bump...

Anyone can play either. In my experience (1 season of each) the masters is a much higher caliber of play. Leagues were kind of watered down and people didn't seem to care as much.

I've played in the leagues. If you are looking for random, scrub players amongst whom you are going to have a fair number of half-hearted pricks that will eventually CD....then the leagues are the way to go.

The Masters, as I understand them, tend to be a much more serious group of players who will not CD on you and will, in general, give you a higher caliber game.

The year I played leagues, I got blessed with a really strong cast of players, which I think was more lucky than anything, but the thing to know about leagues is that it is literally a completely different game. Metagaming is rampant, as it is all about getting a better 4 (?) game total result. That isn't bad per se, but it is absolutely a variant.

I played in masters not this year but the year before and that was a pretty great experience. I was fairly unproven as a player at that point and got to play against and learn from the best players on the site, which was awesome. I didn't play again this year, though, because fewer of the true masters of the game were playing, so it didn't seem to me that a master's game would be any better than a random passworded game on the forum. And the high frequency of games can be a little overwhelming at times.

I agree that meta-gaming is rampant in the Leagues....i.e. best total score. Absolutely if - to win the tourney - I need the best total score I will perhaps be lest risky in one game and settle for a draw instead of going for the win because I need the points. I don't think that is a problem at all -- that is a *tournament* strategy. I don't consider the tourny to be individual games; I consider them to be a collective.

I have really enjoyed the league. The groups I have been in each season have been good groups and I've really enjoyed getting to know the others. I'm sure others have had other experiences though.

The masters I've had mixed experience with. The first time I was excited to be playing all the great players that were going to be in it and had some great games. Entry was by ghost rating for the 49 spots and I think it was a pretty solid group. This second time, most of the games I've been in have had multiple zombies and several have had CDs. I've been really disappointed and don't think I'll do it again. I'll stick with league and high caliber forum games.

I've never played league. League play was already in progress when I became active on this site. New leagues are forming, but I think my plate is full enough right now that I don't want to take on more. I might try leagues in the future.

I am playing the current Masters, and have not done so before. I decided to take it on because I looked at the tournaments page and read about the Champions Trophy. I thought that sounded cool, and 2 of the 7 seat are for the top two Masters finishers. My experience has been mixed. Overall, there have been more NMRs and CDs and less quality press than I would have expected for a tournament called the Masters. At the same time, I've had several enjoyable games with good players. I would probably do it again next year, schedule permitting.