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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

I've been the tournament organizer for my FLGS for the last three months or so, and we finally got the thumbs up from GW to run 'ard Boyz this year.

I've done pretty good so far running the tournaments, but I've never ran anything of this scale before, and never anything that didn't involve the local crowd.

I'd like some advice on how to make this an awesome event for everyone involved. I'd like to avoid as many pitfalls as I possibly can, so if anyone has any advice for me, that would be awesome.

It is going to be a smaller event, with 7 to 8 tables (we simply don't have a lot of room in the store, unfortunately)

Thanks!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/11 02:27:37


Tournament Organizer for the Midland/Odessa Gaming Society 
   
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Dakka Veteran




NJ

Check the BatReps from past years for issues people have had.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

Flagg07 wrote:Check the BatReps from past years for issues people have had.


I've found a lot of Battle Reports, which are great, but I haven't noticed any issues mentioned in any of them. Still reading however.

Anyone else?

Tournament Organizer for the Midland/Odessa Gaming Society 
   
Made in us
Lead-Footed Trukkboy Driver





Lake Stevens, WA

Find out if they're using the Adepticon FAQ again, and if so, if it will apply to all three rounds...

When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life. 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

CatPeeler wrote:Find out if they're using the Adepticon FAQ again, and if so, if it will apply to all three rounds...


I haven't heard anything on that yet, in fact all I have from GW is the thumbs up to actually run the tourny.


Finally found one with some negative info. OP deleted his post, but what I gathered from the comments was that;

1. The TO played in the game, which I personally believe is a big no no. While I love to play, it's not fair for the guy who is making the calls to be playing in the tournament, period.

2. The paring/scoring process was not transparent. When I run my tournaments, I randomly pair people in front of everyone, and show everyone how the pairings are done in the second and third rounds.

I think I'm fairly well covered on these. If there's no guidance from GW on the FAQ issue, I would prefer to use the Adepticon FAQ, assuming it's been updated to be in line with GW's most recent ones (I have not looked at the Adepticon one in a few weeks)

Anything else I should be aware of? I post timelines for our tournaments in advance, and generally give players 15 mins to clean up and move to their next match.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/10 21:35:21


Tournament Organizer for the Midland/Odessa Gaming Society 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Tilter at Windmills






Manchester, NH

General organization:
As you said, making scores transparent and posting them between rounds is always good.

Alloting proper time is key. Two and a half hour rounds are I think more or less “standard” for 2500pt Ard Boyz games, though 3hrs wouldn’t be terrible either. Some folks just aren’t good at playing larger armies quickly, and while they should learn to play faster, it can stink if their slow play denies their opponent a full game.

Give periodic updates to the players on time left during the rounds. 1 hr left, 30min left, 15 min left, 5 min left, etc. Make sure everyone can hear you. Put the results sheets onto the tables at that “1hr left” mark. Some people may already be done, and this ALSO makes sure everyone hears your time announcement.

Also give yourself enough time to do the math. 15min may be enough, but sounds a little short. If you build in a little more, you can take time to pee or to get the numbers in even if (when) one of the tables gets their results in late.

Make sure that you announce BOTH at the beginning of the day AND after each round exactly what time the next round will start. You may have to fudge a little, and even if you don’t, a lot of other tournaments do, so it’s always good to make sure everyone’s clear.


Staffing:
Make sure anyone who’s organizing/judging is clearly identified at the start of the day. Distinctive t-shirts or hats are also nice so you can be found easily.

It’s a good idea to have at least one judge/organizer constantly wandering between tables, ready to spot shady behavior and handy for rules questions. If he can carry a binder with printed-out copies of the GW FAQs with him (and any independent or store’s own tourney FAQ if in use), that’s doubleplusgood.

Find out if there are any rules from GW about what to do with an odd number of players. If they permit it, have a volunteer or staff member ready to be the extra guy to give you an even number. Make sure it’s a good player, but clearly announce that he is there just to make up the numbers, and is ineligible to win. Randomly determine his opponent for round 1, openly. After round 1, only pair him against the player who currently has the lowest score.


Terrain:
Make sure you have enough terrain for all the tables you have. It never hurts to have a terrain-building day at the store in the weeks leading up to the event, to make sure all the tables have enough, repair beat-up features, and maybe put out some extra-nice ones. In addition to making the games better/more consistent, this is an opportunity for the store to show off to players who aren’t there regularly, and encourage them to return.

