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Team Games >> 2010 Arimaa World League >> Ring of Fire Clubhouse
(Message started by: megajester on Nov 13th, 2009, 9:38am)

Title: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by megajester on Nov 13th, 2009, 9:38am
Welcome to the Ring of Fire, rulers of the Pacific. Please introduce yourself, either as a player or a fan. Help us plan our path to glory!

Don't forget to check out the wiki for news about the 2010 League, and friendly matches in the next few months...
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/mwiki/index.php/2010_Arimaa_World_League

Note: All players still need to register at the gameroom registration page
http://arimaa.com/arimaa/events/reg.cgi?e=2010worldleague

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Nov 23rd, 2009, 4:43am
Hello fellow Ringers, I've been nominated as captain of The Ring of Fire.  This team has the coolest-sounding names and we're recruiting from every corner of the world  8)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Nov 24th, 2009, 5:35pm
Interested in having a rookie on the team?

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Nov 25th, 2009, 6:50am

on 11/24/09 at 17:35:44, Nombril wrote:
Interested in having a rookie on the team?


Absolutely, welcome aboard Nombril!

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Dec 5th, 2009, 7:28am
Hi Nombril and The_Jeh:

Megajester is trying to organize a friendly practice round for the World League.  The options are the week of (i) December 14-20 or (ii) December 21-27.  Post on the board if you'd like to play, and which week.  It's only a 1-game commitment.  We're trying to recruit 3 players from each team.  Since our team only has 3, we're looking for a 100% turnout  ;D

No pressure if you can't play, though.  I'm sure we can recruit extra players if you're not able to play this month.

Thanks,
Greg

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Simon on Dec 5th, 2009, 1:57pm
Perhaps I could join the team?

I would prefer to play on Dec 14-20.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Dec 5th, 2009, 7:47pm

on 12/05/09 at 13:57:42, Simon wrote:
Perhaps I could join the team?

I would prefer to play on Dec 14-20.


That's great!   I can play Dec 14-20 as well, so we just need one more.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Dec 5th, 2009, 9:11pm
I should be able to work in a game between the 14-20th.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by amalgam on Dec 7th, 2009, 6:01am
If anyone doesn't mind, could I please join this team as well?

I wouldn't mind playing from Dec 14-20 either, although I'd prefer Dec 16 onwards (I think I'll have a better Internet connection, and should be less likely to time out), and I don't have much free time.

I don't really think I'll be playing from Dec 14-20, but if I am, I'm not really sure which hours I'd be available. I'll try and post times in GMT here for when I think I might be available.

Starting time of games

Dec 14, 15 GMT 3 am-7 am (possibly), 11 am-4 pm(definitely)
Dec 16, GMT 3 am-7am (possibly), 11 am-3 pm (definitely)
Dec 17 GMT 3 am- 7 am (possibly), 11 am-4 pm (definitely)
Dec 18 Probably can't make it. Possibly GMT 9 am - 10 am
Dec 19 Probably can't make it. Possibly GMT 9 am - 10 am
Dec 20 GMT 3 am- 7 am (possibly), 11 am - 4pm (definitely)





Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by The_Jeh on Dec 7th, 2009, 10:16am

on 12/05/09 at 07:28:22, Adanac wrote:
Hi Nombril and The_Jeh:

Megajester is trying to organize a friendly practice round for the World League.  The options are the week of (i) December 14-20 or (ii) December 21-27.  Post on the board if you'd like to play, and which week.  It's only a 1-game commitment.  We're trying to recruit 3 players from each team.  Since our team only has 3, we're looking for a 100% turnout  ;D

No pressure if you can't play, though.  I'm sure we can recruit extra players if you're not able to play this month.

Thanks,
Greg


It has to be Dec 21-27 for me, but I'm happy to sit out, too.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Dec 8th, 2009, 9:12am

on 12/07/09 at 06:01:51, amalgam wrote:
If anyone doesn't mind, could I please join this team as well?

I wouldn't mind playing from Dec 14-20 either, although I'd prefer Dec 16 onwards (I think I'll have a better Internet connection, and should be less likely to time out), and I don't have much free time.

I don't really think I'll be playing from Dec 14-20, but if I am, I'm not really sure which hours I'd be available. I'll try and post times in GMT here for when I think I might be available.

