Dear players - okay this is the final draft of the note about the FTF game
that we are planning in the US. Please feel free to read it and get back to
me as soon as you can with numbers, and contact any friends that you have
that you may have mentioned that might be interested.
Thanks
Clint
Face to Face Game Information US
OK, we're doing the last call for the FtF - a Face to Face game in which we
travel to the US and hold a game over a long weekend at a location to be
arranged. Turn costs are reduced, the pace is hectic, and it is excellent
fun. Virtually everyone who has played one of these games is dying to play
another one of them as soon as they can. It's a great way to learn a lot
about the game, chat to fellow players, and get to meet the GMs. Don't
expect much sleep. ?
Location and organisational details
As time and the player base (68 players have expressed an interest so far)
is limited we have to restrict ourselves to a maximum of two locations.
Dates are as follows:
? Weekend number one Saturday 8th June to Monday 10th June - we'll play
Saturday to Monday.
? Weekend number two Friday 14th June to Sunday 16th June - we'll play
Friday to Sunday.
We're very likely to be running one game in Minneapolis, as we have 25 or
more players prepared to travel to that location. We also need a location
for the second game, or additional games: Las Vegas, Washington, Chicago and
Minneapolis being the options. We could also run multiple games in
Minneapolis as we have a guaranteed location, either on the same weekend or
on both weekends. Alternatively we could run multiple games in another
location (one of the three locations). Minneapolis offers us cheap
accommodation, free Conference rooms, cheap meals and a guaranteed player
base. If you can offer something similar in other locations that would be a
great help.
Interested?
If so I now need you to fill in the following and return it to me.
I require (returned to us Friday March 29th 12noon):
? Your name
? Your account number
? Team mates
(i.e. players that you would like to play with that you know are interested
in going. Full name please, not just "Rob"... 
Note that they'll need to
contact us as well.)
? Nations you are happy to play
(both DS and FP options preferred, and as many choices as possible; for
10vs10 and 12vs12 format)
? Payment details
($25 deposit & $50 travel fee for us)
? Location and dates that you are prepared to come to in order of
preference - the more you choose the easier it is to get multiple games
organised,
(For example:
Minneapolis Weekend 1, or Chicago Weekend 1 or 2,
Any location; either Weekend,
Any location; both Weekends)
? Organiser
(are you able to provide us with any or all of the following: help
organising a venue, accommodation, directions, food, a Mac compatible
printer?)
Payment Details
For those interested, a deposit of $25 (refundable to your account on
attendance) and a payment of $50 for us to travel to you will be charged.
The travel fee might be slightly changed up or down - we'll contact you with
that information when we have an exact count on how many players and
locations that we need. You must explicitly give us your permission for
this charge, which will be debited from your account. For those that do
make it to the event you will have that $25 deposit refunded to your
account, but not the $50 travel fee. If you are then unable to make the
event that money is NOT refundable.
Players who pay us the full $75 (deposit and payment) in advance of the
deadline (29th March) will have their turns costs reduced to $4.10 for a
single nation and $3.50 for the second nation if 2 nations are run. Turns
will run around every hour and a half, making around 6-7 turns a day, which,
including a half day on Monday/Friday making some 17-19 turns run
altogether. Total estimated cost would then be around $125 plus your
expenses for travel and accommodation. (Incidentally, Minneapolis has lots
of free accommodation in players' houses).
If you are able to make the event but don't authorise and pay the $25
deposit and $50 travel fee in advance of the deadline then you can still
join the game by contacting us after the deadline but before the event. We
will then charge you the $50 travel fee, and turns at the normal cost
($5.80). This way we can get a guaranteed player base for the weekend, and
you have a financial incentive to book in advance.
Closing date for the deposit and confirmation of venues and weekends that
you are able to make is Friday March 29th 12noon.
Game Details
Once I have the above information from you I can work out what format of
game we can run, and how many GMs we need to help out on the day, and give
you the exact costs for travel. It very likely be 12vs12. A 10vs10 game will
have the Neutrals removed, a 12vs12 game will have the Neutrals allocated as
per the World Championships (Easterlings removed, Corsair and Dunlendings
FPs, Harad and Rhudaur are DS, with the addition of a Fort on 1910 and
4217). I will then work out the team placements and send any last minute
emails. It's always useful if we can get a couple of players running 2
nations to begin with just in case someone gets knocked out early and needs
another nation to play.
I would like to have a GM on each side, playing a simple nation so that they
are able to help out their team-mates and keep an eye on things.
There will be a time limit per turn, perhaps with chess clocks/reminders.
There will be a set time from receiving the first turn to inputting the
orders. So half an hour after receiving turns you get your first turn in
for your team, then from then on you have 20 minutes before your final turn
is due in. The opposing team (who should get their 1st turn 10 minutes
after you) should of course also get their orders in within the same
time-scale, resulting in a turnaround of around 1hr15-30 minutes. Penalties
for slow play: players that go past this deadline get "Named and Shamed".
For a 3rd offence 10 points will be taken off a random character's
non-essential stat. For a 4th offence the same. For a 5th offence 10 points
will be taken off a random character's pertinent stat. Then 20 points, etc.
On the day, any Riddle that requires an answer we'll put in for you (though
not the "Demand Obedience" and similar responses for Dragons, etc.).
No major edits will be done, but if we have time we'll do small "quicky"
edits. We'll likely use the quick version of the print program which is not
as nice but is quicker so that we can get more turns out.
I would prefer not to send out turns before-hand, but you will be made aware
of teams and positions so that some plans can be made.
I think that covers everything for now; if you have any questions, please
get in touch.
Clint