Before pairings for round 1, lead the group around the whole venue and discuss rules for the terrain. Anything unusual, what exactly counts as difficult or dangerous or impassible, etc. Get this standardized before the start. Bonus credit if you have time: Make up little standing or taped-on cards for each table summarizing the terrain rules.


Rules:
Adopting a comprehensive FAQ like the INAT FAQ isn’t a bad idea. When you have people traveling long distances to play, and when people are playing for high stakes, you get more rules questions. It’s not critical, but it can give you a standardized and consistent place to find a ruling on many sticky issues, even if you don’t necessarily agree with all of it. No one agrees with all ruling in any FAQ anyway. Heck; I don’t agree with all the rulings in the GW FAQs! But as long as you have a ruling, and particularly when you can have that FAQ available for players to reference beforehand, you’re in better shape than if you have to make a call on the fly at the event. If you don’t do this, then at least put a call out for questions from the players before round 1, when you do the terrain rules discussion.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/11 00:21:36


Adepticon 2015: Team Tourney Best Imperial Team- Team Ironguts, Adepticon 2014: Team Tourney 6th/120, Best Imperial Team- Cold Steel Mercs 2, 40k Championship Qualifier ~25/226
More 2010-2014 GT/Major RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 78-20-9 // SW: 8-1-2 (Golden Ticket with SW), BA: 29-9-4 6th Ed GT & RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 36-12-2 // BA: 11-4-1 // SW: 1-1-1
DT:70S++++G(FAQ)M++B++I+Pw40k99#+D+++A+++/sWD105R+++T(T)DM+++++
A better way to score Sportsmanship in tournaments
The 40K Rulebook & Codex FAQs. You should have these bookmarked if you play this game.
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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

Mannahnin wrote:General organization:
As you said, making scores transparent and posting them between rounds is always good.

Alloting proper time is key. Two and a half hour rounds are I think more or less “standard” for 2500pt Ard Boyz games, though 3hrs wouldn’t be terrible either. Some folks just aren’t good at playing larger armies quickly, and while they should learn to play faster, it can stink if their slow play denies their opponent a full game.

Give periodic updates to the players on time left during the rounds. 1 hr left, 30min left, 15 min left, 5 min left, etc. Make sure everyone can hear you. Put the results sheets onto the tables at that “1hr left” mark. Some people may already be done, and this ALSO makes sure everyone hears your time announcement.

Also give yourself enough time to do the math. 15min may be enough, but sounds a little short. If you build in a little more, you can take time to pee or to get the numbers in even if (when) one of the tables gets their results in late.

Make sure that you announce BOTH at the beginning of the day AND after each round exactly what time the next round will start. You may have to fudge a little, and even if you don’t, a lot of other tournaments do, so it’s always good to make sure everyone’s clear.


Staffing:
Make sure anyone who’s organizing/judging is clearly identified at the start of the day. Distinctive t-shirts or hats are also nice so you can be found easily.

It’s a good idea to have at least one judge/organizer constantly wandering between tables, ready to spot shady behavior and handy for rules questions. If he can carry a binder with printed-out copies of the GW FAQs with him (and any independent or store’s own tourney FAQ if in use), that’s doubleplusgood.

Find out if there are any rules from GW about what to do with an odd number of players. If they permit it, have a volunteer or staff member ready to be the extra guy to give you an even number. Make sure it’s a good player, but clearly announce that he is there just to make up the numbers, and is ineligible to win. Randomly determine his opponent for round 1, openly. After round 1, only pair him against the player who currently has the lowest score.


Terrain:
Make sure you have enough terrain for all the tables you have. It never hurts to have a terrain-building day at the store in the weeks leading up to the event, to make sure all the tables have enough, repair beat-up features, and maybe put out some extra-nice ones. In addition to making the games better/more consistent, this is an opportunity for the store to show off to players who aren’t there regularly, and encourage them to return.

Before pairings for round 1, lead the group around the whole venue and discuss rules for the terrain. Anything unusual, what exactly counts as difficult or dangerous or impassible, etc. Get this standardized before the start. Bonus credit if you have time: Make up little standing or taped-on cards for each table summarizing the terrain rules.