Starting time of games

Dec 14, 15 GMT 3 am-7 am (possibly), 11 am-4 pm(definitely)
Dec 16, GMT 3 am-7am (possibly), 11 am-3 pm (definitely)
Dec 17 GMT 3 am- 7 am (possibly), 11 am-4 pm (definitely)
Dec 18 Probably can't make it. Possibly GMT 9 am - 10 am
Dec 19 Probably can't make it. Possibly GMT 9 am - 10 am
Dec 20 GMT 3 am- 7 am (possibly), 11 am - 4pm (definitely)


Our 3 players in the December 14-20 friendly match will be:

Simon
Nombil
amalgam

I'll be the backup player.  Can each player please submit their preferred times similar to amalgam?  Thanks everyone!

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Dec 8th, 2009, 12:00pm
Start times for me:

GMT, 24 hr clock. (what timezone will you be scheduling in?  I'll convert to something different it it will be easier...)

Dec 14, Monday:  Good: 2:00-3:00 and 11:00
15: Good: 2:00-3:00 and 11:00
16: Good: 2:00-3:00 and 11:00
17: Good: 2:00-3:00 and 11:00
18: Good: 2:00-3:00 and 11:00
19: Good: 2:00-4:00 and 11:00.  OK: Anytime after 11:00
20: Good: 2:00-4:00 and 11:00.  OK: Anytime after 11:00

I can pull a few more OK times during the week if this isn't enough flexibility.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Dec 10th, 2009, 10:15am
You can now set your preferred times directly from the game room.  In fact, you should do so even if you've already posted your times on this forum.  Simon, Nombril and amalgam are the 3 players.  If any of you are unable to play, please post here and I will fill in as the replacement.

1.  Click on the Register link for the 2010 World League in the Arimaa gameroom (even if you're already registered).

2.  Click on the link for your preferred times.

3.  Select 60 boxes from highest to lowest priority, as per the instructions on the screen.

Thanks everyone.  You still have a few more days to update your preferred times before your time slot is determined by the scheduling program.  You can change your preferred times each week, or leave them unchanged and they will be the same next time.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by amalgam on Dec 11th, 2009, 3:23am
Thank you very much for the update Adanac, as I was trying to find the scheduler.

I am a bit confused by it though, as it has Wednesday - Tuesday on it. If this is Wednesday Dec 16 - Tuesday Dec 22, is the preparation match being held in that time period? I thought it was to be Monday Dec 14 - Sunday Dec 20. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting the scheduler.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Dec 11th, 2009, 7:23am

on 12/11/09 at 03:23:13, amalgam wrote:
Thank you very much for the update Adanac, as I was trying to find the scheduler.

I am a bit confused by it though, as it has Wednesday - Tuesday on it. If this is Wednesday Dec 16 - Tuesday Dec 22, is the preparation match being held in that time period? I thought it was to be Monday Dec 14 - Sunday Dec 20. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting the scheduler.


I believe it was designed to end on Monday GMT, but because you're further east, it actually continues to Tuesday.

As for the late start, I think the structure was originally designed for the World Championship.  Games occur every week during the WC, so the last games might end late Sunday or Monday and then more games are scheduled soon after.  There is a small gap in between so that players can update their next week's time slots (though it can be done any time, not just after the round).  And you want to give players advance notice before their next game is scheduled, so games on Tuesday usually aren't a good idea.  So, Omar set it up so that there's usually a 48 hour gap from one round to the next.  He also designed it in such a way that there are more weekend games to increase the number of spectators for each game.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Eltripas on Mar 5th, 2010, 6:12pm
Incoming!

I mean sign me in

I wonder if someone considers that the games from the world league are important enough to be commentated

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Mar 10th, 2010, 1:30pm
Hello Fellow Ringers:

We're trying to decide how many games to include in the upcoming World League cycle.

- Who is interested in representing the team in the upcoming April series?

- How many games would you be willing to play?  Are there any weeks that you cannot play?

Thanks,
Greg

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Eltripas on Mar 10th, 2010, 4:00pm
I'm interested but if a better player wants to play he should play.

