July 9, 2006

1 197
2 150
3 124
4 32
5 21
6 20
7 17
8 16
9 13
10 6
11 -7
12 -7
13 -10

Congratulations to M. Leith, a familiar name at the top of Laughton.org's standings tables, and to Dauron, a newcomer to these competitions. Because Dr. Strangeview - raised from the dead just for this contest - is ineligible to receive a prize, Laughton.org is pleased to award Fleet Feet the third prize. Thanks to everyone for playing!



    -10
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
POL  -15
BRA  0 BRA  0
GER  0 GER  0 GER  0
ENG  0 ENG  0 ENG  0 ENG  0
NED  1 NED  1 NED  1 NED  1 NED  1
Let it go!!!!!!! (and good luck for all :) )
  NED 1 SCG 0 : +5  
  GER 1 POL 0 :-15  
  NED 2 CIV 1 : +5  
  POR 1 NED 0 : -5  


    150
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
BRA  25
BRA  20 BRA  20
BRA  15 BRA  15 BRA  15
BRA  10 BRA  10 BRA  10 BRA  10
AUS  0 AUS  0 AUS  0 AUS  0 AUS  0
Will that work?
  AUS 3 JPN 1 : +5  
  BRA 2 AUS 0 :+150  
  ITA 1 AUS 0 : -5  


    124
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
GER  45
GER  36 GER  36
ENG  6 ENG  6 ENG  6
POL  -4 POL  -4 POL  -4 POL  -4
SWE  1 SWE  1 SWE  1 ECU  1 ECU  1
This entry comes from Laughton.org and is not eligible to receive a prize.
  ECU 2 POL 0 :-16  
  GER 1 POL 0 :+52  
  ECU 3 CRC 0 : +2  
  SWE 1 PAR 0 : +3  
  GER 3 ECU 0 :+26  
  GER 2 SWE 0 :+39  
  ENG 1 ECU 0 :+18  


    -7
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
GER  -5
GER  -4 GER  -4
BRA  0 BRA  0 ARG  6
ITA  0 ITA  0 MEX  0 MEX  0
ENG  2 ENG  2 USA  -2 USA  -2 KOR  0
Flattop gotta go with the home team, man. Yo.
  ENG 1 PAR 0 : +2     CZE 3 USA 0 : -2  
  KOR 2 TOG 1 : +1     ENG 2 TRI 0 : +2  
  SUI 2 KOR 0 : -1     GHA 2 USA 1 : -2  
  ARG 2 MEX 1 : +6     ENG 1 ECU 0 : +2  
  GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 :+13     POR 0.3 ENG 0.1 : -2  
  ITA 2 GER 0 :-26  


    32
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
ITA  30
AUS  0 BRA  4
JPN  0 BRA  -3 CRO  0
FRA  0 USA  -2 SWE  -4 USA  -2
POL  0 CZE  -1 GER  4 UKR  2 GER  4
Aww, come'on, soccer is just an excuse for adults to play kick ball like they did in school. How about a contest covering a real sport . . . like dominoes?
  GER 4 CRC 2 : +2     ECU 2 POL 0 : -1     AUS 3 JPN 1 : +4     CZE 3 USA 0 : -4     BRA 1 CRO 0 : +4     ESP 4 UKR 0 : -1     GHA 2 CZE 0 : -1     BRA 2 AUS 0 : -4     UKR 4 KSA 0 : +1     POL 2 CRC 1 : +1     GER 3 ECU 0 : +2     ITA 2 CZE 0 : +5     BRA 4 JPN 1 : +4     UKR 1 TUN 0 : +1     GER 2 SWE 0 : -4     ITA 1 AUS 0 : +5     UKR 0.3 SUI 0.0 : +1     GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 : +2     ITA 3 UKR 0 : +5     FRA 1 BRA 0 : -7     ITA 2 GER 0 :+10     GER 3 POR 1 : +2     ITA 1.5 FRA 1.3 : +5  


    -7
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
BRA  -5
ARG  -4 MEX  0
USA  -3 KOR  0 GER  6
ENG  0 SWE  0 UKR  -4 CRC  0
ESP  2 ITA  2 CZE  -1 FRA  2 CRC  -2
Totally wild guesses, I know nothing about soccer!
  GER 4 CRC 2 : +6     CZE 3 USA 0 : -3  
  ITA 2 GHA 0 : +1     ESP 4 UKR 0 : -2  
  ECU 3 CRC 0 : -1     GHA 2 CZE 0 : -1  
  ESP 3 TUN 1 : +1     FRA 2 TOG 0 : +1  
  POL 2 CRC 1 : -1     ESP 1 KSA 0 : +1  
  GER 2 SWE 0 : +3     ITA 1 AUS 0 : +1  
  GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 : -4     ITA 3 UKR 0 : -2  
  FRA 1 BRA 0 : -5     ITA 2 GER 0 : -3  
  FRA 1 POR 0 : +1  


