Card Sleeves and Deck Backers
As sad as it is to say, I completely forgot to mention some of the most commonly used accessories in L5R. It is important to note that when playing games of any CCG, not just L5R, you should have a knowledge of how a particular system rules on the issues of sleeves and deck backers. Some don't allow backers, some only allow certain types of sleeves, etc.
To begin, we should probably go back and look at the floor rules for sleeves and deck backers. Read all of those rules? What it boils down to is simply this: make sure each deck is sleeved in exactly the same manner with approved sleeves that will not confuse your opponent or potentially wear unevenly, and if you are asked to re-sleeve by a judge, you need to do it quickly.
Now, one may ask 'Why would they allow deck backing and putting cards in sleeves if they were just going to make you change them?' The simple answer is because AEG gives people the benefit of the doubt that they aren't cheating with sleeves and backers. If you want to use some manner of non-standard sleeve or you want to do a deck backing project, just understand the obstacles you could be facing. Just remember that you only get 5 minutes to re-sleeve, and that is not a lot of time, so you may want to practice.
Now, my opinion on deck backing and sleeving may not be a terribly popular one, because basically I don't recommend using anything outside of a standard opaque sleeve, and I certainly don't recommend deck backing. Why? Because the last thing I want to have to do when I sit at a table is have something that confuses my opponent and then have to worry about re-sleeving within a specific time frame or lose if the game goes to time. The only way to be absolutely certain that won't happen is to use new sleeves before each tournament. Since that is generally unrealistic, the next best step is to use sleeves that show little or no wear and that don't have any markings on them. Also make sure that they are plain and don't have any markings on them. Remember, while there is nothing against deck backing or using sleeves that have a design or are out of the ordinary, you are more likely to be asked to re-sleeve if someone calls you on it.
Now on to more important things; how do you protect yourself against sleeve and deck backing cheaters? First you have to know the rules and secondly you have to make sure you are looking at your opponent's sleeves prior to the start of the match.
Make sure your opponent isn't using current cards or cards that could possibly be confused for current cards. No one should have deck backers like that, but it is best to check out what your opponent is using. It might be possible to alter some terribly minor detail on certain backers just by marking out fingers on people, or tweaking some other minor detail that will escape notice, so make sure you check your opponent's backers before continuing on into the game (we will get to the how in a minute.)
Make sure that all of the sleeves are of the same color and texture. You may not think about it, but there are both smooth and textured sleeves, and even the textured sleeves come in different textures. We think about the color all of the time, that is the obvious one, but texture sometimes escapes notice, and we will get to how to check in a minute.
As for color, it is important to note that not even every pack of sleeves of the same color by the same manufacturer are the same color. Within the same pack of sleeves they will be the same, but across packs of sleeves, or over some period of time, that color may vary. I have purchased two packs of sleeves in the past on the same day from the same sleeve shipment from the same manufacturer that both had the same color listed, and the two different packs of sleeves actually had a subtle color difference that, while an opponent sitting across the table wouldn't have noticed, I certainly could tell. Putting key cards into these slightly off-color sleeves would allow an opponent to know where the cards they need are at all times.
We have covered what can be done to cheat with sleeves and backers, now we get to how to check your opponent's stuff to see if they have tried to cheat you. Shuffle your opponent's deck every match. Not in an obnoxious way, but just make sure you get a could good shuffles in to get a feel for whether any card is thicker, whether a sleeve bottom might be ripped, whether any sleeve is textured differently, and if you can spot any detail different on any deck backers or minor damage to sleeves that could be considered a mark. You may not even notice these things when shuffling, but you will have a much better chance than if you just cut their deck.
Remember, if you have any questions, please call a judge. They are the only ones who can determine if a re-sleeve is necessary, and whether they feel there was some sort of intent in the cheat and the offending player needs punished in some manner.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Intentional Cheating part 2: The Majors
We are fast approaching the culmination of the tournament season with GenCon in a mere 2 weeks for a vast majority of the North American crowd, with the World Championships fast approaching for the European crowd and anyone else capable and willing to make the trip.
Unsurprisingly, the major events bring with them the worst of people's behavior when it comes to cheating. Whether it is because the material prizes surpass other tournaments, the story prize is particularly sought after, the fame (or notoriety) of winning is too much to resist, or because a person just wants to win badly enough, there are numerous reasons anyone who would be so inclined to cheat would attempt it. This means that it is extra important that you are armed with the knowledge of the methods cheaters employ so that you may spot the cheat and stop the cheater in their tracks.
Before I move into discussing various methods of cheating for which one should watch, I would like to make sure everyone has read my earlier post about calling a judge. If you haven't, I will wait for you to go read that post before I continue.
(*whistling*)
(*tapping foot*)
(*looks at watch*)
Done? Good. It is important when you play in these events that you keep in mind that no one can stop a cheater without calling a judge. If you manage to catch them, but don't call a judge, then not only might they cheat you in the future, but they might also cheat someone else, as well as having no mark against them if they should get caught by someone in the future.
Also, always bring a small notepad, a few pens, and a willingness to write down each game state change. The importance of this practice will become apparent later on; for now, let's get to exploring how people cheat and some simple ways to either stop it from happening, or get the perpetrator apprehended.
Method 1 - The Slow Play
This is possibly one of the easiest methods of cheating to spot as the floor rules specifically have a rule covering the average amount of time that any one decision should take and you can tell when someone slows the pace of their play dramatically, especially in the face of a game changing occurrence (such as losing a major battle) or series of actions that are clearly leading up to a game changing occurrence (those gut-wrenching series of actions that lead up to the dishonor bomb or enlightenment.)
Besides a person just taking too long to make a decision, there are other warning signs that should also assist you in determining if a player is stalling. Do they seem angry or hostile if you politely ask them to increase their pace of play? While I am sure that it is frustrating to have an opponent that is beating the pants off of you ask you to increase your pace of play while you try to figure out the perfect way to use your cards to win the game, we are under a time limit and you need to show some courtesy to all of your opponents and act at a more time-friendly speed.
Do they have excuses as to why it takes them 30 or 40 seconds to pass after each time you take an action? Again, we are working against a clock with timed rounds.
Once something like this starts to happen, you should call a judge immediately. There is no surer way to get the game moving at a proper pace or, barring that, that a player gets disqualified for their stalling tactics.
Method 2 - Drawing Extra Cards
This is a biggie. You have to be particularly vigilant to spot this one. Once you get into elimination rounds, active judging by multiple judges should help keep track of your opponent's card draw. Still, it is important to note that you are the only person that can keep track of your opponents and their card drawing; you shouldn't rely on anyone else.
There are many ways that your opponent can draw extra cards for which you should be on the look out. From just taking two cards at once, to drawing early for the end of the turn then "forgetting" something that they go back to do then drawing for the end of their turn again, to using abilities that allow card draw more than once per turn. Your opponent may also fidget, flick their fate cards, re-arrange them, any number of little tricks to keep you from paying very close attention to what they are doing. There are far more ways one could wind up drawing extra cards, but all of them can be tracked.
