Hi everyone!

X-Wing is picking up pace here in Linköping, Sweden and I’m planning to organize a league to take it up a notch on the competitive scale.

My idea right now is to have the league running over 6 months and to have it consist of at least 1 tournament a month. Every individual tournament will award points according to how well the players perform. The two players with the highest total points after all the tournaments meet in a final.

As a miniature club we own a fairly large space with 6-8 tables set up. So playing area is not an issue with the expected 10-16 people that would be attending.

I have never organized an X-Wing tournament before and looking for some pointers.

1. Do you think the general time-period and number of tournaments is right? Should there be more/less individual tournaments? Should the time-period be shorter than 6 months?
2. What scoring system would you use for each individual tournament?
3. What do you think is a good price for such a tournament?
4. Any other tip, does or don’t that you would like to share?

Thanks in advance!

Does Easyjet fly from Liverpool to linkoping?

It sounds fun. Shame I can't make it.

Leagues are generally different from tournaments. Tournaments is a one day thing while league are more of a campaign for several weeks.

Also the store where I go to play League uses an achievement format to get players to play squadrons that are not dominating the current meta.

If you are starting a tournament then depending on the number of players a round robin would probably be the best if you have only a few players. If you start to get several players then a double elimination style would probably be the best. Make sure you have the FAQ on hand as there will no doubt be questions on what can be done. Also a tournament will need a tournament official which means you will probably have to sit out and act as ref in the benefits of conflict of interest.

Also is this a free tournament for nothing more than say a fancy sheet of paper with a name on it or are there prizes, if there are then what prizes and how much will you expect for a tournament entry fee to compensate you.

If a league then just set a regular time and day once a week to get together and play. Make achievements or missions that go against the tournament dominating meta in order to keep games interesting. If you have prizes keep them small so that you won't have to charge an admission fee. (3rd party tokens might be nice.)

Leagues are generally different from tournaments. Tournaments is a one day thing while league are more of a campaign for several weeks.

Also the store where I go to play League uses an achievement format to get players to play squadrons that are not dominating the current meta.

If you are starting a tournament then depending on the number of players a round robin would probably be the best if you have only a few players. If you start to get several players then a double elimination style would probably be the best. Make sure you have the FAQ on hand as there will no doubt be questions on what can be done. Also a tournament will need a tournament official which means you will probably have to sit out and act as ref in the benefits of conflict of interest.

Also is this a free tournament for nothing more than say a fancy sheet of paper with a name on it or are there prizes, if there are then what prizes and how much will you expect for a tournament entry fee to compensate you.

If a league then just set a regular time and day once a week to get together and play. Make achievements or missions that go against the tournament dominating meta in order to keep games interesting. If you have prizes keep them small so that you won't have to charge an admission fee. (3rd party tokens might be nice.)

Great input!

The reason to start a league based on a few tournament is to give an insentive for the players to sign up not just for one tournament but for more. In order to place good in the league you would have to be an active participate in more than one of the individual tournaments.

About prices, our club has a budget where we easily could afford a trophy and some tokens as a price. I’m thinking there should be prices for at least top 3 players in order to reward active participants.

Like the achievement approach to steer away from meta, would also be good way for the less skilled players to pick up a few points in the league even if they are not winning as many matches (that psychological effect of seeing 5p instead of 0p on the rankings can be huge).

Do you have a good example of how a system like that would work? Something like…

No large ship in the list + 1p

TIE Advanced in the list + 1p

etc.

Does Easyjet fly from Liverpool to linkoping?

It sounds fun. Shame I can't make it.

Linköping's airport is really bad, almost no international flights. Stockholm is ofc not that far away (ca 2,5h with train)

Leagues are generally different from tournaments. Tournaments is a one day thing while league are more of a campaign for several weeks.

Also the store where I go to play League uses an achievement format to get players to play squadrons that are not dominating the current meta.

If you are starting a tournament then depending on the number of players a round robin would probably be the best if you have only a few players. If you start to get several players then a double elimination style would probably be the best. Make sure you have the FAQ on hand as there will no doubt be questions on what can be done. Also a tournament will need a tournament official which means you will probably have to sit out and act as ref in the benefits of conflict of interest.

Also is this a free tournament for nothing more than say a fancy sheet of paper with a name on it or are there prizes, if there are then what prizes and how much will you expect for a tournament entry fee to compensate you.

If a league then just set a regular time and day once a week to get together and play. Make achievements or missions that go against the tournament dominating meta in order to keep games interesting. If you have prizes keep them small so that you won't have to charge an admission fee. (3rd party tokens might be nice.)

Great input!

The reason to start a league based on a few tournament is to give an insentive for the players to sign up not just for one tournament but for more. In order to place good in the league you would have to be an active participate in more than one of the individual tournaments.

About prices, our club has a budget where we easily could afford a trophy and some tokens as a price. I’m thinking there should be prices for at least top 3 players in order to reward active participants.

Like the achievement approach to steer away from meta, would also be good way for the less skilled players to pick up a few points in the league even if they are not winning as many matches (that psychological effect of seeing 5p instead of 0p on the rankings can be huge).

Do you have a good example of how a system like that would work? Something like…

No large ship in the list + 1p

TIE Advanced in the list + 1p

etc.

What if you had a 'ship of the tournament' style idea. Each tournament features one ship from each side. If you play that ship, you get a little bonus.

I'd would also consider tiered scoring. say you have 15 players. You get 1pt for finishing in the last 5, 2 pts for the middle 5, 3 pts for top 5. PLUS 1 pt for 3rd, 2 for 2nd, and 3 for first.

It rewards a strong finish, it rewards attending, and it rewards winning.