Rules:
Adopting a comprehensive FAQ like the INAT FAQ isn’t a bad idea. When you have people traveling long distances to play, and when people are playing for high stakes, you get more rules questions. It’s not critical, but it can give you a standardized and consistent place to find a ruling on many sticky issues, even if you don’t necessarily agree with all of it. No one agrees with all ruling in any FAQ anyway. Heck; I don’t agree with all the rulings in the GW FAQs! But as long as you have a ruling, and particularly when you can have that FAQ available for players to reference beforehand, you’re in better shape than if you have to make a call on the fly at the event. If you don’t do this, then at least put a call out for questions from the players before round 1, when you do the terrain rules discussion.


Thank you!

First off, after some consideration, I'll probably be switching to 30 minutes before rounds, to let me take care of the math as you suggested it. There's only the store owner, and he won't be having anything to do with the tournament, so it's pretty much just me as far as staff goes. I started working on a binder last week, I have everything except the INAT FAQ printed, just have to put it in the sheet protectors.

I really like the terrain cards, that will make my life a lot easier, not to mention the players!

I've been hosting a "painting" night on Friday nights at the store, that we've been using to paint up all the store terrain. We're getting there, but it's gonna take a bit of work to finish it all.

The only other question I have, is table size. When I was talking to GW, they said that both 4x6 and 4x8 get used at 'ard Boyz. I have two permanant tables in the store that are 4x8, and one 4x6. The rest will be built upon folding tables with plywood, hardboard and copious amounts of duct tape. Should I "mark off" the 4x8 tables to be 4x6 in the interest of fairness? I randomly determine tables for the first round, and after that I try and make sure that people don't play on the same table twice, but it seems like it would be a good thing to just avoid all together.

Thanks again for your reply, it gave me quite a bit of insight.


Tournament Organizer for the Midland/Odessa Gaming Society 
   
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I had a bad experience with last year’s Ard’ Boys. I will admit it was my fault for not being more conscious of the situation but it would have helped if the tournament organizers would have had a formal system in place to avoid the issue.

I won’t go into detail but I ended up playing against a staller and ended up losing a game I would have certainly won. I think a “setup time” that starts 3 minutes after tables are called where each player has 5 minutes + a 2 minute grace period to set up their army would have helped immensely. Additionally, announcements for turn length might help as well – if a round lasts 2.5 hours, than round 1 should take ~30 minutes, round 2 also ~30 min, 3 - ~25 min, 4 -~20 min, 5 - ~15 min, 6 - ~10 min with a 20 minute grace period for games that take longer. Players should be encouraged to adhere to these time limits.

I don’t think a set-in-stone rules approach to time is the right approach, but just some announcements and reminders through the round would be a huge help.
   
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Tilter at Windmills






Manchester, NH

Incarna- good point about setup time. If you plan to have table assignments/pairings up 5-10min before each round actually starts, and let people know that, they can get their stuff into position and not lose too much time from the actual rounds.

Aramus wrote:First off, after some consideration, I'll probably be switching to 30 minutes before rounds, to let me take care of the math as you suggested it. There's only the store owner, and he won't be having anything to do with the tournament, so it's pretty much just me as far as staff goes. I started working on a binder last week, I have everything except the INAT FAQ printed, just have to put it in the sheet protectors.

I really like the terrain cards, that will make my life a lot easier, not to mention the players!

I've been hosting a "painting" night on Friday nights at the store, that we've been using to paint up all the store terrain. We're getting there, but it's gonna take a bit of work to finish it all. .


Sounds like you're off to a great start. Doing it by yourself can be tough. I've done so three times for tournaments with 14-20 players, and tried playing as the "odd man" as well in one or two of them, and I was running around like a maniac trying to get math done, etc. Thankfully in Ard Boyz you don't have to worry about scoring paint or comp, so that saves you time.

I think giving yourself the extra time between rounds is a smart move. If you have time/cash, you might want to print up a second copy of the binder with the GW FAQs, so either the store owner or the players themselves can check that one too if you're in the restroom, grabbing a bit to eat, or answering someone ELSE's question.

Aramus wrote: The only other question I have, is table size. When I was talking to GW, they said that both 4x6 and 4x8 get used at 'ard Boyz. I have two permanant tables in the store that are 4x8, and one 4x6. The rest will be built upon folding tables with plywood, hardboard and copious amounts of duct tape. Should I "mark off" the 4x8 tables to be 4x6 in the interest of fairness? I randomly determine tables for the first round, and after that I try and make sure that people don't play on the same table twice, but it seems like it would be a good thing to just avoid all together.

