Please note: Make sure the players you are playing are on the ladder. It is very dissapointing to not get credit for a win when you find out the player you beat isn't actually a registered ladder player. You can easily check to see if a player is registered on the ladder by looking for their forum name in the Current Standings.

How to register new ladder games:

Register New Ladder Games by posting a reply in the Game Registry. Be sure to include a link to the thread which you will be using as a turn log, which is required for 3 or more player games, and recommended even for 1 on one games.

Please note: You must register your game when it starts or else you will not be allowed to report the result when it is finished. Be sure not to forget the registration step or else you could be disappointed later.

How to report ladder game results:

Report Game Results: by posting a reply in this thread. Post the game registry number and the forum names of all the winning and losing players. Only one player from the game needs to post a reply. I can verify the result if necessary by checking the game's turn log. For FFA games simply list the players in the order they were eliminated along with who each player was killed by, with the winer being posted first.

Please report games in this form: Game #1: Draco, Nojd defeat Cay, Jerk

Forum Names: Please be sure to report your games using the correct Forum Names for all players. This will assist me greatly when entering the names into the ladder update program.

Earning Ladder Points:

The winner of a game is awarded the points given in the 'Value of opponents' category that applies to their opponent's rank, while the loser loses that same amount of points.

Scoring for Individuals:

(A)Experts: 160+....................Value of opponents: A: 6, B: 3, C: 3, D: 1, E: 1, F: 1.
(B)High Inters: 130-159...........Value of opponents: A: 9, B: 6, C: 3, D:3, E: 1, F: 1.
(C)Inters: 111-129..................Value of opponents: A: 12, B: 9, C: 6, D: 3, E: 3, F: 1.
ZERO Gamers: 100..................Value of ALL opponents: Winner gets 2, loser loses 2.
(D)Low Inters: 90-110.............Value of opponents: A: 15, B: 12, C: 9, D: 6, E: 3, F: 3.
(E)Good Rookies: 80-89...........Value of opponents: A: 18, B: 15, C: 12, D: 9, E: 6, F: 3.
(F)Rookies: 79 & Under...........Value of opponents: A: 21, B: 18, C: 15, D: 12, E: 9, F: 6.

Example 1: You currently have 108 points and are thus ranked as an Low Inter (category D). You play, and beat another forumer who has 166 points and is therefore ranked as High Inter (category B). You can see in the 'Value of opponents' for Inters that category B players are worth 12 points to you. Hence, you gain 12 points for defeating the High Inter player, while they in fact lose 12 points for the loss.

Example 2: Good Rookie (E) loses to a Rookie (F): The Good Rookie loses 9 points, while the Rookie gains 9 points.

Example 3: Inter (C) beats a Zero Gamer: The Inter gains 2 points while the Zero Gamer loses 2 points.

Scoring for Team Games:

Team games must start with an even amount of players on both sides. Team games are scored by adding up the total rating of all players for each of the sides, and then comparing the difference as follows:

Winning team is 61+ points higher..........1
Winning team is 46-60 points higher.......2
Winning team is 31-45 points higher.......3
Winning team is 16-30 points higher.......4
Winning team is 6-15 points higher.......5
Winning team is 0-5 points higher.........6
Winning team is 1-5 points lower..........6
Winning team is 6-15 points lower........7
Winning team is 16-30 points lower........8
Winning team is 31-40 points lower........9
Winning team is 41-50 points lower.......10
Winning team is 51-60 points lower.......11
Winning team is 61+ points lower..........12

The number given for each row is the amount of points added to each member's rating on the winning team, and the amount subtracted from each member's rating on the losing team.

Scoring for Free For All Games:

In FFA games points are awarded for position and players killed. Position points are as follows:

3 player : 5 / 1 / -6
4 player : 6 / 3 / -3 / -6
5 player : 6 / 3 / 1 / -4 / -6
6 player : 7 / 4 / 3 / -3 / -5 / -6
7 player : 8 / 5 / 3 / 2 / -6 / -6 / -6
8 player : 9 / 6 / 3 / 3 / -3 / -6 / -6 / -6

Then you are awarded kill bonuses for those wizards you eliminated. For each person you kill you gain 2 points, and they lose 2 points. If a person is killed by independents they lose 2 points, which is split between the top two players, unless it is the second player, in which case the winner gets it all.

