The Quizbowl Resource Center

This is a preliminary announcement for Machiavelli Academy'S Set Of LIT (MASSOLIT), an all-literature tournament to be played at the end of the 2016-2017 year.

The intended difficulty is regular, although with a few harder answer lines and a bit of whimsy sprinkled in to satisfy the kind of people who choose to play a single-subject tournament.

The set will consist of 10 rounds of 20 superpowermarked tossups each following the distribution below:
6 American
4 British
4 European
4 World
1 Non-fiction
1 "not quite canonical"

I originally wanted to run the event at some HS national, but I'm not sure if I will be attending any this year, so I'm open to possibilities and suggestions (including Skype). I do think it would be appropriate to run separate divisions, and if interest is there, I'd like to run at least one division 1-on-1. If you're interested in playing, please let me know your preference for venue and format.

In case the recent string of canceled events in the Festivus thread has you down, don't worry - this tourney is currently over 80% written. If I get hit by a bus this evening, you could play a decent side event on what's already there.

Very interested. Skype or at a HS national works for me. 1v1 or 2v2 seems good to me.

Would play.

I would like to play this, either at HSNCT or on Skype. I would prefer for it to be at least doubles.

This sounds pretty interesting, though since I'm probably not going to be at any HS national tournament I greatly prefer Skype.

The Real Master of Flémalle wrote:This sounds pretty interesting, though since I'm probably not going to be at any HS national tournament I greatly prefer Skype.

^

I'd definitely play this. I'll be at PACE but HSNCT is dubious, so I'd prefer Skype.

csheep wrote:

The Real Master of Flémalle wrote:This sounds pretty interesting, though since I'm probably not going to be at any HS national tournament I greatly prefer Skype.

^

^

I would also play; I am open to 1v1, even though I would probably get destroyed.

Any update on the logistics of when/where/how this event will be ran?

Joker wrote:Any update on the logistics of when/where/how this event will be ran?

I second this. FWIW, I prefer skype.

I'd be interested in Skype 1v1s, for what it's worth.

Okay, signups are available here.

I'm currently offering three options, all on Skype:

• Tuesday, May 16: 1 on 1
• Thursday, May 18: 2 on 2
• Sunday, May 21: 4 on 4

Each day, the field is capped at 12 teams. If the field for a particular day and format fills up, we can open up another. Conversely, if interest is low for a particular day or format, we will cancel or convert.

The cost to play is $10/person. The easiest way to pay me is Venmo. If that doesn't work for you, we've got a month and a half to figure something else out.

This event is open to anyone who wants to play (and registers and pays to do so).

If you are willing and able to moderate, please let me know. If you moderate after playing the event on an earlier day, I will refund your entry fee.

Anyone want to team up for doubles or teams? I'm pretty mediocre at quiz bowl but I know a small amount of stuff pretty well. Generalists who are good with American lit and non-English poetry would be welcome.

What is the starts time for these days and how long do you expect them to run?

El Salvadoreno wrote:What is the starts time for these days and how long do you expect them to run?

To try to accommodate all time zones, I'd probably shoot for 8:30 ET/5:30 PT. If this were happening live, I'd say a bit over 2 hours. Since it's on Skype, it will take longer (but at least bonus conferral won't slow it down).

Dominator wrote: superpowermarked tossups

Will the tossups have a three-tier point structure? I.e. will there be both superpowers and regular powers?

kitakule wrote:

Dominator wrote: superpowermarked tossups

Will the tossups have a three-tier point structure? I.e. will there be both superpowers and regular powers?

Yes.

This tournament is about two weeks away. If you haven't yet, please sign up in the Google sheet. If you have signed up, please make sure that I have an email address for you to send out the logistics email.

It looks like 1v1 and 2v2 are the most popular formats. I am considering opening up another date for one or both of those formats, if interest dictates.

We could, of course, use more moderators. Please sign up in the Google sheet if you can help staff.

What time do you expect the 1v1 and 2v2 tournaments to start?

Mike Bentley wrote:What time do you expect the 1v1 and 2v2 tournaments to start?

The Dominator wrote: To try to accommodate all time zones, I'd probably shoot for 8:30 ET/5:30 PT. If this were happening live, I'd say a bit over 2 hours. Since it's on Skype, it will take longer (but at least bonus conferral won't slow it down).

El Salvadoreno wrote:

Mike Bentley wrote:What time do you expect the 1v1 and 2v2 tournaments to start?

The Dominator wrote: To try to accommodate all time zones, I'd probably shoot for 8:30 ET/5:30 PT. If this were happening live, I'd say a bit over 2 hours. Since it's on Skype, it will take longer (but at least bonus conferral won't slow it down).

Just so we're clear, this is P.M., correct?

CPiGuy wrote:

El Salvadoreno wrote:

Mike Bentley wrote:What time do you expect the 1v1 and 2v2 tournaments to start?

The Dominator wrote: To try to accommodate all time zones, I'd probably shoot for 8:30 ET/5:30 PT. If this were happening live, I'd say a bit over 2 hours. Since it's on Skype, it will take longer (but at least bonus conferral won't slow it down).

Just so we're clear, this is P.M., correct?

It sure is.

Update: With just 5 days until the first running, there is 1 spot open in the field. We are still VERY MUCH IN NEED OF MODERATORS for next Tuesday (and only slightly less needy for Thursday), so please let me know if you are available.

