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2nd Quarter Newsletter - JUly 2016
Mactonight - 7-4-2016 at 06:39 PM

WIZARD NEWSLETTER 2016
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4

For the benefit of the few

It’s time for the 2nd quarter newsletter.

The good news is that this represents the halfway point of the year, and therefore, you only have to read two more newsletters this year. I don’t really know what to talk about this time around, and when a newsletter or TV writer runs out of fresh ideas, he does a clip show or a recap. So, let’s dive into what has happened so far:

Hosting – A recent poll indicated that most players feel that not being able to host means that the site is controlled by a few individuals, and it is very difficult to play 40 games in a month.

I am going to do what many others have tried before – I am going to explain how you may be able to host.
Here is what you need to know:
1 You have to shut down windows firewalls.
2 You have to open port 28888
3 You need your IP address (which may change, unless you have a static IP)
4 Nothing else… Believe it or not, THAT’S ALL!

The exact process varies, depending on the particular flavour of router in use. The general premise is to log into the router, find Port Forwarding in the menu hierarchy, enter Wizard as the Application Name, set Protocol to TCP/UDP and enter 28888 as Public and Private Port range(s) and then enter the Local IP Address (can be found by clicking Get IP from the Wizard Start Game window or by typing ipconfig in a Command Prompt window). Windows and/or virus protection firewall may also have to be configured to allow Wizard to communicate with the Internet.

Many people will say that they can’t log into their router. For those who have a Bell or Rogers type, or Verizon or other USA Network where the Modem and Router are together, you will have to CALL THEM. Simply read the above process and tell them that this is what you want.

FACEBOOK INTERFACE: Ken Fisher recently wrote: The Facebook/Wizard project is still extant and we are now doing internal BETA testing of the program. The final product may not be as originally envisioned but it is the future for online Wizard play. I am 'all-in' on the upcoming "Wizard on Facebook Games".

Local Toronto Tournament and World Championship: There is not going to be a Live Tournament in Toronto this year.

We have three regular online players representing Canada and the USA at the World Championships.
Brian W and Karmakarma will represent Canada this year.
The_Wiz will represent the USA.
A second USA rep to Budapest is being selected by a series of regional tournaments in the USA with the final winner being decided at the GENCON tournament in August.
Congrats to all of you, and I hope one of you brings home that elusive trophy.

MASTER POINTS SINCE JANUARY: Here is the list of players who have accumulated the most Master Points between January 1 and July 01, 2016 (Top 10 points for June included)

KBMCDEV 209
Mactonight 195
Xariesgirl 194
Mphenix 172
AP Sirius 167
The_Wiz 157

UPCOMING CHANGES FOR JULY and onwards:

Wizard: Top 10
From time to time, we have had to make adjustments to the rules for the Top 10.
At one time, there had to be at least 200 different players participating during the month. At another time, Master Points were awarded after 2 months of play, not one.
As of June 27, 2016, there are fewer than 60 players who have participated, and only seven have qualified by playing 40 or more games. Of the seven qualifiers, only three have scores that are not negative.
In effect, that means that anyone who plays 40+ games receives Master Points, regardless of how well they play.
Consequently, effective for the month of JULY, Master Points will only be awarded to the top 5 (not 10), as follows:
1st.......40 MP
2nd.......35
3rd........30
4th........25
5th........20
In addition, MP will only be awarded for positive scores.
We will proceed on a monthly basis, making additional modifications as required. Merlin will decide which changes, if any, will be made to the “Top 10 invitational Tournament”.


Newsletter: Readership is improving…. I only got 1 user this quarter who was surprised to hear that a newsletter existed. I call that a win.


XAriesGirlX - 7-5-2016 at 09:15 PM

Thanks for all the info. Only wish I understood how to try to set up my router so I can host, it is all like a foreign language to me. But hopefully a few computer savy players will be able to sort their computer out so we have some more host available. I just wish that players were happier to play in the web version, then we could all host


kbmcdev - 7-7-2016 at 09:37 PM

Thanks Marko