I think the consensus from this question was to just add a state championship, or maybe even change the store championships into the state championship.

We already have tournaments and leagues and everything else for stores, why not make a state championship where you can travel a shorter distance (Hopefully) and compete with some top tier gamers before you bite the bullet and travel 3+ hours to regionals and play some of the toughest competition in a place that you will probably need to get a hotel.

Ideas?

Don't most (or all) states already have a regional?

Don't most (or all) states already have a regional?

Well, there are 16 regionals... and 50 states... Without looking at a list of where all the regionals are... I'm going to say no they don't.

I would like to see a larger focus on pre-release events such as Kessel Run and Imdaar Alpha over increased levels of higher tier play. This game while growing amazingly fast is still in it's younger stages and better to be laying the ground work now for the more casual gamers and masses than to just go straight into the world of top tier gaming. They are already an organized play force to be reckoned with but I have a dream of a day when the next Imdaar Alpha everyone gets a ship of their choosing and has to incorporate it into their force for the event with the promos being the prizes.

I would like to see a larger focus on pre-release events such as Kessel Run and Imdaar Alpha over increased levels of higher tier play. This game while growing amazingly fast is still in it's younger stages and better to be laying the ground work now for the more casual gamers and masses than to just go straight into the world of top tier gaming. They are already an organized play force to be reckoned with but I have a dream of a day when the next Imdaar Alpha everyone gets a ship of their choosing and has to incorporate it into their force for the event with the promos being the prizes.

Although I like where you are coming from, I don't see the day that they give every person who attends a ship for free... Maybe you meant that everyone buys a ship and has to use it? I think they should make state championships for every game though, not just X-Wing. I think it would open up that ability to play in more tournaments and get more people involved in the long run, rather than now. I mean a lot of people played in their store championships, but when the next tier is 3+ hours away and doesn't get over until 10,11 after midnight? You drive a lot of dedicated players away.

The closest place the regionals are from my place is at least a 10 hour drive

I'm in eastern Canada, and Quebec is the closest place to go.

I really wanted to go. If it was in moncton, halifax, or someplace that is 3-4 hour drive I would go. In already driving 2 hours plus just to go to the alpha event in 2 weeks

Though this idea sounds good i have a problem with it, i live in california and there IS a regional there. But i live below LA, 6 hours from san fransisco which is holding the regional.

Though this idea sounds good i have a problem with it, i live in california and there IS a regional there. But i live below LA, 6 hours from san fransisco which is holding the regional.

Not to mention there are NE states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey would could easily drive LESS than 6 hours and hit up multiple ones.

Though this idea sounds good i have a problem with it, i live in california and there IS a regional there. But i live below LA, 6 hours from san fransisco which is holding the regional.

Though this idea sounds good i have a problem with it, i live in california and there IS a regional there. But i live below LA, 6 hours from san fransisco which is holding the regional.

Not to mention there are NE states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey would could easily drive LESS than 6 hours and hit up multiple ones.

So should we hold more regionals in the larger states? Or just try to make them more appropriately spaced out?

Though this idea sounds good i have a problem with it, i live in california and there IS a regional there. But i live below LA, 6 hours from san fransisco which is holding the regional.

Not to mention there are NE states such as Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey would could easily drive LESS than 6 hours and hit up multiple ones.

This is exactly my thought, I live in CT and could easily hit up 3 without driving more than a couple hours if each state had one. Regionals make way more sense.

The closest place the regionals are from my place is at least a 10 hour drive

I'm in eastern Canada, and Quebec is the closest place to go.

I really wanted to go. If it was in moncton, halifax, or someplace that is 3-4 hour drive I would go. In already driving 2 hours plus just to go to the alpha event in 2 weeks

As far as I know, there isn't a regional in Quebec. The closest would actually be Ottawa / Gatineau unfortunately

Don't most (or all) states already have a regional?

Well, there are 16 regionals... and 50 states... Without looking at a list of where all the regionals are... I'm going to say no they don't.

