static String[] loadPlayerNames(String txtPath) {
        ArrayList<String> namelist = new ArrayList<String>();
        try {
            // get file of players
            BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(new File(txtPath)));
            String line;
            while ( (line = in.readLine()) != null)
                if (line.trim() != "")
                    namelist.add(line);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();        
            System.exit(1);
        }
        return namelist.toArray(new String[0]);
    }