Great Campaigns of the American Civil War
2008 PBEM Tournament Rules
How to Sign-up
To sign-up for the tournament, send an email to gcacw.gm@gmail.com. To participate in the tournament you must have a valid email address. Please use the address that you wish to receive tournament information by email and please include your ACTS identity.
Qualifications for tournament entry:
- Must be a member of the BPA, Associate level or higher.
- Must have an email account.
- Must have an ACTS account.
- Must own a 'hard copy' of at least one game in the seven-game series.
- All games will be played using the Standard Basic Game Rules found in the Skirmisher No. 1, Grant Takes Command, or downloadable here
- A PBEM aid (VASSAL, Cyberboard or ADC) is encouraged, but not required. If the players cannot agree on a PBEM aid, then no aid will be the default (moves will be swaped via text posting on the ACTS log). Live play over VASSAL is acceptable (and encouraged!), as long as players can find a mutually agreeable time.
Gamemasters
Justin Rice is the GM; Jay Meyers and Chris Withers will be the Assistant GMs.
Event Format
The tournament consists of four preliminary rounds followed by three rounds of single elimination. All players may play in all preliminary round games regardless of records. The top 8 players will advance to the single elimination portion of the event.
- Round 1:McClellan’s Opportunity (HCR) - January 15 to April 15, 2008
Scenario is modified as follows: - Reduce the number of free CSA initiatives from two to one.
- Stonewall Jackson’s tactical rating of 5/4 (5 on the attack, 4 on the defense) is not used. Instead, his rating is a "4" (4 on attack and defense). In addition, there is a Jackson bonus that is identical to the Longstreet bonus from GTC (see 7.4 "Longstreet" in the Standard Basic Game rules). Any assault initiated by Jackson has an additional +1 modifier to the attacker's roll. The Jackson bonus may not be combined with the Lee bonus.
- Round 2:McDowell (SIV) - May 1 to July 30, 2008
- Round 3:Gaines Mill (SK1) - August 15 to Nov. 15, 2008
- Round 4:South Mountain (HCR) - December 1, 2008 to March 15, 2009
The final preliminary round is a best-of-three. In the first two games of the best of three, players will exchange sides (both games will be with a bid of 0). These two games may be played simultaneously, but only if both players agree to do so (a separate ACTS game file should be started for each game to keep die rolls separate). If the first two games will be played sequentially, player-sides for Game No. 1 should be determined randomly. If a deciding third game is necessary, players will follow the bid procedure. - Quarterfinals:Sedgwick to the Rescue (SLB) - April 1, 2009 to June 15, 2009
- Semifinals:Bloody Spotsylvania (GTC) - July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009
- Finals: Rebels in the White House Campaign Game (SK2) - October 15, 2009 to January 15 2010
Pairings:
In Round 1, players without AREA ratings will be randomly paired with another player without an AREA rating. Players with AREA ratings will be randomly paired with another player with an AREA rating. In subsequent rounds, pairings will be made randomly between players with identical (or nearly identical) won/loss records so far in the tournament.
No player will play the same opponent more than once until the quarterfinals. This could force some pairings to be outside their won/loss record.
Advancing to the elimination rounds will be based on:
- Won/loss record
- Number of rounds played
- Head-to-head competition
- Strength of opposition (by AREA rating)
- Winners of Round 4
- Die roll or a coin flip
The eight-player elimination round will be seeded based on the above criteria. Matchups will be as follows:
- Quarterfinals:
- Game 1: No. 1 seed vs. No. 8 seed
- Game 2: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed
- Game 3: No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed
- Game 4: No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed
- Semifinals:
- Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
- Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
- Finals: Semifinal winners
Game Rules
The GCACW Standard Basic Game rules are used for all games.
Rules Disputes:
To resolve rule questions or disputes, players should feel free to email the GM, the GCACW Yahoo-list or the CSW GCACW discussion.
GM Justin Rice will rule on disputes; Jay Meyers will rule on disputes in games involving the GM. Should The AGM and GM both be involved in the dispute, Ed Beach will make the final ruling.
