Pirates Comprehensive Tournament Rules

WizKids Approved Play - Pirates of the Spanish Main Comprehensive Tournament Rules
Pirates of the Spanish Main Comprehensive Tournament Rules

Last Updated August 13, 2004
This document is tournament legal on August 19, 2004.
noted in red.
Future changes will be
Contents
1) General Tournament Rules
2) League Format Rules
3) Sealed Format Rules
4) Quick-Play Format Rules
5) Constructed Format Rules
6) Junior Format Rules
Introduction
Welcome to Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments! Pirates of the Spanish
Main events are designed to play fast and feature lots of fun, exciting high-seas
action. Players should always have a great time at a sanctioned Pirates of the
Spanish Main tournament. Whether they win or lose, their efforts never go
unnoticed. Players can win prizes and honors at many different types of
tournaments and share the good fellowship that comes with playing a great game
with great people. Questions about a sanctioned tournament should be directed to
the Privateer running the event, or to WizKids (the WizKids online support database
is accessible at www.wizkidsgames.com/kb/u_default.asp).
This document contains the rules for playing and running sanctioned Pirates of the
Spanish Main tournaments. It is designed to compliment the WizKids Approved
Play Comprehensive Rules. In the event of any conflict between this document and
the WizKids Approved Play Comprehensive Rules, this document takes precedence.
WizKids requires that all sanctioned tournaments be run in compliance with these
rules. The most recent version of this document is posted at wizkidsgames.com
Registered players can earn exciting prizes for participating in Pirates of the
Spanish Main events. WizKids provides, free of charge, a Personal Player Web Page
that allows players to locate sanctioned events near them. Players can register by
visiting the WizKids website at www.wizkidsgames.com/register.asp and creating an
account. Registered players are encouraged to sign up in advance for sanctioned
WizKids events, using the tools on their Personal Player Pages. This helps
tournament officials plan to accommodate all players. Players who sign up for
sanctioned events online should bring their User Name and Player ID Number to the
event. If a player wishes to register or sign up after the tournament, he or she
should contact the Privateer running the event for details.
Page 1 of 9
Last Modified: 9/10/2004
2004 WizKids, Inc. All rights reserved. MechWarrior, BattleTech, BattleMech, Mech, MW, Shadowrun, Pirates of the Spanish
Main, MK, Pirates of the Spanish Main, Creepy Freaks, Freak Outs, SportsClix, and WizKids are trademarks of WizKids, Inc.
1.0
General Tournament Rules
1.1
Sanctioned Events
A sanctioned event is any tournament or demonstration registered through
the WizKids website. In order for a Pirates of the Spanish Main event to
be sanctioned, it must be created by the deadline for the event creation, be
run at a WizKids-Approved Venue, and have a Privateer associated with the
event before the deadline. For more details, refer to the WizKids Approved
Play Comprehensive Rules.
1.2
Rules
Sanctioned Pirates of the Spanish Main events use the following official
rules, except as noted herein: the Pirates of the Spanish Main game rules
from the most recent Pirates of the Spanish Main set; the most recent FAQ
/ Clarifications document after its effective date; the WizKids General
Tournament Rules (contained in the WizKids Approved Play Comprehensive
Rules); and the Pirates of the Spanish Main Comprehensive Tournament
Rules (this document).
1.3
House Rules
Privateers and Venues may use House Rules during sanctioned Pirates of
the Spanish Main events. House Rules allow Judges to run special
scenarios. House Rules must be part of the event description on the WizKids
website and posted in the venue at least one week before the event.
1.3.1 What House Rules Cannot Do
House Rules cannot override Section 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.8, 3.2, 3.4, 6.1 or
this section of this document. House rules cannot alter the format of an
event, substantially alter the core mechanics of the game, or alter any
program rules as presented in the WizKids Approved Play Comprehensive
Rules.
1.4
Fleet Point Totals

