(Rules last updated: September 8, 2017; Prize matrix last updated: September 8, 2017)
This document serves as the official rules (“Rules” or “Tournament Rules”) to the 2018 Mega Civilization Tournament (“Tournament”), hosted and sponsored by Caladan LLC, dba Cascade Games Convention (“CascadeCon”, “Caladan,” “we,” “us,” “our”) at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal (355 Harris Avenue, Bellingham, Washington 98225) (“Location”), during the CascadeCon 2018 event (“Event”) on January 20, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
By registering for and entering the Tournament (“Entry”) as a player (“Entrant”), your registration and play are bound by these Rules. “You” and “your” refer to any Entrant. You therefore agree to these Rules if you are an Entrant. Please peruse these Rules carefully well in advance of the Tournament. If you have questions about them, please write tournament@cascadecon.games.
Tournament Registration
Entry & Eligibility
To enter the Tournament, you must be at least 18 years old, registered as an attendee of CascadeCon 2018, and registered as an Entrant specifically to this Tournament. Because attendance at CascadeCon 2018 is a condition of entry into the Tournament, the fee of an Entrant ticket is that of an adult CascadeCon attendee ticket plus $25.00, the latter representing the discrete price of the Tournament (“Tournament Price”).
Adherence to these Rules
Your Entry into and continued participation in the Tournament is conditioned upon your continuous adherence to these Tournament Rules, as well as the Event Rules and Policies, which these Tournament Rules hereby include and incorporate by reference. The Tournament Rules also include and incorporate by reference the Tournament information located here.
Where these Tournament Rules conflict with the Event Rules and Policies or the Tournament information, these Tournament Rules supersede and control.
Your breach or violation of these Rules (including all incorporated documents by reference) constitutes Cause for CascadeCon to cancel your Entry into the Tournament before it begins or to disqualify and remove you from further participation in the Tournament after it begins. In either case, you forfeit the Tournament Price.
Withdrawal; Entry Nonrefundable
You may withdraw from the Tournament at any time. However both the Entrant ticket in whole and the discrete Tournament Price in part (included in the fee for the Entrant ticket) are nonrefundable, irrespective of the reasons for your withdrawal.
Transferability of Tournament Registration; Entry Nonrefundable
You may transfer your Entry to another registered adult (18+) attendee of CascadeCon at any time before the Tournament begins.
You may transfer your Entrant ticket (your “Registration,” in the parlance of the Event Rules and Policies) to an adult (18+) who is not yet a registered attendee of CascadeCon 2018, up to one week before the beginning of CascadeCon 2018. Between one week prior to CascadeCon and the start of the Tournament, CascadeCon may in its sole and absolute discretion determine whether to honor a transfer request.
In either case, neither you nor the person who registered you as an Entrant shall be entitled to a refund for the Tournament Price or the Entrant ticket upon transfer. The fee for the Entrant ticket, and the included Tournament Price, are nonrefundable.
You may not transfer your Entry to another attendee after the Tournament begins.
Exceptions to Nonrefundability
Any other term in these Rules notwithstanding, the Tournament Price shall be refunded to you if:
(2) CascadeCon lowers any of the offered prize amounts in the Prize Matrix (below), and you elect, within 15 days after CascadeCon makes such change or the beginning of the Tournament, whichever comes first, to cancel your Tournament Entry;
(3) The Tournament is cancelled or unable to be completed by CascadeCon for any reason; or
(4) If a Tournament Judge is discovered to have engaged in Cheating, has conspired with one or more persons to advantage one or more Tournament Entrants, or is demonstrated to have shown partiality to one or more Tournament Entrants unwarranted by the Game Rules or these Tournament Rules.
In all such cases, the Tournament Price shall be refunded to the payment method of the person who registered you as an Entrant within 7 days.
Game Rules
Rules and Interpretation
The Tournament shall comprise a 12 to 18-player instance of Mega Civilization, published in 2015 by 999 Games (the “Tournament Game” or “Game”). The Game shall be played, moderated, and judged according to the latest published rules to the Game, which as of this latest posting, comprise version 1.1, published in April 2016 (“Game Rules”), in concert with the publisher’s official FAQ (“FAQ”), all as modified by these Tournament Rules, which shall control. Any ambiguity between the Game Rules and the FAQ shall be resolved by the Judge giving a fair and equitable reading to both documents. Any conflict between the Tournament Rules and the Game Rules or FAQ shall be resolved in favor of the Tournament Rules. Please peruse the Game Rules and the FAQ well in advance of the Tournament.
Basic A.S.T.
The Game shall be played using the Basic Archaeological Succession Table (A.S.T.).