    16
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
BRA  -5
GER  12 ITA  8
ARG  3 MEX  0 BRA  -3
ESP  2 ENG  0 FRA  0 CZE  2
TUN  -1 POL  0 SWE  1 SCG  -2 USA  -1
  ECU 2 POL 0 : -1     NED 1 SCG 0 : -1  
  CZE 3 USA 0 : +2     GER 1 POL 0 : +4  
  SWE 1 PAR 0 : +1     ARG 6 SCG 0 : +3  
  ESP 3 TUN 1 : +2     POL 2 CRC 1 : +1  
  CIV 3 SCG 2 : -1     GHA 2 USA 1 : -1  
  ITA 2 CZE 0 : +4     UKR 1 TUN 0 : -1  
  GER 2 SWE 0 : +4     GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 : +4  
  FRA 1 BRA 0 : -8     ITA 1.5 FRA 1.3 : +4  


    197
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
ESP  60
UKR  28 UKR  28
ESP  27 UKR  27 ESP  27
KSA  0 TUN  0 KSA  0 KSA  0
KSA  0 KSA  0 KSA  0 KSA  0 KSA  0
  ESP 4 UKR 0 : -1  
  UKR 4 KSA 0 :+88  
  ESP 3 TUN 1 :+11  
  UKR 1 TUN 0 :+11  
  ESP 1 KSA 0 :+88  


    21
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
ENG  10
GER  8 BRA  0
ARG  3 FRA  3 PAR  0
SWE  0 ESP  2 MEX  0 KOR  0
USA  -2 JPN  -1 ANG  -1 TRI  0 TUN  -1
  ENG 1 PAR 0 : +5     POR 1 ANG 0 : -1  
  AUS 3 JPN 1 : -1     CZE 3 USA 0 : -1  
  ENG 2 TRI 0 : +5     SWE 1 PAR 0 : -3  
  ESP 3 TUN 1 : +2     PAR 2 TRI 0 : +3  
  GHA 2 USA 1 : -1     BRA 4 JPN 1 : +4  
  UKR 1 TUN 0 : -1     GER 2 SWE 0 : +4  
  ARG 2 MEX 1 : +3     FRA 3 ESP 1 : +3  
  GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 : +4     FRA 1 BRA 0 : -4  


    17
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
FRA  0
BRA  16 TUN  0
ENG  3 ARG  3 CIV  -3
PAR  0 NED  0 CZE  -2 GHA  -2
ITA  2 AUS  0 JPN  0 CRO  0 MEX  0
  ENG 1 PAR 0 : +3     MEX 3 IRN 1 : +1  
  ITA 2 GHA 0 : -2     BRA 1 CRO 0 : +4  
  NED 2 CIV 1 : -3     BRA 2 AUS 0 : +4  
  POR 2 MEX 1 : -1     ITA 2 CZE 0 : -2  
  BRA 4 JPN 1 : +4     ARG 2 MEX 1 : +3  
  BRA 3 GHA 0 : +4     ITA 3 UKR 0 : +1  
  FRA 1 BRA 0 : +5     ITA 2 GER 0 : +1  
  ITA 1.5 FRA 1.3 : -5  


    6
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
ITA  15
ITA  8 AUS  -20
BRA  9 JPN  -6 AUS  -15
BRA  0 JPN  0 CRO  0 AUS  -10
ITA  5 ITA  5 ITA  5 ITA  5 ITA  5
The winning marathon time will be 2:06:32. Oh, sorry, wrong contest . . .
  AUS 3 JPN 1 : +8  
  ITA 2 GHA 0 : +5  
  BRA 1 CRO 0 : +3  
  BRA 2 AUS 0 : -8  
  ITA 2 CZE 0 : +5  
  ITA 1 AUS 0 :-22  
  ITA 3 UKR 0 : +5  
  ITA 2 GER 0 : +5  
  ITA 1.5 FRA 1.3 : +5  


    13
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
GER  5
ITA  8 NED  0
CZE  3 POR  3 MEX  3
USA  0 AUS  0 JPN  0 CIV  0
TOG  -3 TRI  -2 IRN  0 TUN  -2 CRC  -2
  GER 4 CRC 2 : +5     MEX 3 IRN 1 : +3  
  CZE 3 USA 0 : +3     KOR 2 TOG 1 : -1  
  ECU 3 CRC 0 : -1     ENG 2 TRI 0 : -1  
  NED 2 CIV 1 : +4     POR 2 IRN 0 : +3  
  SUI 2 TOG 0 : -1     ESP 3 TUN 1 : -1  
  FRA 2 TOG 0 : -1     POL 2 CRC 1 : -1  
  PAR 2 TRI 0 : -1     ITA 2 CZE 0 : +4  
  UKR 1 TUN 0 : -1     POR 1 NED 0 : -4  
  ITA 1 AUS 0 : +4     ITA 2 GER 0 : -5  
  GER 3 POR 1 : +5  