I'm willing to play 3 or 4 games I can play all the weekends in April as far as I know now but things may come out in the meantime.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by amalgam on Mar 18th, 2010, 4:03am
Thanks for another opportunity, I'll try to find time to play, but I'm willing to let others play as well. Holidays for me are from Mar 27 - Apr. 11, so I can probably play games during that time. After that, I still have some free time, but I'm not sure if I could find 60 hours a week.

So really, I suppose I might be able to play one or two games, but I don't mind if others wish to participate as well.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Mar 23rd, 2010, 11:14am
So far we have 4 players that have offered to play during April.  

Adanac
Nombril
Eltripas
Amalgam

Most of us are available some weeks, but not all, so it would still be great to have more participants or even just a couple of people to volunteer for a back-up role.

Amalgam, you can still participate beyond April 11th, don't worry if you can't fill 60 time slots.  Even if you only have 20 preferred time slots, you'll virtually always be able to get a game in one of those slots.  Just set 40 other slots to the lowest priority.  In the event that you can't play at all, we'll find a back-up player for you.

If we can find a 5th player then I might switch to back-up due to a busy April schedule.  But I'll probably be obligated to play top board if we're up against Fritzlein or chessandgo.  I'll take one for the team ;) Yes, Jean Daligault has just joined the Europa team and they're looking pretty tough now :o  But we will beat them, right Ring of Fire?

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Mar 23rd, 2010, 10:16pm
Gday Guys,

I've signed up to play in the league! Unfortunately you're the lucky team to get the handicap (me) ;-)

I've submitted my available times (I really hope I don't get my lower preferences). Is that all I have to do?

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Mar 24th, 2010, 6:35am

on 03/23/10 at 22:16:09, knarl wrote:
Gday Guys,

I've signed up to play in the league! Unfortunately you're the lucky team to get the handicap (me) ;-)

I've submitted my available times (I really hope I don't get my lower preferences). Is that all I have to do?

Cheers,
knarl.


Welcome to the Ring of Fire, knarl :)  Thanks for filling in your preferred times, that will make things easier once the games are scheduled.

We also need to determine which dates work best for all the participants.  Please announce which days in April you can and cannot play.  You can either post in this forum or send a message to me, whichever you prefer.  Thanks!

We're up to 5 players now so I'll volunteer to be a back-up player  (Unless the opposing #1 player is Fritzlein or Chessandgo, or if it's an inconvenient date for one of our Top 4, in which case I'll step in).

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Mar 24th, 2010, 9:57am
I'm happy to play Fritzlein or chessandgo.  You just have to let us in on the secret to how you dealt chessandgo one of his 2 losses in the WC.   ;D

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Mar 24th, 2010, 7:14pm
So there's 4 games per match? and we'll have three reserve players (as of having seven players when I checked the wiki). Is there a rating cap per match, or a rating capped table per match?

I'm happy to stay reserve until you need my low rating to slip under the rating cap =). I can play any days in April as per scheduler times, other than the mornings of the 2nd and the 6th (GMT+11 and GMT+10 - DST ends on the 4th).

My scheduler times are a generic work week, because I didn't know which week I was filling out for specifically, but I can update it if I know which dates. Probably best to leave it generic and work out clashes/substitutions case by case.

Cheers,
knarl

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Mar 24th, 2010, 7:42pm
OK, now I see the start date is the 12th of April. Ignore what I said before. I can play any day as per my scheduler times.

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Mar 25th, 2010, 4:56am

on 03/24/10 at 19:42:05, knarl wrote:
OK, now I see the start date is the 12th of April. Ignore what I said before. I can play any day as per my scheduler times.

Cheers,
knarl.


The start date is April 12th.  But the games aren't actually scheduled to begin until the week after, April 19-25.  So keeping in mind that most of the games will be likely be played on the weekend of 23-25, who still wants to play?

I'm still available if need be.  And knarl has indicated he can play.  The other 3 players should also decide whether they still want to play, based upon the announced schedule.  Then I'll submit our 3 players on April 19.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Eltripas on Mar 25th, 2010, 5:54am

on 03/25/10 at 04:56:46, Adanac wrote:
The start date is April 12th.  But the games aren't actually scheduled to begin until the week after, April 19-25.  So keeping in mind that most of the games will be likely be played on the weekend of 23-25, who still wants to play?

