EvilSpaders has gone through a great deal of change these past years. We've come a long
way from the four to ten tables that played each Saturday for years. In addition to a new
site, we have a tremendous number of new players, which has forced us to become more
organized in our structure for the sake of the game and the sanity of the staff running it.
We've reached a point, though, where we can't do it alone...we must all do our share to
keep the tournaments manageable if we are to continue to play each week.
With the rapid growth and changes that have taken place recently we realize that we have
overlooked teaching many of you the basics of the game and what we are all about, and
have concentrated more on ways to deal with the sheer numbers of you playing each
week. What we are trying to do here is start at the beginning to provide new and old
members alike the information they need to know to be a contributing member of our group.
WHO ARE EVILSPADERS?
We are a diverse group of people who love the game of Evil Spades, and host a weekly
tournament for members to play a social evening of Evil. While members earn points
for participating and placing in a tournament, our primary goal is to have fun. If serious
competition is important to you, please join one of the many leagues available. Fun
competitiveness is welcomed, but cheating, or complaints of alleged cheating are not
tolerated.
Our official website is: http://www.geocities.com/evilspaders/
Here, you will find just about anything and everything you need to know about us.
And if you have any suggestions to make it better, we'd love to hear them.
Our email address is: [email protected]
Please direct your sign up requests, your questions and your comments here.
We ask that if it's regarding EvilSpaders, please don't use staff's personal email addresses.
EvilSpaders is run by a small dedicated staff of volunteers. During the week, we prepare
and mail a newsletter with the results of the previous tournament and details about the next
tournament, take you signups, and answer your questions. On the day of the game, the
tournament is organized and run by the Tournament Host, with the assistance of staff to keep
score and handle misbids. We try to keep it simple and fun.
Staff members are:
__EvilHanna * Cheri-blsm * LucyMcevil * KYJohn * BuckNekked * Sweettootsie
READY TO PLAY?
Our tournaments are for members only. If you wish to join EvilSpaders, you must be recommended
by a member in good standing and approved by our staff for membership. To join, please sign and
provide the information requested above. If there is a member that you wish to partner with regularly,
please let us know, but it is not necessary to have a partner in advance to play in our tournaments.
We also ask, for the sake of organization and other EvilSpaders, that you choose a nic that you wish to
play Evil Spades with, and stick with it. Changing nics on a regular basis is confusing to other players,
and adds extra work for staff. Once you register your nic with us, you may not change it without permission.
If you show up for a tournament under a different nic, you will be asked to leave and return with your
EvilSpaders nic.
To play in a tournament, you must sign up in advance, any time up to noon, EST on the day of the tourney.
Because we must play with an even number of teams, if you sign up after that time, or just show up at the
tourney wanting to play, you are not guaranteed a spot in the tourney. If we are in need of additional
players or teams, you may be asked to play, otherwise, if you choose to stay, you will be placed on the
substitute list. We are always in need of substitutes to step in for players that do not show or are booted
and unable to come back.
Members who are not playing are always welcome to join in the camaraderie on tournament day, provided
they are respectful of the game rules and other players.
While this is a team venture, and many of our players have regular partners, please remember you do not
need to have a partner in advance to play. Members signing up as singles will be partnered with other singles.
Members who play regularly may be asked to be placed on auto sign up each week. If you are on our auto signup
list, you must notify us only if you are unable to play. If you are on auto signup and fail to notify us
twice of not being able to play you will be taken off of auto sign up.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS:
Weekly tournaments are held on Saturdays at RenGames, Evil Spaders Room, and start at
4:45 pm PST / 5:45 pm MST / 6:45 pm CST / 7:45 pm EST. We ask that players arrive half an hour
early so that the line up can be finalized.
If you cannot be there early, please let your partner or one of the staff know so your place will be saved.
If you have signed up to play and are not early, or we have not heard from you or your partner that you
are going to be there, then we will assume that you will NOT be there and a replacement will be put in your
place. Once the lineup is finalized, any changes are at the discretion of the Host.
SCORE KEEPING/POSTING HANDS:
A prerequisite for membership is that you know how to post hands and score before you play in a tournament.
If you do not know how to score and/or post, please let us know when you apply for membership, or before
you play in your next tournament, and someone from our staff will be happy to help you learn. Anyone
who repeatedly is not prepared to post and/or score may be asked to demonstrated that they are ready and
willing to do so before being allowed to play in future tournaments.
During tournaments, please have one team member prepared to post hands at the table, and the other
team member keeping the score. At the beginning of each game, please declare which team member will
be scoring, and work out which of the other two players will post the game.
There are several ways to post and score, and you may choose whatever method works for you. The game
hands are posted at our website and you may copy and paste them from there if you wish. Other players
create a Notepad, Word or Excel document of the hands and post from these. Still others post hands
from EvilCompanion. Whichever method you choose, you will require an electronic "clipboard" such as the
clipboard available with Microsoft Office programs.
You may keep track of the scores by hand, or with EvilCompanion, a small program created specifically
to facilitate the game of Evil Spades. If you would like this program, please let us know and we will
direct you to a place where you can download it.
As each hand is played, the score is maintained at the top left hand corner of the table. If one team
reaches 500 or more points, or -200 or less points before all ten hands are played, one player from each
team must take the score, post it to the table and agree with the other team on the score before continuing
on with the remaining hands in the game. If all ten hands are played and you have not reached 500 points
or -200 points to end the game, the score at the end of all ten hands becomes the score for that game.
Please ensure that all players agree on the score before starting a new game or leaving the table. If
you leave the table before agreeing, whatever your partner agrees to is the final score. Only one player
from each game needs to report to the scorekeepers. Once scores are posted to the scorekeepers they are
final.
