lol...I just checked in my fellowship and it only let me add Spider Line4 (which is the only team). So apparantly it still is only tournaments with corresponding teams... :-)

I don't remember what I had changed. I have to look at the source code :-D

I thought you changed it so fellowship tournaments could be created with games that do not have the corresponding teams (ex: all games touranments)...

redsales: If you create tournaments within a fellowship, you must have corresponding teams first.

Fencer, I might be doing something wrong, but I just created a tourney for the Quick Players' Club fellowship, and I wasn't given the option to add the 3 new games. Is this a bug?

There are various reasons why there are 10000+ pawns and just 400 paid members. Mine is that I simply lack the free time to devote to all those nice features of a paid member. And I'm not even joking about it - the features ARE very compelling, but I'd need a few more than 24 hours in the day as well! I'll just stroll along on my free ride and its unavoidable limitations... Keep up the good work!

Upgrading to a higher membership level is much easier.

BIG BAD WOLF, the procedure is much simpler than that:

- Take the maximum number of players per section as designated by the tournament creator
- Take one away
- Multiply by the number of time each pair will play
- Voila, the absolute maximum number of slots needed!

Surely that maximum number of players per section is stored somewhere, the max slots needed is just (that number-1)x2, nothing computationally intensive! And this can be done before kicking players starts. If they simply do not have this necessary number of slots, EVEN if they might eventually need less, they are kicked! This way, we can be sure that people can continue playing to their maximum 20 slots all the time, not reserve extra slots that will NEVER be needed by a tournament...

But it is up to the tournament creator to pick either 5-max-per-section or up to 8-max-per-section.

By defualt, it is 8-max per section, so if the section is full of 8 people, 7 games will start for each player, but it still will only check if 5 are free.

I guess my point is why make it more dificult to program then just pick a middle ground like "5".

Plus Fencer has his point. If unhappy about how it is programmed, they they can always upgrade! :-)

I think the point was that even after the check the maximum spaces needed would be 8, since the maximum group size is 5.

In this case check for 8 spaces ahead of time, even though it's possible for the group to be smaller.

Since it is impossible that 10 spaces are required why check for them?

.... because it is easier to tell the computer to "Check for 5 free game slots" then to say:

Figure out sections, then see how many games will be created, then check to see if free spaces is availabel, then once players are kicked out figure out new section, then see how many games will be created, then start tournament.

<What I cannot understand is WHY restrict to 5/10 when NO MORE THAN 4/8 are needed in a 5-max-per-section tourney! Even if players are removed, surely NO section will exceed 5 players, right? If you tell me that there CAN be sections with >5 players in a 5-max-per-section, then we have a problem understanding what MAXIMUM means :)

It can actually work in your favor also. Since it is hard coded to only look for 5 free game slots (10 free game slots for 2-game tournaments), you could end up with as many as 7 games (or 14 games) started and will let you play over your 20 game limit!

I have a mathematics degree as well :-)
The answer is simple - since some players can be removed from a tournament during creating the sections, it is not possible to determine how many slots you will really need BEFORE the sections are generated. That's why there is the 5/10 slots rule. The second reason is to give pawns another reason why to upgrade to a higher level where this limit is no more applied.
Shortly - you are playing here for free, so you must accept all pros and cons. I see no reason why I should add more advantages to non-paying members.

OK, at the risk of sounding pedantic, here goes:

In a tournament, we have a maximum number of players per group, say MAXP. We also have a number of games to be played between any two players in the group, say NUMG. Each player in the group will play all the others - the number of opponents is therefore (MAXP - 1). Multiplying this number by NUMG, we get the total number of slots needed at the most for a tournament. Of course, if a group's number of player is less than MAXP, then they will actually need less.

If anyone offers a satisfactory explanation WHY in a 5-per-group 2-game tournament one needs 10 and not 8 slots as proved above, I will have to tear up my mathematics degree, as such explanation is bound to have any number of fatal flaws...

He did say "in one tournament of any game type" which does actually mean one total tournament, of any gametype.

whoops, thanks Harley... thats why I should leave these questions to you customer service people :)

Pawns can only play in one tournament. Its knights that can play in one game type (tournament) at a time.

BBW answered you well, as usual, but it looks to me like you wanted to know how to start a tournament.....

You have to upgrade your membership to do that, as pawns cannot create their own tournaments. Also, you can only play in one tournament of any game type at one time as a pawn too.