Tracking card draw is easy enough if you are willing to put just a little effort into it. First, use some sort of counter to keep track of abilities, and ask your opponent to do the same. Since there is no strict requirement to have a physical marker for tracking whether an ability is used or not, make sure you note each turn which cards have used which abilities.
Boy, sure would be nice to have some way to keep track of all of the possible things you could be tracking in a game. Good thing I told you earlier to bring a notepad and a few pens. This is traditionally the best way to keep track of many things, game state changes included. There are many card games that require the pen and paper method for tracking things such as life/health and game state changes, and even though L5R is not one of them, it is still an exceptionally reliable way.
That being said, write down anything your opponent does from using their stronghold to drawing a card for the end of the turn. If there is a question, you can always reconstruct the sequence of gameplay events in order to establish whether your opponent is doing anything underhanded.
In addition to keeping track of all of the game state changes, frequently ask your opponent how many cards they have in their hand. If you have kept accurate track, the number should be consistent with your records. If you have not, you should be able to easily figure out where the difference is coming from. If there is any question, please call a judge. That is why they are there.
Method 3 - Honor Manipulation
This is a method that I don't see used frequently, but is often one of the easiest means of cheating. How many people run with those disc honor counters? You know, the top plate with a hole that spins around atop a numbered dial where only one number is visible at a time? Yeah, those things get bumped, jostled, and moved to half-way points between two numbers all of the time. An unscrupulous player could easily gain 4 or 5 honor over the course of a protracted game using this method if you aren't keeping close track.
So what is the best way to counter this dastardly tactic? The first answer is to write down not only your own honor but that of your opponent in your notebook. This also allows you to keep track of each gain and loss, and why it was taken. You will often see judges at events do this during the elimination rounds when there is active judging, and for good reason. Writing this information down is the best way to recreate the game state should there be a question.
Again, if your track doesn't match with your opponent's, you should understand why. If you do not, or you feel your opponent is being shady or evasive, call a judge. They will be able to sort it out.
The lesson here is to keep track of your honor as well as that of your opponent. Even if you don't have a notebook, an additional honor counter, or a pair of dice that are clearly able to be differentiated as 'ones' and 'tens' dice should also help. Just understand that these methods are far less reliable than pen and paper.
In addition to the manipulation of the honor totals, not tracking the proper amount of gains or losses is also a problem. Again, this is a sub-set of manipulation of the honor counter and can be solved easily enough by keeping track of your opponent's honor totals yourself.
Method 4 - Misrepresentation of the Game State
Ok, this is a difficult one on which to catch your opponent, and may ultimately not even be punishable as cheating. This is a tactic where your opponent doesn't accurately and obviously track some aspect of the game state in order to mislead or confuse their opponent. This could be as simple as having a bowed dishonored personality facing the same direction as all of their other bowed, but honorable, personalities. This could also be as blatant as lying about force totals in an army, or withholding effects of cards when specifically asked what the card does. While some of these may not be cheating by the strictest definition of the rules, it is still something important to watch for.
The easiest way to avoid game state manipulation is to write down all of the changes. Barring this, you can ask your opponent to keep track of them so that they are clearly designated in some way. If your opponent is not willing to take this simple measure, call a judge and force the issue.
Read all of your opponents cards if you don't know what they do. You only have yourself to blame if you aren't paying attention and you try to shoot something that reduces the strength of a ranged attack and now can't kill it. Don't ask your opponent. They may tell you, but they may also leave off critical text in how a card is worded that affects various interactions.
When totaling force for any reason, do your own total and work with your opponent to resolve any force discrepancies. If you do your own total and it is wrong in your opponent's favor, he is not likely to tell you that you are wrong, so make sure that as battles are taking place, changes to force totals are written down so that you always have an accurate track, and that you keep track of anything that changes any card's force, and an army's total force, for any reason.
Method 5 - Scouting
Scouting is against the floor rules, so don't do it. Scouting is basically doing anything that allows you to find out what an opponent has in their deck prior to playing that person. In the floor rules it is more strictly defined as watching active tournament games. No one will ever be able to stop their friends from regaling them with stories about their latest win or loss, nor about what cards were involved and what opponent they were facing; this is especially true if their opponent is a well-known player.
No one really expects to be able to stop that type of scouting, but you should be aware when people who are not involved in your game are nearby and possibly watching your game. Even if they are not involved in the tournament themselves, they may, however unlikely, be watching and scouting for a friend. All you have to do is ask politely and explain that it could be scouting. If the person is unwilling to move away, simply call over a judge and ask the person to be removed from the vicinity of the game.
There is a more sinister cousin to scouting that involves people associated with your opponent trying to watch your game from an angle to see your cards to allow some sort of signaling or communication of your hand to your opponent. While no one has been caught doing this, it is not out of the realm of possibility. Guard against this by careful hand placement and by watching to see if your opponent appears to be watching something (or someone) else. Just pay attention and you can save yourself from being cheated in this fashion.
Method 6 - Misreporting Results
This is an easy one to spot and an easy one to fix, so I won't cover it in great detail. Winner reports the match result and actually pay attention to those standings that are printed between rounds. It is easy and you aren't doing anything better, so please follow those simple methods of avoiding misreported results.
I am sure that there are more methods of intentionally cheating, and as I think of more, do more research, and have more input from other players, they will be added to this site as well. I felt it was important to get the biggest and most obvious methods of cheating down and on the site before everyone started heading to GenCon, that way the largest number of players are armed with the knowledge of how to avoid being cheated and how to make sure cheaters get punished if they are, indeed, cheating.
Again, pay attention, write things down, and call a judge if there is a problem. I can't stress this enough. Only you can keep yourself from getting cheated, no one is going to do it for you.
Unsurprisingly, the major events bring with them the worst of people's behavior when it comes to cheating. Whether it is because the material prizes surpass other tournaments, the story prize is particularly sought after, the fame (or notoriety) of winning is too much to resist, or because a person just wants to win badly enough, there are numerous reasons anyone who would be so inclined to cheat would attempt it. This means that it is extra important that you are armed with the knowledge of the methods cheaters employ so that you may spot the cheat and stop the cheater in their tracks.
Before I move into discussing various methods of cheating for which one should watch, I would like to make sure everyone has read my earlier post about calling a judge. If you haven't, I will wait for you to go read that post before I continue.
(*whistling*)
(*tapping foot*)
(*looks at watch*)
Done? Good. It is important when you play in these events that you keep in mind that no one can stop a cheater without calling a judge. If you manage to catch them, but don't call a judge, then not only might they cheat you in the future, but they might also cheat someone else, as well as having no mark against them if they should get caught by someone in the future.
Also, always bring a small notepad, a few pens, and a willingness to write down each game state change. The importance of this practice will become apparent later on; for now, let's get to exploring how people cheat and some simple ways to either stop it from happening, or get the perpetrator apprehended.
