Official Rules for Rocket Robin

1. Introduction

These are the rules specific to the Rocket Robin Tournament.  The general rules for Avenue tournaments (which deal with malfunctions, player error, etc.) will be in effect for this tournament.

Rocket Robin is a charity tournament held at the Avenue Café in Lansing.  All entry fees, excluding coin drop (which goes to the operator), will be donated to the Capital Area Humane Society.

2. Entering the tournament

The entry fee for the tournament is $10.  The tournament will start promptly at 7 p.m.  Players should be on site to register by 6:45 p.m.  Anyone who is not present by the time the tournament director (TD) has finished calling the first round of matches will not be able to enter.

3. Setting up the tournament

The TD will have a list of games, in order of priority, to be used in the tournament.  The number of games necessary to accommodate as many matches as possible (while allowing for the starting queue) will be determined, and the corresponding games will be chosen from the list.  Matches will then be randomly drawn for the starting round, leaving a minimum of 2 people in the queue to “prime” it.

4. The procession of the tournament

When a match finishes, the player who lost the game (assuming it was his/her first loss in a row on this game) will stay at the game.  The player who won the game will then bring the filled-out results slip to the designated box to be turned in, then go to the back of the queue.  The TD or another tournament official (TO) will then transfer these results to the official win/loss tally as soon as possible.  Exception: if it is a player’s second loss in a row at the same game, then the winner stays at the game and the loser brings the results back to the box and gets in the back of the queue.

When a match finishes and one of the players from that match has returned, the first person in the queue will then go to the game that has just been vacated, and compete against the person who stayed at the machine.

The person who has stayed at the game will always be player one; the person who walks up to the game will always be player two.  Exception: during the first round, the first person called will be player one, and the second, player two.

Players are expected to return to the queue without delay.  If a player needs a short break, he/she should report to his/her next game, advise his/her opponent of the need for a short break, and take that break as quickly as possible between balls.

This process will continue for two hours (120 minutes).  The TD will be the official timekeeper and will announce when the time limit has been reached.  At that time, games in progress will finish, but no further games will be started.

5. Extra balls

Extra balls will not be played, but will be treated as “unallowable extra balls,” as described in the general rules.

6. Game substitution

If the TD rules that a game needs to be replaced due to a malfunction, it will be removed from the competition and, if possible, replaced by the next lower game on the priority list.

7. Qualifying for finals

The standings at the end of the two hour qualifying period will be determined by win/loss percentage.  The players with the top four percentage records will qualify for finals.  In the case of a tie, there will be a single game playoff between the tied players on a randomly selected game.

8. Finals format

The finals will be “PAPA style.”  Three four-player games will be played, with 4/2/1/0 scoring.  The games for the playoff will be chosen randomly by the TD.  The TD reserves the right to exclude problematic games from the random draw (for instance, games known to be less reliable for extended play).  In all three rounds, the top seed gets first choice of player order, the second seed gets second choice, and so on.  In the case of a tie for final position, there will be a single game tiebreaker.

9. Consolation tournament

An optional consolation tournament will be open to all entrants besides the four finalists.  It will be a single elimination tournament with single-game matches.  The higher seed gets to choose game or order.  Any game deemed fit for the tournament by the TD may be chosen, except games in use in the main tournament finals.  The consolation tournament does not award WPPR points and does not affect the standings in the main tournament.