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THE GUILLESTRE CUP

BONJOUR

The Guillestre Cup is a casual Tantrix doubling tournament held every year in southeastern France. Back in 2007 a friendly doubling tournament was contested by Vincent (Syagrius), Britta (Bdot) and Mike (Mikem), and from this, the idea for the Guillestre Cup was born.

The tournament is open to any group of players that can manage to make it to the Provence. It is a wonderful opportunity to practice using the doubling cube in a competitve but friendly environment.

Matches are usually played out of a maximum of 5 games (with doubling) but rules vary depending on how many people turn up to play. All games take place in Guillestre and surroundings, often in cafes!

2009 CUP

The 2009 event was held in August during a short visit by the fearsome Hungarian duo of Laszlo Harsanyi (Leslie) and Attila Mikulán (Blick). In a nailbiting contest Laszlo lost to Attila in the first match. This gave Attila the right to meet Mike in the final. In a match every bit as close as the first, Mike defeated Attila 5-3 to win the Cup.

Mike hopes for a larger turnout for the next Cup, but not too large!

2008 CUP

The first match of this year's Guillestre Cup 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 first round match 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 knockout match, 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.

The final took place on Sunday 6th July at various spots around Guillestre between Mikem v 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.

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 7 points earns 1 times whatever the cube has reached. (single win)
A win between 7 and 11 points earns 2 times the cube. (double win)
A win by 12 or more points earns 3 times the cube. (triple win)
A win by loop if your opponent finishes with a line earns 2 times the cube. (double 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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