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FULL TOURNAMENT RULES (Last updated: 10/27/24)

Game: Standard one-week game of Breakout: Normandy

Version: L2 will be the only version being played

Reserves: Rule 12.53 per the L2 rules

Victory Conditions: Rule 22 per the L2 rules (ie. .7 contested vp = 1 full vp )

Format: This will be a single elimination tournament. There will be no byes. If an odd number of players starts a round, an eliminator will be assigned.

Playing Officials: Prior to the start of the tournament, two Assistant GMs will be named to assist the GM. Assistant GMs may participate in the tournament as active players and are eligible to play in all rounds and compete for awards and prizes just as any other player. The GM and Assistant GMs will not be allowed to issue rulings on questions or rule interpretations for matches in which they are personally involved.

GM: Kevin Wojtaszczyk: bknpbem@gmail.com

Asst GM: Mark Gutfreund: gutfreund15@yahoo.com

Asst GM: Kevin Hammond: kevinmst@yahoo.comknmst@yahoo.com

1-2 Frequent opponents: If you play one or two players frequently and/or locally, you can list their names in that section of the form and you will not randomly be matched up to play vs them till the fully random final 4. (if all still alive in the tournament in the final 4) The GM will randomly assign an opponent from the list of non-frequent opponents and once all frequent opponent lists are done, move to fully random assignments.

Bidding: The random game assignments will occur before the bidding process and once you have an opponent, you will simply bid for side:

1. The first bidder will be indicated via the random game assignments. (lower digit number) They start by picking the side they want and any initial bid to give to the other player for their starting banked supply.

2. The other player can accept the offer or counter with a higher bid because they both are wanting to play the same side.

3. Continue bidding back and forth till a player no longer wants to bid higher. The winning bid player gets to play the side they were bidding for, and other player gets the other side with the bid amount of banked supply to start the game.

Players can make a phone call to their opponent to do the bidding or use email or bid in ACTS or discord, just remember to record the banked supply and sides at the start of your ACTS game. The GM will check the ACTS games to find out which sides were selected, and the bids used and summarize the info on the website.

D-Day Phases: The Allied players must follow the D-Day phase order per Rules 21.2 – 21.5 and post in ACTS for each phase. (ie. Do not wait till the vassal file to show which bridges were seized by paratroopers, Allies must post that in ACTS during the first phase.)

The Allied player may choose to wait for the German player to apply their AP/CP before continuing with the next rolls in a phase or can let the Germans decide later. If they want to wait, they need to indicate in ACTS that the game is waiting on German AP/CP assignment.

When there are multiple targets, the Allied player must indicate in ACTS the target unit with the roll. If they fail to, the roll still stands, and the obvious unit is the target. If there is no obvious target unit, the German player may choose the target unit from legal options.

After bidding, the German player must mention to the Allied player if he might want to deviate from the best DV value lead defender. (sometimes Omaha has options) If nothing is mentioned, the best DV value lead defender is the default, and Allies do not have to wait for clarification of lead defender during the Amphibious Assault Phase.

D-Day Phase Summary from the rules

21.2 : Airborne Phase
Free bridge seizures and any para assaults in any order

21.3 : Naval Bombardments
Allied player must indicate beach and target with each roll, in any order

21.4 : Air Bombardments
Allied player must indicate both areas and targets before rolling one

21.5 : Amphibious Assaults
   Allied player has to assign all 5 landing groups first
   Allied player can then roll for all interdiction
   Wait for German player lead unit only if they mentioned to wait
   Allied player then indicates each beach with each assault roll, in any order

End of Your Turn: You should make it clear to your opponent when your turn has ended, and it is suggested you list the impulse # in ACTS so it is easy to track. In some cases, it might be obvious that an impulse has ended, but you should still indicate what the result was, and that your turn has ended.

The primary reason to post in ACTS that your turn has ended and it is over to them is to clear up any confusion with using the Advantage and for cases where multiple fresh units are in the activated area, so it may not be obvious to your opponent that you have ended your move.

