Signing up for games at pbem.dkTokensTo sign up for a paid game at pbem.dk you must first acquire a game token. For a free game (e.g. a test game) you do not require a token. Tokens are bought from the "shop"; each item you buy becomes a game token allowing you to sign up for a particular type of game.A token is initially unallocated when you get it from the shop. When you go to the game sign-up page you will see a list of your currently unallocated tokens; these are the tokens you can use to sign up for new games. To sign up for a game you find the game you wish to sign up for on the game sign-up page and click on its "Sign up" link. This will take you to a sign-up editing page where you can enter your preferences for the game in question and confirm your sign-up. When you use a token to sign up for a game it becomes allocated to the sign-up you made. On the sign-up editing page for each of your existing sign-ups you will see which token is allocated to it. If you have any currently unallocated tokens for that particular type of game you have the option to exchange the allocated token with one of these. Simply click the radio-button next to the token you want to allocate and hit the "Commit changes" button at the bottom of the sign-up editing page.
You can also free up an allocated token by cancelling the sign-up it is
allocated to. Simply click the "Delete sign-up" button on the bottom of
the sign-up editing page.
There are two types of entries in the list of games accepting sign-ups:
Creating / editing a sign-upWhen you sign up for a game or want to edit or delete an existing sign-up you will be presented with the sign-up editing page. To reach this page you first go to the main sign-up page and from the list of games there you follow the relevant link.The sign-up editing page looks about the same whether you are creating a new sign-up or editing an old one; the main difference is which options are available as buttons at the bottom of the page. If you are creating a new sign-up there will be a "Sign up!" button while if you are editing an existing sign-up there will be a "Commit changes" button and a "Delete sign-up" button. The "Other games" link will bring you back to the list of games on the main sign-up page without committing any of your changes. It is possible to viev the sign-up editing page for a game you are not signed up for, even if you do not have a token allowing you to create a new sign-up. In this case you will be unable to enter any information on the page but you will be able to see all the details about the current status of the sign-ups made so far by other players and thus perhaps decide whether it is worth buying a token to sign up for the game. The sign-up editing page has at least these main sections:
Apart for these sections, there may be sections for preferences
relating specifically to the game type you are signing up for
(such as preferred position, game duration, et cetera).
The closing date shown for a game is not set in stone. If there are not enough sign-ups before that date to fill a game it may be extended. If the game fills up quickly it may start earlier. The total number of sign-ups is usually a better indication of when the game will start than the closing date. If you are editing a sign-up in which you have entered a team code or a special game code some extra information about the number of sign-ups received will be shown. If there are any players signed up with a special game code the number of players signed up will be shown as a grand total and a "Normal sign-ups" total including only those players who have not given a special game code.
For each choice, mark whether it is your preferred turnaround, an acceptable turnaround or an unacceptable turnaround. You must mark at least one choice as preferred. If a game ends up with a turnaround you have marked as unacceptable (because a majority of players preferred that turnaround) you will not be put in the game. For some games you can choose an on-demand turnaround. This means that when all players are ready, the turn will be processed. This is especially relevant for solo games or two player games so you do not have to wait for fixed deadlines. A variant of the on-demand turnaround is the bounded on-demand turnaround. With this type of turn-around there is a fixed deadline for next turn (typically with a week after the latest turn was run) but when all players are ready, the turn will be processed immediately rather than wait for the deadline. In the column "chosen ..." you can see how many other players have marked each choice as "preferred" (green) or "acceptable" (yellow) and thus you can see which way it is likely to go.
Usually, to make it easier to fill a game, you will be required to have a certain minimum number of positions marked as "preferred" and possibly there will also be restrictions on how many positions you may mark as "unacceptable". You will never get a position you have marked as "unacceptable". The earlier you sign up (i.e. the fewer the people who signed up before you), the more likely you are to get one of your preferred positions rather than a position which you have marked as just acceptable. Note that if you mark a lot of positions as unacceptable you may not make it into the very next game to start as other players who signed up earlier than you may fill up the few positions you marked as at least acceptable. For the same reason it may be that you actually can get to play in the very next game even if it in theory has more than the maximum number of players signed up already: If you sign up late and mark some less popular positions as among your preferred or acceptable position it may be your sign-up which makes it possible to fill the game (pushing some of the more picky earlier sign-ups to a later game). In the column "chosen ..." you can see how many other players have marked each choice as "preferred" (green) or "acceptable" (yellow) and thus you can see which positions you can reasonably expect to get to play.
The number of players who have marked the option as "preferred" is shown as green boxes while the number of players who have marked the option as "acceptable" is shown as yellow boxes. The number of players who have marked the option as "unacceptable" is not shown. If you are editing an existing sign-up, only the choices of other players are shown. If you are editing an existing sign-up with a special game code set you will only see the choices of other players who have entered the same special game code. Choices by players who entered a special game code are not shown otherwise.
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