So sometime in the future 2 X-Wing players from different areas happen to meet up and play a game together. Player A sees that player B is using the focus tokens from the 2015 SC kit. The following conversation arises:

A: Oh man you've got the focus tokens. I really wanted a set of those. I went to 5 different SCs and came close a few times, but never was able to make it in the top 3.

B: Oh we just limited our SC to the 8 local guys that always play on league night.

A: Oh.... congratulations still the same. What list did you run?

B: 6 rebel operatives. I only lost to the guy that took first so I think it is pretty decent.

Who is going to walk away from this encounter thinking things are unfair?

Me and several friends have traveled to several store championships within a 3 hour drive of where we live, At every store we went to we spent money and at more than one of those events we gave away prizes we have won because we already had copies of them. Saturday we are going to the last store championship in Florida. We have gone to all these stores because we are competitive and we all enjoy playing x wing at a competitive level. It is also fun to play against new people.

This topic has more legs than I initially gave it credit for.

You both seem to be missing the point here. As blood thirsty pirates, I don't think you will ever understand what it is like to be a peace loving hippie.

You can repeat over and over again that they should just do the same thing that the snipers do and net deck and play ridiculously 'high stakes' matches with hyper competitive players. That doesn't appeal to some people. It never will.

For them it may not have to do with winning, it probably has to do with the environment. And if you think that a hyper competitive out of towner won't affect the environment, you are mistaken.

So yeah, when a small town group that has been having fun together, that doesn't really care who the biggest fish in the sea is, gets an influx of a large group of vicious hardcore players, they are going to feel negative about it.

I don't know how else to explain it to you. Not everyone is a blood thirsty pirate.

But there are so many solutions to this problem, many already posted. Why doesn't your FLGS host a local X Wing club that requires membership to participate, with it's own schedule of events? You could even come up with your own formats & house rules this way instead of adhering to the FFG tournament standards. Membership fees could go towards stocking prizes. If it's too much work for the store to do, why not do it yourself and just have the games at the store (being sure to ask the owner's permission first, of course).

if you don't want to bother with a club, why not do a local tournament circuit with an elimination event every [X]th day of the week; to get in on the goods, you have to play every week. Again, you can invent your own format this way, and build-up to your own grand finals.

I suspect, by the way, that if you were to set up such things, you would find that at least a couple of local players would become every bit as 'cut throat' as the 'prize snipers' you malign.

I also have to ask: if you are not a competitive player, and all you want to do is fly fun lists... what are you doing flying in a tournament setting? If it's just for funsies, fine, but you shouldn't have any expectation about your placement in the event if you're flying something that you know is sub-optimal.

We do that, and everyone pretty much is chill. Weve all pretty much have all the ships we need already. It's the difference between a bunch of locals playing casually with each other, and people specifically trying to win prizes. Its a different mindset.

I also agree that if you want it to function as a district event as opposed to a store championship, you should call it a district championship.

Store championships are a different kettle of fish because they exist as a first run on the ladder to worlds if a player is that ambitious. I would expect a lot of out-of-towners to attend and that is important and healthy for the game as well as the competitive sprit of the game.

However...in our local area we do have several individuals who only rear their head in tournaments, usually traveling in pairs, multi-time tourney winners from afar, who turn up, play, win (consistently) the events and then we can see the prizes on ebay an hour later. That really irks me as a player and someone who actually observes and commentates on the games themselves. Not only that, but one of them is a real jackass who is rude, obnoxious and has had several incidents of suspected cheating going on. The first few times these events occurred were okay, but since it became a regular thing, it started getting very VERY old.

Doesn't usually bother me since I either run fun lists and so long as I get my free card I'm generally happy as a clam, that's even when I am playing, since these days I provide the commentary on the stores twitch broadcasts of the games and thus bow out of the tournament in lieu of having fun with the game in my own way.

Anyway, this incident, put so much of a damper on the local community that I along with the store ran a large event early in the year that was advertised as a local only tournament just so the regulars and people in the area could have a chance to see who was the best of the best in the local meta. Furthermore the event was perhaps even more prestigious because the store put the admission up to £12 per entry...with the addendum that the more local players that attended, the more support they would give.

In the end all of the Wave 6 Scum ships were given away, or at least the players in question were given a voucher for them that could be redeemed once they were released. I even got one...okay, I came in last place so it was a sympathy prize...but hey I wasn't going to pass up a free M3-A. On the flip side though, everyone walked away happy and said they had a great time.

So there are ways around this thought, it just requires a store that is willing to go that extra mile to organise an unofficial tournament with prize support.