Thanks again for your reply, it gave me quite a bit of insight.


You're very welcome!

As for table size, while I don't think it's technically REQUIRED, I do think marking off a 2' section of the 4x8 boards is absolutely the way to go. In previous editions of 40k, I'd say to use the 4x8s, as they give more maneuver room, but with how important and common Outflanking is in 5th edition, having some tables wider than others is no longer cool. Go 4x6 for all of them for consistency.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/11 16:25:23


Adepticon 2015: Team Tourney Best Imperial Team- Team Ironguts, Adepticon 2014: Team Tourney 6th/120, Best Imperial Team- Cold Steel Mercs 2, 40k Championship Qualifier ~25/226
More 2010-2014 GT/Major RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 78-20-9 // SW: 8-1-2 (Golden Ticket with SW), BA: 29-9-4 6th Ed GT & RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 36-12-2 // BA: 11-4-1 // SW: 1-1-1
DT:70S++++G(FAQ)M++B++I+Pw40k99#+D+++A+++/sWD105R+++T(T)DM+++++
A better way to score Sportsmanship in tournaments
The 40K Rulebook & Codex FAQs. You should have these bookmarked if you play this game.
The Dakka Dakka Forum Rules You agreed to abide by these when you signed up.

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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

Thanks guys, for all the input. I usually give the guys at least 10 minutes to find their tables and set up (it never takes me more than a couple of minutes to do parings, and I allow 15 minutes between games)

Good call on the second binder, probably should get a few more 40k Quick Reference sheets printed up as well.

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This handy little excel document makes table assignments much easier. It's currently set up for 8 tables as that is what my store has but is easily modified. All of the inner working have had the text changed to white to make the sheet less confusing so if you need to add or subtract tables just hit crtl A and make all the text black.

For this sheet to work you need to give each gaming table a number(1-8). This sheet works by generating the number 1-8 in a random order and then assigning that number to a pairing of players that you determine (in the first round by a random draw and in subsequent rounds by sorting the sheet by points). This number is the number on the table they will play on. The sheet will then cross reference the table the are supposed to be playing on with table they have previously played on. If it turn out that one or both of the players is playing on a table they have previously played on the sheet will show that this is a "bad" matchup. You can then recalculate the sheet until all of the table conflicts are resolved in a matter of seconds.

The Steps

1) Generate random pairing for the first round by drawing names out of a hat or other methods. Enter the names of the players in order in the "Player Name" column and the table number one which they will play for round 1 in the "Round 1" Column(highlight the column, right click and use paste special "values" to avoid messing with the formulas).

2) After the first round enter the scores for each player in the "Score" column. Then custom sort the area in blue from largest to smallest according to the score column, followed by the "TB" column (a really long random number used to break ties)(sort is to the top right of the ribbon in excel 07 or under data in excel 97-03) After this look at column H, if it all reads "good" then you are good to go, no table pairing have been repeated. If any of the cells reads "bad", highlight the area in red. After highlighting it, press F9 to recalculate the sheet. Keep doing this until all the cells read good. (It is mathematically possible for you to have a combination of players and tables that don't work, but the odds are really astronomical). Once your pairing are set paste those values into the round 2 column

3) After round 2 enter the player scores again to the "Score" column. The follow the same procedure as above except highlight both the areas in blue and yellow before you sort.

Hope this helps
 Filename Tournament Random # generator 2.xls [Disk] Download
 Description
 File size 36 Kbytes

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/12 08:03:24


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Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





TX

razorlead wrote:This handy little excel document makes table assignments much easier. It's currently set up for 8 tables as that is what my store has but is easily modified. All of the inner working have had the text changed to white to make the sheet less confusing so if you need to add or subtract tables just hit crtl A and make all the text black.

For this sheet to work you need to give each gaming table a number(1-8). This sheet works by generating the number 1-8 in a random order and then assigning that number to a pairing of players that you determine (in the first round by a random draw and in subsequent rounds by sorting the sheet by points). This number is the number on the table they will play on. The sheet will then cross reference the table the are supposed to be playing on with table they have previously played on. If it turn out that one or both of the players is playing on a table they have previously played on the sheet will show that this is a "bad" matchup. You can then recalculate the sheet until all of the table conflicts are resolved in a matter of seconds.