Rules Preparation
The Judge shall aim to provide an abbreviated rules explanation before the Game commences. However, you are responsible to know the Game Rules in their entirety.
Deadline; Final Turn
At 10:30 p.m. on the day of the Tournament, whichever turn is currently in progress shall be the final turn of the Game. After completion of this turn, the Judge shall proceed to victory determination according to Section 13(d) of the Game Rules.
Pacing
The Game is Long
You acknowledge and understand that the Game is long. Although it is considered to be a 12-hour game when everybody is well-versed in play, the Game can extend up to 18 hours or more if not paced properly. Therefore, you agree to prepare yourself with the physical and mental stamina necessary to see the Game to its end and at a pace that promotes completion of the Game by the soft-deadline goal of 11:00 p.m.
CascadeCon exhorts you to eat well, keep hydrated, and to take rests as necessary and possible within the timing constraints of these Rules.
Pacing Goals
We will expect to finalize initial setup and preparation, an abbreviated explanation of the Game Rules, and the completion of the first five turns of the Game within 2 hours (approximately by 11:00 a.m.).
Thereafter, the Judge shall aim to keep the game proceeding at a pace of one full turn per hour. Accordingly, the Judge shall decide how best to keep that pace and may employ phase time limits at his or her discretion.
Number of Turns
If at least one player advances on the A.S.T. each turn, and the players are proceeding apace, the game shall last for 15 turns. The Game may take more turns if play proceeds apace and all players fail to advance on the A.S.T. at least once. The Game may end after fewer turns if play proceeds slowly and the game ends because of the 10:30 p.m. deadline.
Disclosures and Acknowledgments
Contest of Skill
You hereby acknowledge that this Tournament is a contest of skill, one that will reward strategic thinking, experience and stamina. Although there are random elements to add variety and challenge, in general, players who have played the Tournament Game and its predecessors are more likely to outperform others. Players who are skilled at strategic planning, arithmetic, diplomacy, negotiation, and physical stamina will be advantaged in, and are more likely to win, this Game.
Risk of Loss
By its nature a tournament contemplates one victor and possible a few place-finishers. Statistically speaking, if all players’ skill levels are the same, you are more likely than not to lose the Tournament. Of course, your own particular skill level will affect your ability to place or win the Tournament. Regardless, you understand and acknowledge that you face a risk of loss of the Tournament Price you paid or that was paid on your behalf as part of your Entrant ticket fee. Likewise you face a risk of loss of any expense you paid to be at CascadeCon during the Tournament as well as the loss of your time. You assume the entirety of this risk of loss for all purposes.
Sportmanship
Cheating
The Game Rules do not allow for intentional cheating, legerdemain, or physical slight-of-hand for the purpose gaining an advantage in the game (each “Cheat[ing],” as congruently defined in the Event Rules and Policies). You may not Cheat in Mega Civilization. If you are discovered to be Cheating, the Judge shall disqualify your Entry in the Tournament, and you shall forfeit your Tournament Price.
Rule-breaking
“Rule-breaking” means all violations of the Game Rules which do not otherwise constitute Cheating, i.e., all violations of Game Rules which are not intentional. The Judge is empowered to determine and penalize, all in a noncapricious and nonarbitrary manner, what constitutes Rule-breaking and what constitutes an appropriate penalty, including a private warning, a public warning or reprimand, the loss of points in the Game, and/or disqualification, depending on the severity and frequency of the Rule-breaking.
Discussing Calamities During Trades
Unlike its predecessor Advanced Civilization, Mega Civilization prohibits the discussion of a player’s held calamities during the trading round (except that players may ask for or promise a non-binding calamity-free trade). Experienced players of Advanced Civilization will do well to remember this rule. However, CascadeCon also understands that in the heat of the trading moment, it may be difficult to remember that you cannot discuss this item and also difficult to keep speaking to promote trading without giving such information away improperly. Therefore, discussing calamity card possession during trading, even if otherwise considered intentional, shall not be considered Cheating but shall be deemed as Rule-breaking and shall be penalized according to the Penalty Matrix, below.
Mis-trades
Also unlike its predecessor Advanced Civilization, which required that two commodities promised in a trade be truthful, Mega Civilization requires that the very first two commodities stated by a player before final confirmation of the agreement on the trade be truthful. The Game also requires that the number of cards promised be accurate. And finally, Non Tradeable calamities cannot be traded. If an Entrant makes a trade such that either of the first two commodities promised are not traded by him, the number of cards he promised are not properly traded, or he trades a Non Tradeable calamity, the trade must be reverted (rescinded). For the purposes of Tournament Rules, this in and of itself is not Cheating, though it may cause the Entrant to suffer a penalty.
