Gettysburg ‘88 PBEM TOURNEY
2006 PBEM Tournament
Rules: The game rules will be supplemented by the Rules Clarifications and
the Terrain Clarifications.
Requirement: Entrants must be members of the Boardgamer Players Association
when the tournament begins.
Format: The format will be single elimination.
Timing: The tournament will begin on August 15, 2006. Players have 4 months to complete each round. The Union has a maximum of 24 turns and the Confederates 23 if a game goes all the way to the end. 47 moves in 120 days works out to about a move every 3 days (again, assuming the game goes all the way to the last turn). If a game has not been completed within the time limit, and the players cannot agree on the likely winner, the Gamemaster will adjudicate the game.
Pairings: For BPA PBEM Championship II, the winner of BPA PBEM Championship I, Barry Shoults, will receive the #1 seed should he enter. All other players will be ranked in order of AREA ratings. No distinction will be made between active and inactive ratings. Any player without an AREA rating will be assigned a rating of 5000. If players have identical AREA ratings, they will be ranked in the order in which they entered the tournament. If 16 players enter, players will be paired by summing the rankings to 17 (i.e., player 1 will oppose player 16, player 2 will oppose player 15, and so on). If 17 to 32 players enter, players will be paired by summing the rankings to 33 (1 vs. 32, 2 vs. 31, etc.) If 33 to 64 players enter, players will be paired by summing the rankings to 65.
Scenario: The default scenario will be 6F, Scenario 5, the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg, using all optional rules except 10D, Extra Union Generals. However, players are free to use any other scenario and/or omit any optional rules as long as both players agree to the changes.
Sides: The lower seeded player tells the higher seeded player which side he prefers. If the higher seeded player prefers the opposite side, play proceeds. If both players want the same side, the higher seeded player bids for the preferred side. Bids may begin at zero, and may be made in whole- or half-Victory Point increments. The second player may either accept the VP-incentive to play the non-preferred side or bid a higher VP amount for the preferred side. The option passes back and forth in this fashion until one player accepts the non-preferred side and the VP-incentive. The incentive is added to the Victory Point score of the player receiving the bid at the end of each day.
Victory Conditions: Regular victory conditions apply. In addition, the Union gains an automatic victory if at the end of July 2 their Victory Point total is 15 or more greater than that of the Confederates.
Also, any units voluntarily withdrawn from the board are considered eliminated and score the appropriate number of Victory Points for the opponent. Units retreated off the board, including retreats to avoid elimination or step losses, are not considered eliminated. Such retreated units score no points for the opponent if undamaged and one point each for the opponent if flipped. General units retreated off the board or voluntarily withdrawn may reenter the game during the next night turn per the rules as written; any other units retreated off the board or voluntarily withdrawn may not reenter the game.
PBEM Combat Sequence: The following sequence must be used to resolve combat.
1. The attacker declares all attacks: attacking unit(s), defending unit(s),
and die roll modifiers (odds).
2. Defender indicates use of double range artillery (if applicable).
3. Roll die for first attack.
4. Player who has the initiative chit indicates if it will be used (if
applicable).
5. Reroll die (if applicable).
6. Defender indicates retreats (if applicable).
7. Attacker indicates advance (if applicable).
8. Attacker indicates retreats (if applicable).
9. Repeat steps 2-8 for each additional attack.
The attacker may omit step 2 if there is no double range artillery available to the defender or if each double range artillery can aid in only one battle.
The attacker may roll multiple attacks simultaneously, at his option. If he does so, however, the following conditions apply.
1) If he has the initiative chit, he may use it only on the last battle, unless he states in advance that it will automatically be used if he suffers a 2-step loss. In this case, all battles taking place after the initiative was used must be rerolled;
2) If the defender has the initiative chit, he may use it on any of the battles, after observing the results; and
3) The defender may indicate use of double range artillery after observing the battle results rather than before.
Die Rolling: Players may use any mutually agreeable method of rolling dice. Most players use dice servers. Examples are newdice@dartmouth.east.sun.com and irony.com. Do not use the dice@pbm.com server as it is no longer considered reliable.
Ties: If any game ends in a tie, the following tiebreakers will be used, in this order: 1) disregard any bid, and 2) higher seeding.
PBEM Errors: It is expected that good sportsmanship will be used. Here are some examples of common mistakes. If an error is non-substantive, allow the error to be corrected. If a unit is moved illegally and it does not affect combat, allow the unit to be moved correctly. If the attacker rolls too many dice, use the correct number and discard the rest. If the attacker rolls too few dice, use the ones already rolled and roll the balance.
Results. The results of all games will be submitted to the AREA rating system. Link to Results Page
BPA PBEM Championship II Administrative Personnel
Gamemaster: Vince Meconi - vmeconi@verizon.net
Assistant Gamemasters: Ted Drozd - ntrain12@comcast.net
Ed Menzel - edmenzel@adelphia.net
Webmaster: Ric Manns - ricmanns@c3bb.com