I'm still available if need be.  And knarl has indicated he can play.  The other 3 players should also decide whether they still want to play, based upon the announced schedule.  Then I'll submit our 3 players on April 19.


The date is still far to be 100% sure I'll be available but it is very likely.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by The_Jeh on Mar 25th, 2010, 10:25pm
I think I would be able to substitute if need be.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Apr 8th, 2010, 1:43am
Hello,
I'm fairly new, but I have an interest in playing.
My work + social life means I can't tick anywhere near 60 boxes for availability unfortunately.

I'm at GMT + 12 and available mid to late evenings on the nights I am home.

Cheers,
Martin

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Apr 8th, 2010, 8:12am

on 04/08/10 at 01:43:26, Korhil wrote:
Hello,
I'm fairly new, but I have an interest in playing.
My work + social life means I can't tick anywhere near 60 boxes for availability unfortunately.

I'm at GMT + 12 and available mid to late evenings on the nights I am home.

Cheers,
Martin


Hi Martin,

Welcome aboard the Ring of Fire!  That’s OK if you can’t fill in 60 time slots.  We’re allowed to have a substitute in the event that you’re assigned an inconvenient time slot and can’t play.  But there is a +200 point substitution penalty and so we’ll try to utilize you during the weeks that you have the most available time slots.

I would recommend playing some games against Human opponents so that you can establish a WHR rating before the League begins.  Hopefully you’ll be rated with 100 points of Knarl so that you’ll have a valid substitute in a reasonably close time zone. :)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Apr 13th, 2010, 8:02am
A reminder that we play the Atlantics next week.  I just wanted to confirm our player list again.  Has anyone's schedule changed?  We can only substitute a player if his WHR is no more than 100 points than the originally scheduled player.  So if Korhil is in our original lineup but cannot play then we'll have no eligible backup.  As new players join the team and our ratings change, that situation may change in the future.

Can Play:
Adanac
Eltripas
knarl
Korhil
Amalgam

Can Substitute:
The_Jeh

The "cost" of each player for Week 1 is listed below:  we'll use an average of 1920 per game (or less) out of the 18 games we'll play this season.  We're an affordable team so I don't think the cap should be a problem for us.  :)

Adanac      2419
The_Jeh      2046
Simon      1866
nombril      1858
Eltripas      1769
amalgam      1659
knarl      1580
Korhil      1425

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Apr 15th, 2010, 5:29pm

on 04/13/10 at 08:02:42, Adanac wrote:
A reminder that we play the Atlantics next week.  I just wanted to confirm our player list again.  Has anyone's schedule changed?  We can only substitute a player if his WHR is no more than 100 points than the originally scheduled player.  So if Korhil is in our original lineup but cannot play then we'll have no eligible backup.  As new players join the team and our ratings change, that situation may change in the future.


I can still play. I've also lost some HvH postal games :-( so next round I'll probably be the lowest rated player on our team, but hopefully still in range to substitute!

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Apr 20th, 2010, 4:53pm

Very excited to be playing in the first ever round of the Arimaa World League! In the second scheduled game even, and the first game for the Ring of Fire! Go RoF!

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Apr 21st, 2010, 4:38am
Looks like Knarl has the very first game now!  Looks like I won't be able to cheer on any of the games in person, good luck everyone, and have fun!

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Apr 26th, 2010, 11:28am
After a great first round we're tied for 1st place with 7 points -- let's keep it up team!!  I've sent a message to everyone regarding availability against The Rockies.  You can either post your response here or by private message.  Thanks.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Apr 26th, 2010, 4:22pm
Gday Team,

Sorry for the loss guys. I thought I was off to a great start in my game, with a horse frame and a camel hostage, but I overextended myself, and where I should have forced material exchange (that I would have come out on top with I think), I tried for outright capture, and got swamped.

Any team advice and comments on my game would be really helpful, so I can learn from the defeat (coaching if you will).

All that being said, I'm available to play in the next round if I'm needed. I'm leaving my scheduler times the same.

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Apr 26th, 2010, 6:23pm

on 04/26/10 at 16:22:22, knarl wrote:
Any team advice and comments on my game would be really helpful, so I can learn from the defeat (coaching if you will).


