Everyone's favorite game is still going strong at the WBC and this year is no exception. The tourney format will be similar to last years at the WBC, with some corrections and adjustments based on user feedback and playability. The basic tournament format is a three-round Swiss tournament to qualify 16 for a single elimination playoff where winners advance to the big table. All games will be consecutive, including the playoffs and Final, so plan for a full day. Players achieve tournament points based on finishing position and bonus points based on the strength of victory. Seating will be random for regular rounds and you will earn 5 points for 1st, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 for 4th. Playoff rounds will be seated by rank (see below) but the game format will be the same.

The Settlers of Catan (published in the US by Mayfair, currently 4th edition) will be allowed for play in the tournament. The settlements begin Saturday morning at 9AM!

DETAILS:

GETTING STARTED: There is no sign-up sheet for this event. Players with games at the event will check in with the GM and be given a table number to be set up at designated tables, thus a guaranteed seat, so bring your copies! The remaining players will select a card with a random table number on it and go to that table. Your card is your voucher to play; please do not mark or write on them as they will be re-used and collected during the game.

Once at a table, sign the check in sheet that I will provide to each table. Please spell your name and relevant info. Once the game is finished, place scores on the sheet and return to the GM/Assistant GM. Scores will be entered into an excel sheet and can be viewed by all for current score status.

Games are scheduled to be played for 1hr 45min. Time will begin when your table has been seated; A general 'time check' will be announced at the 1-hr mark, 30-minute mark, 10-minute mark and 1-minute mark. All games will finish when called. Scores will be calculated and returned if there are games remaining

GAME SETUP AND PLAY:

Game setup:
1- Tile Placement: all tiles will be placed in a random order. Shuffle the land hexes together
(a) Deal one row of five.
(b) Deal two rows of four, one on each side of the row of five.
(c) Deal two rows of three, one on each side of the rows of four.
(d) Shuffle harbor hexes. Deal them alternately with ocean hexes in between.
2-Number Placement:
a. There are 18 numbers used: one #1, one #12, and two of the following: #'s 3 thru 11.
b. All numbers will be placed in the A-B-C format, as described: Pick a starting harbor location, roll one die and count the number of harbor locations to find your starting tile clockwise. This tile is the "A" tile- place the 'A' number on it and continue in a clockwise fashion until you reach the middle tile.
3-Count Development cards: There are 25 development cards: 14 Soldiers, 6 Resource Cards (2 Road Building, 2 Monopoly, 2 Year of Plenty), and 5 Victory Point Cards.
a) Count all cards out face up
b) Shuffle Development deck together and place on the table.
4- Player Placement:
a. Determine who is first (Highest Roll on 2D6); Play starts from that player (player 1) and goes clockwise.
b. Player 1 places a Settlement/Road, then player 2 does the same; this continues from player 1 to 4. (As per the rules)
c. Player 4 places a settlement/road, then places a Settlement/Road and collects one set of resources from the adjacent tiles from that location (one per tile). Placement is now reversed for the 2nd phase of placements.
d. Once coming back to player 1, each player then places a third road segment, going from player 1 to player 4.

After setup is complete, player 1 starts his/her turn as normal.
a. NOTE: the robber is active the first turn in the first round; all players may build whatever they wish, as long as it is in the standard rules.

GAME PLAY IN A TURN SEQUENCE (on your turn only):
(1) Player rolls the dice. Each hex marked with the number rolled produces one resource card for each adjacent village and two resource cards for each adjacent city. If a 7 is rolled, the robber is moved.

(2) Player may trade resources with any other player, a harbor or the "bank".
Trading may be done with the bank as follows:
a) Default- All players can trade with the bank at a 4:1 ratio.
b) 3:1 harbor- a player may trade three of any one resource for one of her choice.
c) 2:1 unique harbor- a player may trade any two of the required resource for one of her choice. At any time, a player may trade four of one resource for one of her choice

(3) Player may build as many times as desired, at the following costs:
Road: 1 bricks, 1 lumber
Village: 1 bricks, 1 lumber, 1 wheat, 1 wool
City: 3 ore, 2 wheat and replaces a settlement
Development card: 1 ore, 1 wheat, 1 wool

NOTE: Trading and building phase for each player may alternate (Example: player 1 builds a road, then trades for a sheep for ore, then finally buys a development card).

