Thread: Reffing night play

contributions and comments welcome

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Reffing Night Play
By John "Thumper" Edens - 11.04.2008

The following tips should help the scenario ref once the lights go out..

Be unobtrusive. The players are working pretty hard to concentrate on where the good guys are, locate the bad guys and moving quietly. As a result, their sences are on high alert, and the adrenaline is kicking in overdrive. Try and let them enjoy the moment... Try to be still. Only move when you have to. Only make noise when you have to. Only talk to another ref when you have to. Only talk to a player when you have to. Never bird-dog a player or a mission team. Try and not give away the location of a prop, ambush or mission objective. Try and be as considerate and unobtrusive as possible - especially at night. Keep your radio as low as possible - or use an ear bud.

Spy's come out at night - be ready for anything. Creative players will try about anything to BS their way through enemy lines, or to hold on to a mission objective while surrounded, or to con an ememy out of a valuable prop or so bluff their way into the enemy base. As a ref, your job is to not hinder this play unless it breaks a specific rule. If you are sure the spy's stunt is black, make the call. If you dont know, be considerate, and personally check with the games master, quietly and in person.

Overshooting potential : There is safety in numbers, and at night frequently a horde will form and roam the field. At night it is also quite common for lone players to dig in and fog up - especially novice players. This is not a good mix as the potential is there for a wolfpack to come across a lone novice sleeper who then draws collective fire.. The main problem here is the horde can't see what they are shooting at, can't see what they hit, can't see the player try to call himself out, and can't see him trying to get out of the way. Once the lone player is identified, you MUST be Johnny on the spot and ready to immediately jump in front of the barage to stop the play and let the lone player exit.

Which way out-a-here? : Look for players wanting to leave the field and/or respawn and help them out. Walk w/ them until they are clear where the are and where they are going.

just do it the pirate way...

Players: shoot like crazy!

Refs: if you get hit...move

Originally Posted by thumper

contributions and comments welcome
... If you dont know, be considerate, and personally check with the games master, quietly and in person...

Disagree; instead check in on the radio. Taking time to "personally check with the games master, quietly and in person" essentially removes a ref from the field of play and in the middle of a situation that is definitely going to require a ref.

i am with you brian on that

Originally Posted by SCBrian

Disagree; instead check in on the radio. Taking time to "personally check with the games master, quietly and in person" essentially removes a ref from the field of play and in the middle of a situation that is definitely going to require a ref.

good point.. but lets chat this one over a bit..

I've seen situations where a ref gets on the radio to ask the games master a question, and next thing you know the enemy base sends out a patrol directly towards the spy..

why you ask?
1) any ref w/ volume up and willing ears nearby
2) any dirty ref w/ radio ratting out the spy
3) dirty base ref w/ radio ratting out the spy
4) team monitoring ref's channel
5) team monitoring games master's channel

I've actually witnessed each of these egregious errors.

I would err on the side of the reffing staff being less obtrusive during the play, and let the gamesmaster make the call after the play. If the ref on the scene of the spy making his play has a 100% secure way to contact the games master then he could possibly try and make the call prior to the spy's play.. Cell phones would work - but radios are very problematic for sensitive information - historically speaking.

Examples of how to handle tricky situations:

Spy intends to blow base using tricky stunt with all rules followed.
Reffing Solution : let the spy execute his stunt without ref interference, If base is blown (or general killed) for points, the ref should meet in person w/ games master to review the spy's stunt and games master should award or not award appropriate points. If the points are reversed, the dead general should be informed of the reversal. If the spy's stunt was too far into the black, he should be called to the games master's booth for review of where the line was crossed according to the games master's standards. Since this is strictly game play, this is a matter for the games master and the spy - not the head ref, field owner or junior refs.

Spy intends to sneak through enemy lines using tricky stunt with all rules followed.
Reffing Solution : let the spy execute his stunt without ref interference. Once the spy's actions result in points being awarded - the ref on the scene should check in person w/ the games master the stunt the spy used and the points that resulted. The games master should then award or disallow the points. If the spy's stunt was too far into the black, he should be called to the games master's booth for review of where the line was crossed according to the games master's standards. Since this is strictly game play, this is a matter for the games master and the spy - not the head ref, field owner or junior refs.

Spy intends to con enemy spy out of prop with all rules followed.
Reffing solution : don't get involved. Let them have their fun. If you can identify a specific rule that is broken, bring it to the games master's attention and pull the spy in question to the games master's booth for review of where the line was crossed according to the games master's standards. Since this is strictly game play, this is a matter for the games master and the spy - not the head ref, field owner or junior refs.


Producer / Games master note : if the spies are exploiting a particular hole in your rules and it repeatedly creates problems for the reffing staff, you may wish to clarify the rules for future games. Try and stick with the rules you have written for the game in progress (unless safety is compromised).

Still disagree, especially as it relates to spy craft. The emotions and tension is going to be high right after a spy tries something (successful or not / legal or not) and removing the only supposedly neutral party from the area is not going to help. If you suspect a ref is allowing information out (intentionally or not) bring it to the refs attention or the games masters attention, and allow the games master to deal with it. I know if we have a ref in a particular area, and he/she leaves that area, they better have a darn good reason to leave the area, and to “personally check in with the games master” doesn’t cut it. He has a radio, he can use it. Reffs are a limited commodity in most scenario games, we can’t afford to have them off the field. Spy's more than anyone else know the rules. They know what is in the grey areas and what isn't. If they have any suspicion that some thing may cause some confusion, they should check in with the games master prior to pulling it. If they chose not to, then they choose to allow the ruling on the field to play out or the decisions to be made AFTER the fact.