Tournament Officials:

The two Assistant GMs will be Dan Leader and Bob Hamel. The GM and AGMs will be playing in the event.

Tournament Format and Schedule:

Players with 2 losses in the Swiss Rounds will be eliminated. Play will continue a maximum of 3 rounds or until 4 players can advance to the Semifinal without eliminating a player with only 1 win. If we play 3 rounds and must eliminate players, the lowest players at 2-1 will not advance to the Semifinal based on strength of schedule determined by the AREA ratings of the players they played. The time limit will be 2.5 hours per Round. There will be very little time between Rounds.

New Players

We will accept new players and urge them to attend the Demo. A new player will be put in a teaching game in round 1 with an experienced player. This will count as a loss for the new player and a win for the teacher. New players can play in the 2nd and 3rd round as part of the general player pool. Unrated players will be assigned a provisional rating of 5000 for tie-break purposes.

Tournament Rules:

The official 2014 GMT rules will apply. The Optional Tournament Rule in Section 6.34 of the rules will be in effect: Whenever the British player plays either the Declaration of Independence or the Benjamin Franklin: Minister to France Special Events, the event takes effect as it normally does. However, the British player may then draw a replacement card and immediately take another action using any card (not necessarily the replacement card). The Declaration of Independence and Franklin events always occur first.

Special Tournament Rule:

To speed play, the 1782 and 1783 War Ends Cards will be removed from play before the initial deal and set aside. No games will last longer than seven turns. You are playing with a 108-card deck. In the Final, the 1782 and 1783 cards will be used.

Pairings/Byes:

Pairings will be random except in Round 1 only the top eight AREA rated players will not be paired against each other. After Round 1, to the extent possible, in each round players with the same # of wins will be paired randomly against each other. If there is an odd number of players with the same # of wins, then the player with the most tie-breaker points and 1 less win will play someone with 1 more win. In round 1 if there are an uneven number of players, the player with the highest finish in the 2024 WBC Washington’s War tournament will receive a bye. Only 1 bye per player will be allowed. Bye’s count as a win, and the opponent AREA rating will be 5000. In subsequent rounds an attempt will be made to find a player willing to be an eliminator. Else a bye will be granted to the next highest finish from the WBC 2025 Washington’s War tournament.

Semifinal and Final:

The 4 players who qualify for the Semifinal will be paired based on wins then on tie- breaker points #1 vs #4, #2 vs #3. Winners will advance to the Final. Losers will play for 3rd and 4th place. Fifth and Sixth place will be determined by strength of schedule based on AREA rating of opponent (Win or Lose).

Tie-breakers:

Players will earn tie-breaker points equal to the AREA rating of each opponent they played (win or loss). For the purposes of resolving ties when determining the final standings, the first criteria is # of wins, then the player with the highest total tie-breaker points will finish higher. If a tie must be broken between players who have an equal number of tie-breaker points, then the player with the lower AREA rating will win the tie. If players are still tied, then a dice will be rolled. Unrated players will be assigned a provisional rating of 5000 for tie-break purposes.

Determining Sides:

The sides are to be determined randomly in the first round (roll dice). In subsequent rounds, if both players have not played the same side, switch sides, else roll the dice. Example player 1 played the British, Player 2 also the British, Roll dice. Player 1 was American, player 2 was British, switch.

Late Arrivals and Long Games:

Latecomers for Round 1 will be matched up with other latecomers and are still expected to finish by the ending time set for the first Round. Time limits will be strictly enforced to keep the event running on schedule. Games which are not completed when time is called will be adjudicated by the GM and Assistant GMs. If a player disregards the time limits and warnings for slow play, the GM reserves the right to penalize the player. If you are having a problem with a slow opponent, please let the GM know as soon as possible. If you wait until time is called to say something, it can only hurt your cause.

Additional Prizes: Additional pries will be awarded by the publisher, GMT Games

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