(4) Your turn ends when you pass the dice to the next player.

(5) Rules about the Robber and Titles:
The Robber: If a player rolls a seven, the following three actions are taken:
(1) Any player with more than seven cards must discard half of their cards, rounding down.
(2) The player moves the robber to any hex other than the wasteland. While the robber is on a hex, that hex does NOT produce resources, even if its number is rolled.
(3) The player steals one resource card from a player with a village adjacent to the robber hex.

Titles: * Longest Trade Route: A player gets this title card (which are placed face up) upon being the first to build a road of five segments or more (not counting branches)
* Largest Armed Force: A player gets this title card by playing three Soldier cards. The first player who plays the 3rd soldier card gets the title.

Each title card is worth two victory points. Each card may be taken by another player upon building a longer road or playing more soldier cards (ties go to existing holder).

Addition Rule Clarifications - ALL PLAYERS PLEASE READ THIS:

1 The turn of a player starts when you receive the dice from the last player - a development card may be played before the dice roll.

2 It is not permitted to build a road beyond a settlement (or city) of another player.

3 It is possible to build into an intersection of an opposing players road segment, thus cutting the road into two parts, as long as no other rule is broken for the building of the road or settlement.

4 It is possible to upgrade a settlement to a city in the same turn it was built. To do that the player must be able to place a settlement piece on the board prior to upgrading it to a city and thus cannot have five settlements on the board before building the settlement he wants to upgrade.

5 If a player buys a development card with a victory point on it, he may immediately reveal it if this is his tenth victory point to win the game. This is only possible with development cards that have a victory point printed on it. NOTE: It is not allowed to immediately play a soldier after purchase, even if this would mean to get the largest army title and win the game - the player still has to wait until his next turn before he can play the soldier/knight.

6 There is no distinction between the trade and building phase on a players turn.

7 A harbor may be used in the same turn it was built.

8 A player has won as soon as they have 10 or more victory points (although only 10 will be counted for the ranking) and it is their turn. If they do not notice, they must wait until his next turn before they can win the game.

9 After rolling, if there are not enough resource cards of one type to give each player the resource cards they should get, then nobody will receive this type of resource card. The other resource cards are handed out to the players as usual.

WINNING THE GAME: The first player to reach 10 or more victory points wins, Instantly.. Points are scored as follows:
Each settlement/ village................................................................... 1 point
Each city.......................................................................................... 2 points
Each 'Victory Point' development card........................................... 1 point
Longest Trade Route or Largest Armed Force................................ 2 points (each)

Tournament score per each game: All players earn tournament points based on the score in the game. All point cards in their hands and on the board count towards the final total. Tournament points are awarded as follows:
First place in game = 5 points
Second place in game = 3 points
Third place in game = 2 points
Fourth place in game = 1 point
2-way tie for second: Each player earns 2.5 points.
2- way tie for third: Each player earns 1.5 points.
3-way tie: Each player earns 2 points each.

TOURNAMENT SCORING OVERALL: The tournament format has players "settling" in three preliminary games. Each of these games earns the players Tournament points. Points are awarded based on placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th (5, 3, 2, and 1 points, respectively). The 16 highest scoring settlers at the end of the three rounds advance to the semi-finals.(EXAMPLE: Player Bob has 2 first place wins and a third place finish - he would have 12 tournament points, plus the total win margin, as his tournament score)
The top 16 players will be advanced; typically, you would need at least two 1st place wins to advance. Playoff players will be designated 1-16, with 17-20 as alternates based on the following:
1) Top overall score (15 being max)
2) Most 1st place wins
3) Top winning margin (Ex: a game ends 10-7-7-6, thus the winner has a +3 margin; All margins are summed)
4) Win in game 1
5) Win in game 2
6) Win in game 3
7) Highest dice roll -- 2D6
*** Any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me two weeks prior to the tournament. I want this tournament to be fun yet challenging for everyone, so let me know what other ideas or concerns you might have for this event.

Tournament Playoff Round:
Once the top 16 players are set, seating will be done according to the following chart:

Table 1 - #1,5,9,13
Table 2 - #2,6,10,14
Table 3 - #3,7,11,15
Table 4 - #4,8,12,16