As for default game, I think it has to be the version that’s available to the world outside this site (out of the box version, basically) - we have very few players who refuse to play “balanced mod”, although of course it does happen, and I think it’s the way it should be… Makes more sense to force someone to play the “public” version than to force someone to play a mod, even if 95% of players only play that mod on this forum. It’s not welcoming to potential newcomers if they have to learn a different version of the game than they’ve been playing.

Mainah, at first that sounds very exciting and fun, but thinking about it a bit, there’s a big problem with that. If there’s money on games, there’s an incentive for people to try and help a player in the tournament to make better decisions, and also an incentive to try and sabotage a player (maybe by giving suggestions to make poor decisions disguised as clever ones).

Would mess with the integrity of the games, so as league moderator I’d have to say no.

First overall rankings of 2021 completed - I hope without error! Let me know if you think something’s wrong with your line in the standings.

Colt45554 is the first to complete 3 games across all versions, so is ranked #1 overall! He played 2 games of balanced mod and 1 game OOB, and is 2-1 overall. 1-1 in BM and 1-0 in OOB. This is how it works this year. The overall ranking will have no bearing on any playoffs at year end - those are all decided by the standings sheet for that version alone. The overall ranking is used to track whether you are eligible to play more games against another player (best of 3, best of 5, best of 7 etc. rules) and basically for fun! It is therefore entirely possible to have a different tier for each version, and also a different tier overall.

I’ve also entered an automatically calculating total by version so you can see how many games of each have been played.

Right now it’s:
OOB - 2 games
P2V - 5 games
BM - 11 games

Interesting, no? It’s only Jan. 18 - let’s see how this unfolds!

Congratulations to 2019 league champion Adam514 and runner-up Axis Dominion! Your names will live on eternally in the A&A.org league history hall of fame… https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/8161/league-history

Great job top 8 on getting the entire playoff done in under a quarter of a year! Probably a record

Yes, I am back though have yet to do a combat move or throw any dice. AeV asked me for a game and has patiently waited. I hope it’s like riding a bike

AeV just told me about this version - I gave it a once over and it looks fantastic, guys, brilliant, great work! Right amount of changes, substantive changes without being too fine-tuned or too complex. Nice looking skin, too.

2020 Axis and Allies Global 1940 League Rules

1 - Anyone can join at any time.  No sign up is necessary - just play a game in the league forum with the proper game naming convention (Player1(side) v Player2(side))

2 - You may play anyone in the league.
The only limit is - against any single particular opponent, there is a limit of a best of 3 games will count (maximum of 2 wins for 1 player).  This limit can be expanded when both you and your opponent have completed more league games:
0-9 games completed: Limit is best of 3 (first to 2 wins)
10-19 games completed: Eligible for best of 5 (first to 3 wins)
20-29 games completed: Eligible for best of 7 (first to 4 wins)
This pattern continues.

3 - Scoring/Playoffs

3a - Each player will belong to 1 of 5 tiers based on their 2020 league year game results, after completing 3 games.  Cutoffs for tiers will be at 5.50 PPG for tier M (Master); 4.50 for tier E (Elite); 3.50 for tier 1; and 2.50 for tier 2.
Players will be awarded points as follows:
Win over tier M, E, 1, 2, 3 earn 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 points, respectively
Lose to tier M, E, 1, 2, 3 earn 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 points, respectively
Point totals are divided by # of games played to arrive at PPG (Points per game)

Points awarded are changed when a past opponent rises or falls a tier - that is, every player’s current point total reflects the current standing of their past opponents.  Until 3 games are completed, players will be assigned to tier 3 by default unless they completed 3 games in 2019, in which case they will continue with that past ranking until obtaining a new 2020 ranking (3 games completed). If the player’s last ranking was 2018 or earlier, they will be assigned a tier that is one level lower than that tier, until 3 games are completed in 2020.