If a player has indicated that their move has ended and before their opponent has performed their turn, it is still possible for them to post an addendum with an item they missed and that their turn has again ended. (forgot to try a bridge seize or more units to regroup, etc…) However, once your opponent has posted their move, they no longer are required to allow any addendums. The only exception is making sure reinforcements are moved to the map as it’s sportsmanlike to make sure both sides have deployed units before starting the next day and overall the players should not be trying to exploit technicalities.

Time Limits: Each round will last for roughly 4 months (longer if major holidays, WBC, etc... fall in the middle of the round) or until all matches have been completed, whichever comes first. The end date of the round will be posted at the start. The goal is to have each game complete/conceded no later than midnight on the end date and it is assumed each player will make moves regularly to keep on schedule and make every effort possible to complete their games.

Adjudication: At the end of round end date, for games not completed, if one player has used more than 70% of the total time hours between the 2 players per the ACTS elapsed time (not factored time) they will be the automatic loser, no matter what the actual situation in the game is. If neither player used 70% or more total time, the map state will be considered, but preferably a concession should be made by the losing player. If there is no concession, the GM and Assistant GM's will review and agree upon the winner. I am hoping that in the spirit of good sportsmanship that players will strive to get their matches completed by the deadline. It is expected that players perform more than 1 move/day if needed to keep games moving and notify their opponents if they might have a short delay due to vacations or similar at times during their match. If a player has no communication in a game over a 3+ day period that was not previously noted, please email the GM at bknpbem@gmail.com to escalate and have record for any time based adjudication if it comes to that.

Extraordinary life circumstances: Life may intervene at times and the hard deadline could be adjusted at GM's discretion provided the player(s) communicate any life related issues as soon as possible. Email bknpbem@gmail.com as soon as you can to inform the GM of any delays you will have due to extraordinary circumstances.

Next Round Game Assignments: Once a round is down to 1 or 2 games left, the next round of random assignments might be generated to allow most other players to start their next games to possibly keep the overall tournament time moving. (GM discretion)

Eliminator: An ineligible to advance player. The eliminator will be assigned to play the lowest AREA rated opponent playing in that round. Additionally, those two players cannot have played previously in the tournament, if that would be the case, assign the next higher AREA rated player to resolve any previously played conflict. Any player who is playing as an Eliminator must be frequently checking ACTS and would have to average more than 1 move/day if their opponent is also doing the same.

Any player knocked out of the tournament and interested latecomers are urged to offer their services as an Eliminator. Email bknpbem@gmail.com if you are interested. If multiple players are offering to play as Eliminator, the GM will assign one based on player availability, speed of play, and AREA rating, using this progression when necessary:

GM
Assistant GM
Higher AREA rating
BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator

BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator: In the event of an odd number of participants in round 1 or no named players are available as an eliminator in a later round, the lowest AREA rated player will be matched against the BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator. The BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator cannot advance but could be a player still alive in the tournament who is playing in two games at the same time and cannot play vs themselves (assign to next highest AREA rated player to resolve). Any BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator must be a fast player who averages more than 1 move/day and would be assigned at the GM’s discretion. The BKNPBEM Ghost Eliminator would not count as a player previously played in the tournament and would not be AREA rated.

Laurels: Positions three through six will be resolved in the following manner: 3rd place goes to player who lost to the eventual winner in the 2nd last round; 4th place to the player who lost to the runner-up in the 2nd last round; 5th place to the player who lost to the eventual winner in the 3rd last round; and 6th place to the player who lost to the runner-up in the 3rd last round.

Matching: Matching in every round will be completely at random except for the above mentioned 1-2 frequent opponents or an Eliminator scenario. A new random number will be assigned to each player each round. These numbers will be sent to the assistant GM's for verification. Starting with the player with the lowest number, that player will be matched with the player with the next highest number, and so forth. Frequent opponents will be randomized to not be able to meet till randomization in the final 4.

