2015 League General Discussion Thread

[bmnielsen]

I understand the “flight of 4” idea as being round robin groups, like how the first round of the big association football tournaments work. But where they have the later rounds as single elimination, Dizz’s idea is to have those feed into a final round robin group of four.

So you start with 16 players and split them up into 4 groups of 4. Everyone in the group immediately starts a game with each of the other players in the group, so everyone has 3 going simultaneously. When all the games are done, you take the winner of each group and put them into a “championship group”, that then does the same thing.

The advantage is that you have more players and more games, but since there are only two rounds, it might be quicker in “calendar time” compared to having 16 players in a four-round single-elimination format. I’m not sure how much quicker it would actually be though, since having three important games going on at once would slow down most players.

Perhaps a better balance would be to only expand it to 12 players, with groups of 3 in the first round, so you would only have to play 2 simultaneous games. That could then feed into a single-elimination semifinal and final. I don’t know how to handle the issue of ties in a group though (i.e. all the players in the group have 1 win and 1 loss) - in sports you can use something like goals for, goals against, etc. as a tiebreaker but we can’t really do that.

Interesting idea though!

[lexgreat]

I definitly support the more “epic” version of groups, only 2 two groups of four if too diluted otherwise. In theory. In practise, and just speaking for myself, I cant see me managing three such parallel games, even if playing slow. And if you play them one after another and then have semifinal or just a final, League wont save time (unless all 8 are practised speed players and feel able to keep speed up in parallel games against Me1945, Gamer and Ghost, for example).

[gamerman01]

OK, it’s time to make the playoff signup announcement, which is completely independent of the Zhukov/Dizz suggestions - the rules were set a year ago

[gamerman01]

Sign up time

OK everyone, the playoffs start at the beginning of November, so it is time for me to take sign ups of those who wish to participate.

1. I do NOT assume that you are in the official league championship playoff unless you sign up.  Some players may not be interested in participating, and that is their prerogative.

2. You only need to have FOUR league games completed AS OF October 31 to qualify for the ADDITIONAL league playoffs (not the top 8)

3. Please sign up by messaging me directly.  I will add your name to the publicly visible signup sheet immediately.  Four reasons: to avoid setting up a separate league thread that some may not be able to find, to prevent anyone monkeying with the signups (unauthorized deleting or adding other players), to avoid cluttering up a currently existing thread, and because I like to receive mail  :lol:
   If you would, please, submit your age and country (or state of the USA).  I’d ask for gender but we all assume you’re a dude.  This is not required, it is voluntary.  Let me know if you are willing to have your age and country (state) shown in the playoff brackets, in your signup private message

If you have any questions, please read the league rules in the stickied thread thoroughly first.

[gamerman01]

That was supposed to say (not the top eight) under 2)

Signup sheet is a separate sheet on the league rankings spreadsheet

[axis-dominion]

hey guys, it’s been a real wonderful season of lots and lots of games, and i appreciated every one of them! the league is great fun and am grateful to gamer for running it so well. keep up the good work.

i regret that i must finally say a true good bye to this gaming addiction of mine, as it has been a huge struggle for me to keep a healthy balance. the price has just been too great. i am definitely not coming back and will in fact be closing my A&A.org account to make sure of that! i apologize much for the games i have to forfeit at this time, and they are all really good games that i’d ideally finish, but alas it’s time to let it all go.

sorry if this causes another avalanche affect, i certainly hope it doesn’t!

best wishes to all of you!

[Me1945]

That is actually a good news.
Gamerman, should we set up a limit for the number of the games a player can play at the same time?

[Me1945]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0oXY4nDxE

[gamerman01]

Me1945, no, we’ll just send the executive committee to do a house call intervention whenever someone gets to 30 games in a year.  An excuse to travel the world that way.

A man’s got to know his limitations, dominion, congratulations on a decision that helps restore that balance.  I’m glad you thoroughly enjoyed the 2015 league.  If I see a new guy several months from now called allies-rule and he’s finishing a lot of games quickly, I’ll do the right thing and ban him from the league

[regularkid]

Sad to lose you Axis (but happy ur turning the page!)

so. . . I guess this means you won’t be plugging our variant?  :/

haha. jk. go forth and prosper.

[gamerman01]

@Gamerman01:

Sign up time

See post #623 for details
Playoffs start November 1 - you need to sign up to be in.  Only requirement is 4 games completed during 2015 league year

[gamerman01]

PM’s sent to Me1945 and Rasmustb, FYI
Also to JuanSpain and Boldfresh who haven’t signed up but I assume want to participate.