I agree with Arimabuff's comment about where the tide turned against you at 10s.  It is good to be aware of when your opponent won't be willing to go after an exposed camel.  

When you have a camel hostage, I used to feel very confident and took my time slowly taking pieces.  Especially against the old bots that don't know how to swarm.  But now, my advice is to view taking a camel hostage as the start of a race.  Your opponent will likely swarm with the goal of totally blocking in your elephant in and rotating out their elephant.  If you haven't done significant damage (and probably forced the opponents elephant to come back to stop a goal threat) before being trapped, you will be sunk.  Dragging lots of pieces back to your own trap is probably too slow - and as you found out it can also lead to getting swarmed on your other home trap as well.

You did have a great start, just need a bit more practice with what to do after you have a good position.  When you have a frame, think about rotating out one of the horses (or better yet your elephant) before attacking on the other wing.  Also, I don't know if it would have been possible to push some additional pieces around the side of the trap to prevent the camel from easily breaking the frame.

Hope that helps...

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Apr 26th, 2010, 8:01pm

on 04/26/10 at 18:23:41, Nombril wrote:
I agree with Arimabuff's comment about where the tide turned against you at 10s.  It is good to be aware of when your opponent won't be willing to go after an exposed camel.  

When you have a camel hostage, I used to feel very confident and took my time slowly taking pieces.  Especially against the old bots that don't know how to swarm.  But now, my advice is to view taking a camel hostage as the start of a race.  Your opponent will likely swarm with the goal of totally blocking in your elephant in and rotating out their elephant.  If you haven't done significant damage (and probably forced the opponents elephant to come back to stop a goal threat) before being trapped, you will be sunk.  Dragging lots of pieces back to your own trap is probably too slow - and as you found out it can also lead to getting swarmed on your other home trap as well.

You did have a great start, just need a bit more practice with what to do after you have a good position.  When you have a frame, think about rotating out one of the horses (or better yet your elephant) before attacking on the other wing.  Also, I don't know if it would have been possible to push some additional pieces around the side of the trap to prevent the camel from easily breaking the frame.

Hope that helps...


Thanks Nombril, that helps a lot! Now I can go back through and see where I might have played more decisively, with a plan, instead of floundering after I found myself in a strong position.

Cheers,
knarl.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Apr 30th, 2010, 7:02am
I still haven't received a response from a few players about their availability for next week.  I'm going to submit our roster this weekend and I can't put you on the list if you don't tell me whether you're available  ;)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Harren on May 8th, 2010, 4:04am
Hi all! I decided I'd like to participate in the Arimaa World League, and I saw in the feedback thread that the Ring of Fire has trouble getting enough people to play, so I thought I'd join here, if you would have me :)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on May 13th, 2010, 9:09am
It's been several days since I've received any responses about the upcoming games -- so far less than half of the team has responded.  If you haven't replied to the message in your inbox, please do so within the next couple of days, even if it's just to say that you'll be unable to play.

Thanks.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Harren on May 13th, 2010, 2:15pm
When is the next round?

Stupid me, I didn't see I had messages :P

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on May 17th, 2010, 5:57am
There were no changes to our tentative lineup this week, so it will be the 3 players announced in the message.

If you haven't set your time preferences for this game yet then you can do so here:

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/events/selectTimes.cgi?e=2010worldleague.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on May 25th, 2010, 4:45am
We're back in 2nd place after some really exciting 3rd round games!

The tentative roster for Match # 4 that I sent in the personal messages last week are still valid.  But we don't need to submit the official roster until next week.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jun 6th, 2010, 1:50pm
Congrats team:  we're doing awesome and we're tied for first again!  Private messages have been sent regarding the schedule.  Please send a response within the next 7 days, whether you can play or not.

EDIT:  My mistake, we're 1 point out of first place.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Jun 28th, 2010, 10:52pm
Just a thought;
Since this is the last round, I gather there would be nothing to stop Europa fielding Chessandgo, PMertens, & Tuks against us.
They would lose a few pts for overspending, but have a very good chance of getting all 9 from winning the 3 games.
Of more significance, it would give the Atlantics the overall vctory since they would easily pass the slim 1pt lead we have if we are resticted to just 3pts for turning up to each match.