    20
Points Accumulated by Position Points Gained/Lost by Match
 
GER  10
BRA  -4 ITA  8
CZE  3 ARG  3 BRA  -3
MEX  0 BRA  0 ENG  0 FRA  2
ESP  2 POL  0 SWE  1 TUN  -1 USA  -1
  ECU 2 POL 0 : -1     CZE 3 USA 0 : +3  
  ESP 4 UKR 0 : +1     GER 1 POL 0 : +5  
  SWE 1 PAR 0 : +1     POL 2 CRC 1 : +1  
  GHA 2 USA 1 : -1     ITA 2 CZE 0 : +4  
  UKR 1 TUN 0 : -1     ESP 1 KSA 0 : +1  
  GER 2 SWE 0 : +5     ARG 2 MEX 1 : +3  
  FRA 3 ESP 1 : +2     GER 1.4 ARG 1.2 : +5  
  FRA 1 BRA 0 : -7     ITA 2 GER 0 : -5  
  ITA 1.5 FRA 1.3 : +4  


ANG Angola
ARG Argentina
AUS Australia
BRA Brazil
CZE Czech Republic
CRC Costa Rica
CRO Croatia
ECU Ecuador
ENG England
FRA France
GER Germany
GHA Ghana
IRN Iran
ITA Italy
CIV Ivory Coast
JPN Japan
 MEX Mexico
NED Netherlands
PAR Paraguay
POL Poland
POR Portugal
SCG Serbia and Montenegro
KSA Saudi Arabia
KOR South Korea
ESP Spain
SWE Sweden
SUI Switzerland
TOG Togo
TRI Trinidad and Tobago
TUN Tunisia
UKR Ukraine
USA United States of America


GER 4  CRC 2
ECU 2  POL 0
ENG 1  PAR 0
SWE 0  TRI 0
ARG 2  CIV 0
NED 1  SCG 0
MEX 3  IRN 1
POR 1  ANG 0
AUS 3  JPN 1
CZE 3  USA 0
ITA 2  GHA 0
KOR 2  TOG 1
BRA 1  CRO 0
SUI 0  FRA 0
ESP 4  UKR 0
KSA 2  TUN 2
   GER 1  POL 0
ECU 3  CRC 0
ENG 2  TRI 0
SWE 1  PAR 0
ARG 6  SCG 0
NED 2  CIV 1
ANG 0  MEX 0
POR 2  IRN 0
GHA 2  CZE 0
ITA 1  USA 1
CRO 0  JPN 0
BRA 2  AUS 0
FRA 1  KOR 1
SUI 2  TOG 0
UKR 4  KSA 0
ESP 3  TUN 1
   FRA 2  TOG 0
SUI 2  KOR 0
POL 2  CRC 1
GER 3  ECU 0
ENG 2  SWE 2
PAR 2  TRI 0
ANG 1  IRN 1
POR 2  MEX 1
CIV 3  SCG 2
ARG 0  NED 0
GHA 2  USA 1
AUS 2  CRO 2
ITA 2  CZE 0
BRA 4  JPN 1
UKR 1  TUN 0
ESP 1  KSA 0
   GER 2  SWE 0
ARG 2  MEX 1
ENG 1  ECU 0
POR 1  NED 0
ITA 1  AUS 0
UKR 0.3  SUI 0.0
BRA 3  GHA 0
FRA 3  ESP 1
GER 1.4  ARG 1.2
ITA 3  UKR 0
POR 0.3  ENG 0.1
FRA 1  BRA 0
ITA 2  GER 0
FRA 1  POR 0
GER 3  POR 1
ITA 1.5  FRA 1.3


 


Ketjap Manis, the official soy sauce of Laughton.org		 M. Leith wins a 500ml bottle of Ketjap Manis Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Produced in the Netherlands by Conimex (a division of Unilever), it's great with Indonesian cuisine or - according to the back label - just about anything else, so the winner can use it to spice up steaks, scrambled eggs, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Dauron wins a battery-operated stopwatch suitable for timing soccer matches or just about anything else. The replaceable battery is included, and it's even already installed.
Fleet Feet wins a battery-operated keyring clock. The battery is not replaceable, so when the display dims, it's time to get a new keyring clock. Laughton.org makes no promises about how long the battery will last.

