is just fine.

In short - lets all please be mindful of our fellow participants. I've made what I feel is a reasonable request - and I believe most have complied. It's hard for anyone to make their move if someone else is holding up progress. Thank you. The hammer

[The Hammer]

We have now completed 3 of the 5 games in round 2 of the 6 player Tikal auction tournament. And games 6 and 10 are in their final stages of game play so felt it is time to reveal the 3rd round pairings and get them rolling. And they are as follows:

3PTAT#11 - jamesparauda - jimsluyter - klingone

3PTAT#12 - jamesparauda - JokeToy - NoMoreCheese

3PTAT#13 - jamesparauda - jimsluyter - The Hammer

3PTAT#14 - jimsluyter - JokeToy - The Hammer

3PTAT#15 - JokeToy - klingone - NoMoreCheese

That's the line up for this segment of our contest.

James if you would please set up games 11, 12 & 13 and JT would you please handle games 14 & 15. Please remember to make them passworded games - 3 player - the auction variant - and leave the end to end player movement checked. And the password is auction. And again if ya'll would put the players names in the comment section just to better ID which games everyone is participating in this round. Thanks gents. Appreciate your efforts and help. And let's all continue to be as punctual as possible and keep things moving at a nice pace.

BTW - Congrats to all who scored wins thus far into the 2nd round. And also to those who are closing in on victories in the final two games of the round.

Happy gaming - The Hammer