Method 1 - The Slow Play
This is possibly one of the easiest methods of cheating to spot as the floor rules specifically have a rule covering the average amount of time that any one decision should take and you can tell when someone slows the pace of their play dramatically, especially in the face of a game changing occurrence (such as losing a major battle) or series of actions that are clearly leading up to a game changing occurrence (those gut-wrenching series of actions that lead up to the dishonor bomb or enlightenment.)
Besides a person just taking too long to make a decision, there are other warning signs that should also assist you in determining if a player is stalling. Do they seem angry or hostile if you politely ask them to increase their pace of play? While I am sure that it is frustrating to have an opponent that is beating the pants off of you ask you to increase your pace of play while you try to figure out the perfect way to use your cards to win the game, we are under a time limit and you need to show some courtesy to all of your opponents and act at a more time-friendly speed.
Do they have excuses as to why it takes them 30 or 40 seconds to pass after each time you take an action? Again, we are working against a clock with timed rounds.
Once something like this starts to happen, you should call a judge immediately. There is no surer way to get the game moving at a proper pace or, barring that, that a player gets disqualified for their stalling tactics.
Method 2 - Drawing Extra Cards
This is a biggie. You have to be particularly vigilant to spot this one. Once you get into elimination rounds, active judging by multiple judges should help keep track of your opponent's card draw. Still, it is important to note that you are the only person that can keep track of your opponents and their card drawing; you shouldn't rely on anyone else.
There are many ways that your opponent can draw extra cards for which you should be on the look out. From just taking two cards at once, to drawing early for the end of the turn then "forgetting" something that they go back to do then drawing for the end of their turn again, to using abilities that allow card draw more than once per turn. Your opponent may also fidget, flick their fate cards, re-arrange them, any number of little tricks to keep you from paying very close attention to what they are doing. There are far more ways one could wind up drawing extra cards, but all of them can be tracked.
Tracking card draw is easy enough if you are willing to put just a little effort into it. First, use some sort of counter to keep track of abilities, and ask your opponent to do the same. Since there is no strict requirement to have a physical marker for tracking whether an ability is used or not, make sure you note each turn which cards have used which abilities.
Boy, sure would be nice to have some way to keep track of all of the possible things you could be tracking in a game. Good thing I told you earlier to bring a notepad and a few pens. This is traditionally the best way to keep track of many things, game state changes included. There are many card games that require the pen and paper method for tracking things such as life/health and game state changes, and even though L5R is not one of them, it is still an exceptionally reliable way.
That being said, write down anything your opponent does from using their stronghold to drawing a card for the end of the turn. If there is a question, you can always reconstruct the sequence of gameplay events in order to establish whether your opponent is doing anything underhanded.
In addition to keeping track of all of the game state changes, frequently ask your opponent how many cards they have in their hand. If you have kept accurate track, the number should be consistent with your records. If you have not, you should be able to easily figure out where the difference is coming from. If there is any question, please call a judge. That is why they are there.
Method 3 - Honor Manipulation
This is a method that I don't see used frequently, but is often one of the easiest means of cheating. How many people run with those disc honor counters? You know, the top plate with a hole that spins around atop a numbered dial where only one number is visible at a time? Yeah, those things get bumped, jostled, and moved to half-way points between two numbers all of the time. An unscrupulous player could easily gain 4 or 5 honor over the course of a protracted game using this method if you aren't keeping close track.
So what is the best way to counter this dastardly tactic? The first answer is to write down not only your own honor but that of your opponent in your notebook. This also allows you to keep track of each gain and loss, and why it was taken. You will often see judges at events do this during the elimination rounds when there is active judging, and for good reason. Writing this information down is the best way to recreate the game state should there be a question.
Again, if your track doesn't match with your opponent's, you should understand why. If you do not, or you feel your opponent is being shady or evasive, call a judge. They will be able to sort it out.
The lesson here is to keep track of your honor as well as that of your opponent. Even if you don't have a notebook, an additional honor counter, or a pair of dice that are clearly able to be differentiated as 'ones' and 'tens' dice should also help. Just understand that these methods are far less reliable than pen and paper.
In addition to the manipulation of the honor totals, not tracking the proper amount of gains or losses is also a problem. Again, this is a sub-set of manipulation of the honor counter and can be solved easily enough by keeping track of your opponent's honor totals yourself.
Method 4 - Misrepresentation of the Game State
Ok, this is a difficult one on which to catch your opponent, and may ultimately not even be punishable as cheating. This is a tactic where your opponent doesn't accurately and obviously track some aspect of the game state in order to mislead or confuse their opponent. This could be as simple as having a bowed dishonored personality facing the same direction as all of their other bowed, but honorable, personalities. This could also be as blatant as lying about force totals in an army, or withholding effects of cards when specifically asked what the card does. While some of these may not be cheating by the strictest definition of the rules, it is still something important to watch for.
The easiest way to avoid game state manipulation is to write down all of the changes. Barring this, you can ask your opponent to keep track of them so that they are clearly designated in some way. If your opponent is not willing to take this simple measure, call a judge and force the issue.
Read all of your opponents cards if you don't know what they do. You only have yourself to blame if you aren't paying attention and you try to shoot something that reduces the strength of a ranged attack and now can't kill it. Don't ask your opponent. They may tell you, but they may also leave off critical text in how a card is worded that affects various interactions.
When totaling force for any reason, do your own total and work with your opponent to resolve any force discrepancies. If you do your own total and it is wrong in your opponent's favor, he is not likely to tell you that you are wrong, so make sure that as battles are taking place, changes to force totals are written down so that you always have an accurate track, and that you keep track of anything that changes any card's force, and an army's total force, for any reason.
Method 5 - Scouting
Scouting is against the floor rules, so don't do it. Scouting is basically doing anything that allows you to find out what an opponent has in their deck prior to playing that person. In the floor rules it is more strictly defined as watching active tournament games. No one will ever be able to stop their friends from regaling them with stories about their latest win or loss, nor about what cards were involved and what opponent they were facing; this is especially true if their opponent is a well-known player.
No one really expects to be able to stop that type of scouting, but you should be aware when people who are not involved in your game are nearby and possibly watching your game. Even if they are not involved in the tournament themselves, they may, however unlikely, be watching and scouting for a friend. All you have to do is ask politely and explain that it could be scouting. If the person is unwilling to move away, simply call over a judge and ask the person to be removed from the vicinity of the game.
There is a more sinister cousin to scouting that involves people associated with your opponent trying to watch your game from an angle to see your cards to allow some sort of signaling or communication of your hand to your opponent. While no one has been caught doing this, it is not out of the realm of possibility. Guard against this by careful hand placement and by watching to see if your opponent appears to be watching something (or someone) else. Just pay attention and you can save yourself from being cheated in this fashion.
