WHERE DO WE PLAY OUR GAMES?

You may play your matches in any room you choose. However, we suggest that you play in a rated room to take advantage of the reserved seat feature in the event of boots. Rated Room 14 is usually fairly empty, so for the Fall '01 Session this will be the designated Teapot League room. If Room 14 is full, default will be Room 16. Please notify LittleTeapot by ZM or ICQ when you are playing in a room other than Room 14.

DO WE FOLLOW THE “ZONE TOURNAMENT RULES?”

NO. It’s our philosophy that these rules are in place for one reason only -- foolish people put them there thinking they would eliminate cheating. Of course, since people who cheat don’t follow rules, these prohibitions really accomplish only one thing: they inconvenience and annoy the vast and honest majority of people who enjoy playing and watching good play. Consequently, we DO NOT abide by these rules, and in many instances, our customs are in direct opposition to them.

LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT... IS IT OK TO LEAVE ICQ ON?

YES! Nobody has yet come up with a compelling rationale for requiring ICQ or other communications devices to be closed, so if you want to chat about what you ate for dinner in the background, by all means feel free to do so, but remember not to let this activity intrude on your concentration.

WHAT ABOUT HIDING MY HAND FROM KIBITZERS?

DON'T DO IT!!! We encourage friends to stop by and watch our games, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t see our hands. It's pretty boring to look at a hidden hand.

WHAT ABOUT SUBS?

If one of you can’t play, by all means feel free to use a sub. You may use someone from outside the League or anyone in the League (although it is preferable to use someone who is not in your division to avoid conflict of interest problems).

HOW DO WE HANDLE TIES?

In case of a tied score, the team with the lesser number of bags is the winner. If the number of bags is also tied, then play one more "sudden death" hand. The winner of that hand is the winner of the game.

HOW WILL THE DIVISION WINNERS BE DETERMINED?

Each team will play 3 games per week for 7 weeks (total 21 games). The top two teams (best records) in each Division will go to finals. If there is a tie for second place, the head to head record between those two teams will determine the winner.

WHAT IF A TEAM DROPS OUT?

If a substitute team can be found, that team will take over the original team’s record. Otherwise, all games will be forfeited, even those already played and won, and win/loss records of remaining teams will be adjusted accordingly.

HOW WILL THE PLAYOFFS WORK?

All Final Matches will be Best 3 of 5. The first-place team from each conference will play the second-place team in the opposing conference in the semi-final games. Winners of those matches will play for the Championship.

WHO DESIGNED THIS SIMPLE, BUT ELEGANT FORMAT?

Our rules committee... Andrewz, Modano, Neal55, oneaceofspades, Tsmith, Kriskit, and SLovell242. A LOT of work went into creating what we think will be the fairest, least complicated and most exciting format possible, and they are due many thanks.

DO WE HAVE TO POST SCORES THROUGH THE WEBSITE?

Yes, please. We will be rotating score-posting duties, and when you post your wins/losses through the webpage, the appropriate people will get the information.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING RESULTS?

BOTH team captains are responsible for reporting game results.

DO WE HAVE TO PLAY THE GAMES IN THE ORDER THEY’RE SCHEDULED?

Yes and no! Any games may be played ahead of schedule, but all games must be played within one week of the scheduled dates. See the Rules Page for further information.