The Privateer and Venue determine the fleet point value of the tournament.
The standard fleet point total for a Pirates of the Spanish Main tournament
is 30 points. Unless specified otherwise in the online event description, a
Pirates of the Spanish Main tournament is assumed to have a fleet point
total of 30 points.
1.5
Required Materials
Except where noted otherwise in this document, all players are responsible for
bringing the following materials to sanctioned Pirates of the Spanish Main
events: a tournament-legal Pirates of the Spanish Main fleet with the
appropriate point total; 3 islands; 1 six-sided die; 6 treasure tokens totaling
12 points; and at least one Pirates of the Spanish Main card for
measurement. A copy of the current Pirates of the Spanish Main rules is
recommended, but not required.
1.5.1 Battlefield
Sanctioned Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments are played on a
standard 3-foot-by-3- foot playing surface. Any level, flat surface area that
meets these measurements may be used as the battlefield in a Pirates of
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the Spanish Main tournament. At the Privateer or venues discretion,
different-sized playing surfaces may be used, as long as all playing surfaces
used in the tournament are of a consistent size and shape.
1.6
Timekeeping
A standard round in a Pirates of the Spanish Main tournament lasts 30
minutes. The Privateer running the event must announce the time remaining
in the round twice during the game: once with between 10 and 15 minutes
remaining in the round and once with between 3 and 7 minutes remaining in
the round.
1.7
Ending the Game

When 30 minutes have elapsed, time will be called by the Privateer running
the event. At this point, the player acting finishes his or her turn. If that
player was the first player, then play continues until the player to the first
players right finishes his or her turn as well. If, at the end of any turn, only
one player still has a ship remaining in play, the game ends, and that player
is declared the winner.
1.8
Victory
Victory in each game is determined by as per Winning the Game! on page
10 of the Pirates of the Spanish Main rulebook. The following rule is
considered optional for Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments: The
winning player gets to keep all the treasure used in the game except what
was on the home island of the other player. If the tournament will not be
using this rule, this must be indicated in the online event description and the
Privateer running the event must announce the rule before the first round
begins.
1.9
Rounds
Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments typically use 3 or 4 rounds of
Swiss pairings. See the How to Run Swiss Rounds document on the WizKids
website for more details. Each Pirates of the Spanish Main tournament
must consist of a minimum of 3 rounds.
1.10
Byes
A bye is issued when there are an odd number of players in a Swiss-style
event. A bye is considered to be a win with the worst possible victory
conditions; therefore, each bye is scored as a win with 0 gold. First round
byes are assigned randomly unless a player volunteers to take the bye.
Privateers are encouraged to take such volunteers into consideration for the
Fellowship Prize. If more than one player volunteers to take the bye, assign
the bye randomly among the volunteers. In subsequent rounds, the bye is
assigned to the player with the worst win-loss record.
1.11
Tournament Pairing
Pairings in the first round of a standard Swiss-style Pirates of the Spanish
Main tournament are determined randomly. After the first round, the
Privateer determines pairings by win-loss record (i.e. the player with the best
record faces the player with the second best record, the player with the third
best record faces the player with the fourth best record, and so on), taking
care to avoid rematches during Swiss rounds. Rematches are acceptable only
once Swiss rounds have ended and championship rounds begun.
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1.11.1 Tournament Record Tie-Breakers