Method 6 - Misreporting Results
This is an easy one to spot and an easy one to fix, so I won't cover it in great detail. Winner reports the match result and actually pay attention to those standings that are printed between rounds. It is easy and you aren't doing anything better, so please follow those simple methods of avoiding misreported results.
I am sure that there are more methods of intentionally cheating, and as I think of more, do more research, and have more input from other players, they will be added to this site as well. I felt it was important to get the biggest and most obvious methods of cheating down and on the site before everyone started heading to GenCon, that way the largest number of players are armed with the knowledge of how to avoid being cheated and how to make sure cheaters get punished if they are, indeed, cheating.
Again, pay attention, write things down, and call a judge if there is a problem. I can't stress this enough. Only you can keep yourself from getting cheated, no one is going to do it for you.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Intentional Cheating Part I: We Are Not Magical Samurai
What?????? We aren't? You mean we aren't a noble warrior in a faux-Feudal Japanese fantasy setting just because we play an RPG or push around little pieces of cardboard? The hell you say!
Yes, I know it must be shocking for some of you to actually read these words, but it is important to type them for everyone to read none-the-less. In case you didn't get the memo, let this be your notification.
Why did I type that as the introduction to this particular article (and series of articles?) Because it is important to be grounded in the reality of real life in order to understand what is and is not cheating. If you live by some made-up code of honor or fair play and you feel you are being cheated just because others don't follow the same code, don't be surprised when you aren't taken seriously by a judge or other players. We are only interested in real cheating, not some perceived slight because your opponent wasn't an honorable player even though he was playing Crane.
This leads into a more important point about L5R the card game: it is not (I repeat, NOT) an RPG or a way of life. It is a card game. I have read several times on both the Alderac forums as well as the Scorpion forums where a player says something along the lines of 'Hey, it is ok that you cheated or deceived the other player. We are Scorpion, it is what we do, so it is ok.'
No, it is not ok. You are not a Scorpion. You are a person who lives on planet Earth and plays a fictional clan from a fictional setting in a card game where there are firm rules in place for how the game is played and how players are to conduct themselves while playing said game. How would you like it if a Crab player punched you before the start of a match, or a Unicorn player jumped on your back and tried to ride you like a horse, or a Phoenix player doused you in gasoline and lit you on fire? How about if a Mantis player stole your money or your property? I thought so.
Remember, cheating, especially on purpose, is against the rules no matter what clan you play. It is not acceptable and it will always warrant a punishment. I will apologize at this point for singling out Scorpion players, as I know that there are non-Scorpion players who cheat as well, but the Scorpion players are the only ones I have ever seen publicly say it is ok to cheat because of their affiliation with a fictional clan from a fictional land. Please remember we live in a real world with real consequences.
Coming soon: Part II of Intentional Cheating in which I discuss what to keep an eye on to keep from being cheated.
Yes, I know it must be shocking for some of you to actually read these words, but it is important to type them for everyone to read none-the-less. In case you didn't get the memo, let this be your notification.
Why did I type that as the introduction to this particular article (and series of articles?) Because it is important to be grounded in the reality of real life in order to understand what is and is not cheating. If you live by some made-up code of honor or fair play and you feel you are being cheated just because others don't follow the same code, don't be surprised when you aren't taken seriously by a judge or other players. We are only interested in real cheating, not some perceived slight because your opponent wasn't an honorable player even though he was playing Crane.
This leads into a more important point about L5R the card game: it is not (I repeat, NOT) an RPG or a way of life. It is a card game. I have read several times on both the Alderac forums as well as the Scorpion forums where a player says something along the lines of 'Hey, it is ok that you cheated or deceived the other player. We are Scorpion, it is what we do, so it is ok.'
No, it is not ok. You are not a Scorpion. You are a person who lives on planet Earth and plays a fictional clan from a fictional setting in a card game where there are firm rules in place for how the game is played and how players are to conduct themselves while playing said game. How would you like it if a Crab player punched you before the start of a match, or a Unicorn player jumped on your back and tried to ride you like a horse, or a Phoenix player doused you in gasoline and lit you on fire? How about if a Mantis player stole your money or your property? I thought so.
Remember, cheating, especially on purpose, is against the rules no matter what clan you play. It is not acceptable and it will always warrant a punishment. I will apologize at this point for singling out Scorpion players, as I know that there are non-Scorpion players who cheat as well, but the Scorpion players are the only ones I have ever seen publicly say it is ok to cheat because of their affiliation with a fictional clan from a fictional land. Please remember we live in a real world with real consequences.
Coming soon: Part II of Intentional Cheating in which I discuss what to keep an eye on to keep from being cheated.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Unintentional vs. Intentional Cheating
‘What the heck is unintentional cheating’ you may ask yourself? ‘Isn’t that just an accident?’ Well, yes and no. The answer is not as simple as one or the other, but rather falls somewhere in between. This article is an attempt to clarify the varying degrees that fall in-between a mistake and what is commonly thought of as cheating. The following is just an example to illustrate where the lines may blur between mistake and cheating.
In a draft, each player is given a set number of packs and, from these packs, a set number of cards. Once all of the packs have been drafted, each player should have the same number of cards, and that number should be equal to the number of cards in the packs that they were given to draft from. If you have more cards, you are cheating. It may not have been on purpose, but a larger pool of cards to draft from is still an advantage that is gained by not following the rules. Did you purposefully mis-pack the cards at the printer? Of course not, but it doesn’t mean that you aren’t breaking the rules; you just aren’t breaking the rules on purpose. An unintentional cheat, if you will.
Now at this point most of you may be wondering what the big deal is. ‘So what, your benefit if you got lucky enough to get an extra card, big deal,’ you might say. True, it may not be that big of a deal; after all, the cards left over are the crappy ones that no one wants anyway, right? But let me pose you this question: how will the judges of the event know if someone has purposefully slipped extra cards into their draft pool if we just accept that mis-packs occur?
As you can see, a mistake can unintentionally lead to a cheat, or possibly assist someone else in a cheat. It is important to be cognizant of what you are doing during a game, and insure, as much as any one individual can, that they are not responsible for the allowance of an unintentional cheat.
Going back to my above example, if each player were to count their cards after opening the pack to make sure they had the correct number and counted the number of cards they had at the end of that pack’s worth of drafting, each player would make sure that they have the correct number of cards. This does multiple things. First, it makes sure that you have enough cards (making sure no one took two cards with one pick.) Second, it makes sure no one else let a pack with too many or too few cards into circulation. Third, it helps insure that the judges will be able to have an accurate count of the cards at the end of the draft so that they can catch anyone who is cheating.
Now I know that you may be wondering why you can’t just take advantage of a good piece of luck that befalls you. Perhaps you got extra cards in a pack in a draft, or maybe your opponent forgot to gain the 2 honor from Last Step Castle (even though he used the action and you didn’t take a province) or one of any number of other mistakes. What is wrong with taking advantage of your opponent’s bad luck, or your own good luck? The answer is because it is cheating. It just isn’t cheating in the way most people think of cheating. Also, no one wants to be accused of intentionally cheating, so by not unintentionally cheating, you avoid the possibility that a judge may feel you did it on purpose.
