You've made it this far, now let the fun begin. There are some rules.
1)This is a Secret Society, no one may use their real name. With your invitation you were given a player name. When you interact with the Society you must use this name. Want to know who else is playing? Too bad. You won't find that out until the end.
2)Please indicate in the comments section if you are in fact in or out. Use your player name to identify yourself.
3)$5 is required to enter. You can play without the entry, but your results won't count for Alpaca shit. Want to win the whole thing, then you better have $5.
4)But SSofTSA, how do we get our entry to you without meeting you in person? Easy. Our go between will be GIR. For those of you who don't know, he looks like this:
You will be seeing him. I guarantee it. Along with collecting dues, he will be handing out and collecting packets should you want/require them.
5) If you'd like to try to save the Earth by not wasting paper, then you can download the pick spreadsheet here: Hail Alpaca! The spreadsheet contains 9 sheets. Sheets 1-8 contain one group each. Starting with sheet 1, Group A, you will have to fill in the results of each game as you predict them.
The score you pick for a team in column C should be written beside it in column B. Scores you pick for the team in column E should be written beside it in column F. Continue this for all games in the group. Once complete, make sure to write the number of wins for each team in column B of that teams row. Draws should be written in column C of that team's row (yes, games can end in a draw in Round 1). Losses go in column D. You should see that as you enter the wins, draws, and losses the Points column for each team will add up. This is important, but we'll get to that later. Also, the goals for and against for each team should add up automatically for each team, as well as their goal differential. If this is not occurring for you, do not fret, ask for help and we can help you.Once you have filled out your picks and filled in the records for the group, take a look at each team's points. The team with the most points is your 1 team for that group. As an example, the team finishing with the most points in Group A is your 1A team for the second stage. Your second place team will be 2A for the second stage. Should two teams finish with the same number of points there is a tie breaking procedure. First, who has the better goal differential. If still tied, who has more goals scored for their side. If it still comes to a tie for you, please contact the Society. We will help resolve the issue. If this doesn't make sense to you, ask. We are here to help.
Once you have filled out every group to completion, place your two advancing teams into the next stage on Sheet 9. This is a straight knockout format. Games here can end in a draw but are then decided by a penalty kick shootout. If you decide two teams will draw, then please include the penalty score for each team in brackets. If this is unclear, please ask for clarification.
Also, you will see that there is a 3rd place playoff. What is this you ask? The two teams that lose in the Semi-finals (Column D) play each other for Third Place. Don't forget to make a pick for this game as well. It counts.
6)As a player, you don't have to know what is going on in the soccer world to play. There are links on the side for each team in the World Cup. This link provides a picture of each team's crest, and a brief profile. It includes team slogans and team nicknames. Pick your favorite from these if you really don't know. Rankings are there as well. Need more clarification on something, just ask.
There are also previews of each group. You don't have to read the break downs under the charts if you don't want. The charts may be helpful. They include both sets of rankings, as well as best finishes in a World Cup, and what position the team finished in if they were in the last World Cup of 2010.
7)In the first round, scoring for players works like this. For every correct result, that being picking a correct win or draw, will score you a point. Guess the correct score, and you get a bonus point for that game. The maximum number of points you can score is 12 points per group, or 96 points overall. If you don't understand, ask for clarification, or just leave it to us. We got this.
8)If you do bad in the first round, don't fret. Your $5 isn't necessarily gone. All players enter the Round of 16 on square pegging. We're all in a giant knockout group. Assuming there are 6 of us playing, all 6 are playing for 4 spots. In this round we fight for points just like round 1. A point is awarded for every team you correctly pick to advance to the next round. Bonus points still apply. But what about your points from Round 1? Tie breakers among players will be settled by how many points you scored in the first round. Finish in first, and you have to be in the bottom of the group to be eliminated.
The two teams finishing last in the 2nd Round will face off against each other for the rest of the knockout stage to see who finishes 5th and 6th. The remaining four players enter the Quarterfinals and continue to fight in a group knockout. First round scores break ties again. The two winners advance to the final round which will encompass the Semi-Finals, 3rd Place Playoff, and Final. The two losers will fight for 3rd and 4th place for the rest of the tournament.
Confusing? Ask for clarification, or just leave it to us. Fair Play is in effect here. 2nd and 3rd place will get some kind of award as well, just no money.
In Conclusion, Honor is at stake here. But more than that, have fun with this. It's just a game.
The Grand Salmon Alpaca
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