Or you could just give points for games won. First two tournaments each game is worth 1 point, 2nd two tournaments each game is worth 2 points, last two tournaments each game is worth 3 points. This means early poor play can be rectified later, but anyone who hasn't been playing isn't likely to take a top spot. Figure 5 rounds each tournament, a good player should win 8 or so games. Leaving them with 48pts.

I would recommend making a facebook group or something similar on another social site for people to join. What you really want to build is a community, leagues, campaigns, and tournaments are all just things communities do.

Leagues are generally different from tournaments. Tournaments is a one day thing while league are more of a campaign for several weeks.

Also the store where I go to play League uses an achievement format to get players to play squadrons that are not dominating the current meta.

If you are starting a tournament then depending on the number of players a round robin would probably be the best if you have only a few players. If you start to get several players then a double elimination style would probably be the best. Make sure you have the FAQ on hand as there will no doubt be questions on what can be done. Also a tournament will need a tournament official which means you will probably have to sit out and act as ref in the benefits of conflict of interest.

Also is this a free tournament for nothing more than say a fancy sheet of paper with a name on it or are there prizes, if there are then what prizes and how much will you expect for a tournament entry fee to compensate you.

If a league then just set a regular time and day once a week to get together and play. Make achievements or missions that go against the tournament dominating meta in order to keep games interesting. If you have prizes keep them small so that you won't have to charge an admission fee. (3rd party tokens might be nice.)

Great input!

The reason to start a league based on a few tournament is to give an insentive for the players to sign up not just for one tournament but for more. In order to place good in the league you would have to be an active participate in more than one of the individual tournaments.

About prices, our club has a budget where we easily could afford a trophy and some tokens as a price. I’m thinking there should be prices for at least top 3 players in order to reward active participants.

Like the achievement approach to steer away from meta, would also be good way for the less skilled players to pick up a few points in the league even if they are not winning as many matches (that psychological effect of seeing 5p instead of 0p on the rankings can be huge).

Do you have a good example of how a system like that would work? Something like…

No large ship in the list + 1p

TIE Advanced in the list + 1p

etc.

What if you had a 'ship of the tournament' style idea. Each tournament features one ship from each side. If you play that ship, you get a little bonus.

I'd would also consider tiered scoring. say you have 15 players. You get 1pt for finishing in the last 5, 2 pts for the middle 5, 3 pts for top 5. PLUS 1 pt for 3rd, 2 for 2nd, and 3 for first.

It rewards a strong finish, it rewards attending, and it rewards winning.

Or you could just give points for games won. First two tournaments each game is worth 1 point, 2nd two tournaments each game is worth 2 points, last two tournaments each game is worth 3 points. This means early poor play can be rectified later, but anyone who hasn't been playing isn't likely to take a top spot. Figure 5 rounds each tournament, a good player should win 8 or so games. Leaving them with 48pts.

Very good tips, thank you!

Like the "Ship of the tournament". Great way to make the lists more diverse.

Tiered scoring feels like the way to go. Definitely points for participation.

The idea of increased points over tournaments is interesting and something that I will have to do some calculation on, all depends on how many tournaments the league will consist of I think.

I would recommend making a facebook group or something similar on another social site for people to join. What you really want to build is a community, leagues, campaigns, and tournaments are all just things communities do.

Good idea, will have to ask someone that cares about facebook to do that for me.

Jag organiserar en liga i X-wing Malmö/Lund. Om du vill kan du få de regler vi använder så kan du ta det som du tror passar er och strunta i resten.

Skicka ett PM så kan jag maila dig reglerna.

Jag organiserar en liga i X-wing Malmö/Lund. Om du vill kan du få de regler vi använder så kan du ta det som du tror passar er och strunta i resten.

Skicka ett PM så kan jag maila dig reglerna.

TRANSLATION:

I organize a league in X-wing Malmö / Lund. If you want you can get the rules we use so you can take it that you think suits you and ignore the rest.

Send a PM so I can email you the rules.

Thx, PM sent

I would recommend a shorter time period for the league. It has been my experience that leagues start off strong, but as people start losing games and get further away from the top spots, the less they show up to play. Maybe try a 6 week period with a top 8 play off at the end of the league. Then, start a new one where everyone starts at the beginning again. It will keep players interested, and if you get new players, you can always have them jump into the next season of the league.

I would recommend a shorter time period for the league. It has been my experience that leagues start off strong, but as people start losing games and get further away from the top spots, the less they show up to play. Maybe try a 6 week period with a top 8 play off at the end of the league. Then, start a new one where everyone starts at the beginning again. It will keep players interested, and if you get new players, you can always have them jump into the next season of the league.

It has also been my experience that leagues start stronger than they finish, although since the OP is part of a club maybe that isn't an issue for him. It seems like once the leaders start to emerge and prizes get spoken for then people quit showing up, and six weeks is long enough to see that happen. So, maybe some participation prizes? Perhaps some of the achievements have a corresponding prize? As for swag, FFG acrylic is always nice, but third party tokens and templates can be sweet too. Ships and gift cards are popular around here as well. If you want/need to have a tourney part to the league, the easy way is to have a finals or some such for the top 8, but I have been toying around with the idea of having a weekly league night AND a weekly tournament. Have the structure set up so that you gain x amount of points for regular league night games and y amount for the weekly tourney, with a maximum of z points for the week. I haven't had time to work out the exact numbers, but I will soon.

What we did was that we had enough money in the pot that we decided to give away two small based ships at random to anyone who met the minimum of 6 games played during the league. We have a bunch of new players in the league, so giving away free ships to new players helps to build that up. Plus, if you didn't make the top two and get prizes (the store kits alt art cards, acrylics, etc.) You still had a reason to play to have a shot at the random give aways.