What is Longshanks?

Longshanks allows organizers to easily publicize events and automatically manage player pairings. It allows players to easily find and participate in local events and see what other events are happening around the world.

Since 2017, Longshanks has been the de facto online home of competitive Guild Ball, a tabletop miniatures game by Steamforged Games. A sister site was created in 2020 for Godtear, another Steamforged game.

The two systems were combined in 2021 and support was added for additional game systems. If your favorite game isn't supported yet, contact us to see if it can be added.

Longshanks is owned and operated by Windy City Game Lab, LLC. Names, images, logos, and other game-specific trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Why the name?

In the lore of Guild Ball, tournaments and games between the various guilds are organized by a powerful and secretive society known as "the Longshanks." Since this site was originally developed specifically for Guild Ball, the name was a perfect fit.

Since expanding to support other game systems, we have outgrown the relevance of our name. We choose to continue using it as a respectful nod to the game that got us started and all the players and event hosts who have supported us since the beginning.

Acknowledgements

Ben Redmond

Ben created the first Guild Ball ranking system and was a significant inspiration for Longshanks.

Kevin Stewart

Kevin has been instrumental in providing feedback on the functionality of the Longshanks system. He has also provided a number of ideas and suggestions that have been crucial to the site's success.

Special contributors

Players marked with the red star badge contribute to Longshanks in a variety of ways, including testing and troubleshooting new features. Their help is greatly appreciated!

Finding help

Before contacting us, please read through the Help pages. You may find the answer to your question here.

If you can't find what you need or require additional assistance, there are several ways to cantact us. Please choose one of the options here for any questions or requests.

User requests

Users may submit requests for changes, upgrades, or new features using the User Requests page. Other users can vote for and againsts each request, with overall score influencing when requests are implemented.

User requests page

Social media

Send us a message through one of our social media platforms for a quick response to a question or for technical assistance.

Discord Twitter WhatsApp

Facebook (Longshanks) Facebook (Windy City Game Lab)

Email

For more complex and in-depth issues, send us an email.

Longshanks administration Windy City Game Lab

Account information

Editing your settings

Once you have claimed your account and logged in you may update your name, home region, password, and other account information using your Dashboard.

ID number

Each account in the system has an ID number that is unique and cannot be changed. A player can always be identified by their ID number even if that player changes their name or other settings.

Display name

Your display name is used by event organizers and other players to find you. To avoid confusion and ensure that games are linked to the correct account, you should be easily identified by your display name both online and in real life.

• While not required, it is highly recommended that you use your real name.
• Your display name may not contain special characters.
• Your display name may not contain profanity.

Nicknames

Subscribers may choose to use a nickname. These appear as a higlighted section within your display name.

• Your nickname may not contain special characters except #, @, $, €, £, ¥, and µ.
• Your nickname may not contain profanity.

Get an account

Access an existing account

If you have ever attended an organized play event for one of the supported game systems, you may already have an account. If you find an entry in the player list that matches you, follow the instructions on that player profile to claim the account.

An unclaimed account can be registered for events by an event organizer, but you must claim your account to register for events yourself, host events, or change your account information.

Create a new account

If you do not have an account and want to set one up, you can create a new account.

Policies

• You may modify your account information as necessary to correct errors or reflect changes.
• Names or nicknames that receive complaints or are deemed inappropriate may be removed or modified by the administration without warning. An account may be locked if an offense is severe or repeated.

Abuses of these policies are NOT tolerated.

RPI

Player rating on Longshanks is based on the rating percentage index (RPI).

R	=	win/loss record
OR	=	average R of all opponents
OOR	=	average OR of all opponents

Game threshold

Each game system has a threshold set by that game's administrator. This threshold represents approximately half the number of games played by a typical competitive player per year.

Rating

To account for new and untested players, RPI is modified to favor more games being played. A Q-factor is calculated for each player based on the number of games played and the game system's threshold.

The Q-factor is very large when a player has played few games and disappears as a player approaches the game threshold.

e	=	Euler's number
T	=	game threshold
n	=	number of games played

The rating of a player who has played fewer games than the game threshold is calculated by dividing that player's RPI by their Q-factor. Once a player has exceeded the game threshold, their rating is equal to their RPI.

