JOL League Homepage

The JOL League is an ongoing affair. Starting in 2008, the league will track games throughout the year, with a final tournament-style final game which will commence once the year's results are in.

League standings

Table breakdowns

JOL League Policies

The Nine Commandments of the JOL League

Thou shalt check thy games at least twice per day.
Thou shalt respond to the last game move within 24 hours of the last time-stamp.
Thou shalt treat thy opponents with respect.
Thou shalt obey the decisions of the judges.
Thou shalt ping thy opponents once when they are needed, unless they are present.
Thou shalt register thy decks within 48 hours of being added by the league administrator.
Thou shalt return accidentally drawn cards to the library and shuffle.
Thou shalt give thy userid when requesting games from the league administrator.
Thou shalt let the league administrator know when thou will be absent.

JOINING THE LEAGUE

Anyone is welcome to join the league if they contact me at ghost [at] mnsi [dot] net. In order to join, you must have completed one non-league JOL game. Alternatively, I can place you in a "demo" game, which you can use to prove to us that you are a reliable and considerate player.

In order to join the league, please email Wes at ghost(at)mnsi(dot)net or wes(dot)weston(at)gmail(dot)com. Please include the following information:

Your name
Your city/country
Your JOL userid
An HTML link to a recently completed JOL game, or, alternatively, a request to be placed in a demo game.
The email address that should be added to the league mailing list (if different)
Let me know that you have read this page, understand the policies and agree to abide by them.

SLOW AND NON-RESPONSIVE PLAYERS

Each player is expected to log in and check their games at least twice per day, excluding weekends.

In most circumstances, players must respond within 24 hours of the "last move". Refer to the JOL3 timestamp next to each "move" to find out how long it's been since the "last move".

Note that weekends are already considered time-off for JOL games. No player is required to respond on Saturday or Sunday, though it's great if you can. The exception to this are "Quick" games, where all players agree to play Monday-Sunday; these games are only assigned to people who specifically ask for them.

THREE STRIKES POLICY

A strike will be given for:
- Missing a single 24-hour period without notifying the league admin of their absence.
- Abusive behaviour toward another player
After a month, a strike will disappear from the league update (ie. a strike received on April 4th will disappear on May 4th)
When a player receives their third strike in a month they will be removed from the league (but may re-apply in three months, assuming problems are resolved)
A player may request independent arbitration if they feel they were wrongly removed.

So, if a player loses a few days of connectivity all at once, due to unforseen circumstances like an ISP problem, or a meteor strike on their house, they will start accumulating one strike per day. They will not be replaced for missing a second 24-hour period the day following their first absence. If they miss a third 24-hour period they get their third strike, I start replacing them, etc.

Please note that the objective of this policy is to ensure quick games, not to kick people out of the league. And it is never personal on my part. If you are removed there is probably a very good reason for it -- and you will still be welcome to join non-league JOL games in most cases.

If you feel that you have been treated unfairly by this policy, you are welcome to seek a second opinion from our panel of referees. Their decision-making on this will be independent of mine and override this policy, if necessary.

Although it may seem like I am omniscient, alas I am but a mortal. Therefore, please let me know when players in your games are MIA -- I won't know otherwise. I do check on games with slow players once in a while, but only once I have been made aware that there is a problem.

Note that being removed from the league is not the same as being banned from JOL. You will still be allowed to play in non-league games, if you can find players willing to join you.

You are also welcome to email me after three months and ask to be reinstated. I am generally sympathetic, assuming you are able to play faster or act respectfully. If you were banned for abusive behaviour, the people you abused will also be involved in this decision, as the victims of the crime, so to speak.

PLAYER TIME-OFFS

If you know that you will be unable to attend to your games for a short period of time, let me know and I will put an away time in the next "League Update" email. It is your responsibility to let us know, not ours to guess. You can email me, or simply send an email to the league itself.

Again, note that weekends are already considered time-off for JOL games. No player is required to respond on Saturday or Sunday.

DEAL-MAKING

There is nothing stopping two Methuselahs from making deals in JOL. Furthermore, there is nothing stopping two Methusleahs from keeping their deals a secret from the rest of the table. This adds an interesting element to most JOL games.

And just like real V:tES there is absolutely nothing stopping a Methuselah from breaking their deals. Not me, though. I always keep my word. Uh huh. I swear.

Please note that players emailing each other about deals are still required to respond to the game within 24 hours. Keep in mind that the other players will not necessarily be aware that you are wheeling and dealing.

For those who want a more traditional V:tES game, we have "No Private Deal" games that you can request to be added to.

TAKE-BACKS

It is often the case in JOL that cards are drawn that should not have been (due to Wake with Evening's Freshness, etc.). In such cases, the accidentally drawn card should be moved back to the library, which should then be re-shuffled

JUDGING

In a case where there is a dispute about game rules or card interactions, simply consult the internet, or ask LSJ directly. While this is being done, players will not be required to check their games until the issue is resolved (though try to do so quickly).

In a case where there is a dispute regarding deals that require a judge, email me and I will assign one of the following judges to look at your case. Note that we use the VEKN Multi-Judge system for all intents and purposes. The current roster of judges are:

Cooper
Pat Lusk
Jared Strait
Raille
Klaital
Jeff
ira (backup judge, if needed)

Please do not email the judges without consulting with me first. It's important that we maintain a proper order for which judge gets selected, and not just the first person on the list.

If you are having a personal problem with another player's abusive behaviour toward you, email me directly. I will issue a strike to that player if necessary.

If you are having a problem with the league administrator, ie. me, you can email one of the judges above for an independent decision. I am willing to forward complaints to them without interfering with them. I will not post their emails here due to spam-bots, but you can email the league list asking one of them to contact you, if you like. I hope this is not necessary, of course, but I do want players to feel that everything is done fairly.

If a player refuses to abide by a judge's decision, they will be immediately ejected from the league. The judges are always the final arbiters for game disputes.

Note that this does not prevent a player from attempting to argue their case (and they should always feel free to do so, as the judges will require as much information as possible); it just means that once the final decision is handed down, you either abide with it, or you don't play in the league.

GAME TYPES

We have four different game-types.

"Standard" games are played from Monday to Friday, and optionally on weekends. Private deals are allowed in these games.

"No Private Deals" are games in which all deals must be revealed publicly, using either the interface chat or emails to the player list (ie by replying to one of the turn summaries).

"Quick" games are for people who can access their games seven days a week. Normally, weekends are exempt from the "check twice per day" rule. You will not be placed in these games unless you specifically request it, or if you explicitly specify "any available game". Please do not sign up for these if you do not have weekend internet access.

"Demo" games are used to introduce new players to the league and/or JOL. They do not count toward your league scores, though the 24-hour rules is considered to be in effect. You are welcome to use these games to try out silly decks. I will only add these as needed, or if specifically requested.

REQUESTING GAMES

To be added to a game, you must provide me with the following information:

Your JOL userid (eg. "JOLID --> Ghost")
The number of games you want
The type of games you want

If you do not provide me with the above, I will ignore your email. You can use this form, just to be safe: http://www.mnsi.net/~ghost/jyhad/leagueform.htm

OTHER NOTES

Please stick to one userid for all league games. Your userid is how I track performance, etc.
Games will not count towards a player's league ranking until they have completed three league games.
You may enter as many league games as you feel you can handle, assuming space is available.
You do not need to use the same deck for each game (and probably shouldn't).
You will be put on a mailing list, where I post a list of games that need players. To sign up for a game, please contact me. If there are no games available, I will create one for you.

Helpful Links

NAVIGATION

Jyhad/V:tES Resource Page -> JOL League Homepage