Re: Advice sought on Cosmic Encounter Tournament at WBC

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Big Bird) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> The CE tournament at the WBC (<http://www.boardgamers.org>) is a three
> round swiss-like tournament. Each player gets points based on their
> performance during the game and after three games, the highest total
> wins. We use the Hasbro version, and allocate two hours per game. Most
> games don't take this long, but some come close.
> 
> Attendance has been declining and, based on comments, I think the use
> of the Hasbro version is one reason. I'm considering switching to
> Mayfair as the primary version next year, but I wonder what that will
> do to the average game length. 
> 
> Do you think that two hours is still a reasonable length of time for a
> game? The game length with the Mayfair version seems more variable to
> me. I may need to adjudicate unfinished games. Any advice on doing
> this objectively? Should I include any or all of "More Cosmic"? Any
> more general comments?
> 
> Mark Geary

Two hours is still quite reasonable (and play time will vary depending
on many factors at setup, like number of powers, other add-ins, etc.).
 Having a time pressure will speed things up, and you can try to
determine penalties for anyone using stall tactics (if they are
clearly ahead).  The point system also means you don't need to finish
a game.
I believe you will have a better time with the Mayfair game, for the
simple reason that there's more diversity.

Let us know how it goes.

Jack