Tournament points

Players are given tournament points (TP) for each game they play in an event.

By default, one TP is assigned for a win and zero points for a loss or draw. Game systems can assign different tournament point values if required by their rules or organized play procedures.

Tie breakers

Up to three tie breakers may be applied to an event if desired and applied in any order (four for team events). If a game system has been assigned a set of default tie breakers, those will be selected automatically for all new events in that system but may be changed by the event host if desired. All supported tie breakers are listed below.

If you use tie breakers for an event, Longshanks strongly recommends selecting one of the strength of schedule (SOS) variants as the first.

Sorting methods

Players and teams are ranked within an event using the following metrics.

1. Tournament points
2. Number of wins
3. Number of draws
4. Number of games played
5. The chosen tie-breakers for the event (if any)

If two or more players or teams have equal values for all the ranking metrics and tie breakers, they are given the same ranking.

Registering for an event

Players may self-register for Open events. To register for a Locked event, contact the event organizer.

The registration section on each event allows you to manage your registration for that event before it begins and drop from the event after it has begun.

Event hosts can register players for their events using account ID numbers or by searching for a player's name.

Once you are registered for an event, you will appear on the event page. You can also see and enter the results of your current game on your Dashboard.

Friends

You may add up to five other players as friends. Event hosts may choose to avoid matches between mutual friends during a tournament.

Modify your friends list from your Dashboard.

Player capacity

Players may not register for an event once it reaches its player capacity (if one is set). An event host can always add or remove players, even after the event reaches capacity.

Pairing options

Before generating each new round, you must select from several options for that round. Once your options have been selected, the system will generate a set of player pairings for that round. You may adjust pairings manually if desired.

These options apply only to the current round. They must be re-selected each round.

Pairing system

You may choose which pairing method (see "Player pairing" above) will be used for this round. Swiss pairing is recommended for most events.

Player elimination

You may choose to use player elimination. Single elimination pairs only undefeated players. Double elimination also pairs players who have a single loss.

Pairing errors

Three possible errors can occur when setting the pairings for a new round of games. These errors are highlighted when setting the pairings for a new round.

If an unacceptable error occurs, you can refresh the pairings to try the automatic system again or manually adjust the pairings. If you discover an error after generating a round, simply delete the round and redo the pairings.

Rematches

Rematches are automatically avoided whenever possible. It is recommended that you refresh the pairings or manually change a rematch if a rematch appears.

Friendly fire

You may choose to automatically avoid pairing mutual friends. This option is intended for larger events where friends might travel together and want to play new people. It is not recommended beyond the first round of a tournament.

Repeat table

You may choose to automatically avoiding assigning players to the same table more than once in an event. This option is useful for games that use terrain that makes each table unique. Fresh tables should be selected every round to ensure it is effective.

Event status

Under construction

When you create a new event, it will automatically be set to the "under construction" status. You may use this status to practice using the event management system and run test events. Change an event's status to Open or Locked to make it publicly visible.

Events under construction are not included in any rating or award calculations, so they will not affect the included players in any way.

Finished

Once a single undefeated player has been found, adding additional game rounds is not recommended. You may ignore this warning if you wish to continue the event anyway.

When your event has ended, use the buttons provided to mark it as finished. Until an event is marked this way, it will continue to appear in the system as incomplete.

Creating new player accounts

You can create a new account for a player who doesn't already have one. Please avoid duplicate entries by confirming that the player doesn't already have an account first. Double check spelling and alternate names.

Test players

Do not create "fake" accounts when testing the event hosting system

There are sixteen test players designed for testing the system without using real people. The test players have ID numbers from 800 to 815. When adding players to a practice or test event, enter one of the test player ID numbers or search for "Test Player" and choose one of the options that appears.

Do not use test players in real events

Events that include test players are assumed to be test events and may be deleted without warning.

Direct messages

Players and event organizers may send direct messages (DMs) to one another. Direct messaging is disabled by default and must be enabled on your Dashboard. If you enable direct messaging, any player may send you a DM at any time by visiting your player profile.

