Change the Course of History in a Few Hours

The WBC Axis & Allies tournament will be using the Revised (4th Edition) version of the Axis & Allies lineage. The format is Swiss Elimination and the style is Continuous.

The first day will be three rounds of games in which players will be randomly matched with a new opponent each round. The top 25% of the players from the first day's games (rounded down to two, four, or eight) will advance to the second day's Single Elimination play.

Schedule-
The tournament is played over the course of two days. It will run Thursday and Friday, with the start times of the individual rounds stated above. Each round is 4.5 hours in duration. This allows (at least) a half hour break in between rounds of play.

Important- Keep track of the time left in a round of play. The GM will alert the players at each hour mark as to how much time is left in the round.

At the 4-hour mark of each round (i.e. 30 minutes left in the round), the GM will announce that whatever "game round" your game is currently in will be your last. At the end of that full "game round", adjudication of the game will be made.

The term "game round" refers to each power taking a turn. The "game round" starts with the USSR and ends with the USA. If the beginning of a "game round" coincides with the reaching of the 4-hour mark, the game will be played for one more "game round".

The 4.5-hour time frame is enough to finish at least five "game rounds" minimum. While time limits can be a factor in any tournament setting, try to keep your game moving towards a definitive conclusion. If you feel that your game is moving too slowly, please alert the GM.

Any attempt at "stalling" or "slow play" will garner the offender:
First offense- warning
Second offense- forfeiture of the game being played
Third offense- expulsion from the event

Format-
This years' format will consist of three rounds of play on the first day. The top two, four, or eight players (not to exceed 25% of the field) from the first day (based on record) will move on to the SE play of the second day.

This will allow anyone to play up to three games regardless of overall record while also making it possible for someone to have a bad game (Those darn dice!) and still advance to the SE play of the second day.

Day 1-
There will be three rounds of play in which the player match-ups will be randomly determined each round. The criteria for advancement is as follows:

System for Determining Advancement to the Single Elimination Play-
1) Win-Lose Record*

2) In any case of a tied Win-Lose Record:
A) The player with the higher Victory Territory (VT) total from all three games
B) The player with the greater IPC percentage increase total from all three games
C) The player whose opponents had the better combined Win-Lose record
D) The player whose opponents had the higher Victory Territory (VT) total in all three games

*Use Head-to-Head play as a tie-breaker whenever applicable.

Day 2-
For the Single Elimination (SE) play the advancing players will be placed into a SE bracket. Seeding of the players into the bracket will be done based on the players' record from the first day's games.

Players with similar records are further ranked based on the VT totals that the players amassed during the first day's games. (Further tie breaking for seeding purposes will follow the system used to determine player advancement to the SE play.)

Tournament Rules-
The rule set that will be used for this tournament is the Larry Harris Tournament Rules (v 2.0). No Appendix 3: Optional Rules (National Advantages) will be used. Larry Harris Tournament Rules (LHTR) can be downloaded at http://www.axisandallies.org/LHTR.

Any questions that you have concerning the rule set and rules clarifications can be sent to me at the email and snail mail addresses below.

Adjudication System-
The determination of who wins a tournament game will be based upon the control of Victory Territories (VTs). The Victory City method of determining a winner will NOT be used. Each side controls 12 Victory Territories at the beginning of the game. The Victory Territories are listed below.

AXIS POWERS

GERMANY
Germany
Western Europe
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Ukraine SSR
Norway

JAPAN
Japan
Manchuria
French Indochina
Philippine Islands
East Indies
Borneo

ALLIED POWERS

USSR
Russia
Caucasus
Archangel
Novosibirsk

UK
United Kingdom
India
Anglo-Egypt
Australia

USA
Eastern US
Western US
Hawaiian Islands
Sinkiang

If a player holds 18 (or more) VTs for a full round of game play (From the end of a country's turn to the beginning of that same country's next turn.), then that player automatically wins the game.

In the event of a VT tie at the end of the game, whichever side increased its IPC total is the winner. If the game is still tied after reviewing the IPC totals, then the GM will make a determination of the winner based upon the game situation at the time the game ended.

If a player chooses to concede a game before it has reached the 18 VT automatic win threshold or the game time limit (4.5 hrs), a default score of 19 VTs and +30 IPCs will be awarded to the winner.

Bidding for Sides-
If the players cannot agree upon which side they will play, then they will bid for the chance to play the preferred side.

Players roll one die and the higher roll wins the right to start the bidding. The player who won the roll (Player #1) starts with an IPC amount that he/she is willing to give to the other player for the privilege to play the desired side. The other player (Player #2) then decides if the bid is an acceptable amount to receive for playing the undesired side. Player #2 can either accept the amount bid by Player #1 or Player #2 can counter with an IPC amount higher than that of Player #1. Bidding continues until one player decides to accept the amount of IPCs offered by the other player.

Example-
Player #1 rolls a 5, Player #2 rolls a 3. Player #1 starts the bidding (The player who wins the privilege to start the bidding can choose to defer the first bid to the other player.). Player #1 puts forth a bid of "Allies (+4)".

What this means is that Player #1 wants to play the Axis and is willing to give Player #2 4 IPCs to play the Allies. Player #2 must either accept the bid amount to play the Allies or counter with a bid greater than the one offered by Player #1.

Player #2 decides to counter with a bid of "Allies (+5)". Now it is up to Player #1 to decide if he will accept 5 IPCs to be the Allies or counter with a higher bid.

Player #1 changes his mind about wanting to play the Axis and decides to accept the offer of 5 IPCs to play the Allies.

The player who accepts the offered IPCs receives that amount from the bank. These IPCs can be split among the countries of the accepted side in any manner that the player chooses. The IPCs can be used to purchases units that are immediately placed upon the board and/or the IPCs can be saved for use during that country's turn later in the game. Units can only be placed into territories or sea zones that that country controls. A controlled sea zone is one that has units of that country in it. There is no limit to the amount of units that can be added to one territory or sea zone.

Dispute Resolution-
All matters of disagreement should be brought to the attention of the GM and/or the Asst. GMs. The GM will strive to produce a fast, but fair judgment. Because this is a Class (A) event, players are expected to be very familiar with the rules. Please take the time to read the Larry Harris Tournament Rules (LHTR) to understand the changes that were made from the A&A Revised Operations Manual (OM).