If PBeM tournaments overlap, finalist's in the previous year will not be matched up in Round 1 of the new tournament, so if they join the next tournament and are playing two games at the same time, they will be vs different opponents.

Computer Aides: All players are encouraged but not required to use computer aides. These aides facilitate speed of play, especially during refit and regroup phases, and can represent a permanent record of what has previously occurred in a game if a dispute should arise. Among those available are VASSAL ; one advantage of VASSAL is that it is operating system neutral and therefore workable not only with Windows but also with Macs and Linux. It is suggested that players copy/paste the refits and regroups info from VASSAL log text into the ACTS game to avoid any issues with map discrepancies.

Mistakes and Illegal Moves: If a dispute arises, the decision of the GM in consultation with the assistant GM's will be final and the GM reserves the right to disqualify a player for deliberate or repeated illegal moves. In short, players should make every effort to work these things out for themselves by reviewing the BKN L2 Rules and/or BKN FAQ, then and only then, consult the GM.

The Default Internet Die Roll Error Handling Convention listed below will be the default method of deciding drs disputes. Players can agree to use their own but have to post their convention in ACTS prior to the drs.

General Ruling if not explicit below in A or B: If a rules illegality is noted, as long as no legal die/dice roll has occurred, then the offending player can start over and even activate a completely different Area. However, if a legal die/dice roll HAS occurred, the offending player must proceed with his move up to the point of the illegality and then complete his move as best as he can. The offended player can always accept the results of an illegal move.
Ruling A: D-Day phase ordering mistakes
If the Allies fail to follow the proper D-Day phase order the German player may choose to have the Allied player redo the phase and any subsequent phase that might have occurred. For example, if both Air Bombardment areas where not identified before rolling the first one, the whole phase can be requested to be redone, with both areas identified first and then each of them rolled over. If landings and interdiction had also been done, those would have to be rolled over too. Basically the whole phase that was incorrect and all of the phases after it can be requested to be redone by the German player or the German player can choose to keep everything as is. Once 6G0 is performed, all of D-Day is official regardless of any mistakes.
Ruling B: Illegal bridge roll followed by legal assault roll
If an impulse has a bridge roll and then subsequently has an assault roll, but it is found that the bridge roll was not legal, the bridge roll is discarded and the legal assault roll will stand as rolled. If it happens the bridge roll was an illegal repair attempt and now less units can assault due to not being able to cross a river boundary, then the assault roll still stands but the AV will not include any units that could not swim across the river boundary.

Ruling C: Assault roll made, but interdiction forgotten and rolled afterwards, which interdicted all the unit(s) so no assault happened. For sunset dr, discard the illegal assault roll dice and roll new dice for the sunset dr.

Internet Dice Rollers: ACTS will be the default dice roller and used to track game information. One advantage of using the site (which is free) is that it sends an email of every activity to both players and also keeps a log of all those activities. The GM will create each Generic Module game for the matches so they can more easily monitor game process and post updates to the website with links to the ACTS game journals.

Default Internet Die Roll Error Handling Convention
If another convention is not posted to ACTS prior to drs, use these as the default convention

Too many drs: use the ones, from the top down, you need discarding the rest. Do not re-roll.
Not enough drs: use the ones you got and send for the rest. Do not re-roll.
If not specified, Attacker dr(s) are first two, then Defenders dr(s) are the next two
No response from die roller: Best not to send for a second die roll. Wait about 3 hrs, if the drs still haven't shown, the original sender will notify the original receiver to send for the drs. When the receiver is notified he is to roll because of missing drs, and the receiver has yet to receive those drs, the receiver will send, and at that instant the original senders drs will not be used, even if they come in.
Multiple die roll requests: Use the drs the receiver got first.
If one gamer gets die rolls and the other doesn't and the email addresses were fine : use those dr's. Whoever got the dr's should forward them to the other gamer so he may inspect the email addresses, and if all is OK, use those drs.
If the drs were submitted into the wrong ACTS game, discard them and submit the drs into the correct ACTS game