Since many team tournaments are currently on their way, why not create some more!

BBW's Team Tournament Wish List:

Battleboats Plus

Backgammon Race

Crowded Backgammon

Nackgammon

Crazy Screen Chess (LOW TEAM SIZE please!)

The above is MY wish list! :-)

Thanks BBW, I am already signed up in that one!!

because it was the "last day to sign up" - it is now started.

*shameless plug*

But if anyone else is looking for a prize tournament, check out This BattleBoat Plus Prize tournament - already almost 50 players signed up! It will be good. (And if you don't need a prize, sign up anyway to have more players in the tournament and then give the prize away if you win!) :-)

It appears they are set for playing already. I couldn't find a place to sign up so why did he post it here?

I'm sure it was a mistake - since by default when you create a new tournament, "All Games" is the choice. (I can't tell you how many of my "Fast Start" tournament I had first made as "all games" by accident)

BUT NOW (As of BK2.0) when you create a new tournament, it does not take you back to what you just created - but takes you back to the main tournament page, so it is easy to not see the mistake until it is too late and people have started to sign up.

And the only way to fix the mistake is to remove the whole tournament, and create a new tournament.

Kind of confusing if it is a stand a lone gammon tourney why put all other games in with it?

Don't trust those Canadians Fencer! After the exchange rate, that equal about a pack of gum and a flying squirl! :-)

Why not? I agree with 809 CAD :-)

It says in the name "Prize for Backgammon"...

Quick question about that tourney listed there Universal. You folks are giving a 6 month prize to EVERY SINGLE winner of every game u have listed? You have 51 game types listed. so you are giving 51, 6 month Knight memberships away? That is $809 Canadian dollars. Did you mean to include every single game in that tourney u have listed?

What type of games do u like to play??
:o{P

3 ways to get games

1) Visit the Waiting Games area and pick out some games.

2) Go to New Game to put your own game in the waiting room for someone else to pick up.

3) Go to the Tournaments Area - Find a tournament which looks interesting. Inside there, it will list all the game types. (If just one type, it will just list the one game.) You will have to click on THAT game name to open up where you actually "sign up" for a tournament.

Plus other ways to get games is to invite players from their profile, or accept game invites from other players.

Just let us know if you need more help

I'm a new member at this site and I still haven't figured out how to play a game here. Can someone please tell me how to start a tournament game or better yet how does it work? Thanks!

IMCK - Yes, invite only tournaments are still visable.

(But it is actually called "Private" when you sign up - which means invite only, and not "hidden" game.)

but invite only games are still of public record?

Thank you BBW

All tournaments are for all the public to see - Currently there is not a way to make a tournament "private" (Other then Private meaning invite only)

Does any one know if all tournaments are for all the public to see?

As far as looking at past games is concerned... one can "set up" someone they suspect of using their past history to help them win games. You can make it look like an old predictable game, but drive them crazy tring to figure out whats wrong, and by the time they do, you have beaten them :)
But by playing predictably unpredictable, no one will know for sure what you are up to in a particular game until it is too late.

I have seen, on secure sites (more security conscience than Brainking, I think) like a poker room, where hackers can see the cards of their opponents.... I would bet that type of cheating is possible in brainking battleboats as well...

I know that I have seen hackers who could go into pretty secure (more security conscience than brainking, I think) poker game sites, and be able to see the cards of the other players.... I would bet that kind of cheating is possible in brainking battleboats as well.

I wont say how, because until the bug is sorted it can be used.

Problem is, I cant remember if I told fencer LOL
I cant put on bug board or players may cheat until its sorted also

Sunfire definitely has a point, with his advice to not often re-use battleboats set ups.. It's a good tip for someone who may not have thought about it.
I do NOT however think it is "cheating".... I think many people learn good tactics in games by looking over completed games of top players in that particular game type..

Is looking at past Battleboat games cheating?

Lets take this conversation to the Battleboats Board - I'll go post my opinion there next. :-)

I will drop the subject now, I just wanted people to know what can happen if they reuse patterns alot....

I still don't see that it's cheating to know what patterns a player has used before. In order to win this game, I checked many (all?) of the past games of my opponent. If this makes me a cheater, someone ban me from this site.

Can you define it in Private game in a Tournament?

unless you got alot of patterns that the cheater would have to look at all the games to figure it out

The creator of a game can define it as "Private game (invisible for other players)."