[PREM PRIZE] Initech XL: World Extravaganza: WINNER: rcfritz

[Peter Gibbons]

We are full at 80. There are four alternates. Premium prize award still stands. No elimination after the first round. Good luck to all!!!

[Peter Gibbons]

The first five games in the First Round are out. Some people got second invites. Please accept them ASAP. Once all of these games are running, I will draw the 1v1 games for Australia and start sending those out. You should have 5 games at the moment. You will have 8 games once you get the Australia invites.

[Peter Gibbons]

Ok, some updates/logistical stuff, in no particular order:

1) The first set of 1v1 Australia games are all out. You should now have 6 games.

2) I'm on the road for the next 6 days, so I'm going to delay the final two Australia games. Considering the standard games will take awhile to finish, that really isn't a problem at all. Just don't want people to think they are missing two games.

3) There is no need to PM me or post on my wall or in this thread to say games are finished. In fact, I ask that you please refrain from doing it. There are a TON of games, and I have to be very methodical about checking them. So it does me no good to know a particular game just finished.

4) I've created a spreadsheet to track game assignments and scoring. When I get back next week, I will upload it to Google Drive. That will likely serve as the scoreboard (there will be a link in the first post).

5) I haven't decided yet if I will send the Europe games before the Africa/Oceania round is complete. Technically, it's a new round, so I might wait. But there will be no eliminations until the end of the Europe round, so it might be worth getting the standard Europe games started early. I'll check to see how everything is progressing next week and make a call on that.

[Peter Gibbons]

Second set of 1v1 Australia games are out. That's 7 games for everyone. The eighth game will come this weekend.

All the assassin games are finished and nearly all the first round of 1v1 games. We're at a good pace, but still awhile to go with the standard games. So no scoreboard update yet. I've scored what's finished and only 56 players have points, so it would be--no pun intended--pointless to do at the moment, as top 60 are going to advance.

Going to hold the Europe games for now.

[Peter Gibbons]

Ok, more housekeeping.

It looks like Quark_Star has disappeared. First alternate will be put in place for his second 1v1 game. Sorry for all those involved in games where he deadbeated.

Third set of 1v1 Australia games--the final games for the first round--will be sent shortly. That gives you eight games.

Most importantly, the scoreboard is designed and live online. The link is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... HhZYmV0eGc

Some keys to reading the scoreboard:

1) Each color code is a different round, with a two letter-acronym that describes the geographic region in Row 2.
2) At the top of each column, in Row 1, the game type is listed. S1 and S2 are the standard games. T1 and T1 are the terminator games. A1 is the assassin game. 1A, 1B and 1C are the 1v1 games.
3) If there is a green square next to your name, you won that game. If there is a blank square next to your name, you lost that game.
3a) The only exception to this is terminator. In addition to the green or blank square, there will be a "+X" number if you got any points from an elimination. That will be +2, +4, +6 or +8. If you won the game, you will get the green square AND the +X figure. If you lost the game, it's just the +X figure.
4) If there is a number next to your name, that is the game you are currently playing in (or will be invited to).
5) The chart, other than when I'm editing it, will be sorted by Total Points.

If you notice any mistakes, please post here rather than notifying me via PM or wall. It's just easier if all adjustments (or requests for adjustments) are transparent. Thanks.

[Peter Gibbons]

Reminder that the scoreboard is updated here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... HhZYmV0eGc

Both sets of standard games for Europe are out.

[wi1bert]

Game EU S2 Game #10 is missing a player (thanks for all your hard work on this)

[Peter Gibbons]

Game EU S2 Game #10 is missing a player (thanks for all your hard work on this)

On it. Looks like that player has deadbeatted. Will invite a reserve for the European portion.

EDIT: Nevermind, he accepted the 3rd and final invites.

[Peter Gibbons]

Some housekeeping on where we are:

1) There's only been one deadbeat so far, with Quark_Star replaced by Epitaph1. However, I gave several players great leeway with returning and issued over 3 invites to at least two players. In the future, 3 invites is going to be the limit, and then we'll go to reserves. Please PM me if you're going to be away from the site, unable to accept games.

2) The scoreboard is fully updated and is, essentially, being updated daily (if not more frequently). It is explained in detail above. Note that I'm adding red squares when an individual player's round is complete and s/he can score no more points in that round.

3) Note that if a terminator game reaches the round limit, the winning player does not get bonus points for eliminating the players who still have territories on the map. This is implicit in the first post, but I'm making it clear now. So not all terminator games will award 13 points.

4) We are moving along very well in Round 1. Madagascar is long since done, Australia is almost done (about 8 games to conclude), and South Africa has 3 games remaining. The standard games--Oceania and Africa II--are taking a little longer, but that's to be expected. Cairns Coastal is the frustrating one, since it's a bigger map, but it is what it is.

5) For Round 2, all invites for the standard and terminator games are now out. If you haven't joined, you'll get a second call soon. I am holding the assassin and 1v1 invites for a bit. I don't want a situation where we are waiting weeks on the conclusion of the standard Europa and Nordic games, so I will time the invites for the remaining 4 European games (British Isles and Cyprus) to start once the entire first round is over or almost over.

[Peter Gibbons]

Three Africa II games, three Oceania games, three Cairns Coastal games and one South Africa game are all that remain from the first round.

