Jump to 2000 Convention Report
Announcement
I have run the VITP tourney at Conquest (and prior to that, Pacificon) for 7 years now and would like to expand the event and increase the level of competition.
Conquest 2K is held annually at the Clarion Hotel off Millbrae Ave. in Millbrae, CA (just south of SFO airport) over Labor Day weekend. The VITP tournament is scheduled, as usual, for Saturday at 10 am. Details of the event follow. For more info on Conquest 2K, see the con web page at: www.con-quest.com
The VITP tournament will be run as a swiss system, which means you can not be eliminated, although voluntary withdrawal is allowed. This system is great for those desiring to get at least three games in, or less if you get discouraged. All games will be AREA rated. The tournament will run a minimum of 3 rounds, if 8 or less players show, or more if sufficient players show up. If more than 3 rounds, the final will be on Sunday. Players will be seeded into the event by AREA rating and the event will be scored/paired by US Chess Federation standard rules.
Sides will be determined by whatever method the two players agree upon; however, the official default will be by bidding for POC in 1/2 POC increments, the system used at the World Boardgaming Championships (formerly Avaloncon), the VITP PBEM World Championships, and the Midwest Open.
Rules used will be second edition, with clarifications as issued by Glenn Petroski, the GM of the VITP event at Avaloncon and the WBC. If you do not have a copy of these clarifications, you may wish to e-mail Glenn at gelp@juno.com. He will send you a copy in return for $1 to cover copying and postage.
Last year we implemented new rules on turn one to prevent luck-based disasters which skew the balance of the game. They worked out fine, and as you may know, a majority of players at the WBC this year have asked Glenn Petroski to introduce them into play at the WBC in 2001. These revolve around the US location uncertain groups and the I-Boat. The intent is to allow the players as much flexibility as possible and minimize changes to the original rules while preventing the USN or IJN nightmares that can occur solely due to bad luck on turn one. The adjustments to be used are below:
1. I-Boat Raid: On Turn 1 any I-Boat assigned to the Hawaiian Islands is part of the Pearl Harbor raid force and may only target ships which leave Pearl Harbor.
2. CPO Withdrawal: On Turn 1, after the Location Uncertain rolls, both sides (beginning with the IJN) may freely withdraw from the Central Pacific Ocean before the first round of battle with no pursuit. USN ships using this free withdrawal must base in Pearl Harbor (those that fight and survive may base wherever they wish, of course). If the IJN uses its free withdrawal, USN ships may not base at Midway. The I-Boat may not shoot at ships using the free withdrawal.
Last year we only had 6 entries, but the field was very tough, with Nick Markevich, Brad Solberg, Ed Menzel, Bobby Clinton, Jack Gin and myself playing. Brad won the Midwest Open this year and Ed and Nick finished in the top four there. At Conquest, no one cruised as there was a four way tie for first place! So come on out and try your luck.
Ed, Bobby and I will be definitely be there. Jack always shows, and I believe Nick will be back. Hopefully Mike Kaye will come up from San Pedro and Brad S. will slip away from his other commitments to play as well. Maybe John Pack will leave his new kid just to fly in for a little payback for the WBC? It should be an excellent tournament. It is entirely possible that we could have 5 of the current top ten AREA rated players in this event.
Once again, I plan to issue an e-mail synopsis of the event within a few weeks of the completion of the tournament.
I hope to see you there on Saturday for the event!
Just to let you know, Steve Klitzing may have his VITP goes to the Solomans Campaign design at the CON on Friday night for a playtest/BS session.
I will also be running (hopefully) a "Tigers in the Mist" tournament on Sunday at Conquest starting at 10 am. There will be an introductory session at 9 am for people who are just learning the system.