Tournament win-loss record ties are resolved by the following criteria in the
order below:
1) Opponents win-loss record
2) Total gold
3) Opponents total gold
Tie-breakers 1 and 2 may be switched at the Privateers discretion. If the
Privateer chooses to do this, he must announce this to all players before any
pairings have been made.
1.12
Rules Questions
All rules questions that come up during a sanctioned Pirates of the Spanish
Main tournament are to be directed to the head Privateer of the event. Rules
questions that come up outside of a tournament should be directed to the
Pirates of the Spanish Main: Rules forum at www.wizkidsgames.com or to
the Pirates of the Spanish Main Rules Arbitrator at
[email protected]. If a Privateer is not present to answer a rules
question during a sanctioned event or in the event of an unbroken tie or
stalemate, use the following rules:
1) Parlay! - Both players discuss the rules question and try to come to an
equitable solution. During Parlay, players should ask themselves
"What is the pirate way to handle the situation."
2) The player with the lowest point value ship remaining on the board
decides the matter. In case of a tie, Spanish ships beat English and
Pirate ships and English ships beat Pirate ships.
2.0
League Format Rules
2.1
Event Registration
The venue registers the league on the WizKids website during the relevant
months registration period (for a list of these dates for 2004, see the WizKids
Approved Play Comprehensive Rules Document, section 1.3a). When
registering the league, the venue selects the following:
The leagues game stylethe options are Auction (see section 2.7.2)
or Prize (see section 2.7.1).
The months league night and time (e.g., Wednesdays at 6:00 P.M.)
Note: League format registration will prompt the venue to enter a rules set.
There is only one rules set for Pirates of the Spanish Main, which is the
default setting.
2.2
League Privateers
A league is a special type of tournament that extends game play throughout

an entire month.
2.2.1 Privateer Approvals

The venue must approve the events Privateer and alternate Privateer (if
desired). To receive prize support, a Pirates of the Spanish Main league
event must have an approved Privateer by the relevant registration deadline.
The venue may choose to approve an alternate Privateer at any time before
league play has begun for the month.
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2.2.2 Privateers and Alternate Privateers

The envoy approved to run the event is called the events Privateer. The
events Privateer is responsible for organizing and promoting league nights,
keeping league score cards, awarding prizes, and reporting league results.
Only the events Privateer may report the leagues results. If the venue
desires, it may approve an alternate Privateer to aid in facilitating games and
stand in for the events head Privateer when he is unavailable.
2.2.3 Privateers as Players
If an event has both an approved Privateer and approved alternate Privateer,
both league Privateers may participate in the league as players. The events
Privateer may not bid on accept a prize (privateers are eligible for envoy
rewards based on the number of registered players participating in the
league. See WizKids Approved Play Comprehensive Rules, section 4.4f) If
the events Privateer is the events Champion, he must award the
Championship prize to the second place winner. If the events Privateer or
alternate Privateer is playing in a league game, the other league Privateer
must be present to officiate the game. When the leagues Privateers are
playing each other, all rules disputes that cannot be solved through discussion
and reference to the rules and current FAQ should be handled through the
procedure outlined .
2.2.4 Privateer Rewards
The events Privateer receives rewards from WizKids for each league event.
These rewards are calculated based on the number of registered players who
played all of their months league games. See section 4.4f of the WizKids
Approved Play Comprehensive Rules for details.
2.3
Minimum Registration
A Pirates of the Spanish Main league consists of four or more registered
WizKids players. Unregistered players may participate, but a minimum of four
registered players is required for league play. League events that do not have
four registered players must be cancelled and all prize support must be
returned to WizKids.
2.4
League Meeting
The regular meeting time for a Pirates of the Spanish Main league is
posted on the relevant event detail page at wizkidsgames.com. Attendance
by all league participants each week is strongly encouraged but is not
required. Either the Privateer or the Assistant Privateer must be present at
every league night unless arrangements have been made to ensure that
players who show up at the meeting can play their games and report their
results to a venue representative. If the players and Privateer agree to
change the regular league meeting time, the Privateer should update the
event detail page at wizkidsgames.com. The Venue is strongly encouraged
to post the league meeting and time prominently on a calendar of events or
by using the downloadable flyer available at wizkidsgames.com. If using
the Prize system (section 2.6.1) Privateers are encouraged to take attendance
at league meetings into account when awarding the Fellowship Prize.
2.4.1 Joining a League Mid-Month
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A new player may join a league at any time during the month by filling out a
league record sheet. No player may drop out and rejoin a leagueonce the
player has filled out a league record sheet, that league record sheet is his for
the remainder of the month.
2.4.2 Changing Your Fleet
A player may change his fleet in between games and/or league meetings.
2.5
Playing a League Game