The assassin games and the first set of 1v1 games for the second round will come starting Monday.

[Peter Gibbons]

So we are now down to one Africa II game, one Oceania game, three Cairns Coastal games and that one South Africa game. First round almost complete.

Please check your first round scores. I do not mind making amendments or corrections, but I'd like to do them as soon as possible.

Assassin games for Europe (British Isles) will start coming now.

Also, I'm actively updating the score and putting red squares once you've lost that game (not waiting until the end of the round). It gives people a better idea of where things stand as we head toward the first elimination point.

Remember, top 60 players advance to Round 3.

[Peter Gibbons]

All games in the first round are complete. Congratulations to t4mcr53s2, who scored an impressive 56 points and leads after the conclusion of the first round. crazy4catnip is hot on his heels with 53 points after one round.

The final Cyprus game should come later today. That is the eighth and final game for the Europe round. The top 60 players will advance to the third Round, so keep an eye on the scoreboard (remember that Row 62 actually lists the #60 ranked player). If you note any mistakes or inconsistencies, please let me know. Good luck.

[Peter Gibbons]

Had a minor SNAFU with the scoreboard. There was a sorting error relative to the first round data and I had to go back in and re-enter the first round totals. Please be extra vigilant and check your totals. I think everything looks good now, but want to be sure.

Second round is progressing well. As can be seen, we are starting to see some official eliminations. The progression scenarios should become pretty clear shortly.

[Peter Gibbons]

22 active games remain in the second round (of 208 total games). Cyprus, British Isles and Nordic should be done very shortly. Iberia may not be too far behind. Some of the Europa and Balkan games are taking a bit longer. With round limits, though, it shouldn't be any longer than two weeks to complete. Good luck to all those battling it out for advancement.

[Peter Gibbons]

Cyprus and British Isles complete. 16 active games remain.

We have 7 players mathematically eliminated. Thirteen more eliminations will occur this round. It appears as though you are safe for passage to Round 3 if you have at least 35 points at the moment.

[slytown]

phew! I pass for this round

[Peter Gibbons]

Nordic complete. 11 total games are active and running.

Also happen to have 11 players eliminated now. 33 points appears to be the new safe zone for advancement.

[Peter Gibbons]

Looking at the scoreboard, the remaining games and making some projections... there is a decent chance that 31 could end up being the magic number for advancement. That could prove problematic, if we have too many people tied at that spot. In short, we might need a tiebreaker, which could delay the start of the 3rd round. Will try to keep things running as smoothly as possible with minimal delays.

[Peter Gibbons]

5 games left, 5 qualification spots remain. Everyone with 32 points or more is clear to Round 3.

It is, unfortunately, now going to be awhile until we know all 60 qualifiers. One of the players who is mathematically alive is in a Balkans game that is--somehow--only in Round 22. That game will need to finish until we know the results. Once we know 59 qualifiers, however, I will create the games, conduct the draw and start sending the invites.

Thanks to everyone for their patience.

[Peter Gibbons]

4 games left. Europa map is now done.

Right now, everyone with 31 points or more advances. There are four active players currently below the 31 point mark who could still score enough points to reach the 31 point threshold. Here is how that breaks down:

1) Hath is involved in Balkans game #1. He currently has 29 points. If he scores a single elimination, he will join a tiebreak scenario at 31 points. If he scores more than a single elimination, he advances and there is a tiebreaker for the players currently on 31 points.

2) adam666, Dew8Bank and ProsthoDoc are involved in Balkans game #9. For adam66 or Dew8Bank to advance, they need a full win (4 eliminations + win). For ProstheDoc, he can only force the tiebreaker by getting a full win. Obviously, only one of these players can advance. If any of them do get the full 13 points, a tiebreaker will be triggered.

3) If Hath doesn't score in Balkans #1 and none of the three players mentioned above scores a full 13 points in the Balkans #9 game, we will avoid a tiebreaker. If we need a tiebreaker, it could be anywhere from a 2-player to a 5-player situation.

[Peter Gibbons]

Really good news. It's been brought to my attention the exact wording of the tiebreaker stipulation in the first post. The first tiebreaker for a multi-player tie is:

"Most points from the concluding round"

Despite the fact that we didn't have eliminations after the first round, the second round is still a distinct round from the first. Therefore, most points in the 2nd round will be the first tiebreaker, if necessary. This will likely prevent the need for a playoff on the Classic map (which could have delayed the tournament for up to 2 months).

If anyone has any questions, let me know. But I've re-read everything and I think this is the proper interpretation of the rules as they've been written.

[Peter Gibbons]

Iberia map completed.

Three games, all on Balkans, remain. All three games could potentially affect progression.

57 of 60 qualifiers are known (everyone with 32 points or higher is safe for progression).

[Peter Gibbons]

I went ahead and did the draw for the Triple Alliance games in Round 3. The bottom three places are provisional, so only 57 of the 60 invites have been issued. This will keep things moving and will also allow us to see if we have any deadbeats. If your game only has 4 players invited, please be patient as it will take a few more days to fill in those spots. Thanks and good luck.

[Peter Gibbons]

And now only two spots are provisional, as only two players with active games could surpass 31 points, meaning Gilligan qualifies as he holds the tiebreaker among the 3 players currently tied at 31 points.

[stuboy]

Nicely run tourney Peter G. Keep up the good work