Hello Stratego fans and players.  
 
I'm just making a quick announcment to remind everyone that the 2nd annual March Madness Tournament is not less than 4 months away. Yes it is still a ways off, but right now is when you need to be playing hard because your 12 month ranking is what will get you seeded highly.
 
All players will be required to have a current ranking in order to  be seeded.
 
Looking forward to another great tourney, so get your game ready and we'll see you in March.

Things are progressing well behind the scenes as were down to less than three months to go before March Madness 2010.  
 
I've spoken with a few players who have already Volunteered to help with the Tournament. Flyers has again stepped forward for committee duty as has Xerxes. And hopefully we'll have the committee full by the new year.  
 
Our tournamnet is also getting some new flash as Xerxes is a math genius. Some of the equations and odds that Xerxes is putting together will blow your mind. Looks like we'll have a functioning odds line going into it this year to aid those who plan to win the "Pick'em Prize".  
 
I've also spoken with some of the best, and top ranked players and have received several commitments. Last year we fielded quite a bit of the top ten......this year we might get 100% of the top ten. Yes sir this is going to be exciting!  
 
OK...another reminder here. Be sure to keep your ranking active and play the best you can over the next few months as the 64 players in this tournament are seeded by the Metaforge Krach rating, and a good seeding position can be very important!
 

12 Month Ranking???
 
darn, i'm glad if i make to the seedings then.
And then fight with one of the masters...
 
Anyway, sounds like fun!

what about making the final four a best of 3?  or at least the finals?

Hey guys,
 
The tournament will progress just as it did last year.
 
All matches are one game. Just like the basketball tourney. That's what makes it so exciting. An underdog can get an upset because it's just one game. So basically, you need to string together 6 good games to be the champion.
 
Also, the default game settings will be the same as last year. No aids and no RV. Public Viewable is default on always, this is because of the nature of the tournament, and allows all competitors and observers a chance to enjoy the competition. Now game aids and remain visible can be set to on if both players agree to it.
 
The reason the settings are like this is because last year, a few of the top players refused to participate if the settings were not like this.

Quote from buttwheat on Jan 16^th, 2010, 2:32pm:

 
OK Butt,
 
Let me see if I can explain this on your wavelength.....
 
The thing that is exciting about not only the basketball tourney but our tournament as well is this.....
 
At any time, an underdog, low seeded, blue collar hero could emerge, and upset the giant, topple a #1 seed, and climb that unclimbable mountain.
 
OK, here is another completely hypothetical example.  
 
Picture this. It's March 6th 2010, #7 seeded Buttwheat is matched up against his long time nemesis #1 seed Lightwing.  
 
Late in the match, BW lifted his leg to let one go and accidental sharted (sh1t while farting) in his pants and he lost his concentration for a moment.....forgetting where Lighty's General was. This eventually cost him his Colonel.  
 
But......the EXCITEMENT grew, as a few moves later,  Buttwheat somehow slipped his sergeant through and captured Lighty's last miner, and then lottoed an open flag. What a huge upset. How EXCITING! Now BW is officially  2 - 678 against Lighty....."YES"!
 
 
Anyway, I hope these examples help everyone see how big and EXCITING this tournament will be.  
 
 
 

after that fairy tale, how could anyone NOT be excited!!!!!! i think i even sharted a little just reading that!
 
my only suggestion to change this year would be to keep the tourny to current meta members only. people who play on here everyday deserve the chance to participate over some super all star player who doesnt. However i do like how you held a few seats for the best of the site. allowing them time to commit.  
 
are you keeping the field to 64 again? i would assume that more than that would be interested.

As Rocky mentioned above:
 
Quote:

 
Also, the field will be 65 players, as there will be a play-in game to kick off the tournament.  If more players are interested, then those with the 65 highest 12-month Krach rating will make it in.