So you're saying my fourth-grade teacher was right when she said long division would come in handy?

I'm in southeastern Michigan. Michigan doesn't have a regional at all (meaning Lansing and Detroit were shut out), and neither does Indiana (nothing in Indianapolis…?) The Wisconsin regional this past weekend was about 4 hours away, and the Ohio regional was likewise 4.5 hours away. Either one was really out of the question, given a wife, a job, and a 5-month-old son.

The 2.5-hour drive to Dice Dojo in Chicago (assuming a reasonable level of traffic) is more reasonable, but that promises to be an extremely competitive regional--including Chicago's own players, as well as some tough people from across the Midwest. I think the next-closest option from there would actually be the regionals at St. Catherines, Ontario, and either Chicago or St. Catherines would be too late in the summer for me in any case; I'm moving to central Kansas at the end of June.

Factoring in the move, then, the closest regional to my new home would have been Bellevue, NE--over three hours away, and scheduled at the very beginning of May. There's no regional tournaments for Kansas, Missouri, or Oklahoma (part of the reason for the very tough Chicago crowd), which means I think the next-closest option is 7.5 hours away in Broomfield, CO on July 19.

…so yeah, holding state championships prior to or instead of regionals would certainly have helped me this year. It would be nice if FFG at least increased the number of tournaments next year, and did a better job of locating them near major population centers.

…so yeah, holding state championships prior to or instead of regionals would certainly have helped me this year. It would be nice if FFG at least increased the number of tournaments next year, and did a better job of locating them near major population centers.

Well they only had basically store champs, nationals, and worlds last year. This year we get all of those plus 16 more higher level tournaments in the form of regional. I am in a similar boat with being in central IL and being 3+ hours away from the Chicago regional and 4 hours from WI last weekend. While it does suck to not have them close, they are adding more for us so Ill be happy with that!

Don't most (or all) states already have a regional?

Well, there are 16 regionals... and 50 states... Without looking at a list of where all the regionals are... I'm going to say no they don't.

So you're saying my fourth-grade teacher was right when she said long division would come in handy?

I'm in southeastern Michigan. Michigan doesn't have a regional at all (meaning Lansing and Detroit were shut out), and neither does Indiana (nothing in Indianapolis…?) The Wisconsin regional this past weekend was about 4 hours away, and the Ohio regional was likewise 4.5 hours away. Either one was really out of the question, given a wife, a job, and a 5-month-old son.

The 2.5-hour drive to Dice Dojo in Chicago (assuming a reasonable level of traffic) is more reasonable, but that promises to be an extremely competitive regional--including Chicago's own players, as well as some tough people from across the Midwest. I think the next-closest option from there would actually be the regionals at St. Catherines, Ontario, and either Chicago or St. Catherines would be too late in the summer for me in any case; I'm moving to central Kansas at the end of June.

Factoring in the move, then, the closest regional to my new home would have been Bellevue, NE--over three hours away, and scheduled at the very beginning of May. There's no regional tournaments for Kansas, Missouri, or Oklahoma (part of the reason for the very tough Chicago crowd), which means I think the next-closest option is 7.5 hours away in Broomfield, CO on July 19.

…so yeah, holding state championships prior to or instead of regionals would certainly have helped me this year. It would be nice if FFG at least increased the number of tournaments next year, and did a better job of locating them near major population centers.

FYI, Jake Pichelmeyer (last year's North America champ) and Doug Kinney (1st ever champion) were both in attendance at Milwaukee. The only former champ that wasn't in Milwaukee this past weekend was Paul Heaver. Lyle from Chicago was also there. Milwaukee has a lot of very strong players (in addition to Jake). I wouldn't necessarily assume the competition was much lesser than what Chicago will be.

I think as the game grows they will add more tournaments, or at least I hope they do. I know being in Southeast Iowa, the closest ones are Chicago, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but all are 3+ hours drives. So that means either leaving the day before plus a hotel, or leaving early in the morning and then either staying over night or driving back tired.