• Some people think that loyalty and support of a store should earn them cool things.

The term you're looking for is "participation prize."

However...in our local area we do have several individuals who only rear their head in tournaments, usually traveling in pairs, multi-time tourney winners from afar, who turn up, play, win (consistently) the events and then we can see the prizes on ebay an hour later. That really irks me as a player and someone who actually observes and commentates on the games themselves.

[------------------]

Not only that, but one of them is a real jackass who is rude, obnoxious and has had several incidents of suspected cheating going on. The first few times these events occurred were okay, but since it became a regular thing, it started getting very VERY old.

There is nothing wrong with anything you mention in the first part.

When people show up to play, where they are from and whether they win or not shouldn't "irk" you at all.

The fact that they put the prizes up on eBay is totally up to them, they won them. I can see how it can be a little frustrating since you feel like other players would get more enjoyment out of them, but

The second part is your problem.

If the individuals you are referring to weren't "rude, obnoxious [cheaters]", would there be a problem?

What if they were they were fun, relaxed players that prefer to play at home most of the time and come only come out to play when there's a tournament?

Would you still be irked?

Sounds like your "local only" tournament was a good idea and worked out well!

I'm all for the casual aspect of the game, but a tournament is there to test skills. If you get beaten by another player, outsider or not, he deserve to win the prize. If you want to win it yourself, practice more. But it's not the fault of the outsider if your local player group is not good enough to compete. Why would the local players be more entitled to the official prizes than someone else who is better? Should FFG start to create different league: Junior, AAA, Senior? I don't think so. If you want some official prizes, earn them...

...To be honest, deciding to not attend a tournament just because some guys from out of town will come in and take the prize seems a little immature to me. Take the challenge. Beat them and make them regret coming into your town. If you lose, learn from it. Stop pretending you're the best because no one in your casual community can beat you; prove it by beating those good enough to take the time, money and effort to travel from town to town to play. If I were the store owner and see that all my players would not attend an official tournament, I would stop making official one and just make local one. If they are not competitive enough to go to a local tournament because they're afraid of not winning, why should they care about getting a plaque or trophy they don't really deserve, Give them store credit prizes and be done with it.

This. A thousand times, this.

You both seem to be missing the point here. As blood thirsty pirates, I don't think you will ever understand what it is like to be a peace loving hippie.

You can repeat over and over again that they should just do the same thing that the snipers do and net deck and play ridiculously 'high stakes' matches with hyper competitive players. That doesn't appeal to some people. It never will.

For them it may not have to do with winning, it probably has to do with the environment. And if you think that a hyper competitive out of towner won't affect the environment, you are mistaken.

So yeah, when a small town group that has been having fun together, that doesn't really care who the biggest fish in the sea is, gets an influx of a large group of vicious hardcore players, they are going to feel negative about it.

I don't know how else to explain it to you. Not everyone is a blood thirsty pirate.

Again, if all they want is having fun together and don't care about winning (which is okay by the way, more often than not I play casual games), just ask the Store owner to make local only tournament. Official Championships will bring more competitive players. If you don't want them in your game, don't make official tournament. Problem solve. You have your tournament free of blood thirsty pirates.

The big prize of a Store Championship is the bye card for the Regional. I do believe that those cards should go to people really deserving them (skillwise) and interested to make the trip to the Regionals (they made a trip out of town just to get a chance to get the bye, odds are they will go to the Regionals) instead of just the best of a little casual pack that don't want outsider in their game. Net deck is what they will find at the Regionals, so why should this bye card go to a player that won't go to it anyway.

So again, the solution is really simple. If a community don't want the blood thirsty pirates in their tournaments, they should not make official tournaments.

- What does a "fun list" consist of?

- What is the difference between "netdeck list" and "competitive list"?

Why can't a squad be both "fun" and "competitive" to fly?

If somebody posts their "fun list", and I think it sounds like a blast to play and take it to a tournament, does that now make it a "netdeck list"?

People are throwing around terms like these in this thread, when they have almost no actual meaning beyond casting a shadow of straw.

Sounds like FFG should offer an alternative EZmode Tournament Kit, sounds like it would be popular with the teeball crowd.

Contents:

1. Participation ribbons for everyone.

2. No brackets so there's no byes or advantages.

3. Cubicle walls for each game table so there's no risk of "scouting." [remember that arguement?]

4. Standardized lists. (so no one brings a rock against your scissors)

5. Everyone wins!

My objection, Klutz, comes from the fact that they could pass on the prizes to those they bested as many have stated they do in this topic previously. To then take their prizes and put it on ebay to make a fast buck is insulting to those that work hard in the tournament only to be taken out by a shill. Plus as I have stated, the first two times it slips by with a "Eh...what can you do..." but when it happens for 5 tournaments in a row, it gets to be grating on the community to the point where people have stopped attending because they feel that they are being played for fools.

