SpielByWeb

[rseulow]

The 2008 World Cup season finally came to a close last week, with a rather unsatisfactory result in the Doubles competition and some frustrations along the way.

First of all, my profoundest apologies to all and sundry for failing to stay on top of this. Real Life has been, shall we say, in the way lately, and what time I have had for SBW I've been trying to use staying current with the games I am in (lest you-know-who call me out as a slacker!) - however, having taken up the responsibility for running a tournament, I recognize that I have let some people down lately and for that I am abjectly sorry.

In addition, I made a number of errors in the structure of the tournaments - especially the doubles - that allowed things to drag out far too long.

That having been said, there was a lot of enthusiasm at the outset, and I think the team concept brought a new dimension to the game.

So I'd like to engage the community in an open conversation on how to conduct another World Cup tourney for those who would like to give it another try.

A few starting points:

1. I think it's clear that the tournament format needs to be shorter and crisper, with perhaps more games per round but fewer rounds in total. What would be the ideal number of games per round? What would be the maximum number of rounds to play?

2. We had some issues with teams losing players. What is the best way to handle that so that other teams are not penalized?

3. Some suggested changing the scoring system from 3-1-1-0 in the Singles and 2-1-1-0 in the Doubles to a consistent 3-2-1-0 in all games. Does this make sense?

4. Is the Doubles tourny fun? I enjoyed it, but I think it probably only works best with a small number of teams (4 vs 4). Perhaps we can follow the "Divisions" concept that Gaditus has developed?

5. Finally, what if anything can be done about the Dominance of Team Brazil????

Thanks again to everyone who made the 2008 WC happen - hopefully it was fun for those who played and not just the winners and whiners!

[Laurion]

I'm late to the discussion (Let the forums get away from you, and this is what happens....), but I wanted to say that I particularly enjoyed the doubles competition, and felt that indeed it brought a new dimension to the game. Strategies vary greatly when it is a doubles play...

[rseulow]

Thanks for the bump.
Anyone else have some comments?
What I've observed is that the current Amun Re Leagues have no 4-player option, and I think a new World Cup could fill that bill.

[Spleen]

Is this going to happen?