el grande [Updated April 2009]

ELG  HMW  
   18    12   13   19   
   13     15     
      

  Ballroom B   Limerock Terrace, Table #7

Geoff Pounder, ON

2008 Champion

2nd: Marc Berenbach, MA

3rd: Greg Thatcher, CA

4th: Robb Effinger, ON

5th: Tim Mossman, MD

6th: Jeff Meyer, MA
Event History
1999     Stu Hendrickson     47
2000     Anthony Burke      40
2001     Jason Levine      70
2002     Mark Guttag      41
2003     Rob Flowers      55
2004      Jay Fox      68
2005     Charlie Kersten      97
2006      Greg Thatcher      55
2007     Robb Effinger      68
2008      Geoff Pounder      61

Rob Flowers, MD

2009 GM

Links

 Laurels 
  Rio Grande Games

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. The top 25 players will advance to the semi-finals; be sure to check the event Kiosk for your status following each Heat. Winners of semi-final games will compete in a 5-player Final.

All games, including semi-final and Final, will be limited to two hours.
This is a B level event. If you have not played the game before, be sure to attend the teaching session before you enter.

Tournament Format

1) Game Size
- Default game size will be 5-players, with 4-player games only 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 each table may determine these factors in any manner they wish.

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 will play a five-player final. (If fewer than 25 show 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 have advanced has ranged from 0 to 7.
- This is a "Heat, Most Wins" (HMW) event. 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 good, 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 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 the game 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 - keeping the same rule as last 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 2 or all pieces from a region. The same applies if 2 caballeros were required to be removed, and the affected player chose a province with only 1 caballero when another province with 2 or more was available.

 GM      Rob Flowers  [7th Year]  NA
    rpf1@mindspring.com   NA 
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