I think as the game grows they will add more tournaments, or at least I hope they do. I know being in Southeast Iowa, the closest ones are Chicago, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but all are 3+ hours drives. So that means either leaving the day before plus a hotel, or leaving early in the morning and then either staying over night or driving back tired.

Yeah, that's the problem for me, too. A 3+ hour drive means either arriving tired and getting home exhausted, or inflating the cost of participation by the cost of a night's stay in a hotel. On one hand, I'm glad the regionals that have been run so far have apparently had great attendance and great competition, and running more of them (let alone three times as many) might cut down on both of those. But on the other hand, it feels from my perspective like a tiered system: I'm heavily involved in the community, heavily invested in the game, and at least a moderately competitive player (tied for #18 at Nationals last year, IIRC), but I'll be lucky if I get to attend one at all.

I wonder sometimes if the perception on this board is skewed - and I had the same feeling during the Star Wars Minis days on WOTC boards.

I believe the vast majority of players are just casual players who don't see tournaments as a draw or even desirable. I know I don't. I have never played in a tournament and there is no need in my mind.

NOW - nothing wrong if that floats your boat, but I believe the people who come here and discuss things to the extent that occurs here are not representative of the entire player pool.

Having said that, would a more local (state level) tournament draw better than a regional or Gencon level? Maybe - but I think the folks who are hard core tournament types either will find a way or they won't, and so I'm not convinced a state level tournament would substantially NET more people in competition. FWIW, why not have an official VASSAL tournament so no one has to travel? Theoretically, you'd get even more players for that than a state level one.

I could of course be wrong -- ask my wife!

Don't most (or all) states already have a regional?

Well, there are 16 regionals... and 50 states... Without looking at a list of where all the regionals are... I'm going to say no they don't.

So you're saying my fourth-grade teacher was right when she said long division would come in handy?

I'm in southeastern Michigan. Michigan doesn't have a regional at all (meaning Lansing and Detroit were shut out), and neither does Indiana (nothing in Indianapolis…?) The Wisconsin regional this past weekend was about 4 hours away, and the Ohio regional was likewise 4.5 hours away. Either one was really out of the question, given a wife, a job, and a 5-month-old son.

The 2.5-hour drive to Dice Dojo in Chicago (assuming a reasonable level of traffic) is more reasonable, but that promises to be an extremely competitive regional--including Chicago's own players, as well as some tough people from across the Midwest. I think the next-closest option from there would actually be the regionals at St. Catherines, Ontario, and either Chicago or St. Catherines would be too late in the summer for me in any case; I'm moving to central Kansas at the end of June.

Factoring in the move, then, the closest regional to my new home would have been Bellevue, NE--over three hours away, and scheduled at the very beginning of May. There's no regional tournaments for Kansas, Missouri, or Oklahoma (part of the reason for the very tough Chicago crowd), which means I think the next-closest option is 7.5 hours away in Broomfield, CO on July 19.

…so yeah, holding state championships prior to or instead of regionals would certainly have helped me this year. It would be nice if FFG at least increased the number of tournaments next year, and did a better job of locating them near major population centers.

Herm... SE michigan? You sure you don't mean SW Michigan? I live outside of Detroit and there are 5 (PA, OH, 2 in Ontario, Chicago... and the Wisconsin one was only 6.5hrs away) within 5 hours of me. Yeah, I know that means that I have to drive and get a hotel for a night or two, but what did you expect when there were announced that there will only be 2 per region? That means that there would only be 16 total, regardless of how you distribute them. If you took from NE Maine down to SW California, and spread them equally along that route, they would be about 4 hours spread out. Soooo... I think what you're asking for is MORE regionals. What if Michigan's sole "state champ" was in Traverse City? It's a mid point for the UP and the hand, so it's a logical center point for the state.