League games may be played at the venue at any time during the month.
Players can play at any time the Privateer or alternate Privateer is presentthis
need not be during the regular league meeting. At the Venue's discretion, a
Venue representative may substitute for the Privateer in this capacity. If the
Venue representative is not comfortable answering rules questions or mediating
disputes, use the conflict resolution system outlined in section 1.12.
2.6
League Record Sheets

The Privateer is responsible for keeping the months league record sheets.
These sheets may not leave the venue except in the possession of the
Privateer until league play for the month has concluded. At the end of each
game, each player must note whether he was the winning or losing player
and how much gold he either won or lost; sign off on his opponents record
sheet; and return his card to the events Privateer, alternate Privateer, or
Venue for safekeeping until the next game.
2.7
Last Meeting of the Month
All players who wish to be eligible for a prize must attend the last meeting of the
month. If this meeting must be rescheduled or postponed for any reason, the
Privateer, alternate Privateer, or Venue must give all participating players
reasonable advance notice. Prizes may be awarded by either of the two systems
below. The selected system must be posted in the online event listing (by
selecting the appropriate game style, either Auction or Prize), and must be
announced at the first league meeting.
2.7.1 Prize System
Award prizes as follows:
The player with the highest net gain of gold for the month is the champion.
Fellowship is awarded normally per the rules in section 5.8a of the WizKids
Approved Play Comprehensive Rules.
Additional prizes may be awarded based on number of ships sunk, or in
order of net gold gain for the month (i.e. second prize to the player with the
second highest net gain of gold).
2.7.2 Auction System
The Privateer offers each prize item for bidding by players. The Privateer of
the event (or alternate Privateer if filling in for an unavailable Privateer) may
not bid in the auction. Players can bid up to the net amount of gold they have
(this need not have been won in league eventspirates are outside the law) for
prizes. Once the highest bidding player for each item is determined, the Privateer
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must accept, verify, count, and destroy (cut with a scissors or heavy hole punch)
the winners gold before awarding the prize.
2.8
Event Reporting
The leagues Privateer must report the following information within one week
of the end of league play, per the WizKids Approved Play Comprehensive
Rules:
The winners of each prize
The user name or user ID of each registered player who participated in
the league
Each registered players net gain of gold in league play over the month
3.0
Sealed Format Rules
3.1
Pulling Game Pieces from Boosters

Each player creates a 30 point fleet using only pieces he or she pulled from
the sealed Pirates of the Spanish Main Boosters provided for the
tournament. The Privateer provides each player with three unopened Pirates
of the Spanish Main Boosters; players receive these boxes as part of the
event registration fee. Players may not open their Boosters until directed to
do so by the Privateer. Boosters may be from any Pirates of the Spanish
Main set, provided that each player receives the same combination of
Boosters. When instructed to do so, each player should open boosters and
count the pieces in each to confirm they are tournament legal (see the
WizKids General Tournament Rules).
3.2
Buying Product at Sealed Events

The venue sells all of the boosters at a sealed event. Players cannot bring
sealed boosters from other venues or stores. Gaming clubs and military
venues are exceptions to this rule, and players can provide boosters, if
necessary.
3.3
Fleet Construction
After the above procedure is concluded, players have 15 minutes to create a
tournament-legal 30-point fleet using only the pieces pulled from their sealed
boosters. Players may not trade game pieces or boosters. Following this
construction period, players follow the procedures noted under Preparing to
Play in the official Pirates of the Spanish Main rulebook.
3.4
Defective Game Pieces

If a player receives a defective game piece in a sealed event, the player may
choose to continue without the defective piece or to replace the entire
booster. Partial replacements cannot be made. If a player receives an
incorrect number of game pieces or an illegal piece, he or she must
immediately notify the Privateer, who will immediately replace the entire
booster.
3.5
Non-Standard Point Totals

