afrika korps as part of Grognardcon
once more behind the sand dunes ...
Grognardcon is a special
Pre-con consisting of an amalgam of nine of the old classic hex-style
wargames under the watchful eye of GM Bruno Sinigaglio: Afrika
Korps, Bitter Woods, Gettysburg, Panzerblitz, Squad Leader, The
Russian Campaign, Waterloo and Wooden Ships &
Iron Men. All use the Free Format scheduling device which
allows players to schedule preliminary games at their convenience.
Play as many or as few preliminary games as you like but only
your best three results in each game will determine the four
finalists to advance to Single Elimination play at the end of
the week. Each event will be turned over to its own GM on Tuesday
for resolution in the normal manner - the only difference is
that participation in Grognardcon gives you two additional days
to qualify with preliminary games in the events of your choice.
Play at Grognardcon is free to all Tribune level members and
subject to an additional fee for all others.
WBC FREE FORM FORMAT. This Tournament uses a Swiss
Elimination format for the preliminary rounds followed by a Single
Elimination format for the four players with the best performances
during the Swiss segment. Entrants may play multiple games during
the Swiss segment, which begins during the PRECON on Saturday
and concludes during the CON a week later. Best performances
will be determined as described below under pairings.
SCHEDULE. The schedule consists of three segments,
GROGNARD PRECON Swiss, CON Swiss and CON playoffs (semifinals
and Final).
a. GROGNARD PRECON SWISS. The PRECON Swiss Segment consists of
two daily heats:, Saturday 1000, Sunday 0900, The PRECON Swiss
Segment continues unabated into the CON.
b. CON SWISS. The CON Swiss Segment consists of five daily heats:
Monday 0900, Tuesday 0900, Wednesday 0900, Thursday 0900 and
Friday 0900. The Swiss Segment ends on Friday at 2300 hours,
at which time the four players with the best performances during
the Swiss Segments will advance into the Playoffs.
c. CON Playoffs. All games played during the Swiss Segment, which
includes the PRECON Swiss and the CON Swiss, will be used to
determine the four best players. The two-round playoffs begin
Saturday.
OFFICIAL RULES: The official tournament rules in effect
will be the 3rd edition (1980) rules, supplemented by the interpretation
of those rules as set forth in the Avalon Hill General
Vol 18, No 1 article by Frank Priessle. Copies of these will
be available for players who need them prior to the start of
the tournament.
LOCATION: The primary location for the GROGNARD PRECON
start of the tournament will be the Heritage Room duriig the
Pre-Con and Conestoga 1 during the main convention.
AREA RATINGS: Although AREA ratings will NOT be used to
determine pairings, All games in this tournament will be AREA
rated. All players without an AREA rating will be given a starting
rating of 5000 for tournament and recording purposes.
PAIRINGS: Pairings in the Free Form system are made with
whomever is available to play during either the GROGNARD PRECON
or regular WBC. Players must play a minimum of three games to
be considered for the playoffs. If there are ties, then strength
of schedule is used. For example, for each game that your top
three opponents have won among them, you receive a bonus of 2
points each. This scoring system gives players an incentive to
seek out the strongest players for matches early on. The specifics
of the system are as follows:
a. All game results and player ratings will be posted and
updated as results are reported.
b. Performance ratings will be based upon the best three games
played by a participant.
c. Games in excess of the three best will not affect a player's
performance rating.
d. A player must play at least three games to advance to the
single elimination phase.
e. Performance ratings for a player will be obtained as follows:
(1) A player receives 10 points for each victory.
(2) A player receives 1 point for each loss. Note: if advancement
to single elim requires three games played instead of three games
won, then points for losses must be included. For example, if
a player wins 2 and loses 2, his record would garner 21 Game
Points for his three best games (10 + 10 +1), with the other
loss ignored.
(3) A player receives 2 points for each victory tallied by
an opponent that he defeats. All of the defeated opponent's games
will qualify for the scoring of these points, but only the first
game against a particular opponent will qualify for these bonus
points.
Bonus Point Examples: if player A defeats player B, then player
A receives 2 points for all games won by Player B during the
Swiss segment; however, if Player A and B play each other a second
time, no bonus points will be awarded regardless of who wins.
PERFORMANCE RATING TIEBREAKERS:
a. Head to head play is the 1st tiebreaker.
b. Points scored VERSUS mutual opponents is the 2nd tiebreaker.
c. Points scored BY mutual opponents is the 3rd tiebreaker.
d. Points scored BY all defeated opponents is the 4th tiebreaker.
d. Points scored BY all opponents is the 5th tiebreaker.
SIDE DETERMINATION AND BIDDING FOR SUPPLIES
The following
procedure will be used to determine sides:
- Each player will hide an AFK piece of the color indicating
the side they wish to play (blue for British, pink for Germans).
They then reveal their choices simultaneously. If the sides selected
are different, play proceeds as normal using the AFK supply table
to determine supplies.
- If both players want the same side, they MUST BID SUPPLIES
FOR SIDES. Thus, players bid a supply handicap for their choice of sides.
The two players will roll a die to determine who begins the bidding,
with the higher die roll being given that choice. If both players
want the German side, the number bid represents the number of
extra supplies the British player can declare "sunk"
in addition to those that are sunk by the supply table during
the course of the game. For example, if the German player has
bid two supplies for the right to play his side, then the British
player has the right to sink any two supplies that the German
would otherwise receive as a result of his supply roll at the
beginning of the turn. (Given the vagaries of the supply table,
this can get really nasty.) If both players want the British
side, then the number bid represents the number of "free
supplies" that the German may get during the game. The German
player may choose to claim these supplies right at the beginning
with his initial setup, or he may use them to nullify any "sunk"
result on the supply table during the course of the game. Once
the bidding has been completed and sides determined, players
should write down any supply handicap that was bid on the match
sheet for that game and keep track of the number used.
KEEPING NOTES ON GAMES: On a separate sheet (which the
GM will provide) players should make notes about the distinguishing
features of their individual games so that your friendly GM will
be able to record the noteworthy events for the WBC Yearbook
entry on the AFK tournament. The more material I receive, the
more justice I will be able to do to the tournament players in
the writeup. That should be enough for your planning purposes.
A FINAL NOTE: Although matches are not being timed due
to the GROGNARD PRECON and Free Form tournament format, rule
disputes may still arise. In the event that I am not around to
rule on disputes, or it happens to be a game I am playing my
Assistant GMs, Bruno Sinigaglio, and Vince Meconi will rule on
any disputes, or in extreme cases, adjudications of games. Because
of this tournament format, it is in the interest of all players
to play as quickly as reasonably possible.
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