The final standings for 2009. Stats show games played, percentages, TAPL, and TAZD. The TAPL and TAZD are explained on my Wall. They have no official significance. The TAZD for 2010 will use the new zero datum.

Thanks for participating!


0897 25% 19% 17% 15% 08% 08% 04% 7209 20378 fiero600
4336 18% 17% 16% 13% 11% 10% 10% 3196 20038 savif
4605 16% 16% 16% 16% 13% 10% 10% 2692 17799 Karsten4130
3348 18% 16% 15% 14% 12% 12% 09% 2158 15539 ZIGIBOOM
3870 17% 18% 14% 12% 11% 11% 14% 2279 15382 Gurgi
2278 18% 18% 15% 15% 13% 09% 09% 2892 15333 DaShiVa
2452 21% 16% 13% 12% 13% 12% 11% 2520 14107 AMO
1835 21% 15% 15% 15% 11% 11% 09% 2767 14085 Shevar
4315 17% 18% 13% 10% 10% 13% 16% 2642 14078 greekboi
2247 17% 16% 16% 14% 13% 10% 10% 1870 12888 Jslap!
0934 15% 20% 18% 16% 10% 08% 09% 2938 11957 snmlmz
1334 18% 18% 15% 13% 12% 11% 09% 1764 11097 Parian
1161 20% 14% 17% 15% 11% 11% 09% 1996 10420 macguyver
2344 17% 15% 14% 15% 11% 13% 11% 1010 10223 Damon87
2914 18% 15% 11% 10% 10% 12% 21% 4525 10143 potato27
2401 20% 13% 10% 11% 11% 14% 16% 2722 09870 captainLAGER
1926 17% 17% 15% 11% 11% 13% 13% 1232 09782 Andro66
1275 16% 17% 16% 14% 13% 12% 08% 1445 09553 amoshag
1761 17% 16% 15% 13% 13% 12% 10% 0908 09236 acmilanfan3
2382 16% 14% 13% 16% 15% 12% 11% 0939 08813 Dr J
2073 17% 14% 14% 14% 13% 12% 11% 0651 08575 kakku_man
0921 20% 15% 14% 12% 13% 14% 08% 1607 08437 davidhasselhoff
1014 20% 13% 14% 15% 14% 12% 08% 1560 08283 Realize
1605 20% 14% 12% 12% 13% 13% 14% 1339 08070 speciale528
1019 16% 18% 14% 12% 14% 13% 10% 1126 08063 Death Engineer
1481 20% 15% 11% 13% 12% 15% 12% 1461 08026 MadWilly
1370 18% 14% 14% 14% 12% 11% 14% 0906 07637 trends
1464 20% 13% 12% 10% 10% 14% 18% 2268 07092 Djohnson
0950 15% 19% 10% 15% 15% 11% 11% 1253 06985 fcuku
0740 20% 15% 11% 13% 12% 09% 15% 1454 06789 Chris0123
1675 12% 12% 15% 17% 18% 15% 07% 2434 06531 skrumgaer
0758 18% 16% 14% 10% 09% 13% 16% 1307 05771 SprintTx
1418 13% 12% 14% 13% 17% 14% 13% 0427 03208 vIRGL
0727 14% 10% 09% 10% 10% 14% 29% 5932 02491 Magic Roundabout
1410 12% 14% 12% 13% 14% 15% 17% 0518 02230 AlexUrbanec






[update 15 December]

With only two weeks to go, here are the three front-runners:

0857 25% 19% 18% 15% 08% 08% 04% 6926 19720 fiero600
4156 18% 17% 16% 13% 11% 10% 10% 3082 19442 savif
4426 16% 16% 16% 16% 13% 10% 10% 2494 17214 Karsten4130





The cumulative TAZD scores have been updated through November for all who entered the July competition and anyone wanting them since then, subject to a requirement of 720 regular games played for the year. Anyone else who has a shot at the title is encouraged to enter this month. Enter the account you want scored by posting from that account to this thread.

Here are the standings at the end of November. Shown are number of games, percentage profile, TAPL, and TAZD. The old datum is used for all months, and also will be used to score December. Next year's competition will use the new datum.