The standard fleet build total for a Pirates of the Spanish Main Sealed
format event is 30 points. At the Venues discretion, an alternate build total
greater than 30 points may be used for the event. This build total and the
number of boosters that must be purchased for the event must be listed in
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the online event description and announced before any players have
purchased boosters or paid an entry fee for the event. WizKids recommends
that Sealed format events require one booster for every 10 points in the
events fleet build total.
4.0
4.1
Quick-Play Format Rules
Pirates of the Spanish Main Quick Play format events are a variant of the
Sealed format designed to play with the purchase of a single booster per
player.
Quick-Play Special Rules
Pirates of the Spanish Main Quick Play format events follow the same rules
as Sealed format events with the exception of the following:
4.1.1 Pairing
Before any player has opened his or her booster, the Privateer randomly
assigns the pairings for the first round.
4.1.2 Ready Your Fleets
Once pairings have been made and players have been seated across the table
from their opponents, each player rolls a die. The player with the highest roll
(re-roll ties until this is determined) is player 1. Both players open their
boosters and construct their ships. Punch out all treasure tokens with
numbers on them (unique treasure is not used in this format) and give all
cards that do not contain ships to the events Privateer. Player 1 chooses the
first ship. Alternate until all ships have been selected.
4.1.3 Set Up Your Table
Place one Wild Island at the center of the table. Set up home islands (use
empty punch cards from ships to represent islands if there are not enough
cardboard islands available) on opposite sides of and 2L away from the Wild
Island. Place all treasure tokens face down in a pile. Select 9 treasure
tokens to place on the Wild Island, keeping them face down.
4.1.4 Simplified Rules
Pirates of the Spanish Main Quick Play format events do not use the
following game mechanics: crew, ramming, pinning, boarding, towing, unique
treasure, and exploring opponents ships.
4.1.5 Winning the Game
The game ends when one of the following conditions is met:
All treasure tokens are on players home islands.
Only one player has a ship remaining on the table.
The winning player is the player with the most gold on his home island. If
both players have an equal amount of gold on their home islands, the winning
player is the player who eliminated the most masts off of the opposing
players ships. Once the winner is determined, the Privateer records the
amount of gold on each players home island, then divides the 12 original
treasure tokens evenly between both players for use in the next round.
4.1.6 Prizes
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Once the pre-determined number of rounds is completed, the Privateer
determines player ranking based on each players gold totals. The Privateer
then displays all cards that were pulled from boosters in the event but were
not used in gameplay. Beginning with the player with the highest net gold
total and proceeding to the next highest net gold total in turn, each player
selects a card as a prize until all cards have been selected.
5.0
Constructed Format Rules
5.1
Substituting Game Pieces

Players must use the same fleet throughout the entire tournament, and may
not substitute or swap game pieces in or out of their fleet.
5.2
Rounds
Constructed Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments typically use 3 or 4
rounds of Swiss pairings. See the How to Run Swiss Rounds document on
the WizKids website for more details. Each Pirates of the Spanish Main
constructed tournament must consist of a minimum of 3 rounds.
6.0
Junior Format Rules
6.1
Age Limitation
Junior Pirates of the Spanish Main tournaments use the Constructed
format rules with the exception that only players aged 12 and under may
participate in a Junior format event.
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WizKids Approved Play - Pirates of the Spanish Main Comprehensive Tournament Rules

Pirates of the Spanish Main Comprehensive Tournament Rules

Future changes will be

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

General Tournament Rules

Fleet Point Totals

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

Ending the Game

1.11.1 Tournament Record Tie-Breakers

League Format Rules

A league is a special type of tournament that extends game play throughout

2.2.1 Privateer Approvals

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

2.2.2 Privateers and Alternate Privateers

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

Playing a League Game

League Record Sheets

Last Meeting of the Month

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

Sealed Format Rules

Pulling Game Pieces from Boosters

Buying Product at Sealed Events

Defective Game Pieces

Non-Standard Point Totals

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

Quick-Play Format Rules

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

Constructed Format Rules

Substituting Game Pieces

Junior Format Rules

Last Modified: 9/10/2004

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