BPA membership requirement: All entrants are required to be members of the Boardgame Players Association - see the BPA website for details about joining. (For a history of previous BPA War at Sea tournaments, click here.) Anyone who is found to have not paid their BPA dues before the start of Round 2 will be subject to immediate expulsion from the tournament.

Method of play: The default expectation is that games will be played via email. If you are willing to exchange VASSAL (.vsav) or CyberBoard (.gsn or .gmv) move files, you may do so, but if not, the PBEM default is that you communicate your moves to each other via email text. Make sure you are as specific as you need to be to avoid ambiguity and slowing play down: e.g., as the Axis player, don't write "German fleet to the Baltic" without specifying whether or not that includes your U-boats.

Games may also be played in real time using VASSAL, ideally also using Skype or Zoom or Discord or WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger (or another similar app) to facilitate audio chat at the same time. Make sure you have downloaded the current version of both the VASSAL application (v3.3.1) and the War at Sea VASSAL module (v2.41) before attempting to begin a game. Normally, players should expect to complete a VASSAL game in a single session - it shouldn't take more than two hours to finish a full eight-turn game - but if both players agree, it can be completed over multiple sessions. (If you are not familiar with VASSAL, the GMs will be able to point you in the right direction regarding tips and hints about how to use the application.)

Time limits: A time limit of approximately two-and-a-half weeks will be set for each game and clearly communicated to all players before each round begins. Where possible, the GMs will try and communicate the pairings to players early to give you more time to arrange and play your games, but the end-of-round deadline is not movable: all games must be finished, and results reported to the GMs, by the end of the final day.

If any game runs has not been finished within the allotted time, the GMs will adjudicate the game as follows:

• For a PBEM game that has not been finished: Each player should inform the GMs what the game situation is and who they think is more responsible for the game not being finished. Unless the slower player has a virtual mathematical lock on a victory - in which case victory will be determined and game points will be awarded according to the likely final game situation - the faster player will be declared the winner and awarded 10 game points (and a win), and the loser will get 0 game points (and a loss).
• For a planned real-time game that has not been played: Each player should inform the GMs who they think is more responsible for the game not being played. If they agree, or if one player makes the more compelling case in his favor, a winner will be declared and awarded 9 game points (and a win), and the loser will get 0 game points (and a loss). If both players are equally at fault, they will each receive 0 game points (and a loss).

Bidding: Players will bid to choose sides in each game. The player bidding first will be determined randomly as part of the draw for each round: that player must name his preferred side and how many POC, if any, he is willing to sacrifice from his score at the end of the game (only) to play that side. The second player may either accept the POC incentive his opponent is willing to give him, if any, or bid a higher POC amount for the preferred side. (All bids must be in increments of 0.5 POC.) The option passes back and forth in this fashion until one player accepts the non-preferred side and the POC incentive.

(If you are new to War at Sea, you may wish to note that in games between expert players, the average bid has historically tended to be around 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 POC to play the Allies.)

PBEM procedures: When playing a game in real-time via VASSAL, all normal War at Sea rules should be enforced. But when playing an asynchronous game via email, certain special procedures should be used to speed games along. Most regular WAS players will be familiar with these procedures already, but to eliminate any doubt, the official Sequence of Play should be adjusted as follows:

• Simultaneous placement of land-based Airstrike markers (as per rule 5.5.) and deciding whether to disengage and retreat in an area (rule 12.9) is not practical in a PBEM game, so this should be done sequentially. Normally the Axis player should be able to place his LBA marker when he reveals his fleet and U-boat dispositions, and often he should be able to announce his intention to retreat after rolling his surface combat dice in a given round. But in situations where the Allied player's decisions may affect the Axis player's choice, the Axis player can ask the Allied player to place his LBA marker and/or declare his intention to retreat first.
• All combat types in a given turn should be resolved simultaneously across all areas - e.g., the Allied player should roll all of his ASW dice across the map, then the Axis player rolls any U-boat attacks, then the Alllied player rolls his airstrikes, then the Axis player rolls his airstrikes, then the Allied player rolls his R1 surface combat attacks, and so on. (If in one area a player retreats and is pursued while normal combat in another area continues, the first pursuit round should be conducted simultaneously with the next normal combat round.)
• Wherever possible, players should look to take shortcuts they feel comfortable taking - e.g., the Allied player can combine his ASW and Airstrike dice in one salvo if no carriers are subject to potential U-boat attacks, and if the results of any ASW and U-boat rolls are unlikely to affect his targeting Airstrike targeting decisions.

Dice procedures: If there are disputed die rolls in a game, players will be strongly encouraged to resolve their problems themselves. If they cannot do so, the GM will rule in the following manner:

• If too few dice are rolled, those rolls are kept and additional rolls are ordered.
• If too many dice are rolled, the excess rolls are ignored.
• If the format of the rolls is wrong (e.g., it is not possible to definitely tell which were the hit rolls and which were the damage rolls), the die rolls should rerolled using the correct format.
• If there is ambiguity about which rolls apply to which ships - e.g., Allied speed rolls are sent for "two 456s to the Barents", but one of them is damaged and the other one isn't - all such dice should be rerolled.
• If attacks are rolled against a ship which cannot legally be attacked - e.g., a screened carrier or convoy - those rolls are disregarded (and treated as misses).

In real-time games, players should use the in-built dice server within VASSAL. For PBEM games, we would suggest that everyone use the Firish WAS/VitP Die Roller, though the final decision is up to the two players and other options like ACTS or dice@finberg.org are also perfectly acceptable - each player in any given game may use different dice servers, although if there is any question about a dice server's validity, please contact the GM. (GM note: if you don't know what ACTS and/or dice@finberg.org are, ask your opponent or don't worry about it!)

Code of conduct: Greg Smith runs a separate War at Sea  PBEM Ladder (which I would recommend to anyone looking for more WAS action!), and at that web link he lists a Code of Conduct which I'd highly encourage everyone - particularly newer players - to check out. War at Sea etiquette is generally a matter of common sense, I find, but if you want any specific pointers, please consider that Code as the Code of this tournament.

(See also the Sportsmanship page on this website for other important points regarding the Code of Conduct.)

Official rules clarifications: The latest Official Errata & Rules Clarifications for War at Sea can be found below:

And for anyone who doesn't have a PDF of the official War at Sea rules, here's the file for you - many thanks to John Sharp for finding a PDF of the 2nd Edition rules that everyone can now use!