Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Labyrinth: Can can, can you do the Catan can you do the Catan =D

April draws to a close and the smell of spring is in the air!
Birds are chirping, flowers blossoming, and fanatical gamers are busy donning their best battle attire.
That's right guys it's tournament season!
Time to flex our beefy gamer muscles and find out once and for all who among us has the strongest geek-chi.
And what better game than a few Settlers of Catan matches to kick off the year?


First on the docket this spring is the 2011 Settlers of Catan North American Prequalifier. It's taking place HERE at Minotaur this Saturday April 30th with a kick-off time of 10am and an end time of approximately 5pm.
Sign up in advance if possible or if you're running short on time and can't make it in before the 30th then you can still just drop by on the day. Just make sure that if you haven't signed up in advance to arrive fully covered in war paint and bearing some form of banner or flag to demonstrate your overwhelming desire to compete =)
The cost to enter the SOCNAP is a measly 8 bucks and the prize for winning the tournament is a seat at the actual qualifier also hereby referred to as SOCNAQ which wont be taking place until June 25th
(heheh these abbreviations make me giggle)

"But..b-but this was too short notice!" you might be saying to yourself OR you might have been thinking something like "Grrr if only I didn't have to work that Saturday." Well have no fear you have two very viable options if the 30th of this month is a write off for you.
You can either start by making several additional sacrifices to the gaming gods and hope that they smite down your previous engagements with lightning bolts OR there will be a 2nd prequalifier towards the end of May on the 28th that you can attend should you miss the 1st. The format for the two prequalifiers shall be the same, as will the entry fee.
So book some time off work, gather about you a band of your best Catan buddies and come on down to the store!
But...
BE WARNED
Undoubtedly some of those who entered the 1st prequalifer may be back for round two and I'm sure like any avid Cataner, Catanian, or Catanist who has lost but lived to play another day they'll be out for vengeance.



An aside... people who live in London are Londoners. We here who live in the true north strong and free are Canadians.
Lets see some comments on your thoughts...those that play Catan are called _ blanks _

But anyhoo back to the main dish before we get too carried away and move on to desert.
I know a bunch of you just saw the word FORMAT above and started hopping up and down in your seats like you need to go potty.
So here's the rundown.

It, like previous Catan tournaments hosted in the past here, will be base Catan only.
There will be no expansions extensions or hybrid versions of any kind!
All current up to date Mayfair rules apply and players participating must, to the best of their ability, be playing solely for themselves to win the tournament.
IE: no teamwork or shenanigans.

Captain O'Hagan: I swear to God I'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Heh classic line.

This means in turn that all matches will ideally be tables of 4 for the entire tourney. Depending on attendance it will most likely consist of 3 scoring rounds of standard play and at the end of those matches players cumulative scores will be tallied and used to determine overall rankings. Then from this point onwards the tables will be arranged according to ranking placement for the semifinal matches.
i.e.: the #1 rank will be seated at a table with the lowest ranked player and two people from the middle of the pack.
Games at this point will become sudden-death eliminations.
Those that go on to win these semi-final matches will make up the final table of four who shall be pitted against one another in a mighty all-or-nothing duel to the death!

So slap on your best Rocky-themed training music!
I expect pictures of everyone jogging up and down stairwells with your seafarers strapped to one leg and cities and knights to the other.

Break out the cliché never say die t-shirt and headbands!
Got a rabbit foot? Lucky pendants or coins? A 4-leafed clover?
Best bring everything you've got if you want to have the edge on the competition.
The fighting shall be fast and furious...just like that movie about cars... and dudes...who own the cars... that usually explode.
But ANY and ALL explosions that are set off here at the store will be ignored by the Minotaur staff because as we all know cool guys and gals dont look at explosions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo

But in all seriousness I'll bring my suped up car in honor of the fast and the furious movies if you all promise to do the same...I've been doing a lot of shop work on it but this bad boy is finally able to ROLL OUT!


And together we shall make it a 5th of November that shall never ever be forgot!
Or it will be the tourney right at the end of April that we'll have all forgotten almost immediately due to our excitement over the May prequalifier...either or.

This has been the Labyrinth and I'm Henry McCulloch. Game On!

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