The Steps

1) Generate random pairing for the first round by drawing names out of a hat or other methods. Enter the names of the players in order in the "Player Name" column and the table number one which they will play for round 1 in the "Round 1" Column(highlight the column, right click and use paste special "values" to avoid messing with the formulas).

2) After the first round enter the scores for each player in the "Score" column. Then custom sort the area in blue from largest to smallest according to the score column, followed by the "TB" column (a really long random number used to break ties)(sort is to the top right of the ribbon in excel 07 or under data in excel 97-03) After this look at column H, if it all reads "good" then you are good to go, no table pairing have been repeated. If any of the cells reads "bad", highlight the area in red. After highlighting it, press F9 to recalculate the sheet. Keep doing this until all the cells read good. (It is mathematically possible for you to have a combination of players and tables that don't work, but the odds are really astronomical). Once your pairing are set paste those values into the round 2 column

3) After round 2 enter the player scores again to the "Score" column. The follow the same procedure as above except highlight both the areas in blue and yellow before you sort.

Hope this helps


That's awesome, I'm gonna play with that tonight. The method I use is a bunch of MTG cards numbered 1-20. Pull out the numbers I don't need, and go off of my numbered signup sheet. Draw two cards, they get put on the first table, next two get on the second table, and so on.

I then do the same thing next round if there's any ties (I just recently started counting "win" points, as opposed to Win/Lose/Draw) and everyone gets paired with someone that has the closest amount of points.


Tournament Organizer for the Midland/Odessa Gaming Society 
   
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Tilter at Windmills






Manchester, NH

I'm moving this to the tournament discussion forum, as it's about tourney organization, and I'd like to see more contructive threads over there.

Adepticon 2015: Team Tourney Best Imperial Team- Team Ironguts, Adepticon 2014: Team Tourney 6th/120, Best Imperial Team- Cold Steel Mercs 2, 40k Championship Qualifier ~25/226
More 2010-2014 GT/Major RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 78-20-9 // SW: 8-1-2 (Golden Ticket with SW), BA: 29-9-4 6th Ed GT & RTT Record (W/L/D) -- CSM: 36-12-2 // BA: 11-4-1 // SW: 1-1-1
DT:70S++++G(FAQ)M++B++I+Pw40k99#+D+++A+++/sWD105R+++T(T)DM+++++
A better way to score Sportsmanship in tournaments
The 40K Rulebook & Codex FAQs. You should have these bookmarked if you play this game.
The Dakka Dakka Forum Rules You agreed to abide by these when you signed up.

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Edmonton, AB

@OP:

Could you please pm me your point of contact at gw? I am trying to help a local store to sign up.

Thanks!

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Regular Dakkanaut





TX

Mannahnin wrote:I'm moving this to the tournament discussion forum, as it's about tourney organization, and I'd like to see more contructive threads over there.


Was wondering what happened to my thread this morning


I didn't post it here in the first place because I wasn't sure it belonged, it seemed more of a GD type topic to me, but I'm glad you moved it, hope it fits better here!

I think I've got a pretty good handle on things so far, thanks to all of you guys input. Anything else I should be aware of, and avoid screwing up?


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Edmonton, AB

Always remember that you are the final authority for disputes and rulings. Read through ymdc to familiarize yourself with wonky situations.

My policy would be for each player to be able to point in the book why they are correct to you. Codex trumps core rules. This makes disputes quick. Also print all official FAQs and have them on hand.

If someone is getting aggressive give them a clear warning to sort themselves out and do not hesitate to kick them out if it continues (someone holding their opponent to the rules is not that).

Q: How many of a specific demographic group are required to carry out a simple task?
A: An arbitrary number. One to carry out the task in question, and the remainder to act in a manner stereotypical of the group.

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Bothell, WA

Have tables & terrain set up before the tournament.

Because of the strict time limit & the ability of some players to play the stall game I'd say you need more judges 1 for every 3-4 tables should be good. Ask whoever you know that has the best rules knowledge to be a judge. Slow play in a 2500 point game is horrible to go through, guard against it like nothing else!

Make it known before hand if you are using the INTA FAQ or not.

Make sure to give time warings every 1/2 hour until the final hour, then do them every 15 minutes with a 5 minute warning at the very end.


