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2008 VAUBAN CHALLENGE / GUILLESTRE CUP

2008 VAUBAN CHALLENGE

The Vauban Challenge is a Tantrix doubling tournament.

Back in 2007 a friendly doubling tournament was contested in Guillestre by Syagrius (Vincent), Britta (Bdot) & Mike (Mikem).

In 2008 the Vauban Challenge was born and contested by 4 players pictured below: Lorene and Francois (playing), Vincent (standing), Britta (seated).

Vauban Challenge Final

All matches played out of a maximum of 5 games (with doubling). All games took place in Guillestre on Saturday, 5th July. The aim was to produce a "Vauban Challenger" who would contest the Guillestre Cup against the defending champ (Mike).

The first semifnal of this year's Vauban Challenge went down to the wire. Vincent had one tile left and three seconds on the clock but could not find a place to play it in time and ran over by one second. Lorene and the rules were both unforgiving and Lorene claimed the point to win 4-3 after 5 matches.

The other semifinal was the exact opposite. Francois took 4 points off Britta in the first game and then won 2 points in the second. So with only 2 games played and the score at 6-0 there was no mathematical chance for Britta to win.

In the husband v. wife final, Francois kept up his steamroller ride to victory. He won a point in the first game and then two in the second when Lorene ran overtime. Then in game three he accepted a double and went on to win making the score 5-0 with only two games left. With no mathematical way for Lorene to come back Francois became the 2008 Vauban Challenger.

2008 GUILLESTRE CUP

The Guillestre Cup is a defender/challenger serious like the America's Cup or Trax. The championship is between the previous year's winner of Guillestre Cup and this year's winner of Vauban Challenge.

The 2008 Guillestre Cup took place on sunday 6th July at various spots around Guillestre between reigning Cup Holder Mike v Vauban Challenger Francois. The championship followed all doubling and Crawford rules (see below). The winner is the first player to seven points.

Game 1: Mike doubles early, Francois an easy take, Mike has a lucky finish and wins Score 2-0
Game 2: Francois doubles, Mike takes, Francois wins. Score 2-2
Game 3: Mike completes an early loop and doubles. Francois drops. Score 3-2
Game 4: Mike doubles, Francois takes, Mike wins. Score 5-2
Game 5: Francois wins. Score 5-3
Game 6: Draw. Score 6-4
Game 7: Played to the end (no doubling-Crawford) Francois wins. Score 6-5
Game 8: Francois doubles on first move, Mike drops as he had very bad tiles. Score 6-6
Game 9: Both players get 20 point loops. Draw. Score 7-7
Game 10: Played online. A terrible blunder by Mike cost him the game and the Cup!

Francois Pacull becomes the 2008 Guillestre Champion.

The 2009 event will be announced well in advance and is likely to be in early July also.

DOUBLING CUBE RULES

A cube game is a type of Tantrix game for two players only, using a "backgammon style" doubling cube, aka Cafe Games.

The normal Tantrix rules apply, but the doubling cube indicates how many points each individual game is worth. The cube always starts the game on one, but can be progressively doubled by first one player then the other (eg 1,2,4,8, etc).

Only a player who "owns" the cube can double. At the beginning of a game the cube starts on 1, and is owned jointly by both players. When a player offers a double, the other player either concedes the game or accepts to finish the game for double stakes. If a player accepts they now own the cube.

The final score can also affect how many points a game is worth.

A win by less than 6 points earns 1 times whatever the cube has reached. (single win)
A win between 6 and 11 points earns 2 times the cube. (double win)
A win by 12 or more points earns 3 times the cube. (triple win)

If a player refuses the "double" then he loses only 1 times whatever the cube has already reached. So it is easily possible to be in a position "too good" to double.

CRAWFORD RULE

This rule states that the doubling cube can not be used on the very first game that a player is within one point of winning the match. For a full description click here.

TOURNAMENT RULES

A typical match is played up to 7 points, sometimes more.
The cube starts on 1, "between" the players.
Players can double at any time.
If you offer to double during your own turn, you start your opponent's clock so that it is their time ticking while they consider the decision.
If you double during your opponent's turn, they must make a decision before taking ANY further action, such as picking up a replacement tile.

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