A Game of Games was introduced in October 2011, but LXG has many members who weren’t around at that meeting, so it’s high time for a recap on how to join in our ranks ladder.
The system is based around playing games (could you guess?) but it’s also there to encourage club members to get to know one another and play a variety of games at club meetings. You gain points by playing at club meetings and at Winter Retreat.
A Game of Games has been deliberately designed to be a multi-year exercise. While we ultimately want to spice things up with some achievements within the ranks, right now it’s points only. Ranks require progressively more points to gain as you rise through the ranks, but it starts off fairly easy. The first rank requires 20 points to achieve, which can easily be gained at a single meeting if you’re constantly playing. The next requires 30, and the five ranks after that are spaced 50 points apart. Only then does it become a longer stretch between ranks.
Gaining points is as easy as playing games, and playing games is what LXG is all about. It’s impossible to lose points once you’ve gained them, and while winning gives more points, the ladder is ultimately a measure of gaming activity rather than gaming wins. Event organisers and league organisers are also eligible for bonus points, based on the games they run and the number of players in those events. The current top three players on our ladder all run events and/or leagues.
When playing, to ensure your score is recorded, make sure there is a record sheet at the table. Each game requires one sheet, and they look like this:
The sheets should be filled in with each player’s name and where they came in the game (1st, 2nd, etc). I you can. Don’t forget to write the name of the game you played! A game’s modifier can be worked out form the side of the box; games that have a play time of up to 1 hour have a modifier of 1, up to 2 hours is a modifier of 2, and so on. Always use the highest number on the box to determine modifier, so if a game has a stated playing time of 1-2 hours, it will have a modifier of 2, even if your game finished in 40 minutes!
Also remember to add at least the first two letters of each player’s surname on the sheet, as this can prevent confusion when it comes time to add the scores. We have a number of members named Alex, for example. There is a column for membership numbers and when the committee finds a cost-effective way of issuing membership cards, that will come in handy, until then it can be left blank.
Once your game is over and you’ve filled out the score sheet, you can drop the sheet at the counter, where there is usually a basket to place the day’s sheets in.
After the club meeting, all the scores are added together and the ladder is updated, this usually happens on the evening of the club meet, so you don’t have to wait long to discover if you’ve gained a rank or not.
Rank badges are available at every LXG meeting if you’d like to show off your rank. The badges cost $2.50 each, with $1 covering the cost of the badge and the remaining $1.50 making up a donation to multiple sclerosis Queensland, a charity that LXG has been associated with for some years now.
Happy playing!