I love the idea of playing against seriously competitive people - I might not be the greatest X-wing player but I've got a competitive streak a mile wide - so I know exactly what it feels like to scratch that itch.

If the guy who makes me bring my best game to the table wants to put his swag on ebay to help cover his petrol money from a 3 hour drive, then he's welcome to as far as I'm concerned

Sounds like FFG should offer an alternative EZmode Tournament Kit, sounds like it would be popular with the teeball crowd.

Contents:

1. Participation ribbons for everyone.

2. No brackets so there's no byes or advantages.

3. Cubicle walls for each game table so there's no risk of "scouting." [remember that arguement?]

4. Standardized lists. (so no one brings a rock against your scissors)

5. Everyone wins!

Is avoiding contact banned?

Sounds like FFG should offer an alternative EZmode Tournament Kit, sounds like it would be popular with the teeball crowd.

Contents:

1. Participation ribbons for everyone.

2. No brackets so there's no byes or advantages.

3. Cubicle walls for each game table so there's no risk of "scouting." [remember that arguement?]

4. Standardized lists. (so no one brings a rock against your scissors)

5. Everyone wins!

Is avoiding contact banned?

Well, there's no point avoiding contact since the result of each game is determined by a coin toss before the ships hit the table. You just play out the game for fun.

I enjoy traveling to different areas and competing when I can because I love the game and I tend to enjoy seeing the meta outside of my own. Generally, I fly the same thing I would fly if I were competing at home and you will never hear anyone complain about my list. Winning happens, and the prize support is not sent out with any particular person's name on it or with additional rules that state the proximity a player must live within to play at that store. I have no doubt that there are people who want all of the FFG swag that gets released and will travel far and away on quests to get it. That is their perogative and I will not fault them for being so dedicated to the game. This is an international community of players, not a bunch of hobbits who never leave the shire.

Since this discussion is still going on, I will add...

It is not right for local players to discriminate against "out of town" players. Stereotypes are hurtful and rude.

It is also not right for "out of town" players to discriminate against local players. Stereotypes are hurtful and rude.

It is not right to lump all "out of town" players into a group of "hyper competitive jerks".

It is not right to lump all "local" players into "casual players who are against winning with non-casual lists/ships".

Especially in this day and age, where the world trend is "accept EVERYONE for who they are".

It's just hurtful all around. If a player drives to a store and hears that the locals didn't show up because they heard some guy who posts 700+ forum posts and is "too into the game" was coming, then that could be hurtful.

If a local player hears some out of towners making fun of people who play at "that store" because they "don't understand how to win the game", that would be hurtful.

We all just want to play some games and have fun! Let's do that without throwing stereotypes around!

Yeah! People who stereo type are obnoxious jerks!

...sorry, couldn't help myself... lol

Fly Casual

Wow...amazed at the arrogance of some posters. Acting as if they don't know the difference between compatitive and non-competitive gaming. Assuming that those who would prefer store tournaments to be for those who frequent the store are lesser.

Store Championships are not closed events. They are a part of the feeders for the larger competitive events. If you want a tournament just for locals, organize one. Don't sign up for an SC then get suprised that people travel to it. What did you expect to happen when FFG posts a listing for it on thier main page?

It's just hurtful all around. If a player drives to a store and hears that the locals didn't show up because they heard some guy who posts 700+ forum posts and is "too into the game" was coming, then that could be hurtful.

Hurtful and wrong. Take me, for instance: I don't think I've said this publicly yet, but my SC record this season was 4-4... and that includes a bye in the "win" column.

Wow...amazed at the arrogance of some posters. Acting as if they don't know the difference between compatitive and non-competitive gaming. Assuming that those who would prefer store tournaments to be for those who frequent the store are lesser.

Not sure who you're targeting with your comments, here, but it's worth pointing out that the people concerned about "prize sniping" are the ones assuming that out-of-town players are all hyper-competitive jerks who are better than the local players.

I'd like to add why 700 forum posts make a difference? I've made over a thousand and I suck!

I'd like to add why 700 forum posts make a difference? I've made over a thousand and I suck!

I seem to have recently passed this mythical 700 posts milestone.

I don't yet feel any different. Did I do something wrong? Were my posts not worthy?

<rolls a green dice> nope, blank.

Where the hell was the OP based, anyway? Royston Vasey?

...there's nothing for you here!