The German Invasion of Spain ...
Euro style
The German Invasion of Spain ... Euro style
El Grande is a multiplayer game of territorial control.
The map depicts Spain, divided into nine provinces into which
players place their forces. While there is no combat, players
select option cards which can rearrange the forces on the board
or make parts of the board off-limits.
Players bid for the order of choosing these option cards, but
the higher bids carry the penalty of giving fewer troops. Thus,
the game is a balance between resource acquisition and use; players
must know when to 'lay low' in order to restore their forces.
It is equally important to give other players good reason to
do things which help your cause while they optimize their own
scoring.
The tournament will have three Heats. Top 25 players will advance
to the semi-finals (past experience indicates one heat win will
be sufficient); be sure to check the event Kiosk for your status
following each Heat. Winners of semi-final games will compete
in a five-player Final game.
All games will be limited to two hours, including semi-final
and Final Rounds.
This is a B level event. If you have not played the game before,
be sure and attend a teaching session before you sign up to play.
Tournament Format
1) Game Size
Default game size will be 5 players, with 4-player games as necessary
2) Table Assignments
Players who have set up their own games will play at their table
To save time, all other players will be randomly assigned to
tables, however please alert the GM if team members or
acquaintances are assigned to the same table. The GM will switch
players as necessary between games.
3) Seating Order and Start Player
Players at the table may determine in any manner they wish (electoral
college and touch-screen voting processes are discouraged due
to high legal fees involved)
4) Game Length:
Rounds for ALL games will be two hours.
If the game is starting to run long, the GM will remind the players
of the time limit. If the game will obviously not finish in
two hours, the GM may halt and adjudicate the game as he sees
fit. (Do NOT make me do this. No one will like it.)
5) Score Sheet:
At the completion of your game, please fill out the table score
sheet in its entirety. All information is important for determination
of tiebreakers and advancement.
The in-game tiebreakers for ranking players (after score) will
be:
Most unused caballeros (# cabs in court + # cabs in provinces)
Highest unused power cards (compare each thus a 13, 12,
7, 6, 5 beats a 13, 12, 4, 3, 1).
Random
6) Advancement:
25 players will advance to the semi-finals, and five semi-final
winners to a five-player Final. (If fewer than 25 appear for
the semi-final, the size and number of games may be adjusted
at the GMs discretion.) In recent years the number of alternates
that advance has ranged from one to seven.
Ranking (tie-breakers) for advancement to the semi-finals will
be as follows:
Most Wins
Win in first heat entered
Win in second heat entered
Win in third heat entered
Sorting factor that includes 100 points for each win, 20 points
for second, 5 points for third, plus your percentage of your
nearest opponent's score
Average finish in all heats
Random
The GM will post a list on the Kiosk as soon as possible after
each heat to show the top player rankings. Be sure to check
the Kiosk if you are interested in advancing. No-shows in semi-finals
and Final will be filled with the players next in order.
7) Unsportsmanlike Behavior
We are here to run a fun and competitive tournament. If you
witness anything that may constitute unsportsmanlike behavior
(which may include verbal abuse, cheating, and even excessively
slow play), please alert the GM immediately. Outcomes may involve
as little as a warning up to ejection from the game and a ban
from future tournaments.
8) Tie-breakers for sixth place finish (out of the
five second place finishes in semi-finals):
- Smallest gap behind first place
- Best record according to advancement criteria in 6) above
Rule Clarifications (and Reminders)
1) The correct total number of Caballeros for each color is
31, which includes the cube used for scoring.
2) The number of Caballeros in players' provinces is not
open knowledge. Players are permitted to cover or otherwise
conceal their province pieces (usually putting them in a pile
is sufficient). Number of pieces in court is open knowledge.
3) In all games, used power cards are placed in a single
stack face up; only the top card is visible to other players
and the other cards are not open knowledge. When a player executes
the "pick up a power card from your discard pile" special
action, he/she is not required to tell other players which card
was picked up. (Of course, if it was on the top of the discard
pile, everyone will know.)
4) Action card clarifications:
Intrigue cards may be used to place Caballeros into the Castillo
Players are permitted to move less than the number of Caballeros
stated on Intrigue cards
There are DISCREPANCIES between different printings/versions
of El Grande with regards to the Action Cards in the 2
stack. For this tournament, all cards in the 2 stack that send
Caballeros back to the provinces affect ONLY "your fellow
players" and NOT the player who executes the action.
Veto cards the following rule will be NEW this year:
No "partial vetos" will be permitted. A Veto,
when executed, cancels the entire special action it is applied
to. LIMITED negotiation is allowed between the veto card holder
and the current player, provided it is quick.
5) If, when required to move
Caballeros by means of the "secret" disk, the player
chooses the King's region, then all such Caballeros are instead
moved to his court. This could occur during scoring when emptying
the Castillo, or with the Evict action card.
6) If, when required to remove Caballeros from a region
by means of the "secret" disk, the player chooses the
King's region (or a region with none of the player's pieces),
then the player who executed the special action gets to choose
the region from which the Caballeros get removed. This could
occur during the 2 stack action cards for removing two or all
pieces from a region. The same applies if two caballeros were
required to be removed, and the affected player chose a province
with only one caballero when another province with two or more
was available. |