Be aware that the Free For All rules are new, and its possible they may change at some point in the future.

Rules of the AOW2H/SM Wizards Ladder:

Joining the AOW2H/SM Wizards Ladder:

• You must be a registered user of the HeavenGames forums in order to join the AOW2H/SM Wizards Ladder. If you have not already done so, please register and login.

• To join the ladder, you must post a reply in this thread stating that you wish to register.

• You must supply an email address that you wish to use for your PBEM games when you register for the ladder. If you do not supply one, then the email address listed in your forum profile will be used as a default.

Starting New Games:

• Start a new thread in the AoW2/SM Play By Email forum to organize a new ladder game. Specify that the game will count towards the AOW2H/SM Wizards Ladder, and give details such as the map to be used, how many players per team and which races are to be played.

• Post an Open Challenge in the AoW2/SM Open Challenges thread to ask for other players to challenge you. Read and follow the instructions in that thread.

• Games may be played between individuals (1-vs-1), between balanced teams of up to 4 players each (2-vs-2, 3-vs-3 or 4-vs-4), or in a Free For all style. Unbalanced teams, or more than one team are not allowed.

• Only players registered with the ladder may join the game. Please verify that all players are registered with the ladder befoer you start the game.

Registering New Games:

• All players in a game must be members of the ladder, and agree to register the game as a ladder game.

• Post a reply in the Game Registry stating that you wish to register a new ladder game. Remember to include a url in your reply to the thread which you will be using as a turn log.

Playing Games:

• Play your turns promptly upon receiving them. If you cannot play a turn within 3 days of receiving it, then post a reply to the turn log stating the reason and length of your expected delay.

• After playing your turn and sending it to the next player, post a reply in the turn log stating the turn number that you have just sent. These turn logs are your guarantee that you have played your turns in the case that a player or game goes missing. They can be used by the ladder administrator to determine if a player should default from a game in the event of an extended, unexplained delay.

• If you have not received a turn from your opponent for 5 days, then check the turn log and contact your opponent by email to ensure that the game is not missing. At the time you send this email, you should send a carbon copy / cc: of the email to the ladder administrator and post a message in the turn log stating that you have done so. If your oppponent does not respond within 3 days, then please contact the ladder administrator by email and provide the game number, a link to the turn log, and the forum name of the player who is causing the delay. The ladder administrator will then take appropriate action.

• If a player causes an extended, unexplained delay in a game then the ladder administrator may assess a default to that player.

  If the player is an individual participating in a 1-vs-1 game, then the opponent will receive a win, and the defaulting player will receive both a loss and a penalty of -5 ladder points.

  If the player is a member of a 2-vs-2, 3-vs-3 or 4-vs-4 team and all of the player's team members have already been eliminated, then the opposing team will receive a win, the defaulting player's team will receive a loss, and the defaulting player will receive a penalty of -5 ladder points.

  If the player is a member of a 2-vs-2, 3-vs-3 or 4-vs-4 team and other members of the player's team are still alive, or if the players is a member of an FFA game, then the game may continue as follows: The defaulting player is removed from the game and assessed a penalty of -5 ladder points. The defaulting player's race may be played by a substitute player who is ranked within the same ladder category as the defaulting player (Zero Gamer is equivalent to Low Inter). The substitute player may not be one of the existing team members. That player then has 2 turns to post to the registration thread that they accept the risks and benifits, and if so the game will be scored as if they had played in it from the beginning. If they fail to do so then when the game is completed the points will be given and taken from the defaulting player.

• Players may choose whether or not they wish to use passwords for their ladder games. However, in the case that a player wishes to use a password in a team game, the password should be shared with other team members, or with the heavengames password guardians. If the password is not shared, and a player defaults from a game, then the other team members will be unable to finish the game and will be assessed a loss. In the case of an FFA game each other remaining player will recieve 6 points from the defaulting player as compensation, and the game will be declared over. This will replace position points for that game, and only kill points earned before the players disapearance will be awarded in addition. All players who were eliminated beforehand will be docked only kill points.