You may be asking yourself what steps you can take to avoid the unintentional cheat so that no one accuses you of intentionally cheating. There are several steps, and they are all simple, just no one really wants to do them.
First, keep track of all of your game state changes. Changes to the game state such as honor, force bonuses and penalties, whether someone is dead or discarded, etc. are all easy enough to track, but sometimes people just don’t. This could lead to accidentally playing Civility to bring into play a dead samurai instead of a discarded one, or may lead to a disagreement about whether an ability on a card was already used or not. Simple things like having an honor counter, glass beads to show when you have taken actions on cards, using a clear sleeve and two Border Keeps (back to back) with one side having the second ability marked out for when you use it. All of these are simple and effective ways to avoid the unintentional cheat.
Secondly, keep track of your opponent’s game state changes. This one is less common, and most players don’t follow this piece of advice. There is no recourse if your opponent claims they didn’t gain their LSC honor unless you are tracking it as well or unless you can recreate the previous game states exactly to figure out what honor was gained where, as an example. This can all be handled by doing things like having an honor counter on which you track your opponent’s honor, using glass beads on your opponent’s cards to mark actions used, even if they won’t, asking them to differentiate between dead and discarded personalities, etc. Again, these are all simple measures that can be taken to insure that neither you nor your opponent is cheating.
Third, follow the floor rules as much as possible. This may, again, seem like a simple enough suggestion, but it hides a level of complexity that some may miss. In order to insure that you are following the floor rules, you may want to start prior even to the beginning of the tournament. Take a shower, put on deodorant that does not have a strong smell, don’t wear cologne or perfume, wear clothing that will not offend anyone, pack extra card sleeves, build your deck with cards that have the same back, etc. While you may not think anything of it, your opponent might, and you may just find yourself facing a game loss or even tournament disqualification because you were in violation of the floor rules and were not able to rectify the situation.
The best example of this is the rule regarding changing the game state roughly every 20 seconds. It may not seem like a big deal early in the round, but stalling could happen right from the beginning of the match. By the time you notice that your opponent may be stalling you, it could be too late. By the time you hit 5 minutes left and realize your opponent wasted the extra 5 you need to clinch the game, it may be too late. Whether it is the beginning of the round or the end, playing in a timely fashion is always important. It may not be fair that you have a hard decision to make and want some extra time, but opponents have hard decisions to make themselves and are under the same time constraint.
Fourth, avoid behavior that might look like cheating even though you are not. Don’t fidget a lot, keep your play hand above the level of the table and in the line of site of your opponent at all times, if you knock cards around or off the table be very careful when picking them up and placing them back on your deck while making sure to let your opponent witness everything you are doing (even going so far as to ask your opponent if they wish you to shuffle your deck.) These are just a few of the many things you can do to avoid looking like you are cheating. While it may seem like it is not even unintentionally cheating, the behavior makes it that much more difficult for judges to spot suspicious behavior and stop actual cheaters. Also, you don’t want to have to be called on it during the active judging in an elimination round as it might just throw your game off or distract you from an important thought process that you don’t recover.
Finally, as I always say, call a judge. If you are unsure about your opponent’s behavior or something they have done, call a judge. Even if it is a mistake it needs to be rectified so that it doesn’t turn from a mistake into a bad habit. After all, who knows, your opponent may actually be cheating and you may be able to keep them from perpetrating any more cheating against not only yourself, but others as well.
The next article will cover intentionally cheating and the signs to look for if you feel you are the target of a cheater.
In a draft, each player is given a set number of packs and, from these packs, a set number of cards. Once all of the packs have been drafted, each player should have the same number of cards, and that number should be equal to the number of cards in the packs that they were given to draft from. If you have more cards, you are cheating. It may not have been on purpose, but a larger pool of cards to draft from is still an advantage that is gained by not following the rules. Did you purposefully mis-pack the cards at the printer? Of course not, but it doesn’t mean that you aren’t breaking the rules; you just aren’t breaking the rules on purpose. An unintentional cheat, if you will.
Now at this point most of you may be wondering what the big deal is. ‘So what, your benefit if you got lucky enough to get an extra card, big deal,’ you might say. True, it may not be that big of a deal; after all, the cards left over are the crappy ones that no one wants anyway, right? But let me pose you this question: how will the judges of the event know if someone has purposefully slipped extra cards into their draft pool if we just accept that mis-packs occur?
As you can see, a mistake can unintentionally lead to a cheat, or possibly assist someone else in a cheat. It is important to be cognizant of what you are doing during a game, and insure, as much as any one individual can, that they are not responsible for the allowance of an unintentional cheat.
Going back to my above example, if each player were to count their cards after opening the pack to make sure they had the correct number and counted the number of cards they had at the end of that pack’s worth of drafting, each player would make sure that they have the correct number of cards. This does multiple things. First, it makes sure that you have enough cards (making sure no one took two cards with one pick.) Second, it makes sure no one else let a pack with too many or too few cards into circulation. Third, it helps insure that the judges will be able to have an accurate count of the cards at the end of the draft so that they can catch anyone who is cheating.
Now I know that you may be wondering why you can’t just take advantage of a good piece of luck that befalls you. Perhaps you got extra cards in a pack in a draft, or maybe your opponent forgot to gain the 2 honor from Last Step Castle (even though he used the action and you didn’t take a province) or one of any number of other mistakes. What is wrong with taking advantage of your opponent’s bad luck, or your own good luck? The answer is because it is cheating. It just isn’t cheating in the way most people think of cheating. Also, no one wants to be accused of intentionally cheating, so by not unintentionally cheating, you avoid the possibility that a judge may feel you did it on purpose.
You may be asking yourself what steps you can take to avoid the unintentional cheat so that no one accuses you of intentionally cheating. There are several steps, and they are all simple, just no one really wants to do them.
First, keep track of all of your game state changes. Changes to the game state such as honor, force bonuses and penalties, whether someone is dead or discarded, etc. are all easy enough to track, but sometimes people just don’t. This could lead to accidentally playing Civility to bring into play a dead samurai instead of a discarded one, or may lead to a disagreement about whether an ability on a card was already used or not. Simple things like having an honor counter, glass beads to show when you have taken actions on cards, using a clear sleeve and two Border Keeps (back to back) with one side having the second ability marked out for when you use it. All of these are simple and effective ways to avoid the unintentional cheat.
Secondly, keep track of your opponent’s game state changes. This one is less common, and most players don’t follow this piece of advice. There is no recourse if your opponent claims they didn’t gain their LSC honor unless you are tracking it as well or unless you can recreate the previous game states exactly to figure out what honor was gained where, as an example. This can all be handled by doing things like having an honor counter on which you track your opponent’s honor, using glass beads on your opponent’s cards to mark actions used, even if they won’t, asking them to differentiate between dead and discarded personalities, etc. Again, these are all simple measures that can be taken to insure that neither you nor your opponent is cheating.