Please post your final game score in the lobby for the scorekeepers. We ask that only official scores be
posted there. At the end of three games, tournament results will be posted in the lobby and are subject
to review before officially being posted on our site. If you disagree with any scores posted at this time,
please forward your concerns to us by email and they will be reviewed before posting to the website.
EVILSPADERS TOURNAMENT INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES:
Our tournaments consist of three games of ten hands. As well as the standard 10 hand tournament game,
we from time to time play Evil Whiz and Smorgasbord Evil as well as Evil games created by staff members.
The newsletter will tell you what the next game's format will be.
At the start of each game, the Tournament Host posts team assignments in the lobby. The first person/team
named chooses a table between 55 and 75. At the end of the game, the final score is posted in the lobby
for the scorekeepers.
During a tournament, the Host may make changes, decisions and ruling at their sole discretion. Host decisions
are final.
Please show your respect for the rules, the Host and other players by not disputing decisions during the
game. If after the game, you wish to send an email to us for clarification, you are welcomed to do so,
and we will do our best to resolve or clarify the matter.
A team that misbids may be penalized. If there is a misbid during your game, immediately contact the designated
Misbid Judge before proceeding with the game. The Judge will determine how it should be handled. Sometimes
reseating is not necessary, for instance, if the first bidding partner on a mirrors hand has misbid their
hand, and realizes it before their partner has bid, their partner can adjust their bid to correct the total
"team" bid and it will not be considered a misbid. A misbid that results in reseating will cost the misbidding
team 100 points. Before proceeding, you will be asked to post the adjusted score to the table, have all
agree on the score and then reseat and play the next hand.We recognize that the game programming is not perfect,
but we also reconize that in most instances it is a player accidentally misclicking and they may or may not
realize that they have misclicked. If it is a program error, it is random and could happen to any player.
However, upon hearing all the circumstances, the Misbid Judge may rule otherwise, and that decision is final.
Mispostings are not considered a misbid. If a mispost happens and someone has already bid on the misposted hand,
play out that hand and then go back and play the hand that was skipped. If the mispost was a hand that has
already been played, take and post the score, reseat and post and bid the correct hand.
Please note that the decision of the Misbid Judge is also final. Any further discussion or disagreement
that takes place after the judgement is considered poor sportsmanship and you may be subject to censure.
If you take the game so seriously that you can't live with this rule, please join a league. If on the
other hand, you don't understand why the ruling or decision was made and would like to learn why, send an
email to EvilSpaders after the game, and we will explain as best as we can.
If a player has been booted, please advise us immediately. A sub will come and finish out the hand and
continue to play until the player returns.
If there is no sub available to sit in, we will endeavor to find a temporary replacement as quickly as possible.
If no sub is immediately available and there is staff playing that has finished their game, they will
be asked to sit in until their next game starts, the players returns or a sub can be found.
If a player is booted but not removed from the table, and it is impossible to continue that game, please
advise staff. Staff will verify that it is not feasible to continue the game on that table, and will
assign another table. If a hand has been partially played, but not scored, then that hand will be repeated
at the new table. If the player has been booted from the room, a sub or staff will sit in until the player
returns. If no sub or staff is available, see above rule.
We welcome your input and will give your thoughts and suggestions careful consideration. Please do not
question or give suggestions via the main or private message during the game.
TABLE TALK AND ETIQUETTE:
Please refrain from any comment that could be considered "table talk" during the game. This includes such
comments as "cover my nil" or "cover me pard" or using any words or icons to show pleasure or displeasure
with your hand or situation.
If you are kibitzing a game please do not comment on the game. Remember, you are there to watch, not to
participate.
Players who repeatedly disregard this guideline or show poor judgement with talk at the table may be
subject to censure. Polite chat at the table that is not game relatated whatsoever to the hands being
played is ok; but please, don't hold up the game chatting.
Chatting on IM, playing in another room or watching TV is rude, holds up the game and will not be tolerated.
Please remember, we are here to have fun and play three games of Evil Spades in a reasonable amount of time.
Before you hold up the tourney for personal reasons or chat, ask yourself if it is important enough to keep
the people of the east coast up past their bedtime, the people on the west coast late for dinner... and the
rest of the people sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting on you. There are enough delays that are
unavoidable as it is.
RenGames Code of Conduct applies during the tourneys. In addition, please remember that we have been granted
special permission to hold our tournaments in this shared room, and please be thoughtful and respectful of other
people not in our tourney. We ask that you keep talk strictly social and fun. Tournament business or other
league business should not be discussed in main.
And we would also like to ask you keep your critisms and comparisons to other gaming sites out of the main.
RenGames is not perfect, but they are working extremely hard to bring us and others like us a site where we
can continue to interact as we did in the Zone, and for that we should be grateful. They are continuing to
make upgrades as quickly as possible, and listening to our needs. Please show respect for their continuous
efforts on our behalf.
RANKING:
We are all for fun competitiveness. And with that in mind, every tournament you play earns you points, and every
tournament where you place earns you more points. You are ranked each week based on the total points earned
for the last four tournaments.
* 1st Place earns the player: 5 points
* 2nd Place earns the player: 4 points
* 3rd Place earns the player: 3 points
* 4th Place earns the player: 2 points
* 5th Place earns the player: 1 point
* Played but didn't place player will earn: .50 point
To calculate your rank, add your last four tourney points and divide by 4. If you still have questions, please
feel free to contact us and will explain in more details.
SUMMARY:
This document is intended to be a guideline for old and new members alike, and as we grow and evolve, it
will be revised from time to time. If you have any questions or require clarification, please don't hesitate
to drop us a note. We also welcome your suggestions.
Page Design by Diane 2006.
All layouts and information are not to be used without permission.
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