How about LPL7?

[Eric the Shed]

Cheers Richard

Will keep my eyes peeled....ps the latest WOTR stuff is looking great.

[Hammers]

You can take a look at the previous rules like 6th, but to summarise the key elements and frequently confusing issues...

• Entries are sent by e-mail. You must send a picture (or maybe several) before the league starts to get in. Later you send stuff when you want to enter new stuff.
• It's OK to stockpile even completely painted minis in advance as long as you don't show pics of them in any public places. Some feel it's more appropriate to take the iron man route and paint in "real time" but it's not required.
• In every round, entries are paired against each other and there are a bunch of "which one of these two is more awesome" votes.
• You get points for winning the vote, for the number of votes (even if you lose), for posting a new entry (never seen before), and for theme rounds.
• In theme rounds you get bonus points for painting some specific stuff, but a non-themed entry is still fine. It just doesn't get that bonus.
• Before the league, you're expected to spend a week or two scouting the acceptable limits of bonus theme interpretation. Most creative scouting attempts and the process as a whole will be ridiculed in a friendly manner.
• An entry is 5+ models forming a consistent team. Terrain bits cannot be team members. Their opponents cannot be team members. People cheat like hell but we pretend not to care too much.
• Many kinds of minis will do. We've seen 1/1200 ships, animals, monsters, self-sculpted minis, even space marines!
• Physical backdrops consisting of impressive scenery are commonplace. Yep, this is a miniature painting contest a bit like Eurovision is a song contest. So provide props, dancers and fireworks if you only can. It's entertaining.
• So is a witty team name.
• Now really, beyond the initial requirements (last year it was three teams in advance), it's not obligatory to post new stuff every week. An old entry of your choice is recycled. It can still win the voting but it won't get the "brand new stuff" bonus points. And voters tend to prefer fresh goods. And painting 50+ minis is cool.

The rest is smaller details. Welcome.

A cynical but rather to the point interpretation of the rules... 

Let me add that the LPL is a young man's game.

[Centaur_Seducer]

Didn't realize that it was Dolmot that did the summary, so good job on that!

[Captain Blood]

Well I couldn't have put it better myself.

I think Dolmot has gone to the heart of the LPL psyche...
We make rules that we try to keep as simple and easy as possible - everyone else expends huge amounts of energy and ingenuity trying to work out ways of getting round them and finding the slightest loopholes.

Just human nature I guess 

Let's hope LPL7, when it arrives, is approached by all comers in the generous, constructive spirit which was always intended 
(But I won't hold my breath).

[Dolmot]

I think Dolmot has gone to the heart of the LPL psyche...
We make rules that we try to keep as simple and easy as possible - everyone else expends huge amounts of energy and ingenuity trying to work out ways of getting round them and finding the slightest loopholes.

Just human nature I guess 

Hey, the comment on theme stretching was just a single item added for comedy. I find the phenomenon quite natural. Pretty much everyone would probably want to participate in a themed round, either for the spirit or for points. However, there's always room for interpretation. Sometimes people have stuff that's almost applicable...or not quite but sort of...or maybe there's something they could add to existing projects but it takes some stretching again. Not everyone wants to buy and paint stuff that would be exactly right for the theme but completely useless afterwards. Meanwhile, people who happen to have 100% matching stuff (or plans involving it) can sit back, point and laugh at the stretching attempts.

Of course, any theme will have its hazy border arears so it's hardly possible to prevent this...unless you state something like "paint an unbased Grenadier 1987 Jabberwock blue". But would that be any fun?

Most of the items in my summary weren't related to that, though. Even if we're trying to make the rules simple, the sheer amount of technical details such as timing, submitting, scoring etc. make the official rules topic a formidable wall of text. That's why I tried to pick up the points that most often cause confusion. It's not once or twice during these years when I've seen questions like "what if I don't have themed minis?" or "do I get kicked out if I don't post every week?" I wanted to answers those and include a few humorous aspects to reflect the less serious nature of this so-called competition. That's all.

[Captain Blood]

...a few humorous aspects to reflect the less serious nature of this so-called competition. That's all.