Die rolls:
All die rolls will be conducted using the ACTS internet die roller. At the start of each round, players will create a new generic ACTS log. Assistance can be given by the GM or assistant GM for players unfamiliar with ACTS.
Unless otherwise specified, die rolls will always be Union, then Confederate.
When excess dice are rolled, the first die applies. Discard the extra rolls.
When too few dice are rolled, simply roll additional dice (keeping the ones already rolled).
The only allowable exception to using ACTS is if both players agree to play "live" via VASSAL.
Adjudicated games:
Games not completed by the listed deadline will be subject to adjudication. Assistant GM (non-playing) Chris Withers will examine the game state and declare a victor. Slow play by one party or the other (using the ACTS log time stamp) IS an acceptable criteria for adjudication when the current VPs do not show one player with an obvious advantage.
Scenario Rules:
Players are not required to own all games/Skirmisher issues to participate (but must own at least one game in the series). If a player does not own the game/Skirmisher for a tournament scenario, please notify the GM and he will provide an electronic copy of the scenario specific rules and set-ups. Such players will need to rely on some sort of a PBEM aid to play the scenario.
Bidding
Prior to the game, both players will "bid" VPs for their desired side. A bid of 0 is acceptable. If both players want to play the same side, the player with the higher bid, plays his desired side but gives up VPs equal to his bid (depending on the scenario this will be a positive or negative VP).
Bidding Procedure
- Email GM Justin Rice with your preference for side and any bid for that side.
- If both players want to play opposing sides then there is no bid.
- If both players want to play the same side then whoever bids the most receives that side.
- If both players want to play the same side and have the same bids, then sides will be determined randomly using the bid value.
- If a player is opposed by the GM then each player should email Jay Meyers with their bids.
Pace of play
The GCACW PBEM Tournament is a long-term, multi-round event, and we appreciate that real life does sometimes interfere with gaming. That being said, participants should aim for a one-email-per-day pace as a rule of thumb. The time schedule is tight – we’re aiming to finish the entire tournament within two calendar years.
Though a PBEM aid is not required, participants are encouraged to explore the use of VASSAL and the server-play function. Most of the tournament scenarios can be played in less than six hours face-to-face. A VASSAL session can enjoy similar pace – even a two-hour VASSAL session (much shorter than what many of you might invest in a gaming Saturday or regular weekday session with friends) will go far when it comes to completing a given scenario in the allotted time.
VASSAL can also be used in conjunction with PBEM - logfiles can be exchanged through e-mail between live-session availability to keep a game moving.
Again, neither VASSAL nor any other PBEM aid is required, but we do encourage participants to explore methods of play that will keep an acceptable pace of play.
Missing a round
Participating in each of the four preliminary rounds will greatly increase a player’s chances of advancing to the eight-person elimination rounds. But we do understand that life gets in the way. A player may miss a preliminary round, but that round will be scored as a loss and total rounds played is the second tiebreaker for advancement into the quarterfinals.
Makeup games for a missed round will be considered on a case-by-case basis, with consideration for opponent availability, the tournament schedule, and previous pace of play (i.e. a player who has dragged through other preliminary games is less likely to be permitted a makeup game). IN NO INSTANCE will a makeup game be permitted for disappearing players – please be courteous to your opponents, and your GM ... if you must abandon a game, please do contact your opponent and the GM to properly resolve the situation.
The GM will be the absolute last word in permitting a round to be made up.
Error Handling
Any errors identified by an opposing player are resolved by backing up to the point of the error and playing from there (i.e., ignoring any die rolls or moves that occurred after the error). If, however, the opposing player has made a subsequent move or game die roll prior to the identification of the error, play is not revised and the error stands. Example: player A moves, then player B moves. Once player B starts moving it's too late to redo any of player A's moves in the event player B later recognizes an earlier error.
Exception: If there is an error calculating combat modifiers, you do not reroll the combat. Rather, play back tracks to the combat with the error and using the original die rolls for this combat, recalculate the result using the correct modifiers. Play continues forward from that point (i.e., subsequent initiatives and combat die rolls are ignored).
Tournament Prizes
The winner of the tournament will receive a BPA Plaque ("Wood"). Other placing players will receive "Laurels". See the BPA for more details.