Third, follow the floor rules as much as possible. This may, again, seem like a simple enough suggestion, but it hides a level of complexity that some may miss. In order to insure that you are following the floor rules, you may want to start prior even to the beginning of the tournament. Take a shower, put on deodorant that does not have a strong smell, don’t wear cologne or perfume, wear clothing that will not offend anyone, pack extra card sleeves, build your deck with cards that have the same back, etc. While you may not think anything of it, your opponent might, and you may just find yourself facing a game loss or even tournament disqualification because you were in violation of the floor rules and were not able to rectify the situation.
The best example of this is the rule regarding changing the game state roughly every 20 seconds. It may not seem like a big deal early in the round, but stalling could happen right from the beginning of the match. By the time you notice that your opponent may be stalling you, it could be too late. By the time you hit 5 minutes left and realize your opponent wasted the extra 5 you need to clinch the game, it may be too late. Whether it is the beginning of the round or the end, playing in a timely fashion is always important. It may not be fair that you have a hard decision to make and want some extra time, but opponents have hard decisions to make themselves and are under the same time constraint.
Fourth, avoid behavior that might look like cheating even though you are not. Don’t fidget a lot, keep your play hand above the level of the table and in the line of site of your opponent at all times, if you knock cards around or off the table be very careful when picking them up and placing them back on your deck while making sure to let your opponent witness everything you are doing (even going so far as to ask your opponent if they wish you to shuffle your deck.) These are just a few of the many things you can do to avoid looking like you are cheating. While it may seem like it is not even unintentionally cheating, the behavior makes it that much more difficult for judges to spot suspicious behavior and stop actual cheaters. Also, you don’t want to have to be called on it during the active judging in an elimination round as it might just throw your game off or distract you from an important thought process that you don’t recover.
Finally, as I always say, call a judge. If you are unsure about your opponent’s behavior or something they have done, call a judge. Even if it is a mistake it needs to be rectified so that it doesn’t turn from a mistake into a bad habit. After all, who knows, your opponent may actually be cheating and you may be able to keep them from perpetrating any more cheating against not only yourself, but others as well.
The next article will cover intentionally cheating and the signs to look for if you feel you are the target of a cheater.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
When Time Has Been Called
I was inspired to write this particular article by a thread on a site about what happens when time is called. It seemed that people were all over the place about what is and is not acceptable when the time limit is reached for the round, and I thought it might be useful to cover that topic as it directly relates to my previous article about calling a judge (you will see why in a bit.)
Before I get started, I will let everyone know that we are talking about swiss round matches and timed, single-elimination games in the early elim rounds. This is not about the Palmer Rule or any other strictly defined win/loss timing mechanism.
First, when time is called, that is the end of the game; it is over. Floor Rule 4.3.2 Time Limit and Match Length state that once time is called play must stop. This part is also important later when we talk about deciding on a winner. The rules of any given tournament will give a specific amount of time that the game can take, usually 40 or 45 minutes, and once that time has been reached the game is over and play must cease.
Since there is a time limit to these games if you feel your opponent is stalling call a judge (I told you we would get back here.) I will give everyone a minute to go to the tournament floor rules on l5r.com and read section 3.13 Game Delay Due to Player.
Done?
Good. I hope you read it carefully as it allows for two important things. The first thing being that any player has the right to call a judge and watch for stalling on the part of their opponent. If you do not call a judge and you feel you were being slow played, it is your fault. You have no one to blame for the game going to time except yourself. Do not be afraid to call a judge. The second thing that the rule covers is if a player has been away from the table for any length of time for any reason during a match and it goes to time, the opponent automatically receives the win. This rule also includes tardiness. If you are late or must get up form the table for any reason, keep this rule in mind and watch for stalling on the part of your opponent.
Now that we have reached the time limit, the next step is to determine if either player wins. Notice I said if. It is not a requirement to have a winner. As mentioned in Rule 4.3.2, either player may concede to their opponent. Should this not happen, then both players may agree upon some random method of deciding the winner of the game (die roll is the most common, but it could also be a coin flip, etc). Look at the key word used in the actual floor rules: may. It is not required, but an option. If either player wishes to neither concede nor randomize, then it is well within their right. Keep in mind that there is only a 5 minute reporting period once time is called; if this 5 minute period expires, the result is a double loss. Please keep match determination as brief as possible to avoid the possibility of the double loss; it hurts the strength of schedule of both players and the tie breakers of everyone that those two players played.
Those are the only set in stone rules. I will cover some common etiquette, but please do not confuse etiquette and sportsmanship with following the rules. There is nothing wrong with adhering to the rules as written, but keep in mind that by choosing to not practice good taste and common sense in games where time has been called, you risk alienating yourself from the player base and possibly getting a negative reputation. While that may not bother some, remember that people with bad reputations tend to be given fewer breaks by their opponents; especially when it comes to whether or not your opponent is willing to concede once time has been called.
The first of the points of end of round etiquette that I will cover is what to do with the 5 minute reporting period. The first step is to not show your cards to your opponent unless they ask. ‘Why,’ you may ask? Well, ultimately the rules say the game is over and you immediately stop playing. Showing cards to your opponent is, in some measure, a continuation of the game, even if just in theory. While this may be ok, it does actually violate the floor rules and, given a strict enough judge, could result in a warning or a game loss if your opponent presses the issue. Ask your opponent if it is ok to talk through the remainder of the game quickly and show each other cards to try to decide if a concession should be made. Do not get upset if they say no. If they ask, do not be afraid to say no if you do not want to talk through it. Ultimately the game ended at time and no one was stalling.
The second is to be realistic. Are you at -19 honor with a dishonored shugenja on the board while your opponent has a Kaukatsu in play that you can’t stop? Please concede. In every game there are decisions that you take extra time on because they are important, but could have caused the game to go to time instead of ending in a resolution. My rule of thumb is to concede if I would lose if that extra time had played out. We want calls of potential stalling to be because someone might actually be stalling, not because someone is worried that they have the game and their opponent may not concede when time is called. There is an important distinction.
The next point I want to make on this issue is to reinforce the fact that the time limit of a tournament round is a rule in the same way that all of the rulebook rules are rules. If you create a deck or have trouble playing in a way that finishes within the time limit, do not be surprised if no one concedes to you. No one cares if you would have won had the game played out for another hour, or even another 15 minutes. The tournament rules state either 40 or 45 minutes (depending on the tournament) and you need to play within that time limit as if the time limit was set by the rulebook.