Exactly.
 

[Drachenklinge]

actually I judged many questions about the rules as "I am not sure, if I understood them correct" and not like "how to get around them *sinisterlaugh*". Since we all - or for sure most of us - know, that it is more of a fun contest, we just do NOT want to get around the rules. But for that, you have to understand them and - last but not least - not all of us are native in English.

In the end what I think is the most anoying when "membering" a competition is to be outcasted for not obeying the rules and realizing afterwards, that it simply was a misunderstanding, which could have been solved just by asking. Somthing like "oh, dear, u ment 'minis' not 'mines' ... damn!" ^^

And talking about the maybe-vagueness and interpretation of the special-round-rules - I think that makes the LPL all the more colorful, which is one of the best things anyway!

I don't know of any competition where there are NOT tons of lots of rules just to ensure to compare two more or less equal minis *snore*
Lots of competitions, where the minis, the theme or the amount of minis is exactly the same, so to make it easier to compare them. I really LOVE this concept of this LPL-idea. The pairings are often hilariously funny to watch and mindboggling to decide, which is fun all by itself.

so ... go on! I need to be mindboggled again this year!

best wishes
Drachenklinge

[Hammers]

actually I judged many questions about the rules as "I am not sure, if I understood them correct"

I am not sure I don't quite agree...  There are a quite a few wargames who relish the chance to put rules under the microscope.

[Centaur_Seducer]

I am not sure I don't quite agree...   There are a quite a few wargames who relish the chance to put rules under the microscope.

And there's always an inverted "V for Victory" hand gesture waiting those that try to hard to be lazy.

But I have to agree that themes have so far scared me away (although, had I known about this years project, I would have joined).
Who's running it this year?

[Drachenklinge]

I am not sure I don't quite agree...  There are a quite a few wargames who relish the chance to put rules under the microscope.

oh, well! I am NOT talking about gaming-rules, here!

best wishes
DK

[Captain Blood]

Who's running it this year?

To be announced

On the rules point, I'm afraid that while many people genuinely seek clarification on particular points, I know for a fact there are a few LAFers who simply like to test rules (any rules) to destruction as an intellectual challenge.
Or maybe it's just they don't like rules they didn't write themselves
I know this because people have admitted it (sometimes people with absolutely no intention of taking part, which is even more unfathomable).
Needless to say, this is NOT the spirit which was intended for the LPL. It's a competition, yes, but to be approached with the constructive, Corinthian attitude that is our LAF way...
As the Prof once said, basically the rules are: paint 5 figures, take a picture of them, send it in. That's it. We shouldn't need to tie ourselves up in ever longer and more complicated rules if people simply approached it in the right spirit.
And we won't do so - so let's hope LPL7, when it arrives, does not have to go undergo such trials...

[Vanvlak]

Maybe there should be points - or a side competition - for the most ingeniously skewed interpretation of the themes - with an emphasis on ingenious, rather than devious. 

[Eric the Shed]

Will we get enough notice to order figures. Since I cleared my lead pile I only buy what I can paint...no surplus hanging around

[Hawkeye]

Dolmot's summary of the rules was spot on - and nicely tongue-in-cheek in relation to the (mostly) good natured rangling that goes in relation to interpreting rules and bending bonus-round themes. I tend to take things as they come, but I also have to say that seeing the way others interpret themes in different ways is part of the fun of the competition for me as well - quite apart from the wonderful painting, of course! While it's called a competition, it's a lot more than that - a forum for creativity, skill, fun, and art!
Surgery kept me out of LPL 5, and illness kept me out of LPL 6, but it is my earnest desire to take part in LPL 7. The April start will work in my favour, too, as I'll finish the teaching semester at the end of the April, and the summer will stretch ahead of me, full of long sunny days of painting!
Somebody did ask - and I'll echo it here - will we get a bit of notice in case we need to do order some lead for some of the rounds?
Roll on LPL7!

[Blue in vt]

For the last two we were notified of the timing and themes at least 6 weeks in advance so I assume that will be the case again.

Blue