A Newbie's Guide To Word Yacht (page 2)
3. All About Ladders
If you've been reading the messages in the lobby, you've probably
heard us throw around words like "family", "ladder", "bux", and
"tourney". It all has to do with the ladder system, which gives us a
way to have fun and meet new people while at the same time providing an
organized, competitive playing style.
What's a ladder?
The Ladder is the system we use to organize our games. They help
players find each other, keep track of our wins and losses, and
provide us with an automated way to set up and compete in Word Yacht
tournaments. Anyone is welcome to join the Ladder. There is no
minimum skill level. You don't have to pass a test, win a competition,
know people in high places, or go through any fraternity hazing. There
is no charge to join. If you decide later on that you really, really
love Word Yacht, you can shell out money to become a Premium member
and get access to more statistics and other features. Some of us do;
some (like me) don't. You will still be able to compete either way.
Ladderbux and Flips
The main prize associated with playing on the Ladder is bragging
rights. But by being a Ladder member, you will also have the chance to
earn prize points called Ladderbux. The main way that most players
spend their Ladderbux is by entering tournaments to win even more
Ladderbux. Other than that, there's not much you can do with them.
There is a system by which you can redeem your bux for prizes on the
Ladder web site, but the number of bux you need for even the lowest
prizes is enormous. Besides, if you're spending your time here,
chances are you already know how to win at Hearts and you don't need
the book.
Ladderbux are not to be confused with flips, which are separate
prize points awarded by Flipside (the web site that runs the Word
Yacht game itself, along with numerous other word, card, and board
games). Flips can be used to enter prize drawings on the Flipside
Network. So far I haven't won any. I'll let you know if I ever do.
The ladder for Word Yacht is known as the Family Ladder. We play our
games in the Competitive Room. You can sign up for the ladder at this
web site: http://www.myleague.com/wyfamily.
From this page, click on "Free Signup" on the left
side of the screen and follow the instructions. Be sure to bookmark
the ladder site when you join. You will be using it later.
How do I play ladder games?
Just sit at any table and start playing, as you would a regular
game. You can wait for a player to announce a game in the lobby
("anyone want a game at table 6?"), or you can sit at an empty table
and wait for someone else to join.
If you win the game, you don't need to do anything afterward except
bask in the glory of victory. If you lose, you must report the game.
Go to the ladder page (you know, that web site you hopefully
bookmarked when you joined) and click on "Report Loss" in the
left-hand column.
The timer setting in Word Yacht defaults to 120 seconds, but since
most of us are experienced players, ladder games are typically set
between 40 and 70. Other than that, most regular ladder games are
played without any special formats or stipulations. Tournament games
work differently; more on those later.
I sat down at a table, but nobody's playing. What gives?
This probably means the people at that table are away from their
computers and don't want the system booting them off. Players indicate
this by setting the table description to "afk" (away from
keyboard). Most often, Tables 1 and 50 are used for this purpose.
So why's it called a ladder, anyway?