Exceeding Time Limits
If a Judge sets a time limit for players to complete a phase, he shall do so with fairness to all players. If an Entrant exceeds such a time limit, the Judge shall penalize the Entrant according to the Penalty Matrix, below.
Open Information vs. Forthrightness
Most of the information in the Game is open for inspection upon the request of any other player. You do not need to be pro-actively forthright about such information, but you also must provide a truthful answer about all such information upon request by another player. Until you are asked, withholding of any such information is neither Rule-breaking nor Cheating. However, the Judge may demand everyone publicly announce certain types of open information in order to promote fairness and expeditious play.
Closed Information and Deception
For further clarity, lying or deception about information within your purview which may remain hidden at your discretion according to the Game Rules is neither Rule-breaking nor Cheating.
Free Diplomacy
You acknowledge that the Game requires negotiation and diplomatic skill.
For clarity, lying or deception while you are engaged in diplomatic negotiations where there is no applicable game rule specifically forbidding such deception may be seen by your fellow players as manipulative, and it may work against your interests in the long run, but such conduct during negotiations with other players is neither Cheating nor Rule-breaking, unless it specifically violates a Game Rule or another Tournament Rule. In general, promises in the Game are nonbinding (except as relating to the first two commodities cards and the number of cards promised by a player right before a trade is finalized).
Furthermore, you may engage in strategic advice-giving, whether it benefits you, another player, or both, for any reason, at any time, except where communication is prohibited, or where it is calculated to harass, unduly annoy, vex, or disrupt another player’s expeditious play, which a Judge may determine in his or her sole reasonable discretion.
We exhort you to be judicious and to avoid giving rise to annoyance, hurt feelings, or animosity.
Penalties
The Judge shall award penalties against the score of an Entrant for certain types of conduct according to the following “Penalty Matrix.” The numbers represent negative points added to the Entrant’s final score during victory calculation. All score penalties are cumulative. Each next penalty in a continuing sequence (noted by “etc.”) increases in severity according to the Fibonacci sequence, multiplied by –1. “DQ” means disqualification of the Entrant from the Tournament.
| Penalty Matrix | Successive Instances by an Entrant | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penalized Conduct | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | … | |
| Discussion of calamities during trade | Warning | –1 | –1 | –2 | –3 | –5 | etc. | |
| Mis-trade Requiring Rescission | Warning | –1 | –1 | –2 | –3 | –5 | etc. | |
| Exceeding Time Limits During Movement or during Advances Selection | ||||||||
| Late | Warning | –1 | –1 | –2 | –3 | –5 | etc. | |
| Late by 3 minutes | –1 | –1 | –2 | –3 | –5 | –8 | etc. | |
| Late by 6 minutes | –1 | –2 | –3 | –5 | –8 | DQ | ||
| Late by 9 minutes | –2 | –3 | –5 | –8 | DQ | |||
| Late by 12 minutes | –3 | –5 | –8 | DQ | ||||
| Late by 15 minutes | –5 | –8 | DQ | |||||
| Late by 18 minutes | –8 | DQ | ||||||
| Late by 21 minutes | DQ | |||||||
If the Rule-breaking conduct is not listed here, the Judge has reasonable discretion in how to award warnings, reprimands, negative score penalties, or disqualification.
Disqualification or Forfeiture
You may be disqualified by the Judge for Cheating, successive or egregious Rule-breaking, or successive penalties according to the Penalty Matrix (above).
You may also withdraw early from the Tournament.
In all such cases, your score shall be deemed to be zero, you will have lost the Game for all purposes, and your Entry in the Tournament shall be revoked. Your Tournament Price is forfeited and nonrefundable. You will be considered to have left the Game prematurely according to Game Rules Section 7.
If you are determined to have Cheated, CascadeCon may also expel you from the Event premises according to the Event Rules and Policies. If you merely forfeit the Tournament for any other reason, you are, of course, welcome to continue participation and enjoyment of CascadeCon 2018.
Determination of Victory
Score Tabluation
After the last turn of the Game, the Judge will tabulate each remaining Entrant’s score according to Game Rules Section 13D, subtracting any penalties each Entrant incurred during the Game. The Entrant with the highest score shall be the winner and shall be awarded the appropriate prize according to the Prize Matrix (below). In games with 15, 16 or 17 players, the Entrant with the second highest score shall be awarded a prize. In games with 18 players, the Entrant with the third highest score shall also be awarded a prize.