If you feel like your opponent is taking too long to make each play, please call a judge. Again, I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t call a judge, intentionally slow players will never be caught for cheating, and unintentionally slow players will never feel like they have to improve their pace of play to participate in tournaments. It takes an effort by everyone to make sure a tournament is not only fun, but fair. It is not just the job of the tournament organizer and judges as they cannot be everywhere at once. It is the job of the players to notify a judge when something is taking place, that way the issue can be identified and handled correctly when it happens. No one can take action after an incident has occurred, nor should that be expected. If you don’t complain about slow play from the beginning of the round, you have no recourse at the end if you go to time and your opponent doesn’t concede.
Finally, I want to talk a little bit about sportsmanship. Sure it is nice, but we all need to remember that we are playing in a tournament with hundreds of dollars worth of prizes on the line. Sure they are just dumb pieces of cardboard and decorative swords and artwork, but they are still worth something. Also there are story prizes associated with some tournaments that people put a higher premium on than even the physical prizes. Do not be upset if someone decides that the game was not sufficiently resolved in the time limit and wants a roll or won’t concede. That is their choice. Also, do not automatically assume they are an asshole or that they were intentionally slow playing just because they appeared to be in a weaker position. Remember, we don’t play these games out to their conclusion if they go to time, so you don’t know that you would have played perfectly and won the game.
On the flip side, be courteous and sportsmanlike. If you have lost the game, within reason, concede. Don’t be an ass about not conceding. While it is your right to not concede or to ask for a die roll, you do not have the right to be rude about it.
I hope that this article was useful in helping everyone understand what happens when a round goes to time and what the proper procedures are. I also hope that everyone was able to take something positive away form the non-rules related items, as those are the items that shape and define the L5R community.
Before I get started, I will let everyone know that we are talking about swiss round matches and timed, single-elimination games in the early elim rounds. This is not about the Palmer Rule or any other strictly defined win/loss timing mechanism.
First, when time is called, that is the end of the game; it is over. Floor Rule 4.3.2 Time Limit and Match Length state that once time is called play must stop. This part is also important later when we talk about deciding on a winner. The rules of any given tournament will give a specific amount of time that the game can take, usually 40 or 45 minutes, and once that time has been reached the game is over and play must cease.
Since there is a time limit to these games if you feel your opponent is stalling call a judge (I told you we would get back here.) I will give everyone a minute to go to the tournament floor rules on l5r.com and read section 3.13 Game Delay Due to Player.
Done?
Good. I hope you read it carefully as it allows for two important things. The first thing being that any player has the right to call a judge and watch for stalling on the part of their opponent. If you do not call a judge and you feel you were being slow played, it is your fault. You have no one to blame for the game going to time except yourself. Do not be afraid to call a judge. The second thing that the rule covers is if a player has been away from the table for any length of time for any reason during a match and it goes to time, the opponent automatically receives the win. This rule also includes tardiness. If you are late or must get up form the table for any reason, keep this rule in mind and watch for stalling on the part of your opponent.
Now that we have reached the time limit, the next step is to determine if either player wins. Notice I said if. It is not a requirement to have a winner. As mentioned in Rule 4.3.2, either player may concede to their opponent. Should this not happen, then both players may agree upon some random method of deciding the winner of the game (die roll is the most common, but it could also be a coin flip, etc). Look at the key word used in the actual floor rules: may. It is not required, but an option. If either player wishes to neither concede nor randomize, then it is well within their right. Keep in mind that there is only a 5 minute reporting period once time is called; if this 5 minute period expires, the result is a double loss. Please keep match determination as brief as possible to avoid the possibility of the double loss; it hurts the strength of schedule of both players and the tie breakers of everyone that those two players played.
Those are the only set in stone rules. I will cover some common etiquette, but please do not confuse etiquette and sportsmanship with following the rules. There is nothing wrong with adhering to the rules as written, but keep in mind that by choosing to not practice good taste and common sense in games where time has been called, you risk alienating yourself from the player base and possibly getting a negative reputation. While that may not bother some, remember that people with bad reputations tend to be given fewer breaks by their opponents; especially when it comes to whether or not your opponent is willing to concede once time has been called.
The first of the points of end of round etiquette that I will cover is what to do with the 5 minute reporting period. The first step is to not show your cards to your opponent unless they ask. ‘Why,’ you may ask? Well, ultimately the rules say the game is over and you immediately stop playing. Showing cards to your opponent is, in some measure, a continuation of the game, even if just in theory. While this may be ok, it does actually violate the floor rules and, given a strict enough judge, could result in a warning or a game loss if your opponent presses the issue. Ask your opponent if it is ok to talk through the remainder of the game quickly and show each other cards to try to decide if a concession should be made. Do not get upset if they say no. If they ask, do not be afraid to say no if you do not want to talk through it. Ultimately the game ended at time and no one was stalling.
The second is to be realistic. Are you at -19 honor with a dishonored shugenja on the board while your opponent has a Kaukatsu in play that you can’t stop? Please concede. In every game there are decisions that you take extra time on because they are important, but could have caused the game to go to time instead of ending in a resolution. My rule of thumb is to concede if I would lose if that extra time had played out. We want calls of potential stalling to be because someone might actually be stalling, not because someone is worried that they have the game and their opponent may not concede when time is called. There is an important distinction.
The next point I want to make on this issue is to reinforce the fact that the time limit of a tournament round is a rule in the same way that all of the rulebook rules are rules. If you create a deck or have trouble playing in a way that finishes within the time limit, do not be surprised if no one concedes to you. No one cares if you would have won had the game played out for another hour, or even another 15 minutes. The tournament rules state either 40 or 45 minutes (depending on the tournament) and you need to play within that time limit as if the time limit was set by the rulebook.
If you feel like your opponent is taking too long to make each play, please call a judge. Again, I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t call a judge, intentionally slow players will never be caught for cheating, and unintentionally slow players will never feel like they have to improve their pace of play to participate in tournaments. It takes an effort by everyone to make sure a tournament is not only fun, but fair. It is not just the job of the tournament organizer and judges as they cannot be everywhere at once. It is the job of the players to notify a judge when something is taking place, that way the issue can be identified and handled correctly when it happens. No one can take action after an incident has occurred, nor should that be expected. If you don’t complain about slow play from the beginning of the round, you have no recourse at the end if you go to time and your opponent doesn’t concede.
Finally, I want to talk a little bit about sportsmanship. Sure it is nice, but we all need to remember that we are playing in a tournament with hundreds of dollars worth of prizes on the line. Sure they are just dumb pieces of cardboard and decorative swords and artwork, but they are still worth something. Also there are story prizes associated with some tournaments that people put a higher premium on than even the physical prizes. Do not be upset if someone decides that the game was not sufficiently resolved in the time limit and wants a roll or won’t concede. That is their choice. Also, do not automatically assume they are an asshole or that they were intentionally slow playing just because they appeared to be in a weaker position. Remember, we don’t play these games out to their conclusion if they go to time, so you don’t know that you would have played perfectly and won the game.
On the flip side, be courteous and sportsmanlike. If you have lost the game, within reason, concede. Don’t be an ass about not conceding. While it is your right to not concede or to ask for a die roll, you do not have the right to be rude about it.