Personally, for something where there's only 16 in the country, I think people should expect to drive 5+ hrs 1 way to get to one. I do feel for those that have to drive 10+hrs as that's too much. But the level of competition at both that I've been to has been good, not great. Neither has filled out all 64 slots (has any US regional done so?). And there's been probably about a dozen people who were just there for fun, meaning that only 2-2.5 dozen actually were competing. I don't really think you want to expand it from 16 to 32 or 64 regionals as the level of competition would severely degrade at that point. 2 of the top 4 at the Ohio Regional were from Michigan, Frankenmuth and Lansing... Neither one of them would have likely attended had there been one in Detroit. Likewise at the PA one, 4 of the top 8 were NoVa Squadron... I doubt they would have drove to PA if there was one in DC.

So, if they start adding more regions or more regionals next year, without first expanding the popularity of the game, the Regionals will just be the same level of competition as the Store Champs, and you'd be playing the same people that you played at those. I personally don't want to see that.

Note: As I said, I am fortunate enough to have lots "close" to me... but I have to drive at least 4 hours to get to any single one... And I consider that reasonable. I do feel for those that have to drive 10+ hrs to get to the closest one, and do think they could have been distributed better geographically. But I know that there are other considerations for the distribution (such as sales and previous year attendance, as well as store capabilities and ease of access to the city), and not all of those are easy to balance, nor are their effects on the distribution always apparent.

Herm... SE michigan? You sure you don't mean SW Michigan?

I pointed to the correct spot on my palm (Kalamazoo). Geez, you people are unreasonable--next you'll want me to know the difference between right and left.

...what did you expect when there were announced that there will only be 2 per region? That means that there would only be 16 total, regardless of how you distribute them.

That's kind of my point, though ("It would be nice if FFG at least increased the number of tournaments next year"). The current setup arguably drives down turnout by making it infeasible for those who would have to travel a few hours to get to the nearest regionals venue.

Of course I don't know how much it drives down turnout, because a really hardcore hobbyist might simply be determined to make (at least one) three- or four-hour trip. And again, I don't know how increasing the number of regionals venues would have affected attendance and competition at the existing venues. But it would have been better for me if there had been more events, and isn't that really what FFG's marketing and organized play is about--making it more convenient for me?

What if Michigan's sole "state champ" was in Traverse City? It's a mid point for the UP and the hand, so it's a logical center point for the state.

The closest metro area to the "center of mass" of the state's population is actually Lansing, but even Traverse City wouldn't be any worse than it is now--because if there were one per state I'd probably be able to choose between Traverse City, Chicago, Milwaukee, or Indianapolis.

And looking at my new home in Manhattan, KS, a reasonable state championship would probably be located in either Topeka or Wichita; there would probably also be a championship in Kansas City or St. Louis, MO (maybe split the difference and put it in Jefferson City?) Plus there would probably still be one in the Omaha area. Again, it might not be much better, but I don't think you can reasonably argue that it would lead to a worse situation for anyone.

Note: As I said, I am fortunate enough to have lots "close" to me... but I have to drive at least 4 hours to get to any single one... And I consider that reasonable. I do feel for those that have to drive 10+ hrs to get to the closest one, and do think they could have been distributed better geographically. But I know that there are other considerations for the distribution (such as sales and previous year attendance, as well as store capabilities and ease of access to the city), and not all of those are easy to balance, nor are their effects on the distribution always apparent.

Fair enough.

FYI, Jake Pichelmeyer (last year's North America champ) and Doug Kinney (1st ever champion) were both in attendance at Milwaukee. The only former champ that wasn't in Milwaukee this past weekend was Paul Heaver. Lyle from Chicago was also there. Milwaukee has a lot of very strong players (in addition to Jake). I wouldn't necessarily assume the competition was much lesser than what Chicago will be.

I don't know what it is about Wisconsin and wargames, but when I played 40k at my local store we had someone who consistently placed high at some of the larger nationwide tournaments using "suboptimal" builds (he liked the old Necrons before they were updated at the end of 5th, and in 40k a list building is a larger portion of the game), and another that placed 2nd at Adepticon and won 'ard Boyz nationals, as well as many other who would win 'ard Boyz semi-finals