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Just curious OP, what part of Texas are you in? I attended a R2 tourney in Arlington last year that was absolutely horribly run. Suffice to say, the locals won everything.

I'm curious if you got the thumbs up because that store got the thumbs down.
   
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Regular Dakkanaut





TX

sourclams wrote:Just curious OP, what part of Texas are you in? I attended a R2 tourney in Arlington last year that was absolutely horribly run. Suffice to say, the locals won everything.

I'm curious if you got the thumbs up because that store got the thumbs down.


Not there, haha. I'm in the Midland/Odessa area. I don't think it really takes a lot to run an 'ard Boyz as far as the requirements go.

As to the suggestion about other judges, it's kinda hard to find someone who doesn't want to play, has an interest in judging, would be fair, and has the rules knowledge necessary. I think I should be able to manage alright, as running 6 tables at 1750 isn't really a challenge for me so far. Of course, knowing my luck I'll end up eating those words, but so is life


As to Fearspect, that's the way I handle things right now. Already do the book thing (had to do it earlier) All the FAQs are in a binder, gonna be making a second one before the game.

Once again, thanks for all the input guys, hopefully I can manage to pull this off and make it an awesome event.

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Made in ca
Fresh-Faced New User





The last turrny I played in was an ard'boys, 2000 pts. it was a good sized turn out for way up here ( northren Canada) 16 players. But time was an issue. Not game length but, players turns. Nothing stated in the rules before hand, had some players running the clock. Not against the rules, but vary unsportsman like. Time violations should be penalized by some sort of point deduction( easy to do in an ard'boys turny). That said, if this is posted before hand, that alone should discourage anyone from doing so and alowing all players a fair game. Its unfortunate that some people choose to play that way, but winning is winning I suppose. Good luck with your turny

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Boosting Ultramarine Biker



Saco, ME

With that many tables, make sure you take your signups before that date. That way you don't have 27 players show up for 16 slots.
We had a HUGE turnout at our local shop for 'Ard Boyz last year. All of the tables were set up the night before, to avoid having to do so the day of.
Make sure you have plenty of terrain for your tables, and that they're set up fairly. The regional in this area last year suffered from a VERY sparse terrain inventory, which prompted a lot of complaints from non-PA armies (Orks and Tau suffered a lot from a lack of cover saves).
You'll also need to police your players well. As has been stated, you have a lot of stallers show up at qualifier events, or events with big prizes. Doubly so when there's no sportsmanship taken into account for placings.

My worst experience with 'Ard Boyz was last year, when my third-round opponent bailed. In fact, several players abandoned the field after the second round because they weren't in the running to place in the top 3. That seriously pissed off several other players. I was the odd-man-out after replacement matchups, and was forced to take a final-round bye. I got a flat Massacre, with no battle point mods. But the worst part was that I shuffled a LOT of things to make the day available, and some yahoo decided that since he wasn't going to win, he wasn't going to play. Bah.

 
   
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Regular Dakkanaut





TX

TheRhino wrote:With that many tables, make sure you take your signups before that date. That way you don't have 27 players show up for 16 slots.
We had a HUGE turnout at our local shop for 'Ard Boyz last year. All of the tables were set up the night before, to avoid having to do so the day of.
Make sure you have plenty of terrain for your tables, and that they're set up fairly. The regional in this area last year suffered from a VERY sparse terrain inventory, which prompted a lot of complaints from non-PA armies (Orks and Tau suffered a lot from a lack of cover saves).
You'll also need to police your players well. As has been stated, you have a lot of stallers show up at qualifier events, or events with big prizes. Doubly so when there's no sportsmanship taken into account for placings.

My worst experience with 'Ard Boyz was last year, when my third-round opponent bailed. In fact, several players abandoned the field after the second round because they weren't in the running to place in the top 3. That seriously pissed off several other players. I was the odd-man-out after replacement matchups, and was forced to take a final-round bye. I got a flat Massacre, with no battle point mods. But the worst part was that I shuffled a LOT of things to make the day available, and some yahoo decided that since he wasn't going to win, he wasn't going to play. Bah.


I hate that, more than anything. I will make it clear that you should allocate time to play in all three games if you're going to play. I think a good way to encourage this is to drop people from runner up slots if they bail on the third game. Signups will be in advance, probably a week after I get the packet from GW. I always set up the tables the night before for any event, so that's really not going to be an issue. Terrain is coming, slowly but we'll have more than ample terrain by the time the event rolls around.