Prize Matrix
Depending on the number of Entrants, prizes will be awarded to the winner or top finishers in the Game as set forth in this “Prize Matrix”:
| Allocation of Prizes Based on Number of Tournament Entrants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Players | 1st Place Prize | 2nd Place Prize | 3rd Place Prize |
| 18 | A new copy of Mega Civilization, presented at CascadeCon | $75 | $50 |
| 17 | $150 | $75 | N/A |
| 16 | $125 | $75 | N/A |
| 15 | $100 | $75 | N/A |
| 14 | $150 | N/A | N/A |
| 13 | $125 | N/A | N/A |
| 12 | $100 | N/A | N/A |
Prize Payments
CascadeCon will endeavor to issue you payment for any cash prize you may win by the end of the Event, subject to applicable law. We hope to be able to do so during a public award ceremony, if you opt to participate. If we are unable to provide payment to you, we will send cash prize payments by check or electronic funds transfer within two weeks after the end of the Event, either to your billing address or to another address or bank account you provide to us.
If the Tournament comprises an 18-player game and you are the first-place winner, you will be entitled to a copy of Mega Civilization (the “Grand Prize”). If you live within 100 miles of Bellingham, Washington, you must be present to take possession of the Grand Prize. If you live further than 100 miles away from Bellingham, Washington, CascadeCon will pay up to $25.00 to ship the Grand Prize to your preferred address; you will be responsible for the remaining shipping cost. Alternatively, you may take a cash award in lieu of the Grand Prize totaling $150.00.
Judges and Game Moderation
Judges
CascadeCon will appoint one or more Tournament judges (each, a “Judge”) to moderate and manage the procedure and fairness of the Tournament. If there are multiple Judges, then all references to “Judge” in the singular throughout this document mean the plural and vice versa. The Judge, if compensated, shall be compensated for his or her service independently from the outcome of the Tournament. The Judge shall act in good faith to remain impartial to all Entrants, fair, judicious, and otherwise circumspect in his or her actions and determinations.
Authority
The Judge shall have the sole reasonable discretion to make decisions regarding Tournament procedure where such procedure is not defined by these Rules.
Moderation
The Judge shall balance CascadeCon’s tripartite goals for the Tournament: that each of the Entrants have the opportunity for fun over a challenging but edifying day, that the Game proceed expeditiously at a reasonable pace, and that determinations are fair. The Judge shall moderate any penalties over which he or she has discretion according to the relative value of typical top scores in the Game along with the severity or frequency of any Entrant’s conduct at issue.
Review of Judge’s Determinations and Remedies
CascadeCon’s executive staff shall review a Judge’s Tournament decisions, for the purpose of preserving the overall pace and fairness of the Tournament, under the following standards of review:
(a) Where the decision is one the Judge was empowered to make according to his or her discretion, that decision shall be reviewed only for abuse of such discretion and only after the Tournament has ended. Abuse of discretion contemplates a decision that is so unreasonable in light of the facts or that is such an unreasonable deviation from norms of Tournament game moderation that it can only be said that the outcome was arbitrary, capricious, or clearly against reason and evidence. If a decision is determined to have abused the Judge’s discretion, the maximum remedy an affected Entrant may be entitled to is a refund of his or her Tournament Price, and only if the abuse of discretion clearly had a material outcome on the Tournament.
(b) Where the decision involves a disqualification of an Entrant, based either on the Judge’s discretion or arising out of a determination of Cheating (but excluding automatic disqualifications for exceeding time limits), the Judge’s decision may be reviewed immediately (by the disqualified Entrant or the Judge) for clear error, while the Tournament is paused. A review for clear error means that the decision will not be disturbed unless CascadeCon is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. If the Entrant fails to seek immediate review within 5 minutes after such a disqualification, the Entrant waives review. Upon request, CascadeCon will review the disqualification with all due haste so that the Tournament may continue as soon as possible.
(c) Where the decision is based on an interpretation of the Game Rules or these Tournament Rules, a request for review of the decision shall cause the Tournament to pause, at which point CascadeCon may determine in its sole unreviewable discretion whether the issue is material to the outcome of the Tournament. If CascadeCon determines that the Rules interpretation question is immaterial or otherwise chooses not to review, the Judge’s decision shall stand and the Tournament shall continue. If CascadeCon undertakes review of the interpretation, it shall do so de novo and make an appropriate determination in place of the Judge’s decision by either overturning or upholding the decision, at which point the Tournament shall continue.
Limitation of Liability
CascadeCon’s maximum liability to any Entrant for any claim by the Entrant under these Rules is limited to the Tournament Price paid by the Entrant or the registrant who registered the Entrant as an attendee.