3b League standings are available online here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pYDcR_d27qG312v_rq2q35wYEEfO6mjrX-Co1nvKrlI/edit#gid=10

3c Playoffs will begin as soon as possible after 31 Dec. 2020. The top 8 players in the league by PPG, who have completed at least 8 games, will be eligible to play for League Champion. The playoff bracket will be seeded, 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5, with the 4-5 being in the same bracket as 1-8.
Tiebreakers, in order:
1 - Head to head play
2 - Most games played
3 - Strongest opponent defeated (measured by PPG)
4 - Random number generator
Any players who have completed 3 or more games, and who did not qualify for the League Champion Playoff may sign up to enter the additional league playoffs.  These playoffs will start with 4 or 8 players each, and will be seeded by PPG (with byes or play-in games as necessary)

Playoff game results do count in the subsequent year’s regular season standings (this was voted on in the past, and the large majority wanted this)

4 - Game & rules - The default rules are the published G40 2nd edition rules, Regular Dice (also known as ADS or Actual Dice Server), No Technology, and Bidding to determine sides.
Rules are available online here (Europe rules, then Pacific rules): https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/ah/AA_europe_1940_rules.pdf
https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/ah/AA_pacific_1940_rules.pdf
(these files are 200 and 300 MB - large!)

4a The default game rules may be modified by agreement of both players.  Low Luck or Tech, with or without Tech Tokens, is allowed if you and your opponent agree prior to bidding.  Balanced mod (see stickied League section thread for Balanced Mod rules) or any other ruleset using G40 is likewise allowed if agreed by players

4b  Bidding - Bidding is normally used to ensure that both players are satisfied with the side they are playing. Bidding is not required - whatever the players agree to, for mutually satisfactory rules and starting conditions, is allowed.

Default settings for bidding:

1. Limit one bid unit in a territory or sea zone.
2. The nation placing a unit in a territory or sea zone must have started with a unit in said territory or sea zone prior to placing the bid.
3. China is limited to bid units of: Infantry, Artillery and/or Fighters (the units China is legally able to purchase or start the game with.)  These units are still limited to movement/placement restrictions of Chinese units.

5 - Posting Schedule

5a - Time Limits - There is a 72 hour time limit per move. This (72) may be negotiated by the players at game start.  If you agree to different time limits, you need to post it at the beginning of the game thread for the moderators to enforce.
For good sportsmanship, you should give defender decisions (casualty choices, scramble/intercept/submerge/kamikaze decisions) to your opponent as soon as possible.

5b - Vacations - Play can be paused for a total of 21 days, for whatever reason, without penalty by simply posting the need for a vacation. Please specify the duration of your absence in your game.

5c - Weekend Players.  If you can only play on the weekend or on certain days, please state so when you are looking for an opponent, and clearly specify this in the game thread.

5d - 72 hour warnings:  If 72 hours goes by and there is no game-play post from your opponent (i.e. at least a game decision made), simply post “bump” and the number of the bump (Bump#1, Bump #2, or Bump #3), which creates the “warning”.  (Note:  only post “bump” in your warnings to make it clear you are issuing a warning.  Do not add any other text in your warning post.)

5e - “Bump” warning and consequences - Each “bump” warning resets the clock for another 72 hrs.  However, on the 4th “bump” warning the offending player will be disqualified and declared the loser for that game.  (Note:  You get only 3 warnings per game.)  You must post the warning when it happens (or before the next move has been made by your opponent).  You cannot retroactively issue a “bump” warning.  “Bump” warnings can be issued for posting of partial turns (for example, someone only posted their combat move), OOL requests, map questions, etc. but they follow the same 72 hour requirement.

5f - If a turn is not posted within 14 days of either the previous turn post (or request for decision on casualty choice, scrambling, kamikaze, etcetera) or the end of a predetermined “vacation”, then the player failing to post may be declared in default and lose the game.  The 14 days may also be changed by mutual agreement of the players at the beginning of the game, if posted to the game thread.

6 - Posting game results - Losing players are responsible to post results in the stickied game results thread.  This is so that we know the loser agrees with the game result.  Post names of the winner and loser, the sides each player played, any bid amount, and provide a link to the game thread.  Winners may post the result when the game result was due to time limits of rule #5.

7 - The 2020 Regular Season starts on 1 Jan. 2020 and ends on 31 Dec. 2020, midnight, Hawaii time.  Games must be completed by 31 Dec. 2020 in order to be counted for the 2020 season.  All game results reported between 1 Jan. 2020 and 31 Dec. 2020 will be included in the 2020 league standings.