0853 25% 19% 18% 15% 08% 08% 04% 6872 19606 fiero600
3964 18% 17% 16% 13% 11% 10% 10% 2857 18608 savif
4140 16% 16% 17% 16% 13% 10% 10% 2489 16841 Karsten4130
3817 17% 18% 14% 12% 11% 11% 14% 2327 15493 Gurgi
2278 18% 18% 15% 15% 13% 09% 09% 2892 15333 DaShiVa
3149 18% 16% 15% 14% 12% 12% 09% 2132 15135 ZIGIBOOM
2392 21% 16% 12% 12% 13% 12% 11% 2470 13857 AMO
3964 17% 18% 13% 10% 10% 13% 16% 2464 13429 greekboi
1737 21% 15% 15% 15% 11% 11% 09% 2552 13265 Shevar
2247 17% 16% 16% 14% 13% 10% 10% 1870 12888 Jslap!
0835 14% 20% 19% 16% 11% 08% 08% 3064 11853 snmlmz
1313 18% 18% 15% 13% 13% 11% 09% 1715 10903 Parian
2335 21% 14% 10% 11% 11% 13% 16% 2749 10159 captainLAGER
2344 17% 15% 14% 15% 11% 13% 11% 1010 10223 Damon87
2664 18% 15% 11% 10% 10% 11% 20% 4025 10109 potato27
1071 20% 14% 17% 15% 12% 11% 09% 1898 09953 macguyver
1794 17% 17% 15% 11% 11% 13% 13% 1167 09490 Andro66
1246 16% 17% 16% 14% 13% 12% 08% 1398 09377 amoshag
2761 16% 15% 14% 15% 14% 12% 11% 0583 09139 kakku_man
0921 20% 15% 14% 12% 13% 14% 08% 1607 08437 davidhasselhoff
2246 16% 14% 14% 16% 15% 12% 11% 0831 08370 Dr J
1014 20% 13% 14% 15% 14% 12% 08% 1560 08283 Realize
1375 20% 15% 11% 12% 11% 16% 12% 1612 08004 MadWilly
0969 16% 18% 14% 12% 14% 13% 10% 1084 07784 Death Engineer
0735 20% 15% 11% 13% 12% 09% 15% 1429 06688 Chris0123
1605 12% 12% 16% 17% 18% 15% 07% 2364 06470 skrumgaer
0718 18% 16% 14% 10% 10% 13% 15% 1215 06076 SprintTx
0626 21% 11% 07% 09% 13% 14% 23% 3950 04809 Hushh
1418 13% 12% 14% 13% 17% 14% 13% 0427 03208 vIRGL
0714 14% 10% 09% 10% 10% 14% 29% 5743 02603 Magic Roundabout




[September commentary and standings]

Here are the 2009 standings as of the end of September. A total of 720 regular games played by the end of the year will be needed to qualify.



0831 25% 18% 18% 15% 08% 08% 04% 6635 18983 fiero600
3258 17% 18% 16% 14% 11% 10% 10% 2578 16844 savif
3461 16% 16% 16% 16% 13% 10% 10% 2280 15337 Karsten4130
2278 18% 18% 15% 15% 13% 09% 09% 2892 15333 DaShiVa
2029 21% 16% 13% 12% 12% 12% 11% 2279 12748 AMO
1149 19% 18% 16% 13% 12% 11% 09% 1957 11124 Parian
1221 20% 15% 11% 12% 11% 16% 11% 1670 08343 MadWilly
0563 18% 19% 13% 11% 15% 12% 09% 1391 07111 Rsquared


[June commentary and standings]

DaShiVa's third place is particularly strong because of his having had only five months of play. Had he had six months, he might have won. Tune in again in December; then these two will have twelve months versus eleven. Dark horses, enter the December competition and glory may be yours!



0611 26% 18% 19% 16% 06% 08% 04% 6716 17790 fiero600
2867 16% 16% 16% 16% 13% 10% 10% 2041 13829 Karsten4130
1840 18% 18% 15% 14% 13% 09% 09% 2409 13331 DaShiVa
1866 17% 17% 16% 15% 13% 09% 10% 1818 12060 Jslap!
1984 19% 15% 15% 14% 13% 13% 09% 1598 11412 ZIGIBOOM
0919 22% 13% 15% 16% 11% 11% 09% 2754 11099 Shevar
2673 16% 17% 14% 11% 11% 12% 16% 1427 09878 greekboi
0778 18% 18% 17% 12% 12% 11% 08% 1841 09558 Parian
1831 17% 15% 15% 14% 11% 12% 12% 0873 09134 Damon87
1551 19% 16% 13% 11% 09% 11% 19% 2899 09029 potato27
1327 21% 14% 09% 12% 12% 13% 16% 2054 07923 captainLAGER
0941 19% 17% 11% 11% 11% 16% 12% 1498 07369 MadWilly
0716 20% 15% 12% 13% 12% 09% 15% 1564 06905 Chris0123
1138 16% 16% 16% 11% 12% 14% 12% 0649 06764 Andro66
1674 16% 14% 13% 15% 16% 12% 11% 0668 06704 Dr J
0605 20% 13% 15% 14% 14% 12% 09% 1120 06441 Realize
1430 16% 14% 14% 14% 14% 12% 12% 0353 06250 kakku_man
0649 15% 18% 16% 11% 13% 13% 11% 0697 05801 Death Engineer
0480 18% 18% 14% 10% 11% 12% 13% 1010 05754 SprintTx
1081 12% 12% 15% 18% 18% 14% 07% 2109 05613 skrumgaer
0525 19% 12% 14% 16% 12% 13% 11% 0769 04848 DrRed76
0372 20% 12% 08% 08% 11% 15% 24% 3307 03497 Hushh
1418 13% 12% 14% 13% 17% 14% 13% 0427 03208 vIRGL
0542 16% 10% 10% 10% 10% 14% 26% 3475 02456 Magic Roundabout

I took the game-weighted November percentages of the 1,000 "top" players in the zero data set with the following results:

07.2 07.9 10.2 14.0 17.5 20.3 22.9

which compares with the percentages under the old scoring (in effect since February) of

09.4 09.2 10.6 12.7 16.7 19.1 22.3

The new zero datum has a greater tilt toward the worse finishes (except for seventh, which is probably more connected to poor starts than negative skill)*. The new datum also does not have the disparity of second place having the lowest percentage of finishes. The new datum puts more weight on first place than second.

