200 / 6, 75 minute rounds. We all know the current format like the back of our hands.

However, back in the early days of X-Wing, we used to have 60 minute rounds, which helped for more manageable days of competitive gaming. Given the conversation elsewhere about day long tournaments being too long, is there any way we could see a return to shorter duration games, and how could it be managed?

Please note: this isn't a case of demanding changes - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - just a thought experiment on how we could possibly reduce the duration of a standard tournament.

Reduce duration of standard tournaments:

1. Have online list submissions in advance

2. check in online ahead for time

3. actually report your scores to the TO in a timely manner.

22 minutes ago, ScummyRebel said:

Reduce duration of standard tournaments:

1. Have online list submissions in advance

2. check in online ahead for time

3. actually report your scores to the TO in a timely manner.

Tabletop.to helps IMMENSELY with this!

Outside of @ScummyRebel 's suggestions, I'm not certain what more can be done to reduce the length of the 'day' at an event. Some would argue that more games are running to time in 2.0, which poses problems with round turnover, but any 'fixes' for this would radically shift the game balance and might lead to other, larger, problems.

One thing I observed from the UK SoS; everyone was having to lug an awful lot of stuff about with them. Coats, carry cases, their lists, backpacks with supplies etc. Having a plentiful supply of secure lockers (with CCTV coverage which is constantly monitored) could allow players to stow the stuff they don't need with them, which would make the round transition easier. Likewise, my ideal world would have every player bringing a carrying solution (even something as simple as an upturned box lid) where they load their list and all related components into.

4 minutes ago, AceDogbert said:

Outside of @ScummyRebel 's suggestions, I'm not certain what more can be done to reduce the length of the 'day' at an event. Some would argue that more games are running to time in 2.0, which poses problems with round turnover, but any 'fixes' for this would radically shift the game balance and might lead to other, larger, problems.

I agree that games are running to time more often - the 75 minute rounds came in during 1st as a response to more games running to time then (IIRC it was around the time Fat Han became a regular thing), but in 2nd it seems to be more due to larger numbers of ships on the table and lower numbers of reliable mods.

Not saying that's a bad thing, or should change...

Would reducing the round time to 60 minutes then incentivizing players for decisive victories have potential ? i.e. making tabling your opponent worth more in terms of final standings than winning when time is called? (I know it already is, but making it more distinct).

IIRC the first System Open used a tournament "points" system rather Jan just number of wins... I may be wrong about that...

Change competitive play to a choice of formats:

Standard, keeping Hyperspace and Extended versions.

Aces High.

500pt Epic. Probably using Armada style tournament points.

Then we can mix and match our games to suit the time available.

I would so love to be able to attend a Store Championships for each of these formats!

5 hours ago, AceDogbert said:

Outside of @ScummyRebel 's suggestions, I'm not certain what more can be done to reduce the length of the 'day' at an event. Some would argue that more games are running to time in 2.0, which poses problems with round turnover, but any 'fixes' for this would radically shift the game balance and might lead to other, larger, problems.

One thing I observed from the UK SoS; everyone was having to lug an awful lot of stuff about with them. Coats, carry cases, their lists, backpacks with supplies etc. Having a plentiful supply of secure lockers (with CCTV coverage which is constantly monitored) could allow players to stow the stuff they don't need with them, which would make the round transition easier. Likewise, my ideal world would have every player bringing a carrying solution (even something as simple as an upturned box lid) where they load their list and all related components into.

I ended up making my own template tray and small dice box for this reason. Game's over, time to sweep it all off the table into the dice box and go setup somewhere else! You gotta assemble everything in your car and walk it in, and not trip, but otherwise I wish more people would get stuff like this.

150pt / 60 min games would be a really interesting thing to try, we've discussed it locally but haven't tested it yet.

Dropping the mat to 2.5' by 2.5' is probably the only way you'll reduce game time without cutting games abnormally short, but at what cost?

Just an idea:

List build remains at standard 200 pts, during Swiss rounds you only use a max of 100 pts from your locked list;

Top cut plays with full 200 pts, but list stays the same as far as point allocation/upgrades from the 100 pts swiss (similar to escalation rules)

Speeds things up in the preliminary rounds, saves time and space on the table for set up.

Could change up the meta a bit too because you would need to build a list that has a solid 100pts to split off for the swiss rounds.