The Espionage League wants to encourage players at BrainKing to learn the beautiful game of espionage. Especially for those of you who have never played the game or are in the beginner's stage we've created the:



Espionage Beginner's Tournament



Only beginners (no rating or below 1500 in any of the espionage variants) may join.


Prizes:

#1 - 1 year rook + 9 months bonus!

#2 - 6 months rook

#3 - 6 months knight



Send me a message (Chaos) so I can invite you for the tournament. I only send invitations to beginners. The espionage league is willing to help you learn the game. Ask questions on strategy or make a request for a mentor on the Espionage Discussion Board

nope nothing has been posted on the espionage board about the tourney since the 2nd of December.

Nothingness:

Noth - Chaos has been posting the information on the 'Tournament' board.

Chaos - Nothingness is looking for the tournament link on this board.

Nothingness: you must have missed my last post, it was 13 december. I was planning on once a week. If you want to see it more often, that's fine if you post them.

it was last posted 2 weeks ago.

Nothingness: I repost it regularly, can't do it every day though. There are many other people posting tournaments, they have the right to be seen as well.

repost the tourney its so far down the page it may not be seen..

SL-Mark:

I am anxiously awaiting you clearing some things out of the way. :)

happy hermit: Ha Ha
Perhaps it is Sandoz whom I should be asking for hints, as I note he beat you too!

But seriously, I do value the experience of playing against you, and once I've cleared some things out of the way, I'll send you an invite and take you up on your offer.

Chaos:

I'll help anyone. I have enough canned words of espionage wisdom that I could start a line of fortune cookies.

So . . .if you are reading this board and would like some help just send me a game invite and indicate that you would like hints. (Mark, that includes you. :) )

im currently helping 4 or 5 players, only one of which has any interest in help.

Nothingness: With single elimination half of them is out after just 1 game! The idea is that they all start to learn and hopefully enjoy playing the game. Round robin has a minimum of 5 here. Let's see how many beginners we get, I could adjust it to 5 if it's a multiple of 5.

happy hermit: Yes i agree with you here. But 5 games is still alot but i guess i can live with it.

Nothingness:
Didn't we all start double round robins on IYT? :)

I think it's better to get in a few games and get a feel for a wider range of what you are up against than to get one game in.

Just an observation. does anyone else think that playing 5 games at the same time is a bit much for a beginners tourney? This may be a bit much for any newbie. I thought that we were going to do a single elimination or a 3 person section. We don't want to discourage anyone so early.

dAGGER: I have never set-up a tournament, but when you set-up a new game (for the waiting room or to send an invite) you get a screen to 'Select this game parameters'. You can select the time control there. One option is time per move, the other has three options: game, bonus, limit. These correspond, respectively, to the initial time allowed for a game per player, the bonus time awarded to a player after making a move and the maximum amount of time a player can have to make the next move. It's a built in feature and, in my opinion, the biggest advantage of this site compared to IYT.

happy hermit:
This sounds like a good idea.
But how can you control this feature in BK?

Chaos: A player could take a long time (up to 15 days) on a particular move, but would have to maintain an average move time of around 2 days (not counting weekends).

happy hermit: Sounds to me like a game could last quite long that way. Is the limit the limit for the total game or for the bonustime? I never got that right.

Chaos:

Why not go with the alternate time control. Say 7 days + 2 days per move bonus time with a 15 day cap? That lets players 'bank' some time if they know they might be away from their computer in the future without necessarily doubling the length of the game.

Styleone: You have a point there. though I prefer 2 days, I could live with 3.

I think most players want to play with 2 days time for a move rule. I hope very much for 3 or 4 days for a move. It would be sadly if some players don´t register for the next tournament because they have time problems with 48 hours for a move. With that rule some "timed out" wins would be normal too.
Everybody can try to play fast, but we don´t need to make us self time problems. With 48 hours for a move I have time problems, because I don´t have everyday a internet option.
In the open fast tournament a favorite like Lightning Bolt lose his games on time. What a pity.
greetings

Chaos: Yes, I will see if I can put up some "rules" today or tomorrow.

Hey Bosse, still planning to create the small fast tournament?

Chaos: Not only stronger opponents, but mostly also you direct competitor(s) - in case of players on first rank.

Chaos: Maybe we should ask Fencer for a possiblity in the set up of tournaments for choosing that option.

SL-Bosse: Thanks :) I'm very happy with it! :) :) I still think there should be another round if players have the same amount of points though. I think the S-B thing is odd. If the reasoning is that you're stronger if you win against opponents with a lot of points it should also makes you weaker if you lose against an opponent with less points.

Congratulations to Chaos for the win in the "Sabotage Leauge - Small Fast Espionage - #"

happy hermit: actually here the names of the pieces are totally different then they are on IYT. i dont even know what there called here.

Nothingness: You are correct. I meant Recon and I fear I have been using the wrong word in several other places as well. :)

happy hermit: the sab is not the spy the recon is the spy... the original discussion was spy vs 2

Chaos: I don't recommend trading a 3 for a Sab early in a game (while I do recommend trading a 2 for a Recon) as the opponent then has a lot of options in pursuing an attack. I just found it odd that I was playing three games simultaneously, against good players, in which I exchanged a 3 for a Sab so I thought I would mention it. :)

happy hermit: Hmmm, with you're playing style you can probably get away with it. Most of us don't. But if it's the last spy and I still have a lot of unknown pieces I think I might be tempted even to to sacrifice a 4 or 5 :) But ofcourse I like to bluff and do not like spies at all :)

Taking the old Sab vs 2 debate a step further, I currently find myself in three games where I gave up a 3 for a Sab (Spy). All three were in extenuating circumstances (in each case I had already captured, or thought I had captured, three other spies) but I can't remember ever swapping a 3 for a Sab in a competitive game before.

Nothingness: any player means it's not a specific player. Only unrated players/players below 1500 will be able to see your games though. I can't see your games them in the waiting room.

I placed 3 games of fast espionage for players between 100 and 1500 but it says anyone can enter for some reason still.

right now i'm playing a non rated game with a player as a teaching tool. i am unable to get the BK rating thing to work when i post a game. I try to set parameters but it never works and anyone joins. even if i set the rating to no one over 1500 can challenge me, it don't work.

Nothingness: a little patience :) People have to get an invitation to enter the tournament, and there are also pawns who have to finish another tournament first. In the mean time do place espionage games in the wsiting room to get new players who might be interested!

we have lots asking but no one joining...

For anyone interested in some pointers, simply send me an invite to any variant. During the game I'll include hints and tips along with my moves.

I want to learn to play this game

I am interested in learning to play.I have games going in it .but it is trail & error that i am doing I guess i will need a tutor to teach me how to play it also

If you've found a beginner interested in the game send a message to me so I can invite them to the tournament.

Chaos: All good stuff.
Suggest 3rd prize as a bishop or knight membership rather than brains.

Announcement should also be posted on Tournament board.

Who is paying for the prizes? Would you like a contribution?

How about listing the mentors and the students as they become know?

Chaos: Yes you can remove players. If they keep re signing up after you have taken them out, you can also "ban" them from joining it again. (BEFORE it has started, that is)