TABLE Tantrix Tournament Rules – 2007 British Open version

1) Starting each game:

If players are unsure whether their bag contains a complete set of tiles, they should check the set before the game starts. Once the game has begun it will be scored even if the set is later found to be incorrect.
It is the responsibility of both players to ensure that the clock is set correctly.
Please use the colour registered as your first preference, or your second preference if your opponent’s first preference colour is the same as yours. If second preferences are the same too, we encourage players to agree on alternative colours. If you cannot agree, refer to the Controller. If one player has not registered a first preference, they cannot prevent the other player playing with their first preference but they can play with any of the other three colours.
Each player takes a coloured ‘tile mat’ outlined with the colour they will be playing with in that game. Your tiles must be placed on or close to it so the colour you are playing with is obvious to your opponent and to spectators.
Names, colours and other details known before the game starts should be filled in on the score sheet. To aid accurate input of results, the player on the left on the fixture list should be written on the left on the score sheet.
Each player takes one tile at random from the bag. The player with the higher-numbered tile will move first. These two tiles are then replaced and the bag is shaken to mix the tiles again by the player not moving first.
Each player then takes their six starting tiles at random from the bag and places all of their starting tiles face up in front of them. If the game is not going to start immediately, tiles should be face down until both players are ready.
The player who is not going to make the first move starts the game by starting their opponent’s clock.

2) During the game:

Play proceeds according to the official rules of Tantrix as in the latest Tantrix Game Pack booklet, except as modified by these special table tournament rules.
Players must draw tiles quickly and without looking inside the bag to avoid any potential for cheating.
Players may never touch their opponents’ tiles and should not move (or hide) their own tiles during their opponent’s turn.
When designing a sequence of moves, it is good practice to place the first tile close to the Tantrix but not touching it and any other forced tiles a little further back. The tile you are proposing to play should not touch the Tantrix until the move is ready to be confirmed.
However, before the endgame, a move is only confirmed when the player’s hand enters the tile bag to pick up a replacement tile. <N.B. This tournament rule differs from the rules in the Game Pack booklet.>
Players must not skip picking up a replacement tile after each move, even if they are sure of a sequence of moves.
If a player picks up a replacement tile before making it absolutely clear which tile they are playing (i.e. by making it touch the Tantrix) then the tile closest to the Tantrix (if legal) is taken to be their move.
When a player’s turn is complete they must press the button to start their opponent’s clock only after picking up their last replacement tile. If the clock is pressed immediately after taking a tile, it must be pressed with the hand that took the last tile. If a player forgets to do this, they can start their opponent’s clock at any time during their opponent’s turn. It is your responsibility to ensure that your opponent’s clock is running when it should be.
If you get too close to the edge of the table, pause the clock and move the tiles into the centre.
If a player wishes to count the tiles left in the bag, they must do so in their own time and without looking at the tiles. The bag must be shaken up to mix the tiles afterwards, also on that player’s time.
The player who takes the last tile from the bag should make it very obvious to their opponent that the bag is empty, e.g. by announcing ‘Bag Empty’.
During the endgame, a move is confirmed as soon as a tile touches the Tantrix and at the end of their turn, the player should press the clock with the same hand as they made their last move with.
As soon as the final move has been played, the clock should be stopped by moving the Pause/Play switch to Pause, i.e. you should not start your opponent’s clock as you normally would after your turn.

3) Time limit:

The time limit is 20 minutes per player per game. See also “time-out adjustments” below.
If a player goes over the limit, the game should carry on. However, at the end, a player who has taken 20 minutes or more loses 1 Tournament Point (TP) from their total and their opponent gains 1 TP. This is repeated for every full minute by which the time taken exceeds the limit, e.g. between 1.00-1.59 over time incurs two time penalties.
The combined TPs for a game after any such adjustments should always add up to 20.0 (unless the Controller needs to penalise both players in some way) and any adjustments are limited so that no player can score more than 20.0 TPs or less than 0.0 TPs from a single game.
If a player’s time exceeds 25 minutes, the Controller can stop the game and adjudicate the final tile score.

4) After the game:

Tournament Points (TPs), on which final tournament positions will be based, are awarded as shown on the score sheet. They are based on sharing out 20 TPs for each game according to the margin of victory. Time penalties as described in rule 3 above (which may themselves be affected by the ‘time-out adjustments’ in rule 6) may affect the final TP score in a game.
As soon as the game has finished (i.e. before discussing the game), the score sheet must be completed and signed by both players, then handed to the Controller (via a spectator if necessary) immediately.
The Tantrix must be left intact and the clock paused until both players have signed the score sheet.

5) Time-outs:

Mistakes have the potential to ruin a game, so players should check each other’s moves. When your opponent has made an illegal move or a mistake that you want them to correct, you should say “time-out” and pause the clock. N.B. Time-outs must be kept to a minimum and repeated inappropriate use of them may result in penalties.

