Sevens

a game of no-touch rugby by Tony Reeves

4 to 16 players. 5 to 6 turns.

1. Sevens is based around a Seven-a-Side Rugby tournament such as The Hong Kong Sevens. Players must attempt to qualify from the group stages without using up too many of their resources in order to remain competitive in the knockout phase. There are 4 teams in each group in the group stages.

2. Each team starts the competition with 100 SCRUM (Stamina Confidence Reserves Unity(?) Motivation) Points. These points are allocated prior to each match by the players involved. The greater the investment of SCRUM points, the higher the expected score for that team in the match. The winner of any match acquires 10 SCRUM points. SCRUM points allocated to a match are "spent" and cannot be recovered.

3. Each match a player must decide

(i) How many SCRUM points are to be allocated to the match

(ii) How the SCRUM points are to be divided between FORCE and FLAIR

4. Each SCRUM point invested in FORCE allows one d6 to be thrown. On a throw of 5 or 3, the team scores that number of points by scoring a try or a penalty respectively. FORCE tries always go unconverted.

5. Each FLAIR option requires an investment of 3 SCRUM points. For each FLAIR option a 2d6 are thrown. Scoring for each FLAIR option is as follows :

(i) All pairs of dice totalling 7 (in any combination) score 7 points for a converted try.

(ii) Where the dice do not total 7 the individual dice score 5 for a try and 3 for a drop goal when those numbers appear.

(iii) All doubles, scoring or otherwise, throw again. It is theoretical possible to keep scoring ad infinitum on a single FLAIR option.

6. The total scores of the 2 teams involved in a match are compared and the higher score wins. If the score is equal the game is a draw. In the group phase 2 league points are awarded for a win and 1 for a draw. In the knockout phase draws will be broken by:

(i) tries scored

(ii) conversions scored

(iii) drop goals scored

(iv) the better group record of the 2 teams involved

In the group phase ties on league points will be decided by

(i) tries scored

(ii) points scored

(iii) fewest tries conceded

(iv) fewest points conceded

(v) the head to head result(s) between the tying teams

7. The teams finishing 1st and second in the group phase proceed to the knockout phase. Teams finishing first will meet a team which finished second in another group in the first of the knockout matches. With fewer than eight players each player manages a number of teams in different groups.

Chris Dickson reliably informs me that the effect of doubles throwing again is to multiply the expected score for 2 dice by 1.2.

For 3 points of Flair you can thus expect to score about 3.97, whereas 3 points of Force nets 4.00. The proportion of tries is greater in Flair (as its name suggests).