I'm still trying to figure out a good way to deal with stallers. I don't want to micromanage, and set time for turns, but at the same time I need an effective way on dealing with them. I don't have this problem at my store with the regulars, so I've never had to come up with a way to deal with it.

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Boosting Ultramarine Biker



Saco, ME

Stallers can be combatted with volunteers just patrolling the area and watching the games. Problem is, most of the time your volunteers with solid 40K knowledge will want to PLAY in the actual tournament.

 
   
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Water-Caste Negotiator




Clinton, TN

You could use the chess time keeping clock things, but some people may forget to use them (as they are not used to them).

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Omega_Warlord wrote:You could use the chess time keeping clock things, but some people may forget to use them (as they are not used to them).


I second this. I think they would go a long way to preventing stalling and people who try to pull out "wins" or "draws" by stalling.

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Also make sure you know ahead of time how you are going to handle a necron phase out on turn three! This cost me a seat in the finals last year. Pissed me off to know end, because the tourny organizer didn't know what to do and basically just took the advice of the local players he knew (one of which was the opponent I beat who purposely assaulted my assult termies with two necrons to phase himself out earlier than I wanted him to, to stop me from getting battle points).

Necrons F-up tournaments. They should be barred from all tournaments until phase out is removed from the codex.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/03/23 21:16:32


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Regular Dakkanaut





TX

Strimen wrote:Also make sure you know ahead of time how you are going to handle a necron phase out on turn three! This cost me a seat in the finals last year. Pissed me off to know end, because the tourny organizer didn't know what to do and basically just took the advice of the local players he knew (one of which was the opponent I beat who purposely assaulted my assult termies with two necrons to phase himself out earlier than I wanted him to, to stop me from getting battle points).

Necrons F-up tournaments. They should be barred from all tournaments until phase out is removed from the codex.


That's a good point, and one I hadn't considered. At the local tournies, I'm going to start calling it a massacre, but 'ard Boyz is a bit different...anyone have any input on how to deal with it? One way would be to let the player finish out the rest of his turns, and see if he could get objectives, but that seems a bit clunky.

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Tilter at Windmills






Manchester, NH

Not clunky at all. It’s quick and easy, and is exactly the right answer. The game still goes the normal number of turns, including random game length as appropriate. If the player can get his stuff into position to achieve the other objectives, he does so. If he fails to, then he failed to earn them.

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Edmonton, AB

Mannahnin wrote:Not clunky at all. It’s quick and easy, and is exactly the right answer. The game still goes the normal number of turns, including random game length as appropriate. If the player can get his stuff into position to achieve the other objectives, he does so. If he fails to, then he failed to earn them.


That, or a complete massacre (100% kills) achieves all secondary battle points. Mannahnin's suggestion would achieve the same as if they hid a couple minimum strength units in corners somewhere just to extend the game. In fact, that would go quickly anyway, as the lone player would only be moving what is necessary and not messing around with shooting or combat. Max 2 mins per turn I figure.

I like Mannahnin's response, but I wouldn't have a problem with either.

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Fixture of Dakka






San Jose, CA

Fearspect wrote:
Mannahnin wrote:Not clunky at all. It’s quick and easy, and is exactly the right answer. The game still goes the normal number of turns, including random game length as appropriate. If the player can get his stuff into position to achieve the other objectives, he does so. If he fails to, then he failed to earn them.


That, or a complete massacre (100% kills) achieves all secondary battle points. Mannahnin's suggestion would achieve the same as if they hid a couple minimum strength units in corners somewhere just to extend the game. In fact, that would go quickly anyway, as the lone player would only be moving what is necessary and not messing around with shooting or combat. Max 2 mins per turn I figure.

I like Mannahnin's response, but I wouldn't have a problem with either.
The "must be able to complete the actual mission requirements" rule helps to encourage balanced armies, rather than encouraging people to play solely for wipe-out. Either way can be fine, so long as people know what to expect before the dice start rolling.

(My local store does the worst of both worlds - you get one additional turn, assuming at least one turn remains, after wiping your opponent or receiving a concession, in order to try and achieve objectives, irrespective of how many turns are potentially left in your game.)

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