If none of these are participating, then rgp and Balladeer could possibly be in the main playoff (if Alexgreat doesn’t report an 8th game by tomorrow night)

But since sending PM’s to these 4, I expect at least 2 or 3 of them do want to participate

[gamerman01]

Bold is out.  He must be extremely busy.  My assumption was wrong - I will remove him from the list, FYI

[lexgreat]

I could report an 8th game, but it would just be calling a game from a disappeared player. I am absolutely sure Me1945 will take part in the main playoff, though, and thinking of it I would only manage 4.0 anyway, so rgp would qualify over me in any case.

[gamerman01]

JuanSpain has confirmed, he is in

Still waiting on Me1945 and Rasmustb.  As it stands now, rgp44 would be 8th if neither of these 2 are in.  Pretty sure Me will be

[axis-dominion]

@Gamerman01:

JuanSpain has confirmed, he is in

Still waiting on Me1945 and Rasmustb.  As it stands now, rgp44 would be 8th if neither of these 2 are in.  Pretty sure Me will be

yah i agree, u can count him in. or else why would he have rushed to claim a bunch of forfeited games right at the end?

[lexgreat]

what a super preliminary (and likely final) play off line up, the best the league has to offer. Each quarterfinal match worthy of a final, looking forward to watch. GL to all.

[gamerman01]

Well said, I’m looking at the road to the championship and thinking, holy cow, this is going to be hard.  Starting to wonder which round I’ll get eliminated in
Late tonight, I can fill out the other 2 brackets.  (And the main one may need to be tweaked again, if game results today dictate)

[gamerman01]

The draft of the 2016 league rules has been done for a couple of days now, but am waiting for Jenn to come online and give me her e-mail address.

I suppose it’s time to put it out there anyway…… New league starts tomorrow… so I’ll post it here but it is subject to review.

I want the league year to end December 31, so 2016 will be a 14 month league year…  Is there some big “con” to this that I’m not thinking of?  Trying to reduce confusion, especially among those new to the league

[gamerman01]

2016 Axis and Allies Global 1940, Second Edition League Rules

1 - Anyone can join at any time.  No sign up is necessary just play a game in the league forum with the proper game naming convention (15L G40 Player1(side) v Player2(side))

2 - You may play anyone in the league.
However, against a single opponent, only best of 3 games will count (when one of you has 2 wins).  This limit can be expanded when both you and your opponent have completed more league games:
0-9 games completed: Limit is best of 3 (first to 2 wins)
10-19 games completed: Eligible for best of 5 (first to 3 wins)
20-29 games completed: Eligible for best of 7 (first to 4 wins)
This pattern continues.

3 - Scoring/Playoffs

3a - Each player will belong to 1 of 4 tiers based on their 2016 league year game results, after completing 2 games.  Cutoffs for tiers will be at 5.50 PPG for tier M (Master); 4.50 for tier E (Elite); 3.50 for tier 1; 2.50 for tier 2; and 1.50 for tier 3. 
Players will be awarded points as follows:
Win over tier M, E, 1, 2, 3, 4 earn 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 points, respectively
Lose to tier M, E, 1, 2, 3, 4 earn 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 0 points, respectively
Point totals are divided by # of games played to arrive at PPG (Points per game)

Points awarded are changed when a past opponent rises or falls a tier – that is, every player’s current point total reflects the current standing of their past opponents, with one exception.  If a player leaves the site and abandons all games at once, and this causes that player to drop tier(s), their past opponents will be protected from this drop (points lost due to tier drop will be added back).  However, the players reporting wins due to forfeiture will still earn points based on the abandoning player’s new lower (if applicable) tier.

Until 2 games are completed (in other words, for players who have completed 1 game in 2016), players will be assigned to tier 3 by default, unless they had a ranking in 2015 (or, if necessary, 2014), in which case they will continue with that past ranking until obtaining a new 2015 ranking (2 games completed).

3b League standings are available online here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pYDcR_d27qG312v_rq2q35wYEEfO6mjrX-Co1nvKrlI/edit#gid=10

3c Playoffs will begin as soon as possible after 31 Dec. 2016. The top 8 players in the league by PPG, who have completed at least 8 games, will be eligible to play for League Champion.  The playoff bracket will be seeded, 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5, with the 4-5 being in the same bracket as 1-8.
Tiebreakers for 8th place, in order:
1 – Head to head play
2 – Most games played
3 – Strongest opponent defeated (measured by PPG)
Any players who have completed 4 or more games, and who did not qualify for the League Champion Playoff may sign up to enter the additional league playoffs.  These playoffs will also start with 8 players each, and will be seeded by PPG (with byes or play-in games as necessary)

4 - Game & rules – The default rules are the published G40 2nd edition rules, Regular Dice (also known as ADS or Actual Dice Server), No Technology, and Bidding to determine sides.  Rules are available online here (Europe rules, then Pacific rules): http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/A&A_Europe_1940_2ndEd_Rulebook_LR.pdf
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/A&A_Pacific_1940_2ndEd_Rulebook_LR.pdf

4a The default game rules may be modified by agreement of both players.  Tech, with or without Tech Tokens, is allowed if you and your opponent agree prior to bidding.  You should notate +Tech in the thread title for the moderators.  Low luck is also allowed – notate +LL in the thread title.