 

The object of this contest, as with all contests at Laughton.org, is to predict the future more accurately than your opponents. Your entry will be a selection of countries participating in the 2006 World Cup Soccer tournament in Germany. You're required to submit your entry in the rarely used Pyramid Format, but have no fear: for the first time ever, Laughton.org has provided an easy-to-use online entry form!


Your entry consists of 15 country names arranged in pyramid form as illustrated at right. Choose countries from the list of participants in the 2006 World Cup. Oslo Game Conventions apply to this contest, so you may use any country name as often as you wish. During the course of World Cup competition, you will gain or lose points according to the scoring scheme below.


You gain 5 points each time your top country defeats any country which appears lower on your pyramid. You lose 5 points when a country lower on your pyramid defeats your top country.

You gain 4 points each time a country on the second row of your pyramid defeats any country which appears lower on your pyramid. You lose 4 points when a country lower on your pyramid defeats a country on your second row.

Similarly, you gain or lose 3 points when a third-row country wins or loses against a lower country on the pyramid, and you gain or lose 2 points when a fourth-row country wins or loses against a lower country.

You gain 1 point each time a country on the bottom row of your pyramid defeats any country which does not appear on your pyramid, and you lose 1 point when a country which does not appear on your pyramid defeats one of your bottom-row countries.

No points are gained or lost for a tie.

The player with the highest score at the end of the tournament is the winner.


Using the pyramid above as a sample contest entry, here is how points would be awarded for some hypothetical match results from the World Cup tournament. If Sweden defeats the Netherlands, the player gains 5 points because Sweden appears on the top row of this pyramid and Netherlands appears on a lower row.  
 
If Sweden defeats Brazil, the player gains 10 points because top-row Sweden earns points for defeating Brazil from both of the latter's places in lower rows. It makes no difference which rows Brazil occupies as long as they're lower than Sweden's.  
 
If Australia defeats Brazil, the player gains 4 points because Australia appears in the second row and Brazil appears below it. However, no points are awarded for Australia's position in the same row as Brazil.  
 
If Brazil defeats Ukraine, the player gains 21 points: with Ukraine appearing below Brazil three times on the pyramid, Brazil in the second row earns 12 points, and in the third row it earns another 9 points.  

In all of the above examples, if the upper country had lost to the lower country on the pyramid, the result would have been a subtraction of the number of points shown. Yes, it is possible to wind up with a negative final score!


In the event of a tie, the following series of tiebreakers will be used to determine the winner:


A small prize will be awarded to the winner. If there are more than ten entries, prizes will also be awarded to the second- and third-place contestants. In the event that the tiebreaking rules above fail to break a tie in a prize-winning position, duplicate prizes will be awarded.


Oslo Conventions are applied periodically to contests at Laughton.org in order to quell protests from certain Norwegian participants who think they should be able to put any country in as many positions on their entries as they like. Go ahead - in this contest it may actually help you! You may enter any participating country name in any position on your pyramid.

You may leave one or more positions empty. Put an asterisk in any empty position to indicate that you didn't simply forget to fill it in.


The 32 countries are divided into eight groups designated by letters A-H:

Group A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador		 Group B
England
Paraguay
Trinidad and Tobago
Sweden		 Group C
Argentina
Ivory Coast
Serbia and Montenegro
Netherlands		 Group D
Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal
Group E
Italy
Ghana
United States of America
Czech Republic		 Group F
Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan		 Group G
France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo		 Group H
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

In the first round, each country plays one match against every other country in its group; these matches may end in ties. The top two teams in each group advance to the round of sixteen. From then on, all matches tied at the end of regulation play continue until there is a winner.

Eight winners go on to the quarterfinals, from which four teams earn a place in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinal matches play for the championship; the losers play to determine 3rd and 4th place.


Entries must be received no later than June 8, 2006. Players may use the online form, or they may submit their entries in e-mail. To send an entry by e-mail, please use the following format:

Any text on subsequent lines (if any) will be considered comments and will appear beside your entry on the player roster, which will be posted online just before the World Cup tournament begins.


The Online Entry Form makes it easy for you to properly compose your entry. Click here to open the form.


You may send only one entry from an e-mail address. If you have more than one address, you may send one entry from each.

Illegible, irrational, or improperly formatted entries will be discarded.

Entries containing libelous, scurrilous, or scandalous text will be discarded.


The rules of this contest are the same as those of Soccer Futures 1994, which took place before Laughton.org started putting contests online. Other than the number of countries participating in the World Cup (24 then, 32 now), the 1994 version is identical to the current contest. Back then we had to compose our entries on paper, and our pyramids were made of "blocks." Players may find it useful to inspect the results from that year before composing their entries; you may download the results in PDF form by clicking here.

GOOD LUCK!