The Inns & Cathedrals League is now live! Apologies for the delay in getting things up and running, but whilst I was hoping that the Traders & Builders league could be completed before starting our next online competition I didn't realise it was going to take this long and am moving things along out of fairness to all those who have already played all of their matches and are waiting patiently for the next league to begin. So here it is...
Firstly, a quick recap of the
(slightly modified) rules. Please ensure you are familiar with these before you start playing:
1. All players will be divided between three groups (Group A, Group B and Group C). Each group will contain 7 players.
2. Every player must play a single head-to-head (2-player) game of Carcassonne against every other person in their group. Games will be played online using JCloisterZone so please ensure you have downloaded the latest version of this (3.1.0) and have got it running on your PC well in advance of your first game.
3. Each game must include just the basic game plus the Inns & Cathedrals expansion only, for a total of 90 tiles. The starting player should be selected at random by checking the "Randomise Seating Order" checkbox on the pre-game screen.
4. Every player is awarded 2 league points for each game they win, or 1 point for a draw. This will be the primary ranking criteria for the league.
5. The total number of points scored by you and the total number of points scored against you (by your opponents) throughout all league games you've played will be logged and used to calculate your total score differential (total points won minus total points scored against you). This will be the secondary ranking criteria for the league, and total points scored (by you) is the third.
6. Once you have finished your game, please post a screenshot of the final scores (these will appear in a pop-up window immediately after the final tile has been placed) back to the forums along with a write-up of your game if you so wish. Our official scorekeeper kettlefish will be using these to keep track of the overall scores within each group.
7. Once everyone has played everyone else within their groups, similarly ranked players will form 7 new groups with 3 people in each. The winners of Groups A, B and C will form Group D1, 2nd-place finishers of Groups A, B and C will form Group "D2" and so on for D3 down to D7. Previous league points and score differential will be reset at this stage of the competition (but remembered for ongoing record-keeping).
8. Play within the "D" Groups will continue in the same way as Groups A - C with everyone playing a single game against their two opponents and then being ranked according to league points and total score differential in the same way as before. This final rank will determine overall finishing position in the league (i.e. D1-1st, D1-2nd, D1-3rd, D2-1st, D2-2nd, ..., D6-2nd, D6-3rd, D7-1st, D7-2nd, D7-3rd).
Forfeited GamesIf no individual can be considered responsible for a game not happening, both players forfeit the game. This means both players get a loss for the game and score differential is unaffected (score is 0 – 0). If one player is responsible because the other has tried to make the game happen but the other player refuses to play or doesn't respond to emails/ PMs then the player at fault loses and the other player gets a win. In addition to this, scores for the game default to 35 – 0 to the winner meaning his score differential improves by 35 points.
If you're itching to know who your initial opponents will be then itch no more because here are the groups:
I've already created a thread for each group to keep track of scores, schedule matches and encourage and/or belittle each other. These threads can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate list (Group A, B or C) above.
Enjoy!
PS - Anyone wishing to take part in a game should follow the link below in order to meet with others in the "pre-game chat":
http://sydby.com/carcassonne/irc/index.htmlLinkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=1589.0