4b – Bidding - Bidding is normally used to ensure that both players are satisfied with the side they are playing.  Bidding is not required – whatever the players agree to, for mutually satisfactory rules and starting conditions, is allowed.

Default settings for bidding:

1. Limit one bid unit in a territory or sea zone.
2. The nation placing a unit in a territory or sea zone must have started with a unit in said territory or sea zone prior to placing the bid.
3. In the instance there are units from more than one country in a territory or sea zone, only one nation will be permitted to place a bid unit there.  I.e. Egypt has ANZAC and British units present at start of the game, either ANZAC or England may place a bid unit in Egypt, but not both.
4. China is limited to bid units of: Infantry, Artillery and/or Fighters (the units China is legally able to purchase or start the game with.)  These units are still limited to movement restrictions other Chinese units are limited to.

5 - Posting Schedule

5a - Time Limits - There is a 72 hour time limit per move. This (72) may be negotiated by the players at game start.  If you agree to different time limits, you need to post it at the beginning of the game thread for the moderators to enforce. 
For good sportsmanship, you should give defender decisions (casualty choices, scramble/intercept/submerge/kamikaze decisions) to your opponent as soon as possible.
5b – Vacations - Play can be paused for a total of 21 days, for whatever reason, without penalty by simply posting the need for a vacation.  Please specify the duration of your absence in your game.

5c - Weekend Players.  If you can only play on the weekend or on certain days, please state so when you are looking for an opponent, and clearly specify this in the game thread.

5d - 72 hour warnings:  If 72 hours goes by and there is no game-play post from your opponent (i.e. at least a game decision made), simply post “bump” and the number of the bump (Bump#1, Bump #2, or Bump #3), which creates the warning.  (Note:  only post “bump” in your warnings to make it clear you are issuing a warning.  Do not add any small talk or other game talk in your warning post.)

5e - Bump warning and consequences - Each “bump” warning resets the clock for another 72 hrs.  However, on the 4th “bump” warning the offending player will be disqualified and declared the loser for that game.  (Note:  You get only 3 warnings per game.)  You must post the warning when it happens (or before the next move has been made by your opponent).  You cannot retroactively issue a “bump” warning.  (For example, if the game is in round 8 you cannot go back and issue a warning that occurred in round 7).  “Bump” warnings can be issued for posting of partial turns (for example, someone only posted their combat move), OOL requests, map questions, etc. but they follow the same 72 hour requirement.

5f - If a turn is not posted within 14 days of either the previous turn post (or request for decision on casualty choice, scrambling, kamikaze, etcetera) or the end of a predetermined “vacation”, then the player failing to post may be declared in default and lose the game.  The 14 days may also be changed by mutual agreement of the players at the beginning of the game, if posted to the game thread.

6 – Posting game results - Losing players are responsible to post results in the stickied game results thread.  This is so that we know the loser agrees with the game result.  Post names of the winner and loser, the sides each player played, and provide a link to the game thread.  Winners may post the result when the game result was due to time limits of rule #5.

7 - The 2016 Regular Season starts on 1 Nov. 2015 and ends on 31 Dec. 2016.  Games must be completed by 31 Dec. 2016 in order to be counted for the 2016 season.  All game results reported between 1 Nov. 2015 and 31 Dec. 2016 will be included in the 2016 league standings.  All game results are included in the league year in which they are reported.

8 - Allowed Assumptions during gameplay - The purpose of assumptions is to reduce the number of game stoppages for opponent decisions (scrambling, casualty choice, intercepting, submerging, kamikazes…).  Because you are assuming a decision for your opponent, the opponent must always be given the benefit of the doubt, and moderators will always decide in this manner.

8a - Scrambling/intercept/submerge/kamikaze – When you make an assumption, you are accepting the risk that your opponent will disagree after seeing your turn.  If your opponent takes issue with an assumption, you should come to an agreement about how to handle it.  If you don’t agree, then the defender can require that the entire combat phase be re-rolled from the beginning.  Or, you may seek a moderator ruling.

9 – Order of Play – From page 11 of the rulebook: “Axis and Allies is played in rounds.  A round consists of each power taking a turn.  Your power’s turn consists of six phases, which take place in a fixed sequence.  When you finish the Collect Income phase, your turn is over.  Play then passes to the next power.”
You may not go back to previous phases/turns of the game and make changes without your opponent’s permission.

10 - Moderators will make the final decision on any rules violations or other game disputes. Moderator rulings are FINAL.  PERIOD.

Have fun!!!

League Moderators
Commander Jennifer
Gamerman01