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TOURNAMENT RULES



Each registered Zone club may send one team
(2 players) to represent their club's honor.

Registered Teams can be found
HERE

Without Exception, the first team requesting "in" for
a club WILL BE that club's representative for the event.

NOTE : All other entrants (over the one team per
club & the first independent team) shall be
placed into a seperate tournament, which will
have no tie to the Alt Club Honors .
Only the first team from each club & the
first independent team shall have the
opportunity to to compete for Club Honors

Teams Leaders please decide prior to the tourney who will
represent your club (and ensure club members are aware of this rule).



Zone Rules:

Entry to a Tournament constitutes the participants agreement to abide by ALL Zone rules and the Zone CoC.

Any additional rules imposed by the Host must also be followed . Vulgar Language is grounds for immediate DQ

•• NO SECOND CHANCE!••

Complete Rule Listing may be found on the Tournaments and Events page. It is located on the top left hand corner of the main spades page ( where rooms are listed ).

All Decisions made by the Host/Hostess are Final.

If you find yourself in disagreement with a Hosts ruling, please do not argue but send an email to [email protected].



MESSAGING SYSTEMS

All message systems and communication programs such as MSN , ICQ , or AOL Instant Messaging services must be turned off , except for Zone Message .

†ôü®ñý†ïmë Éñçhãñtéd ¤ ŠþÄÐË®š Hosts require it to be set to DND (do not disturb)

To set your Zone Messaging Service to do not disturb, click on the blue Z by clock. This will bring up your friends list. Across the top of list are 4 choices. File, People, Options, and Help, Click on Options. Then go down the list that pops up and click on do not disturb.

Please remember that all other Communication Programs MUST BE OFF !!!



TABLE OPTIONS

Cards must be hidden at all times .

To hide cards click on options on left side of table beside your cards. Check off hide cards, and uncheck animate cards . Turning off animate cards permits faster play .



KIBITZERS

Kibitzing is permitted in most tourneys provided it is not disruptive to game play, and ALL players at the table agree that kibitzers should be allowed .

Kibitz should be turned off ONLY by permission of the host .

If you have a kibitzer that will not leave table when asked , please inform the Host of the problem .

DO NOT take action yourself .



MISBIDS, RESEATING

Anytime something happens at table that is not in normal play of the game it must be reported to the Host .

If you need the Host for a ruling , please ask at the Host table for the Host to come to your table .

Example: Host to table 4 for misbid please .

Once the Host arrives at your table, explain clearly and fully what has happened and be prepared to follow the Hosts ruling . Each and every Host will have their own way of dealing with all problems .

Please do not argue with the Host, as it will not change the ruling and may get you DQ'ed from the tourney .



LAGS & BOOTS

(2 + 7 Rule)If a player is booted from table/room , it is the player's partner's responsibility to hold the last card in that hand for at least 7 minutes prior to asking for sub .

In the event of lag , it maybe necessary to boot the frozen player if they have not responded in the 2 minutes allowed .

If you are lagging more than is reasonable , the Host may request that you reboot .

Slow play in tourneys is strongly discouraged as it may lead to some thinking that you and your partner may be cheating .

Never accuse another team of cheating in a tourney ....you can't without proof..and since it is almost impossible to prove just don’t do it . If a team is lagging or play is strange ask host to table to see if all is ok , but don’t imply or say that they are cheating ..the host will make up his/her own mind about that .



PLAYER SUBSTITUTION

A substitute or "sub" will be used if the missing player has not returned within the allotted time of 7 minutes .

Honors Hosts will keep a sub list , Teams are to provide their own subs . Sub must be a registered member of same club.

Holding of the last card of play is the player's responsibility who's pard was booted . If the last card was not held the bot will play , if not held 2 times please notify the host .

To request sub ask at host table like this:

Team # 23 requires sub to table #5 to replace TT_Yoda .

The host cannot send sub with out that information.



BREAKS

Honors hosts permit up to a 5-minute break between games.

Breaks during game play should not be taken unless it is an Emergency , and be no more than 2 minutes in duration . If you MUST have an in-play break , try to hold the last card and announce BRB (Be Right Back)prior to leaving . Some hosts do not permit in play breaks at all .



MULTITASKING

Players may not participate in more than one tournament at a time, nor be present in more than one room at a time . Once play starts you must exit all other programs and/or rooms . This includes kibitzing any other table but the host table while playing in a Tournament .



TABLE TALK

Any comment that tends to reveal a player's hand during games will not be permitted .

This includes but is not limited to Comments like "tram" "bid DN","cmp" .

If you are not sure if it is table talk just don’t say it .

On the other hand , you are encouraged to be friendly on the tournament tables . Everyday chat is fine and makes it fun for all .(Some of the nicest people play tourneys) :)

This one is very important ... even a simple Duck Pard can get you DQ'ed !!



SPORTSMANSHIP

Good sportsmanship will go a long way towards your enjoyment of tourneys and others as well .

Attacks on other players , hosts or on your pard will not be tolerated and may get you DQ from a tourney quickly .

Tournament play is about sportsmanship and great games of spades , and many of the rules are set out to enforce just that .



REPORTING WINS

When reporting your wins, designate one player on your team to do the reporting .

Here is the way all hosts would like you to report :

Team (name/#) over Team (name/#) rd 1 or which ever round you happen to be in .

Most players copy the assignment when its run at the host table by using the control c (copy) , and control v (paste) , or right click your mouse , the click copy . Then when reporting , just right click again to paste the assignment .

Once you have reported , give the host time to acknowledge your win . Do not flood the host table . Report once and wait 3 to 5 mins , and if still not acknowledged then you may ask the host if they would like you to repost . Repeated posts will only slow the host down.

If you have won your game one player from winning team should stay at winning table until new assignment is issued.



HOST TABLE

Comments on host table should be limited to :

1. asking in
2. reporting wins
3. asking for host to come to your table
( if you require host at your table please wait for host to arrive at your table to explain problem )
4. requesting sub
5. thanking the host/hostess for the tourney when done . ;-)

Do Not repost nasty comments that were posted in lobbies or game tables to the host table . (please just ask host to table to see them)

Do Not use CAPS at the host table or in lobbies of tournament rooms , this is considered yelling or shouting , and is rude .

Please Do Not post macros to the host table or flood the host table in any way .



FORMATS

Each monthly Alt Honors Tournament will have a different format.

Either 10 Hands, or best 3/5