I also switched the Sunday, May 21 date from 4 on 4 to 2 on 2. I figured that wouldn't offend anyone since literally no one was signed up anyway. If anyone is still interested in playing on that date, sign up soon.

If anyone is interested in running this on, say, a Sunday/weekend afternoon in June, I'd be very interested in playing - as it is it's too close to finals for me to stay up into the wee hours playing, but I'm certainly keen (and maybe a few more UK people might be too, if we can solve the timezone problem).

Evan Lynch wrote:If anyone is interested in running this on, say, a Sunday/weekend afternoon in June, I'd be very interested in playing - as it is it's too close to finals for me to stay up into the wee hours playing, but I'm certainly keen (and maybe a few more UK people might be too, if we can solve the timezone problem).

Do you have something in mind? We could certainly arrange a date to Skype some summer UK evening/US afternoon, or the UK could run a local live mirror if they'd rather (like Missouri is considering).

The first MASSOLIT tournament is taking place tomorrow, Tuesday May 16, at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET. Tuesday's tournament will be played 1-on-1, although what follows will also be true of Thursday's event, assuming the field fills up.

Format: Teams will start off in 2 brackets of 6 and play a full round-robin within their bracket in rounds 1-5. The top 3 from each bracket will advance into the championship playoff bracket and the bottom 3 will move into the consolation bracket. In the playoffs, teams will play 3 games with prelim games carrying over. At the end of Round 8, there will be a 2-game final as necessary.

All tiebreaks will be done on paper, by record and then PPG.

Schedule/Results: Google sheet with schedule

Scores: Google sheet with scoresheets

For players:

• Please show up in the IRC channel #massolit before the tournament. This will also be where we will organize the playoff rounds, so you should probably hang out there throughout the tournament.

• Add all the moderators on Skype. You can find the list of moderators in this Google sheet, although the full roster has not been finalized and some haven't added their Skype names yet. (So, please do this tomorrow sometime before 5:30.)

• Pay me on Venmo (@Noah-Prince-3).

Quick question - will this set have bonuses? I just wanted to make sure since the announcement didn't mention them.

Just the toss ups.

Thanks to everyone for coming out to play, and especially the moderators, who did an excellent job.

Mike Etzkorn won, beating Kurtis Droge in the first game of an advantaged final. The rest of the standings can be found here.

If the field stays at 10 for Thursday, what would the schedule be? I'd prefer a full round robin over a schedule with byes, even if that means there's only one packet available for a final.

gyre and gimble wrote:If the field stays at 10 for Thursday, what would the schedule be? I'd prefer a full round robin over a schedule with byes, even if that means there's only one packet available for a final.

I agree with this.

I was wondering the same myself. Byes wouldn't happen, but crossover games might.

I like the idea of a full round robin. If there's only one packet for a final, is it better for the top two teams to play no matter what or only if their record is tied?

Dominator wrote:I was wondering the same myself. Byes wouldn't happen, but crossover games might.

I like the idea of a full round robin. If there's only one packet for a final, is it better for the top two teams to play no matter what or only if their record is tied?

I'm personally fine either way, but Jordan's going to go 9-0 so it's probably up to him. No final sans tie seems to be the default, though.

Unless I hear pushback before this evening, then, I think a full RR followed by finals only in even of tie in record is the way to go.

The second MASSOLIT tournament is taking place tomorrow, Thursday May 18, at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET. Thursday's tournament will be played 2-on-2.

Format: Teams will play a full round robin. A 1-game final will follow if teams are tied for the top record.

All tiebreaks will be done on paper, by record and then PPG.

Schedule/Results: Google sheet with schedule https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Scores: Google sheet with scoresheets https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

For players:

• Please show up in the IRC channel #massolit before the tournament. This will also be where we will organize the playoff rounds, so you should probably hang out there throughout the tournament.
• Add all the moderators on Skype. You can find the list of moderators in this Google sheet, although some haven't added their Skype names yet. (So, please do this tomorrow sometime before 5:30.)
• Pay me on Venmo (@Noah-Prince-3).

The 2 on 2 tournament happened. Jordan/Justin went 9-0 to clear the field, and Alston/Kai went 7-2 to take second.

Thanks to Mike Etzkorn, Kurtis Droge, Ricky Rivera, and Brad Fischer for moderating, and thanks to all the players for coming out. It was a blast to read for you all tonight.

I would like to thank Mr. Prince for writing this. It was excellent and I would love to endorse this as a great side event for the second summer open at Michigan or Virginia if Prince wants it. Bravo.

Great set, and really excellent for (as far as I know?) a first-time effort at this difficulty. I had a lot of fun playing, so much thanks to Noah for putting it together.

Will there be combined stats posted at some point?

I learned how to use SQBS:

• Tuesday
• Thursday

The set is not yet clear. At the very least, Missouri is running a mirror in June, and the UK has expressed interest.

When the set is clear, I'd like to explain a bit about my approach to writing it. I was inspired to write it after playing Schindler's Lit at HSNCT 2013, and I hope someone else will be motivated to write the next regular difficulty lit open and that it will be better than MASSOLIT.

We played through MASSOLIT earlier today as a shootout at Mizzou. Here are the statlines:

Itamar Naveh-Benjamin: 36/38/42/15 = 1635 points
Charles Hang: 6/12/26/12 = 500 points
Joe Stitz: 9/10/10/4 = 410 points
Nathan Kempf: 0/0/3/0 = 30 points

Hello!
Will this packet be made available on quizbowlpackets.com anytime soon? Thank you!