The right time to call a time-out is when a move is confirmed, i.e. when the offending player puts their hand into the bag to pick up a new tile during a turn or immediately after the offending player presses the clock if they have missed a forced move at the end of their turn. Once a player has called a time-out:

a. The game must be ‘frozen’, e.g. if the offending player has just pulled a tile from the bag, the tile should be kept separate from all other tiles until the situation is resolved.

b. The player who called the time-out must identify the problem. Both players must agree on what to do about it and implement what they agree – see the Appendix at the end of these rules if what to do is unclear.

c. Any time-out adjustments (if applicable - see rule 6 below) must be agreed and recorded on the score sheet before restarting the clock.

d. After the mistake has been corrected and any time-out adjustment recorded, the clock is restarted (un-paused) and play continues. It is the responsibility of the player who called the time-out to check that the clock has been restarted correctly.

e. In most cases, these steps will take well under 10 seconds to complete but for major interruptions it may be necessary to record whose turn it was, and whether or not the free move had been taken. If a player has to leave the table, the Tantrix may be covered, so that the other player gains no advantage.

6) Time-out adjustments (if applicable):

In order to deter players from failing to check their moves properly in order to save their own time, a player may claim a ‘time-out adjustment’ when their opponent makes (and confirms) an illegal move, fails to fill a forced space, has more or less than six tiles in their hand, and so on.
Except in certain special cases (please refer to the Appendix to these rules for precise details), mistakes first noticed and admitted by the offending player, either before the end of their own turn or after the first move of their opponent’s next turn has been confirmed, will not incur penalties and when the offending player claims that he or she is not guilty, their word should be accepted if there is any room for doubt.
If in any situation it is not obvious whether or not an adjustment penalty can be claimed or how the game should be returned to the correct state and for special cases, please refer to the detailed provisions in the Appendix to these rules.
At the end of a game, one minute is added to a player’s time for every time-out adjustment claimed against them and their adjusted time is used to decide whether they get any time penalties. Hence, time-out adjustments will only change the final TP score if the offending player is already close to or over the time limit.
N.B. Time-out adjustments only add to the offending player’s time, they do not reduce the innocent player’s time. This reflects the fact that an opponent usually notices a mistake immediately. However, if a quick player tries to take unfair advantage of this by pressing the clock without checking their own moves in an attempt to force their opponent over time in the knowledge that time-out adjustments are never going to have any effect on their own TP score, this is a form of cheating and both players’ times can be adjusted at the Controller’s discretion.
The innocent player is never obliged to claim a time-out adjustment, e.g. if they know that doing so is more likely to affect their own concentration than to result in their opponent ending up with time penalties.

7) Defaults and byes:

If a player does not arrive for a game within 5 minutes of the scheduled time, their clock may be started.
After 10 more minutes, they can be defaulted.
In table tournaments, a default win is usually worth 15.0–5.0 TPs. However, the Controller can alter this at their discretion, e.g. by increasing the number of points awarded for a default if in his opinion a player has defaulted deliberately to avoid the risk of scoring less than 5.0 TPs if the game was actually played.
If someone defaults more than two games in an all play all event, all of their results are ignored.
The number of points awarded for a bye will be decided by the Controller depending on the format of the tournament and the circumstances in which it occurs, e.g. at the 2005 British Open, in the groups where every player will get one bye round, no TPs will be given for them. Positions after each round will be decided on TP%s.

8) Tiebreaks:

Unless otherwise stated before the tournament, if two or more players are tied on TPs at any stage, they will be separated on the basis of the TPs scored in the game or games played between them in the same phase, then by who has scored the most tiles overall ignoring opponents’ tiles and (if even that does not separate them) by the toss of a coin.

9) Cheating and un-Tantrixlike conduct:

As well as spoiling an event for other players, cheating severely devalues your own performance in a tournament.

Cheating includes:

Getting help from someone else or using pre-prepared notes or recorded information.
Taking notes of any kind during the game. <N.B. this differs from the online tournament rules>
Making deliberate illegal moves to gain an advantage hoping your opponent will not notice in time.
Deliberately throwing a game to help a friend to finish higher, ensure that another player does not win or just because you are not bothered by a result which nevertheless affects the positions or Elo ratings of other players.
Talking excessively during a game in order to try to distract your opponent, otherwise putting undue pressure on them (e.g. by telling them to play faster) or talking at all about any game in progress other than your own.
Anything else which may secure an unfair advantage for you or for another player.

Anyone caught cheating (or who withdraws from the tournament before completing all their games, including withdrawal after day 1) risks being disqualified from the current tournament and banned from future tournaments.

