It is the first time in the history of Pen-Spinning that a worldwide cooperative pen spinning competition has ever been organized. You will discover an exciting new format which adds tactical depth and team concept to the otherwise individualistic competitions we've observed so far.
If you're a player, you probably only need to read the sections about Match Types. If you're a manager, you must read the whole guide.
If you are already familiar with the rules, as described here, you can skip this guide and only read the following list of changes to the base rules which pertain specifically to this tournament. If not, please read the guide in its entirety.
List of changesBattle: A team vs team competition. A battle consists of several matches. The lineup is decided during the lineup periods by the managers of the teams. The victorious team is the one who wins the most points in the matches.
Match: A single event within a battle. Matches can be 1vs1 or 2vs2.
Team: A group of 6 pen spinners, with a manager. The manager can be a participating pen spinner as well.
Manager: The person in making the team's lineup for each battle. This is also the person in charge of collecting the videos and communicating with the referee.
Spinner: The player. Each team has several spinner, and each spinner participates in only one match, except for the reserve.
Reserve: A substitute player. The reserve may replace another spinner in the match that person was playing. The reserve should only play when the other spinner is unable to submit a video.
Lineup: An ordering of the spinners into the matches. Each spinner is assigned to at most 1 match. Doubles match requires 2 players.
Lineup periods: The lineup periods occur at the very beginning of a battle. During that time, the lineups are decided.
Cards: During the lineup periods, managers can play cards to change or protect the lineups. Each card is one-time use.
Roster: The list of players registered to play the next round (including the reserve). The roster can be changed before each round.
Referee: The official in charge of the tournament. Managers must send their lineups and videos to the referee. The referee for this tournament is Zombo.
Every team has 6 spinners. In addition, you have a manager, who may or may not be one of the 6 spinners. Therefore each team has either 6 or 7 persons in it. This is the size of the roster for each round.
Each battle is composed for 4 matches: three (3) 1vs1 (called "Singles") and one (1) 2vs2 (called "Doubles"). Each match is assigned a number. The battle format is described as follow:
S1 D2 S3 S4
Where S means a Singles and D means a doubles and the number represents the match number. Numbers are important when determining the number of points awarded for a win in that match. See Scoring.
There are two types of matches: Singles and Doubles.
Doubles: Each team sends a pair (2) of spinners. The two spinners must each film their own combo and their combos are then edited together. Because it is one video, there must be transition between the end of the combo of the first spinner into the beginning of the combo of the second spinner.
This is similar to what is done in the Vortex video. Judges will be asked to evaluate the transition between the two spinners as part of their evaluation of the whole video.
Here are some examples of doubles videos: Worldmacker & Aug-H, Strat1227 & Oxygène, Blackhero & Vicgotgame1.
Each spinner in the pair must spin at least 15 seconds. The total video length is (15*2) 30 seconds minimum and 55 seconds maximum.
We always evaluate each match individually. Matches give points to the team of the winning spinner.
When a match is tied, we give one (1) point to both teams.
When a match is won, we give two (2) points to the winning team if the match number is odd. If the match number is even, we give three (3) points to the winning team. We give no (0) point to the losing team.
In our "S1 D2 S3 S4" format, matches S1 (Singles 1) and S3 (Singles 3) are worth 2 points each for a win, while matches D2 (Doubles 2) and S4 (Singles 4) are worth 2 points only.
The winning team is therefore the team which has the most points. In case of a tie, we go to a tiebreaker, which is a 1vs1 match between the captains of each team. Go to the Captaincy section for more details.
Lineup periods
The battle always start with a phase called the "lineup periods". During these periods, the managers must perform certain actions in order to make their lineup and modify it.
The lineup periods consists of 4 seperate periods. Each period lasts one (1) day. Each period has a different use. The managers must send their actions and/or information by e-mail to the referee.
Please note that the managers' actions are NOT revealed as soon as they are received. They are only revealed at the end of the current period.
After these 4 periods, the lineups are final for this battle, barring the use of reserve substitution.
Each manager selects three (3) cards for each battle. These cards will help the manager change or protect his lineup. Each card can be used only once and fall under two categories:
The reserve player is a backup in case one of the spinners is unable to submit a video. They can replace any player in any match.
If a player is unable to participate in the next battle, you can find a replacement for that player. You must then submit the change before the battle starts. The replacement player cannot be a participant for another team or have already participated for an eliminated team. The player that has been replaced may return for later rounds.
At the beginning of every battle (period 1), the manager must select a captain and an assistant captain. If the battle is tied after all 4 matches, the captain of each team will fight against each other to determine the winning team. If the captain is unable to produce a video, the assistant captain can replace him.
Judges will be recommended to follow this judging scheme, but it is not mandatory. In doubles matches, emphasis will be put on the transition. For singles matches, the judging is quite standard and is similar to regular judging.
Here is a quick schedule of how a battle might run. Each battle should take roughly 3 weeks. If there is tie, the captains have one (1) week to submit another video.
For tactical reasons: these matches are more important. The two managers know they should not lose those two matches, so they will probably put their best players there.
What happens if I submit a swap and my opponent submits a freeze on a match I'm swapping from in the same day?Your swap will be applied and the freeze will take into effect the following day. Swap always has priority over freeze.
Why can't I use swap cards in period 2?You haven't selected your lineup yet; there is no need to swap.
Why can't I use freeze cards in period 4?It's useless; since it's the last period, the teams cannot use any cards afterwards anyway. All lineups will be final.
Can I change who is my reserve for every battle?Yes, you change who between your spinners is the reserve for each battle.
One of my spinners can't participate in the next round!Find a replacement for that player and notify the referee before the start of the next round.
In what format should I submit the videos?I prefer YouTube or Putfile. You can also send me the video.
Are there any prizes?Yes! We will definitively give prizes to the top 3 teams of the tournament, courtesy of Penwish. The prizes are not determined yet but they will contain many surprises for sure!
Do you have examples to refer to?Yes, here is a written example and here is a real battle based on slightly different rules.
Written by Zombo.