8 - Allowed Assumptions during gameplay - The purpose of assumptions is to reduce the number of game stoppages for opponent decisions (scrambling, casualty choice, intercepting, submerging, kamikazes).  Because you are assuming a decision for your opponent, the opponent must always be given the benefit of the doubt, and moderators will always decide in this manner.

8a - Scrambling/intercept/submerge/kamikaze assumptions - When you make an assumption, you are accepting the risk that your opponent will disagree after seeing your turn.  If your opponent takes issue with an assumption, you should come to an agreement about how to handle it.  If you don’t agree, then the defender can require that the entire combat phase be re-rolled from the beginning.  Or, you may seek a moderator ruling.

9 - Order of Play - From page 11 of the rulebook: Axis and Allies is played in rounds.  A round consists of each power taking a turn.  Your power’s turn consists of six phases, which take place in a fixed sequence.  When you finish the Collect Income phase, your turn is over.  Play then passes to the next power.
You may not go back to previous phases/turns of the game and make changes without your opponent’s permission.

10 - Moderators will make the final decision on any rules violations or other game disputes. Moderator rulings are FINAL.  PERIOD.

Have fun!!!

League Moderator
Gamerman01

OK, great! Great discussion, I mean.

Not a bad idea to have separate playoff brackets for separate versions - not a bad idea at all - but I think I have a better one!

It’s no trouble for me to maintain 3 different standings sheets for 2021. Therefore, I’m confident the majority will agree that for 2021 we will still have 1 league together (shared results thread, shared discussion thread, shared everything) but with a separate standings and PPG calculation by version, which is actually what I was saying before I read the last 2-3 hours worth of posts. There will be a league champion playoff for each of the 3 different versions.

Again, this is a proposal and you all can shoot it down (with radar enabled AA guns), but surely this will be the most popular idea, no??

Thank you again for all inputs - I read everything and each person’s view was helpful.

Here’s what’s looking like a great idea to me now. 3 separate standings, one for each of the 3 most popular versions of G40 (I’m not concerned with variations within each version, for example 14 IPC bombers in BM - BM will be BM)

A 4th, overall standings sheet that is a composite of the other 3. If you’re 3-0 in P2V and 0-1 in BM you would be 3-1 overall.

How many games are required to be in each of the 3 different versions’ playoffs will not be determined this month because we don’t know how much each will be played. We could establish a date, like July 1 possibly, when the # of games to participate in end of year playoff will be set, because that will leave plenty of time to prepare for everyone (to get the # of games you need) and also plenty of time (first half of year) to see what a realistic # of games requirement will be

I’m thinking the seeding/ranking for playoffs (2021) would be determined by your PPG in that version, not the overall. That way you can try another version, like P2V, and lose without wrecking your great BM record.

We’re only 5 days into the next league year, so I will let the discussion play out a few more days before designing the standings spreadsheets and recording the games from the first week. You all can count on having a separate standings for OOB, BM, and P2V starting January 1. You can also safely anticipate a separate playoff for each version a year from now! The details will be firmed up later, like how many games to qualify.

Please allow me time to read and consider more discussion that comes in the next several days before firming up the 2021 league rules, and allow me some time before I “publish” the standings, thanks for your understanding

So the 2nd playoff championship game is set up -

Farmboy vs. CaptainNapalm !

Ah, they are currently ranked #1 and #2 in BM for 2021! One of them’s going to rise even higher!

Oh wow, wasn’t expecting that yet!

Good game, and thank you both . You definitely gave us plenty to worry about

Thanks buddy, your post made me feel a lot better after checking the dice e-mails just now and seeing the carnage. I REALLY did not expect an attack on Greece OR Egypt and you smashed them both - wow!! Looking forward to seeing what you do for G4

34 rounds - wow

Thanks for your patience and courteousness for that battle - I know a lot of players probably just give you an OOL up front, but that’s not how I roll

OK, time to lose the bomber, and then of course mech before tank - only 1 hit in round 2 forces it

OK, thanks -
and I assume you lost the mech?

I can’t tell from the dice e-mail if I got any hits. Was it 0, 1, or 2?

That is a LITTLE more humane!

Remove 2 artillery, thanks

@sovietishcat I’ll lose 4 infantry in the first round. Can’t tell you for the 2nd round without seeing my dice and your dice, but I can check back frequently today so you shouldn’t have to wait long