Ring of Fire 32 + 3 = 35
Atlantics 31 + 5 = 36 (Only require 1 win of the 3 games.)
Rockies 28 + 7 = 35
Europa 26 + 9 = 35 minus overspend.

Do I understand this correctly?
Seems like the Atlantics have an easy win from here.

Cheers,
Martin

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Fritzlein on Jun 28th, 2010, 11:41pm
What makes you think the Rockies are going to let the Atlantics win any games at all?  Easy win my foot!  :P

But seriously, the flaw in your prediction is counting on Europa to overspend by 1172 points.   Their four-point overspending penalty will leave them with at most 31 league points, which means that if the Rockies show up to all of their games they will retain third on tiebreaker, and if the Atlantics and Ring of Fire merely show up to one game each, Europa will finish last.  Why would Europa use such a horrible strategy to guarantee themselves last place?  Because they want to drag down Ring of Fire so much that they will commit suicide themselves?  Perhaps there is a weakness in the current format that a kamikaze team that is willing to give up all hope for itself can play to hurt a particular opponent, but let's not complain too loudly about it until it happens.

If Europa is playing for anything at all, specifically trying to take over third place from the Rockies, then Europa only needs to win one more game than the Rockies win, with the tiebreak being who spent less from the budget.  Thus a sane strategy for Europa would be to stay within their budget and hope for a sweep from playing well rather than from generating huge mismatches.

Note that your proposed lineup for Europa gets them at most five points from this round (9 minus 4), even if they sweep.  Meanwhile if Europa stays in budget, they can get five points just from winning one and losing two.  If they would happen to win two or three games with an in-budget lineup, the additional points would be pure gravy over your kamikaze proposal.  I'm thinking Europa is going to be happy you don't get to choose their strategy for them.  ;)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Jun 29th, 2010, 1:12am

on 06/28/10 at 23:41:30, Fritzlein wrote:
Note that your proposed lineup for Europa gets them at most five points from this round (9 minus 4), even if they sweep.

I wasn't sure how much they would lose from overspend. My concern was more with the 'negative' approach of trying to ensure we (Ring of Fire) only score the 3, rather than it being a plan for Europa to score the highest possible final point total and place better themselves.

I think it would be unlikely they would use this sort of tactic, but it seems like a possible weakness in the rules that has potential to be exploited in this fashion.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Fritzlein on Jun 29th, 2010, 3:23am

on 06/29/10 at 01:12:12, Korhil wrote:
I think it would be unlikely they would use this sort of tactic, but it seems like a possible weakness in the rules that has potential to be exploited in this fashion.

If folks think it is a problem, the way to take care of it is to have the budget be per-round rather than per-season, and have any deduction in points transferred immediately to the other team rather than just disappearing.  Then the total score of the two teams could always be twelve, so there would be no way for one team's decision to drag both teams down.  But this would be an extra bookkeeping burden on the league coordinator.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by megajester on Jun 29th, 2010, 2:34pm

on 06/29/10 at 03:23:06, Fritzlein wrote:
If folks think it is a problem, the way to take care of it is to have the budget be per-round rather than per-season, and have any deduction in points transferred immediately to the other team rather than just disappearing.  Then the total score of the two teams could always be twelve, so there would be no way for one team's decision to drag both teams down.  But this would be an extra bookkeeping burden on the league coordinator.

So... an overspend would be automatically -1 point for the team and +1 point for the opposing team?

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Fritzlein on Jun 29th, 2010, 4:53pm

on 06/29/10 at 14:34:42, megajester wrote:
So... an overspend would be automatically -1 point for the team and +1 point for the opposing team?

Yup, or maybe calculated down to the tenth of a point.  If it is done per round where a small overspend can't be compensated later by a small underspend, then maybe the penalties need to be more granular.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by knarl on Jun 29th, 2010, 5:07pm
I might be missing something, but I don't like the idea of per round budget, because it would restrict flexibility for the captains, which in turn restricts strategy and working with team availability.

Cheers,
knarl

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Jun 29th, 2010, 5:53pm

on 06/29/10 at 16:53:49, Fritzlein wrote:
Yup, or maybe calculated down to the tenth of a point.  If it is done per round where a small overspend can't be compensated later by a small underspend, then maybe the penalties need to be more granular.



on 06/29/10 at 17:07:21, knarl wrote:
I might be missing something, but I don't like the idea of per round budget, because it would restrict flexibility for the captains, which in turn restricts strategy and working with team availability.