10) Other disruption:

We also ask for all mobile phones to be switched off, for chatter near games that are in progress to be kept to a minimum, and for any behaviour which may distract either your opponent or a nearby player to be avoided. Photography is allowed but preferably early in a round. It must not be too intrusive, e.g. please be sensitive to players making moves in time trouble. The Controller may require any spectator who is disturbing a game in progress to leave the playing area.

11) Colour-blind sets:

In order to facilitate the participation of colour-blind players, a limited number of special colour-blind sets (with the green links replaced by white links) may be made available.
To compensate for any perceived advantage that the colour-blind player may have by always playing with a set with which the other players are not familiar, the non-colour-blind player may choose both their own colour and the colour that the colour-blind player will play with.
Non-colour-blind players may elect to play any game with a colour-blind set (e.g. in order to get used to it in conditions which favour neither player before facing a colour-blind player in a later round), subject to both players agreeing to this and to there being enough colour-blind sets to go around.

12) Disputes and Tournament Controllers:

Players should try to resolve any disputes between themselves in a friendly manner after pausing the clock. If this proves to be impossible, they can ask the Controller for a ruling. The Tournament Controller's decision is final.

Appendix - Time-out adjustments (detailed provisions)

When a mistake is made, it should normally be common sense whether a time-out adjustment applies and how the game should be fixed. These detailed provisions, referred to in rules 5 and 6 above, are provided to identify special cases and for use where there is a dispute.

IF A PLAYER HAS MORE THAN 6 TILES

The surplus tiles are removed at random by the other player. A time-out adjustment applies. NB: Whatever the circumstance, a player may never put one of his/her own tiles back into the bag. It must always be done by the opposing player. However, there is no need to put back a random tile if both players agree which tile should be put back, e.g. the last tile picked up.

IF A PLAYER HAS LESS THAN 6 TILES

If a player hits the clock before picking up a replacement tile then a time-out adjustment applies but if the mistake is noticed after the innocent player confirms their first move, there is no time-out adjustment. The guilty player picks up the extra tiles needed but it is still the innocent player’s turn.

ILLEGAL MOVES

· Surrounding a forced space by a fourth tile.

· Playing along a controlled side.

· Creating a forced space with three links of the same colour.

· Playing a tile where the colours do not match.

a) If the innocent player notices before confirming the first move of their next turn, the mistake must be taken back. A time-out adjustment applies..

b) Otherwise there is no time-out adjustment. However, if the position is still illegal, the move must always be taken back no matter how far back the mistake was made. All tiles taken from the Tantrix should be added to the players’ hands according to players’ best guess, then tiles from the players’ hands returned into the bag at random. If the players cannot agree on a reasonable way to recover the game, then the game is drawn, though the Controller can apply penalties at their discretion and in doing so can take into account any information that is available.

IF THE OFFENDING PLAYER ADMITS A MISTAKE

If the offending player notices and admits any mistake before their opponent and before the end of their turn, or after the innocent player has confirmed the first move of their next turn, then no time-out adjustment applies, but the provisions of paragraph b) above apply.

However, if the offending player admits a mistake after their turn is over (i.e. after the clock has been hit) but before the innocent player has made a move then a time-out adjustment applies and the mistake is corrected.

IF THE TANTRIX IS KNOCKED

When it is not possible to re-establish the Tantrix with reasonable certainty then the game is drawn, unless less than 10 minutes of combined time has passed in which case the players may restart subject to the agreement of the Controller. In either case, if one of the players was responsible for the knock then the Controller will apply an appropriate penalty and can take into account any information that is available.

FORCED SPACE (FS) MISTAKES

All players should get into the habit of double checking their opponent’s forced spaces before they start their own turn. After the innocent player has confirmed their first move, they may not claim a time-out adjustment or ask their opponent to backtrack and fill missed forced spaces. The best time to call “time-out” is when the player’s hand enters the bag to pick up a replacement tile, but before either player sees what the replacement tile is.

1) FS MISTAKES BEFORE THE FREE MOVE

· The free move is taken back if it was the very tile which should have been played into the forced space or a subsequently forced space. Otherwise, the forced spaces are filled of course but the free move (if still legal) remains too. A time-out adjustment applies.

2) FS MISTAKES AFTER THE FREE MOVE

· If the mistake is announced after the guilty player has finished their turn but before the innocent player has begun their turn then the forced space must be filled (and any others). A time-out adjustment applies.

· If the mistake is announced after the innocent player has completed their first move (i.e. picked up a replacement) then play continues normally. No moves are taken back, and no time-out adjustment is applied.

3) FS MISTAKES DURING THE END GAME

It should be possible to undo all mistakes during the endgame. However, as undoing a mistake could advantage the guilty player, the innocent player can choose whether or not to undo. In any case, the normal time-out adjustments apply. Remember (rule 2.l.) that all moves during the endgame are considered confirmed as soon as the tile touches the Tantrix.