Tournament Format
Swiss Elimination play of the Annus Mirabilis Scenario.

Schedule

The Swiss rounds will be continuous, starting promptly at 1000 on Wednesday. Please arrive by 0945 to sign up. There will be 4 rounds of Swiss play with the top eight players advancing to the elimination rounds. The time limit will be four hours per round with succeeding Swiss rounds scheduled to start at 1400, 1800 and 2200. The default times for the Quarter-finals, semi-finals and Final are scheduled for Sa21, Su9 and Su13, respectively, but these games may be played at any time later in the week when mutually agreed to by the participants and the GM.

Pairings/Advancing/Byes

All players will be seeded by their current AREA rating. Unrated players will be assigned a provisional rating of 5000 for these purposes. In the first Swiss round the top seed will play the bottom seed, the #2 seed will play the #2 seed from the bottom and so on as required. In the subsequent Swiss rounds the undefeated players will continue to be paired in this way, while the players with losses will be paired randomly with opponents having the same score. If there is an odd number of players with a given score, then the top AREA rated player with the next lowest score will be bumped up to play in the higher bracket (as the bottom seed if it is in the undefeated bracket). For example, if there are 15 undefeated players after Round 1, then the highest rated player who lost in Round 1 will play in the undefeated bracket as the #16 seed.

After the final Swiss round all undefeated players will automatically advance to the Quarter-finals. The remaining Quarter-final slots will be filled by the players with Swiss round losses who have earned the most tiebreak points (see below). The eight advancing players will be reseeded as follows. The undefeated players will be seeded at the top by AREA rating, while the players advancing with losses in the Swiss rounds will be seeded next by their tiebreak points. The advancing players will maintain this ranking throughout the elimination rounds. Pairings in the elimination rounds will be top surviving seed against bottom surviving seed, #2 surviving seed against #2 from bottom surviving seed and so on as required.

If there are an odd number of total players in any given round, then the player with the worst score who has the lowest AREA rating will be awarded a bye.

Tiebreakers

In each round each winning player will earn tiebreak points equal to the AREA rating of his defeated opponent. No tiebreak points will be earned for a loss. Tiebreak points will be used to determine who advances to the elimination rounds, who will finish in 5th and 6th place among the losing quarter-finalists and who will finish in 3rd and 4th place among the losing semi-finalists. If a tie must be broken between players who have an equal number of tiebreak points, then the player with the lower AREA rating will win the tie. If a third tiebreaker is required, then the player with the most games played as the British will win the tie(if they are still tied, then a coin will be tossed).

Prize List

This tournament is well known for its additional prizes. The Champion's Warhawk will be awarded to the tournament winner as in the past. Other weapon replicas, tin soldiers, books and DVDs will be awarded to deserving players at the discretion of the GM. In the past these special prizes have been awarded to the other laurelists, to the best new player, to the winner of the biggest upset and to the top sportsman. In addition, Medalists (plaque winners) will receive merchandise credits courtesy of GMT for $20 (1st, $15 (2nd), $10 3rd, and $5 (4th & 5th).

Tournament Officials

Keith Wixson is the GM. There will also be two Assistant GMs who are yet to be determined. All will be playing in the event. Feel free to contact the GM directly by email with any questions regarding the tournament.

Game Rules

The 2nd Edition Rules as posted on the GMT Games website (http://www.gmtgames.com/living_rules/living_rules.html) will apply. All Advanced Rules will be used. No Optional or special rules (other than bidding)will be used. As per Rule 12.14, a draw will count as a victory for the French player. Players will bid VPs for sides using a procedure described at the tournament. The use of a cell phone or hand held computer while playing is not allowed and will not be tolerated. The use of a chess clock is optional if both players agree.

Late Arrivals and Long Games

Latecomers will be matched up with other latecomers, but risk not playing in the event (and are still expected to finish by the ending time set for the first round.). Latecomers for subsequent rounds will likely be penalized at the discretion of the GM. Time limits will be strictly enforced to keep the event running on schedule. If a player disregards the time limit and appropriate warnings, then the GM reserves the right to penalize such player for slow play. If a game is stopped because of time, then the GM and his assistants will adjudicate a winner at their sole discretion.