A fixed per round budget could be difficult to work with. Fritzlein is correct that only fraction of pts could be handed out since a team could overspend in one round, but remain below the current point loss threshold, and the overspend slightly and concede a full point in the next round.

Perhaps I was overly cynical to have thought of this tactic. I do however still like Fritzlein's concept of making the point system zero sum.

Cheers,
Martin

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Jul 4th, 2010, 2:24pm
Well done to Harren for winning the 'must win game' to keep RoF in contention, and to Adanac for winning the final match.

Sorry for being unable to dispose of Woh. I tried to make the game tactically complicated hoping to provoke an error from him. In the end, I blundered. My bad.

Cheers,
Korhil

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jul 5th, 2010, 5:10am

on 07/04/10 at 14:24:22, Korhil wrote:
Well done to Harren for winning the 'must win game' to keep RoF in contention, and to Adanac for winning the final match.

Sorry for being unable to dispose of Woh. I tried to make the game tactically complicated hoping to provoke an error from him. In the end, I blundered. My bad.

Cheers,
Korhil


Congratulations to the whole team: winning the first ever World League title is a great accomplishment that we can all be really proud of!!

Martin, you had a tough pairing against a much more experienced player but you gave him a great tactical fight!  You've been improving steadily during the past few months and your rating will probably jump another couple hundred points if you keep practicing (good for you, not so good for our budget  ;D )

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by rozencrantz on Jul 9th, 2010, 12:05pm
I'd like to join, if it's not too late.

I'm Tristan, from Seattle, Washington.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jul 9th, 2010, 1:25pm

on 07/09/10 at 12:05:13, rozencrantz wrote:
I'd like to join, if it's not too late.

I'm Tristan, from Seattle, Washington.


Not too late at all, welcome to the world's greatest Arimaa team  :D

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jul 23rd, 2010, 11:33am
The new World League Season is beginning next week:  I've sent a personal message to everyone on the team.  Please let me know about your availability as soon as you get a chance.  Sorry about the late notice, I just learned about it today  ;)

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jul 25th, 2010, 6:35am
Only 2 players are available for the 1st round so far.  Can anyone else play??  We only have about 36 hours left to find a 3rd player  :o

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Jul 26th, 2010, 9:07am

on 07/25/10 at 06:35:15, Adanac wrote:
Only 2 players are available for the 1st round so far.  Can anyone else play??  We only have about 36 hours left to find a 3rd player  :o


Last call:  Still desperately seeking a 3rd player for next week's match!!

P.S.  OK, maybe not that desperate.  We do have a couple of players that are available for a single day each.  But since they're not available on weekends, there's a high likelihood we could get hit with a forfeit if we're not able to field 3 players with open schedules.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by megajester on Jul 27th, 2010, 5:35pm
Adanac, please check your forum messages. Thanks.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Adanac on Aug 26th, 2010, 9:33am

Korhil may not be able to play his scheduled game due to unforeseen circumstances.

Will anyone be able to fill in for him?  Amalgam or Rozencrantz would be the 2 best candidates.  Please respond to this board as soon as possible if you're able to play.

Thanks!!

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Korhil on Aug 30th, 2010, 7:09pm
Novacat was helpful and agreed to move the match back 24hrs.
In the game I won an early dog without having an positional weaknesses, but made errors on the way to converting to a win. Novacat lost on time in what was a reasonably sharp endgame.

That completed a 3-0 sweep, didn't it?
That's a pretty amazing result given the budget differences.

---Martin

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Aug 30th, 2010, 7:19pm
knarl was 1 step away from being able to pull off an upset.  It was a strange round, to be the underdogs on all three tables, and then keep the positions sharp enough to cause two opponents to time out!  Not quite 3-0, but 2-1 is still a great result.

Title: Re: Ring of Fire Clubhouse
Post by Nombril on Oct 10th, 2010, 10:53pm
Strong showing Greg!  We seem to have the Atlantics number when it comes to surprising moves and/or enough pressure to cause a timeout.

Rosencrantz, the only pressure on us tomorrow is to just finish our games.  If we each pick up that point we win the championship.



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