WAS PBEM Championship XV
Tournament Format
Game/Rules. Either the Avalon Hill Game Company’s 2nd Edition version of War At Sea or the L2 Design Group’s version of War At Sea may be used. In either case, they are supplemented by the Official Rules Clarifications.
Eligibility. To participate, each player must have BPA membership of at least Associate status, as of the tournament’s start date.
Schedule. The first round will commence on or about May 1, 2024. Each round will last 28 days, or less if every game has been completed more quickly.
Format. This tournament will be single elimination. Initial pairings will be made using players’ AREA ratings. Any player who does not have an AREA rating will be assigned a rating of 5000. The first round will consist of only enough games to bring the number of competitors in the second round down to the nearest power of two (for example, 16, 32, or 64). In order to produce that number of first round games, if necessary byes will be given to the highest ranked players by AREA rating, with those players advancing to the second round. For example, if there were 37 players entered, the first round would include byes for the 27 highest AREA-rated players and pairings for the lowest 10 AREA-rated players, highest against lowest, second highest against second lowest, and so on. The other 27 players would receive byes into the second round. In the second round, the five winners would be given rankings equal to that of the higher AREA rated player in the first round, regardless of who won. Then, the highest player would be paired against the lowest, the next highest against the next lowest, and so on. Players will not be reranked after round two.
Scenario/Optional Rules. The default scenario will be the basic game with no optional rules.
Sides. The lower ranked player will notify the higher ranked player of his or her side preference. If the higher ranked player desires to play the opposite side, play proceeds. If not, the higher ranked player begins the bidding for the preferred side. Bids may begin at zero, and may be made in half-POC or whole POC increments. Bidders may offer to give POC or take POC. The player receiving the bid may either accept the POC-incentive to play the non-preferred side or bid a higher POC amount (if the initial bidder was giving POC) or bid a lower amount (if the initial bidder was taking POC) for the preferred side.
The option passes back and forth in this fashion until one player accepts the non-preferred side and the POC-incentive. The incentive is applied to the final POC score of the game.
Adjudication and Ties. If a game is not completed at the end of the 28-day time frame, and the two players cannot agree on the likely victor, the Gamemaster will adjudicate. If such a game involves the Gamemaster, the Assistant Gamemaster will adjudicate. In the event of a tie, the Axis player will advance to the next round.
Software. Use of software is encouraged but not required. For example, Vassal has an easy-to-use War At Sea module.
Die Rolling. Players may use any mutually agreeable method of rolling dice. Examples include ACTS (http://acts.warhorsesim.com/login.asp), Brickmill Games (https://dice.brickmillgames.com), Cyrnus (http://www.cyrnus.com/cgi-bin/rollem.cgi), Finberg (dice@finberg.org), Firish (https://www.vwroller.com), and Hamete (https://dicelog.com/maildice). Players need not use the same dice server.
PBEM Errors. It is expected that good sportsmanship will be used. Here are some examples of common mistakes. If an error is non-substantive, allow the error to be corrected. If a unit is moved illegally and it does not affect combat, allow the unit to be moved correctly. If the attacker rolls too many dice, use the first correct number of dice and discard the rest. If the attacker rolls too few dice, use the ones already rolled and reroll the balance.
Results. The results of all games will be recorded for the AREA rating system. Tie games will be recorded as ties with AREA, notwithstanding the Axis player’s advancement to the next round.
War At Sea BPA PBEM Championship XV Administrative Personnel
Gamemaster: Vince Meconi vmeconi@verizon.net
Assistant Gamemaster/Webmaster: Mark Booth boothmove@gmail.com
Link to previous three War at Sea BPA PBEM Tournaments.