In the mountains of Seven Springs, PA the battle for Middle Earth will be waged again at the WBC! Check the schedule for the Demo time if you want to learn the game and if you own a copy remember to bring it along as 2 player games always need copies of games.

In War of the Ring, one player takes control of the Free Peoples (FP) and the other controls the Shadow Peoples (SP). The theme and mechanics are highly meshed producing a game which captures the overwhelming numbers of the Shadow and the glimmer of hope from the Fellowship quest. Two paths to victory exist for each side. For the FP they can win by destroying the One Ring in the Crack of Doom or militarily by capturing four VPs of Shadow strongholds/cities. The SP can win by corrupting Frodo to succumb to wielding the One Ring or militarily by capturing 10 VPs of Free People strongholds/cities. All the main parts of the books are involved in the game via miniatures, events, and/or combat cards.

All games will use new 2nd edition release, with no expansions. A sheet of the few card changes and 2nd edition rules tweaks are available if you only have a 1st edition game. The base game board/cards can be used to play the 2nd edition. One GM and two assistant GMs will be available to answer any unique rules questions as they occur.

The bidding rules will continue to use Dwarven Rings. The full rules can be downloaded at: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/115570/dwarven-rings-bidding-tournament-rules-determining. In a nutshell, you are bidding an amount of start of the turn action dice re-rolls. Allowing a bid amount of mulligan rolls, based on the rules in the link, can temper bad action dice luck for the side which people figure is at a disadvantage to start.

Tournament Guidelines:

15 minutes before scheduled start time: sign in and setup games. There will be a 4 hour time limit for each game to complete. A warning will be given when 90 minutes remain and another when 45 minutes remain. Any non-semifinal or final games which are still in progress 3 hrs 45 minutes from the listed start time risk adjudication unless one side concedes. Please keep the games moving and avoid analysis paralysis. In the event of an adjudicated game, the following will determine who wins. I would rather not have any adjudicated games, but timed tournament play can have it be necessary for games which are not being played fast enough.

Adjudication Process:

1. 3 hrs 15 minutes from the listed round start time, the GM will inform the players if the current turn is the last one or if one more can be played before adjudication (or 2 more if played very fast and done before 3hrs 50mins from event start time)
2. If no winner determined or side concedes by that point the winner will be determined by the below:
   • If one player was stalling or playing very slowly they would forfeit the game. (Any stalling/very slow play MUST be brought to the GM/Asst. GM attention in the first couple hrs of a game to try and get the play to be sped up and allow the GM/Asst GM's to see how that particular game speed is fairing compared to all the other games of that round.)
   • If by the view of the GM and/or Asst.GMs it is unanimous as to which side is bound to win based on their experience of the game state, that side will be declared the winner.
   • If a game is too close to call a turn's worth of action dice roll result and possible hunt tile draws and/or attacks are performed by the GM and/or Asst.GM to clarify the view of the game state to declare a winner.

For only the Mulligan and 1st round late night games, if both opponents want to complete a long running game, they can and would need to leave the score sheet in the kiosk and indicate if the winner will be playing in Round 2 on Saturday morning.

A game owner for sake of these guidelines relates to anyone bringing a copy of the game to the event room.

Tournament Format:

The Mulligan round will be randomly assigned from the players present, typically with players who own a copy of the game with one that does not so we can get a quick start. Family and team members will be separated as much as possible. You may defer your mulligan to a different time if there are other players interested in doing so. You still have to show up for the Mulligan round start for about 10 minutes, to have your badge information recorded and be paired with a like-minded opponent. You and your opponent are responsible to figure out when you will play and will be given a score sheet which would need to be returned to the kiosk no later than the start of the 1st round matches. No mulligan round score sheets will be accepted at the start of the 2nd round and each player still only gets 1 mulligan game. Once you know the day/time/location you will be playing write it on the sheet provided on the kiosk and/or text the GM, who's number is on the kiosk, so I can check in on the game in progress if I am available.

The Single Elimination format will be randomly assigned between players who own a copy of the game and those which do not for a quick start in Round 1 and 2 taking into account team and family member status and splitting them as best as possible. As players are signing in, the GM will let those having games know if they should start setting up based on player counts.

During the winners only single elimination portion, players will continue to play as their opponents win and become randomly available. Mutually decided upon food breaks between the players is acceptable, but should last no more than 30-60 minutes and the GM needs to be notified so we do not slow the tournament. So be aware that your next round may start sooner than 5 hours after the previous round started due to the continuous format. Especially for the earlier games on Saturday, please keep a quick pace so the next rounds can begin in a timely manner to prevent any long delays from one slow moving game. Pairings will be random when possible, but the GM reserves the right to assign matchups if the need arises.

Rule Clarifications:

All rules clarifications and combat card initiative numbers will be in use for the tournament. The Ares FAQ can be found on their War of the Ring -- Second Edition web page: http://www.aresgames.eu/games/war-of-the-ring-line/war-of-the-ring-second-edition.

Odd number of participants (byes): Since we all come to play and not to sit and watch, here are the bye rules in the event of an unavoidable odd number of players at the start of any round.

• No person gets more than one bye.
• A bye equals a win to advance to the next round.

Players may choose to receive a bye in the following hierarchy

1. Most recent WBC winner, followed by each previous WBC year winner
2. Random selection from any other players willing to take a bye
3. GM sits out the game, if not previously given a bye
4. Random selection from all non-game owner players not previously given a bye
5. Random

An eliminator will be used in lieu of a bye, if available. The GM will play that role if already knocked out of contention. Otherwise, an assistant GM will be the eliminator if available. If all the former are unavailable, then any volunteer could be designated. If there is an eliminator available, they will be used in lieu of a bye.

Any mulligan winners looking to also play in Heat 1 are welcome and will be paired against each other to the extent possible. Also, any players looking for additional play on Saturday after being eliminated are welcome to stick around and play non-tournament games against each other while taking advantage of getting game questions answered.

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