Reporting Results for Completed Games:

• A win is granted when a single player eliminates their opponent in a 1-vs-1 game, or when all players from the opposing team have been eliminated in a team game. A "Kill" in an FFA game is awarded if an oponent dies at any point during your turn or during their turn while attacking your units. (The independents moving is not part of any players turn.)

• All wins must be reported to this thread within 24 h of the completion of the game. Game results will be entered into the ladder update program in the order that they are posted. Failure to report a win within 24 h could result in the winners losing credit for the game. This is because other games could be reported in the meantime which will affect the ladder standings, and thus the points awarded for each win.

• Post a reply in this thread stating the game # and forum names of all winning and losing players.

• The creation of multiple forum accounts ("smurfing") for the purpose of cheating by reporting false ladder games will not be tolerated. Turn logs will be checked for all game results that are reported. If there is a concern that someone is smurfing, IP addresses will be checked. Smurfing is a serious forum offence, and anyone caught smurfing will be banned from all HeavenGames forums.

Miscellaneous Rules:

• This ladder will be approximatly every week. All changes including the addition or removal of names to the ladder will take place only during the update times.

• Zero Gamers will be removed from the ladder if a month passes without them being part of a registered game. Once completing a game players will be marked inactive if three months pass without their being involved in a registered game. After six months they will be removed from the ladder.

• Attempts to distort the spirit of this ladder (such as through being involved in multiple disputes about who won, smurfing, etc.) can result in being removed from the ladder or otherwise penalised.

• Rules may be added, removed or modified at any time in order to maintain the integrity of the ladder. All changes to the rules will be announced \prior to coming into effect.

• All disputes will be resolved by the ladder administrator. If you have any concerns or questions, please email them to the administrator. Disputes involving the ladder administrator will be resolved by neutral staff members.

Special rules concerning the Champion:

The only way a Champion can be replaced is by defeating the current Champion, regardless of who has the most ladder points. It is possible for the Champion to have less ladder points then other ladder players.

Earning Ladder Points as Champion

The Champion will continue to earn points for wins according to the category he is in, by the same point structure as everyone else. Example: If the Champion is in the Inter category he will get 6 points for beating players from the inter category, 3 points for beating players in the Mid Inter category, etc.

Defeating the Champion

If the Champion is defeated then the player who defeated him replaces him as Champion. The old Champion then returns to the ladder and is ranked according to his ladder points. The new Champion is awarded ladder points according to both players categories for his victory over the old Champion, and old Champion loses points for his lose. Team games do not count as Championship games. So if the Champion is involved in a team game, and is on the losing side the Champion does not lose his title.

Challenging the Champion

Anybody in the top 3 ladder positions (and with a rating of 101 or more) can issue a challenge to the current Champion for 1-vs-1 ladder game. The Challenger must post this challenge to the Champion in the Game Registry, and must notify the Champion of this by email. The Champion must accept all challenges made in the Game Registry by qulaified players in the top 3 ladder positions to a maximum of 5 simultaneous challenge matches. If the Champion is already playing 5 challenge matches, then the Champion may accept new challenges, but is not required to do so. The Champion will select the map and 2 races to be played (but not who plays them), and emails the map and choices to the ladder administrator and the challenger. The map selected by the champion should not be excessively large so as to be able to be completed within a reasonable amount of time. The Challenger will decide who plays each of the 2 races selected by the Champion and email that choice to the ladder administrator, who will set up the game and mail up the first turn. If there are no challenges to the Champion, then the Champion is free to play any ladder player he wants, if he wants. Since PBEM games may take several weeks or months to complete, it is possible that a player may challenge the Champion, but that the Champion will no longer be the Champion when the match is complete. Therefore, it is wise for players to challenge as many other players near the top of the ladder as possible, since one of these other players may become the Champion in the meantime.

No Response from Champion

If 10 days pass with the Champion being notified of a challenge in the Game Registry but failing to respond, then the Champion's rating drops to one point lower than the rating of the player in position 3 on the ladder, and the Champion loses his or her status as Champion. Then the highest ranking player on the ladder becomes the Champion. If two or more players occupy the highest ladder position, then the new Champion will not be declared until there is a single player in the highest position. However, if the Champion posts in the Game Registry that he or she will be away for a short period of time, then no official challenges can be made during this period.

[This message has been edited by hiranu (edited 01-01-2005 @ 10:08 AM).]