This year we will be pulling in some more On To Richmond scenarios for variety from the previous years. Also note that we will be having the preliminary rounds on Wednesday and Thursday with no games scheduled on Friday.

WEDNESDAY ­ Swiss Elimination Qualifying Day
Demo - 10 am
Learn the mechanics of the system from some of the best players. Try out a brief scenario: Race to Spotsylvania from Grant Takes Command.

Seven Pines (OTR) ­ 11 am
Piedmont (Skirmisher 2) ­ 2 pm
Battle of the Wilderness (GTC) ­ 5 pm
Sheridan Rides South (GTC) ­ 8 pm

THURSDAY ­ Swiss Elimination Qualifying Day
McDowell (SIV) 9am [with +4 VP to Union]
Bethesda Church (GTC) ­ noon

SATURDAY
Semi-final: Wilderness (GTC) ­ 9 am
Final: Bloody Spotsylvania (GTC) ­ 1 pm

TOURNAMENT RULES
Games not completed by the start time of the next round are subject to adjudication by the GMs and his assistants.

Bidding for sides: Players must bid for sides. First, players secretly select what side they want by placing a Confederate or Union counter in their hand. If players pick opposite sides play proceeds with no VP modifier. If players pick the same side, roll dice to determine the first bidder. Players then bid VPs until a player passes. That bid becomes the VP modifier for the game.

Pairings:
This year we again use "parity scheduling", along the lines of that used by the National Football League. We will divide the players into four groups:
-- Group 1: top third of the players by AREA rating
-- Group 2: middle third of the players by AREA rating
-- Group 3: bottom third of the players by AREA rating
-- Group 4: newcomers

We will set up the pairings for the Swiss rounds with the following goals (obviously we won't be able to hit these numbers exactly):
-- Group 1: plays 75% of their matches against Groups 1 and 2
-- Group 2: plays 67% of their matches against Groups 1 and 2
-- Group 3: plays 67% of their matches against Groups 3 and 4
-- Group 4: plays 75% of their matches against Groups 3 and 4

This schedule will do ywo things. First, experienced players will get more close, competitive matches. And newcomers will have an enhanced chance of winning their matches, encouraging them to play longer.

Advancement: Based on BEST record with non-participation in a round counting as a LOSS. Points will be used as the tiebreaker. Note this year that we are not having a quarter-final round, thus, we will only advance four people.

Points: Players receive points each time they win. No points are awarded for a loss. Points are given to the winner by taking the loser's AREA rating and multiplying by the scenario multiplier (longer scenarios have higher multipliers)

Scenario Multipliers:
Seven Pines (OTR) 1.2
Piedmont (Skirmisher 2) 1.0
Battle of the Wilderness (GTC) 1.3
Sheridan Rides South (GTC) 1.1
McDowell (SIV) 1.2
Bethesda Church (GTC) 1.3

For the latest current information, see http://www.gcacw.com/wbc.htm

Supplementary Prizes: Multi-Man Publications will supplement the WBC plaques with merchandise credits of $10 per prize level; i.e. $30 for first, $20 for second, $10 for third.