• DMs send an email to the recipient's registered email address.
• The sender's email address is never shown to a DM recipient. Recipients must follow a link in the message to reply.
• If you send a DM, the recipient will be able to reply even if you have DMs disabled.
• All DMs are visible to administrators for diagnostic and security purposes.

Event announcements

Event organizers may send announcements to event attendees to share information and updates about the event. Players may send messages to event organizers to ask questions or request registration to a closed event.

• Event announcements are sent to all registered players, even players with DMs disabled.
• Any player may send a message to any event organizer, even if that organizer has DMs disabled.

Normal

Users without one of the elevated or restricted permission levels are in good standing and have access to all normal Longshanks features.

Subscribers

Subscribers have access to additional features, including more detailed data analytics, the ability to add a nickname, and the ability to add custom logos and banner images to their events.

Elevated

Administrator

Administrators can modify account settings, games, and events created by other users.

Special contributor

These users test out and offer feedback on new features of the site before they become public.

Restricted

Warning

Users may receive warnings for certain unacceptable behaviors. These users retain all standard permissions but are flagged so that administrators can monitor their activity.

Locked

The accounts of users that receive multiple warnings or exhibit extreme unacceptable behavior will be locked. These users can attend events as normal but cannot host events, enter casual games, or modify their own account settings.

Email & password security

Your password is never visible to any humans, not event the site administrators, and is never stored as plain text. However, it is still recommended that you use a different password here than you use for any other online accounts.

Your email address is never shared with other users or with any third party for any reason.

• System administrators may occasionally use email addresses to contact users about their accounts.
• While the direct messaging system uses email, the email address of one user is never visible to another user.

Hidden players

A player may hide their account if they wish to be anonymous. Hidden players:

• May participate in games and events as normal.
• Appear as an ID number rather than a name.
• Cannot send or receive direct messages.
• Do not appear in the ranking.
• Cannot earn most awards.
• Cannot host events.

Data privacy

This system functions through the public sharing of information.

Some information is entered by users about themselves.

• This may include information such as a player's name, nickname, home region, and friend list.
• Users also input their email address and create a password, but these are never shared publicly.
• Users may hide their player account at any time. This removes personal information such as that users name, home region, and event attendance from public view.

Some information is collected and submitted by users about other people. This typically happens when registering players for an event or submitting a casual game to the system.

• This may include information such as player names, event attendance, and match results.
• Event hosts are required to obtain consent from a player to collect and display this information online before registering that player for an event.

If you wish to have your personal information or account removed from the system entirely, contact us.

Data privacy

Every effort is made to be in complance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other worldwide data collection laws.

For more information on our data privacy policies, please see the section on security & privacy. If you have any questions regarding these or any of our other policies, please contact us.

Data usage

Unauthorized duplication or reuse of the data presented on Longshanks, either in whole or in part, is prohibited.

This requirement allows us to comply with GDPR data removal policies. We are unable to anonymize or delete unauthorized copies of data at user request, therefore such copies are not permitted.

Ownership & copyright

Longshanks owns the aggregated statistical data and representations generated by the system in response to user queries. Player, event, and game data submitted by users are the property of those users. Most user-submitted data may be anonymized or removed at any time by the submitting user and/or the user the information is about. Non-user-editable data can be anonymized or removed by administrators upon user request.

Longshanks is wholly owned by Windy City Game Lab, LLC. Neither Longshanks nor Windy City Game Lab are affiliated with or endorsed by any of the individuals, companies, or other entities that appear on or are referenced by this website unless indicated otherwise.

No challenge to copyright or claim of ownership is intended in relation to any third-party intellectual property that appears on Longshanks. Names, images, logos, and other intellectual property relating to specific companies or game systems are the property of their respective owners and are used either with permission or under the assumption of fair use.

If you believe that any of your copyrighted work appears on Longshanks in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us. To help resolve the situation as quickly as possible, please include a description of the copyrighted work, where it appears on the site, your relationship to the copyright owner, and a statement describing how the use infriges upon copyright law.