Guns of August Pre-Con

The Guns of August Pre-Con is seperate from WBC and requires its own registration fee. See the Guns of August Pre-Con for pricing information. Tribune Members may attend all Pre-Cons AND WBC for no additional charge above the membership fee.

1.0 Overall

Paths of Glory (POG) fans will have an opportunity to play the campaign game for up to three days with a guarantee of three Campaign Games in the Swiss portion on Sunday and Monday. The top eight players will then advance to Single Elimination play-offs.

1.1 The Campaign Game Pre-Con (Sun., July 29 through Mon., July 30)

The campaign heat will begin on Sunday at 2 p.m., using a Swiss format designed to yield eight top players for the Playoff rounds. Players will bid for sides. We will determine the top finishers by

1. Points (3 for a win, 1 for a tie). Note that draws are allowed in the preliminary rounds and
2. Tiebreakers (head to head, points by opponents, then a coin flip).

We will play three rounds (7 hours each) of the campaign game until Tuesday. Round 1 match-ups will be determined by AREA ratings. Subsequent match-ups will be random among those players having the most points.

1.2 The Playoff Rounds (Tues., July 31, beginning at 9 a.m.)

The Playoff Rounds will occur on Tuesday and Wednesday. Playoff round contestants will bid sides using the campaign game. Unlike the preliminary rounds, no draws will be allowed. Draws will count as an Allied win. Players should bid accordingly. Match-ups will be random among the players, with the exception of not matching up players that previously met in the campaign heat if possible.

1.3 Bidding for Sides.
Each player rolls a die. Player with high die declares a side he wishes to play AND the amount of victory points they will "cede" the opposing player - any whole number including a bid of zero. The opposing player either accepts the bid (and thus plays the other side), or bids a higher victory point number to play the same side. Bidding ends when one player accepts the opposing player's bid. At the END of the game, the final victory point total is adjusted by the ceded points.

2.0 Schedule: Notification will be given 30 minutes and then 15 minutes prior to the end of each round. For results to be counted, players must submit a completed score sheet (provided at the tournament) to the GM. Games with score sheets not in by the scheduled end of the round will be adjudicated on the spot by the GM and at least one assistant GM. Chess clocks will be available throughout the tournament for the GM to sample speed-of-play. Extremely slow play will be a factor should a game need to be adjudicated.

3.0 Tournament Officials: GM: Peter Reese. Assistant GMs: David Docktor and one other will also be drafted on Monday.

4.0 Special Tournament Rules: From rule 4.2.4: Remove one AH "at start" Corps from the Reserve Box and place it in Stanislaw. Remove one RU "at start" Corps from Reserve Box and place it in Lutsk. Players will use this setup unless both players decline. Recording with pen and paper the cards placed into the discard pile is prohibited. Players may refer to the event markers. Players may also review the dead card pile to confirm an event or war status if both players agree.

5.0 Rules Clarifications and Player Aids:

5.1 Version
We will use the 2004 Fourth Official Update Rules. Additional copies of the updated rules will be available at the tournament. These rules are available from GMT Games in their POG 2004 Reprint, or free for download from their "Living Rules" section of their company website: http://www.gmtgames.com/nnpg/pog_main.html.

5.11 Other Useful PoG Resources
Quite a number play PoG online using ACTS. Its website is: http://acts.wizard.com.hk/pog.asp

There is a fair amount of discussion regarding PoG. Check out the PoG board at: http://talk.consimworld.com

5.2 Optional and Special Rules
Prior to bidding for sides, players will need to decide which, if any, of the following options will be used. Special rules for the tournament are also listed.

5.21 Preliminary Rounds

5.211 Setup
The initial setup will be modified by:
1) Removing one AH at start corps from the Reserve Box and placing it in Stanislaw.
2) Removing one RU at start corps from the Reserve Box and placing it in Lutsk.
However, if both players agree, these two modifications as a pair are not used.

5.212 Expansion Cards
If both players agree, the expansion cards may be used.

5.213 Level 1 Trench Roll Modifier
If both players agree, rule 11.2.10 may be used to modify entrench attempts.

5.214 Capital Occupation
If both players agree, if Paris is occupied by the CP Player, add two VPs. If Berlin is occupied by the AP Player, subtract two VPs. In both cases, this is a one time penalty.

5.216 Clarifications
To confirm, the Rape of Belgium card may only be played as an event if the Allied War Status is still at Mobilization, not Limited or Total War.
To confirm, rule 9.5.2.5 concerning play of the Italian and Romanian Entry cards is in effect.
In cases of rules interpretations or conflicts, the GM will have final authority for tournament purposes.

5.22 Playoff Rounds
The Campaign Game is utilized. The initial setup will be modified by:

1) Removing one AH at start corps from the Reserve Box and placing it in Stanislaw.

2) Removing one RU at start corps form the Reserve Box and placing it in Lutsk. However, if both players agree, this modification is not used.

No other optional rules or variants will be used.

6.0 Changes from Previous Years
Initial pairings are not done by novice/veteran status, but instead by AREA rating.

Additionally, the tournament will use the 2005 Official Fourth Reprint Rules..

7.0 Awards

As per WBC award policy. In addition, medalists (plaque winners) will receive GMT merchandise credits of $20 for 1st, $15 for second, $10 for third, and $5 for fourth through sixth place.