An idea for Tournaments.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I will most likely have most of the books checked, days before the event actually takes place. I understand your concerns on this issue. However each and every person who is likely to attend is a close personal friend of mine and I will have more than ample time to check the books ahead of time. Alternatively I can have people bring in written copies of their books for me to go over. I can see the value in having extra books on hand in case someone showed up without one.

Wtcannonjr you make a good point about the intent. I would have to say my intent is to raise money for my charity and provide players a fun environment to play the game against other players. This is not a recruitment event however, I've already done plenty of those locally and will do more.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Well an update on this there was a complication in my event I hadn't planned for: I had more newer players sign up than I expected. By "newer" I mean those who don't own their own copy of the game yet, none of my group are hardened veterans by any means. So I can either supply two newer players with 3 competitive books each or I can supply 6 with 1 each. Not, a hard decision.

I'm gonna do a normal 1 mage per player tournament instead. This was a good idea I think but success has foiled my plans again.

[Zuberi]

It is a good way to be foiled though. Congrats on the turn out. I hope it goes well and you recruit many new combatants to the arena.

[Shad0w]

Always good to bring new players to our community.

[Lord0fWinter]

I'm tempted to make the trip to come to this, depending on when it is and what my school schedule looks like that week and the week after.

Only a 4 hour drive for me... And it'll probably be the event that's closest to me for a while. Don't think anything will be held in GA too soon.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Probably gonna be held on the 9th of March. That's what I'm shooting for anyway. That lets me get space reserved, get newer players feeling confident enough to attend, and all the good jazz.

[Zuberi]

I just realized this is in my neck of the country. I live in Thomasville, NC. So I'm only like an hour and half away. When you set a time in stone let me know and I'll see if I can make it.

[silverclawgrizzly]

You live in Thomasville? That's awesome, I've been to Mace a bunch of times, especially when it was up in High Point.

[Zuberi]

Yeah, I wanted to attend MACE this year for my very first convention ever...but life got in the way.

Also, if I am able to attend I am willing to act as an additional judge since you seem to be generating a large gathering. I don't have any actual experience in such a capacity, with any game, but I am pretty comfortable with the rules. Just thought I'd put that out there incase you felt overwhelmed.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Hey that'd help a lot! I've judged clix tournaments for years so I get the gist of judging but I'm still learning this game. I got prize support donated from a local store.

Mace moved to Charlotte, and in fact moved to a hotel that's right at a mile from my apartment. I'm also pretty familiar with the guy who runs the gaming as he's an alumni from our guild on campus. It's a good little con to cut your teeth on.

[Zuberi]

No problem, I'd be more than happy to help. Just give me some pointers on how to actually punish violations. I can spot them but not certain what to do about them. Like at the recent bash con tournament where a brand new player enchanted his mana crystals with harmonize. A common mistake, but clearly illegal. What to do about it though?

If he had been caught in the act, I would guess the spell is cancelled due to illegal target. He loses the spell and mana but the game continues. However, if he wasn't caught till a few rounds later, it's not really possible to back track. The mistake has already had an impact on the game that can't be fixed, so would he receive a loss?

What actually occurred was he got a warning after the match. They said this was due to passive judging, which I am guessing means you don't intervene in a match unless requested.

[silverclawgrizzly]

This kind of thing happens A LOT in tournaments. First decide one thing: Did they mean to cheat or not? This is a tough one but if they have a habit of this then react stronger. Generally speaking you are right if they are caught in the act while it's happening then it just didn't happen.

If it's been a few rounds, I'll probably penalize them Mana for the turn they are on in this case. If it was something that took out a creature or conjuration though then it gets tougher. You give em a warning first offense, cost them the match second offense.

What you gotta realize is honest mistakes will happen and with this game being sorta new and all they're going to happen more often. What I will probably do if you can assist is have you watching a few matches while I'm watching a few matches and we'd do our best to catch stuff as it's happening.

You also want to make sure the players are more than comfortable calling a judge over at any time for a rules question. Keep some rule books and condition sheets handy. Just be sure they're actually needing a ruling and not running down the clock cause they're in the lead.

[Zuberi]

I have the rulebook, FAQ, and combined codex on my tablet that I can bring. I agree 100% that mistakes happen, and with the format of only one game per match, due to the length of games, I don't want to ruin someone's fun by being too harsh. I think the important thing is to try and have everyone enjoy the event.

So as a general rule, warning first, loss second, and it is okay to penalize them in other ways, such as mana, to try and balance the mistake.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'll also bring some spray bottles of soapy water we can squirt in peoples eyes if they screw up too much, or just shoot people with if they're stinky.

Maybe if they mess up rules a lot we'll upgrade to shooting them with hot sauce.

[Zuberi]

Lol, now that could be fun.