*No, it had to do with a transcription error of a zero for a nine. The original post had a value of 22.0 for seventh place.

I've noticed that a good deal of the frustration with the game and with other players is consistently due to misunderstandings of the flagging system. This becomes pretty evident when you take a look at players' review pages and a large majority of the negative, and even positive comments, deal with flagging.

The initial flagging system was introduced solely as a way to help the game end faster. It was a simple checkbox, not related to place. When all players other than the one in first checked this box the game would end and each player would receive place based on their current position.

Incidentally, this system led to 'ninja flagging,' where a player would wait for everyone else to have their flag up and then quickly over-expand and then flag themselves, ending the game. They would then finish much higher than they should have otherwise. This led to some fun games as people would watch and try to respond, but it also cause some frustration. Anyone who uses 'ninja flagging' in regards to the current system is using the term incorrectly.

I bring this up because the current flagging system was introduced specifically to address the ninja flagging 'problem.' Some players that play in both systems find the old system preferable, some do not. To each their own; I don't think Ryan will be changing it back anytime soon.

The issue we have now is that flags are grossly misunderstood. You see people all the time expecting that when their flag is up they will not be attacked and thus they feel you did not "honor" or "respect" their flag if you attack them. This completely erroneous assumption has lead to a great deal of complaining, frustration, and negative review leaving.

Here are the flagging facts:
1. If you flag to someone, they have the complete right to still attack you, and often should. There is nothing 'dishonorable' about it. They may need to expand to fight for a higher position and your flag should not stop them from expanding to do so. They may want to earn more dom points - it is their right to do so as they have clearly earned a stronger position. Flags are ONLY there to help the game end faster; they are not magic invincibility potions to protect you when you otherwise should die.

2. People who over-expand and then throw up a flag should frequently be attacked. Just because you put up a flag does not mean that you can foolishly over-expand and leave little stacks lying about and expect to keep them. Again, a flag is not a magic invincibility potion that protects you from attack - it's just there to help the game end faster. You'll often see people over expand recklessly throw up a flag and have it 'respected' and thus earning a position higher than they should have gotten. Good strategy on their part if they think they can get away with it, but poor form on the other players' part to let them do so. Keep in mind that that over-expanding player is taking dominance points away from the other players when they do this as well; frequently from the person who is in the best position to take their smaller stacks.

3. An early flag is essentially a truce offer. If a player verbally flags in round two, it's a safe assumption that those two players are effectively truced and will not be hindering each other's play. The other players on the board need to actively counter this or will almost always end up losing to these two players. This is not very different from being observant and countering two players who says things like "I'm cool" or "how about we be friendly." If you don't fight this behavior when possible, those players will win. You will see some people that ignore or even purposefully attack early verbal flags. This is a reasonable solution to this problem. They're probably flagging early because they are weak, so take the land and dominance points if you are in a position to do so.

In review:
Flagging Rule #1 - Flagging to someone does not mean they cannot and often should not attack you.

Flagging Rule #2 - Players who recklessly over-expand and then flag for defense should often be attacked.

Flagging Rule #3 - An early verbal flag is often an effective truce offer.

I will state the most important part again: flagging was only introduced to help the game end faster. Your flag DOES NOT prevent you from being attacked - it is not what it was designed to do.

KDice Trainer for iPhone is now on the App Store! Ryan worked on making a fast single player version of KDice that captures all of the elements that make kdice.com popular. You play against up to 6 out of 99 bots and work your way from 100th place up to 1st if you’re lucky.

The interface is clean and clear and allows you to configure the type of game (2-7 players, map size, difficult) without a configuration screen. Configuration screens are confusing and often make things more complex than required. In this app there is no configuration screen but instead these configuration options are built into the leaderboard where you select who you want to play.

The leaderboard has 99 bots named after some of the top KDice players. The AI is fairly complex giving each bot unique decision making combinations. As you work your way up the leaderboard the bots get smarter and harder to beat.

The touch screen on iPhones is a natural fit for selecting areas to attack. You simply slide your finger from the territory you’re attacking from to the territory you want to attack. Even with a full map attacking is easy and accurate.

The landing page:
http://iphone.kdice.com

On the App Store:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=310652813&mt=8

I've been writing a single player version of KDice for the iphone over the past few months and need to start getting ready to launch it.

I wanted to reach out to the kdice community to see what kind of role you'd like to play. I was going to create a seperate community at iphone.kdice.com. Any volunteers to welcome iphone players there?

Also, I need to write a description for the trainer when it appears on itunes. I was thinking of something from this community explaining what kdice is (ie more than just a game of luck) and a challenge to compete against the best.

Let me know what you think.

Here's a sneak peek:
http://twitpic.com/2lc1v