From: bowen@leland.Stanford.EDU (Bowen P Kerins) Subject: BAPA Rules and Regulations (long enough!) Date: 19 Feb 1994 09:44:45 GMT I'm posting mostly for the benefit of BAPA players who couldn't make Thursday's meeting, but also for anyone interested in starting a league themselves. Our league follows roughly the same format as Dave Stewart's TRPA; I have to say that his format, with the doubles, is a lot better than ours. Bay Area Pinball Association Rules and Regulations, Winter/Spring 1994 Schedule: In each week, the 16 players in each division will be split into four groups of four players. The players in each group are decided by a "progressive round-robin" system. In the first five weeks, each player will face every other player exactly once (15 competitors, 3 each for 5 weeks). In the sixth week, the players are grouped by overall standings -- #1, #2, #3, and #4 make up one group, and so on. In case of an overall tie in standings, the players' head-to-head record is considered for ranking purposes. A prize will be awarded to the #1 qualifier after the sixth week, along with qualification for the upper-level playoffs. The 7th, and final, week will be the playoffs. The 16 players will be grouped into two sets. The 6 top qualifiers from round-robin play will compete for the top prize, and the 10 other players will compete in an alternate tournament for a different set of prizes. Prizes for each division, and the exact format of these playoffs, will be worked out later. This playoff scheme gives weight to almost every position of placement in the round-robin, while still giving every player opportunity to win prizes, and an appropriate level of competition for everyone. If a significant percentage of the players can't make it during a week, the week's play will be postponed. If just a few players can't make it, they should arrange for substitutes (see Substitutions). Scoring: The scoring system for BAPA is derived from Dave Stewart, who is using a similar setup in his own league. The basics: * A player receives one "win" for defeating any other player in any game. * A player receives one bonus win for overall high in his group of four. This is determined by the player with the most wins in the group, with a tie-breaker based on total score if necessary. * A player receives one bonus win for the overall high score on a machine that week. In a regular game, the winning player receives 3 wins, second gets 2 wins, third 1 win, and fourth no wins. This replaces PAPA's 10-5-1-0 system, which tends to favor only the player who wins the match. It also gives a player with an exceptional game the chance to take in a big payoff on the game (with overall high on a machine, he gets 4-2-1-0 instead of 3-2-1-0). With an incredible week (overall high on all 4 games), a player could score the maximum of 17 wins. Usually, the group winner will receive about 11-12 wins for his/her effort. A total of 104 wins are available each week to be split among the 16 players. Therefore the *average* player should get 6 or 7 wins in a week. Each week's score adds to the player's cumulative total. In addition, a win percentage will be calculated for each player, based on the percentage of head-to-head matches won in competition. A player with a high win percentage may be eligible for a special prize. Again, prizes and funds for the prizes will be worked out later. Substitutions: If a player cannot make it to a league match, he may appoint a substitute. Substitutes can also just arrive at the league match hoping to fill in for no-shows. The substitute plays just as the regular player would, but the regular player may only claim a maximum of 6 wins from the substitute, which is slightly less than the average score for all players during a week. If a substitute cannot be found for a player, he forfeits all games for that week, with the other players in his group receiving automatic wins for those games. Individual statistics for all players, including substitutes, are compiled, so substitutes are still encouraged to play as well as they can. If there are enough substitute players, a prize for Best Substitute may be offered. Machines: The machines for a week of play will be determined by the players when they arrive, with each player voting for four machines of those at the site. The machines will be set to normal play (replays, extra balls, etc.) unless the players agree to have the machines set for tournament or add-a-ball play beforehand. If the machine features an Extra Ball Buy-In, and the player has earned a credit (replay or special) during his game, the player may buy exactly one extra ball and no more. In case of a mechanical malfunction during a game (or a stuck ball), an attempt will be made to restore the game immediately, without affecting play -- if this is possible, the ball will be placed on the affected player's flipper. If a quick fix cannot be performed, the affected player(s) should tilt to try and free a stuck ball, or force their turn to end as necessary. The affected player(s) will finish their games in progress, then have the option of playing a second game on the same machine, with the higher score counting. If the malfunction resulted in a significant increase in a player's score, he must replay the game. If the malfunction makes the game unplayable, it will be moved immediately to another machine. If this happens, the bonus win on both that machine, and the machine play is moved to, is unavailable (since not everyone got to play the machine). Tilting / Slam Tilting: Obviously, tilt penalty is loss of ball. If a player tilts another player's ball (defined as "pulling a Hal"), that player is disqualified from the game and any affected players are given the above options. If a player slam tilts, that player is disqualified and players whose games are not yet complete have their scores recorded at the time of the tilt, then have the option of playing a bonus game. The higher score between the original game and the bonus game is recorded. This way, no one can slam out a player's 2 billion game just so they won't get credit for it. If the final player slams out the final ball, all scores are valid since the game was complete, and the slam tilting player is not penalized. If any games need to be replayed, the player responsible for the tilt must pay for them. Repeated tilting and slam tilting are unsportsmanlike conduct and may result in expulsion from the league. Nobody's that mean to the games though, right? Death Saves and Bang Backs: A "death save", done by moving the machine, is legal, but a "bang back", done by slamming the player's hand into the lockdown bar, is not. This is designed to preserve the lockdown bar, and many players feel that bang backs give a player an unfair advantage. This ruling is the same used at the PAPA 4 tournament, and all PAPA leagues. Please observe proper pinball etiquette at all times -- don't interrupt another player's game, either through physical or verbal means. Have fun, and good luck! Bowen Kerins ---- Grouping schedule: Week 1 - 1, 2, 3, 4 Week 2 - 1, 5, 9, 13 5, 6, 7, 8 2, 6, 1O, 14 9, 1O, 11, 12 3, 7, 11, 15 13, 14, 15, 16 4, 8, 12, 16 Week 3 - 1, 6, 12, 15 Week 4 - 1, 7, 1O, 16 2, 5, 11, 16 2, 8, 9, 15 3, 8, 1O, 13 3, 5, 12, 14 4, 7, 9, 14 4, 6, 11, 13 Week 5 - 1, 8, 11, 14 Week 6 - TBA 2, 7, 12, 13 3, 6, 9, 16 Player numbers to be determined 4, 5, 1O, 15 by random draw. Week 7 - Playoffs Playoff Schedule: - Main Playoff First round -- #3, 4, 5, 6 play each other. Scoring system to be determined. Finals -- 2 highest players from first round advance to play #1 and #2. - Alternate Playoff First Round -- #9, 14, 15, 16 play each other. Also #1O, 11, 12, 13. Second round -- 2 highest from each first round group advance. #7 plays lowest two qualifiers, #8 plays highest two qualifiers. Finals -- 2 highest from each second round group advance, four in final. ---- A division to play Thursday nights at 8. B division to play Monday nights at 8. Locations TBA -- first week's play will be at Keystone Santa Clara, and B division will play this Monday (Feb. 21). See you there! Bowen