I hope that this article was useful in helping everyone understand what happens when a round goes to time and what the proper procedures are. I also hope that everyone was able to take something positive away form the non-rules related items, as those are the items that shape and define the L5R community.
Friday, April 30, 2010
What is cheating?
Cheat – to violate rules or regulations
The above definition of cheating has been provided to allow for a basis of common understanding of the topic this article is about. For the purposes of this blog, we are specifically referencing the L5R ccg and the floor rules associated with tournament-level play. While we will be using these as examples, the concepts have a broader range of applications, but it should always be understood that the intended context is this game specifically.
What is cheating?
As the definition at the beginning of the article succinctly states, cheating is violating the rules or regulations. In the case of L5R and its associated tournament-level play, cheating can run the range from violating the rules in the rulebook to violating the tournament floor rules.
Cheating can take almost any form, and sometimes is not able to be pinned down to a strict definition or example. In fact, it is so unlikely that every possible manner of cheating would be covered in a rule set that the system in place leaves that discretion up to the judges of the event and, ultimately, the tournament organizer.
I will take a detour here to emphasize how important it is that everyone understands the role of a judge at an event. The judge is not just a figurehead to answer card interaction questions and to inform players how much time is left in the round. The judge is also there to make judgment calls. If you think you are being cheated in some way, call a judge. Be reasonable, but call a judge if you are not sure. Better to be safe than sorry.
We will cover types of cheating and specific methods of cheating to watch for in future segments, but for now I will focus on calling a judge if you feel that your opponent is cheating or if you are uncertain as to whether your opponent is cheating or not. Here are the steps you should take should you feel you need a judge to arbitrate a possible cheating situation:
1 – Raise your hand and call out ‘Judge!’ in a clear and concise voice.
2 – If a judge is not coming to your table within a minute or so, stand and keep your hand raised and call out ‘Judge!’ again.
3 – Once the judge comes over, explain the situation and why you feel it is cheating.
It is that simple. Ok, so maybe it is not that simple. You do not know how your opponent will react and you will need to have some manner of evidence to back up your claim (even if that evidence is just a pattern of behavior for which you want the judges to look.) There might be some other hurdles to overcome, but these are the biggest two. However, before we can look at how to handle both of these hurdles, we must first allow ourselves to get over the biggest hurdle of all: being willing to call a judge.
Don’t be afraid to call a judge. The judge will not get upset with you for calling him over; as a matter of fact, one of the biggest complaints about players I hear from judges is that they do not call judges over more in potential cheating situations. They WANT you to call them over if you suspect cheating. Cheaters don’t get caught without a judge being called over to make a determination regarding cheating. I can’t stress this enough. Call a judge.
Now we get into the meat of why people don’t call judges: fear. People are naturally afraid. Don’t be upset or offended, many people are afraid and fail to act out of that fear. Whether it is fear of moving to a new town, even though you were offered the perfect job, or fear of confrontation because you don’t know how the person will react. Fear is a fact of life. Getting past your fear is the only way you will make sure that you don’t get cheated.
Most people are just afraid of the confrontation that may arise from publicly suspecting someone of cheating. That is why we have rules, punishment and, if necessary, law enforcement officials to handle your opponent’s reaction. You can overcome your fear by knowing that there are plenty of other tournament goers, judges, and TO’s that are going to assist you should your opponent have an inappropriate reaction.
Other people are afraid that they will not win whatever modest prize they can get if they are voted Best Sportsman if they call a judge for their opponent possibly cheating. I have a hint for you all: if your opponent is cheating, it is HIGHLY unlikely that they are voting for anyone for best sportsman, let alone you. Do not be afraid to lose their vote for sportsman, as you likely don’t have it to begin with, and if your opponent is actually punished for cheating, you may just get a couple of extra votes by uncovering the cheater in our midst.
As a side note, the prize for sportsman is not typically worth the loss of enjoyment you may get by feeling that an opponent cheated you in some manner. Sportsman is such a random toss-up or goes to the best salesman that unless you either get lucky or sell yourself very effectively, you are likely to not get many votes anyway. Just call a judge and do yourself and fellow tournament goers a huge favor.
If people actually called judges during their matches for suspected cheating, honest people would become more honest and dishonest people would get caught. This is the environment we want to strive towards. We want to eliminate cheating and calling judges is the first step.
Call a judge.
Call a judge.
Please, if there is any doubt, call a judge. In the next segment we will look at broad categories of cheating and why each is cheating.
Friday, April 16, 2010
The List
This is the list as I have it currently.
Player - Jamie Tachiyama
Event - GenCon 2003
Circumstances - Disqualified by head judge for deck stacking
Player - Andrew Hill
Event - All DC area events
Circumstances - Banned for attempted theft as well as threats of violence and stalking directed to judges.
Player - Rick Heinz (aka BoltCrank, CrankyBolt, Bolt)
Event - 2007 St. Louis Kotei
Circumstances - Repeatedly drawing extra cards.
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Switched decks and badges with Tristan Muntsinger for the main event. After being informed by the TO he would have to play the deck he presented to his first round opponent, he switched back to his own deck anyway.
Event - Topaz Championship 2008
Circumstances - Added extra cards from his own collection to his draft pool. Also had to be repeatedly admonished about touching his and other people's cards during the deck validation stage of the draft round.
Player - Tristan Muntsinger
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Switched decks and badges with Rick Heinz for the main event.
Player - Dan Tibbles
Event - 2006 Seattle Kotei
Circumstances - Disqualified for modifying his own tournament results in the software that was being utilized to give himself a win instead of a loss in a previous round which he had lost.
Player - Mike Shaneman
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Lied about a misreported result.
Player - Jamie Tachiyama
Event - GenCon 2003
Circumstances - Disqualified by head judge for deck stacking
Player - Andrew Hill
Event - All DC area events
Circumstances - Banned for attempted theft as well as threats of violence and stalking directed to judges.
Player - Rick Heinz (aka BoltCrank, CrankyBolt, Bolt)
Event - 2007 St. Louis Kotei
Circumstances - Repeatedly drawing extra cards.
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Switched decks and badges with Tristan Muntsinger for the main event. After being informed by the TO he would have to play the deck he presented to his first round opponent, he switched back to his own deck anyway.
Event - Topaz Championship 2008
Circumstances - Added extra cards from his own collection to his draft pool. Also had to be repeatedly admonished about touching his and other people's cards during the deck validation stage of the draft round.
Player - Tristan Muntsinger
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Switched decks and badges with Rick Heinz for the main event.
Player - Dan Tibbles
Event - 2006 Seattle Kotei
Circumstances - Disqualified for modifying his own tournament results in the software that was being utilized to give himself a win instead of a loss in a previous round which he had lost.
Player - Mike Shaneman
Event - GenCon 2007
Circumstances - Lied about a misreported result.
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