Not sure if this is the place to ask, but I need some help understanding the tournament rules, specifically what happens when the tournament round hits the time limit. The tournament rules for Joust state that "If the time limit has been reached, the player closest to his victory total (in power) earns a modified match win and his opponent receives a match loss."

Do the players

a) finish the remainder of the round (i.e. until the end of the Taxation phase), or
b) end the game right there?

What about for Melee? Is the answer the same?

Also, the rules for Joust states that "There is no time limit in the championship rounds, and all games are played to their conclusion". Does this hold true for Melee?

Thanks in advance.

This is the perfect place to ask

The short answer is that it depends on the rules set by the Tournament Organizer (TO). I've never heard or seen an AGoT game end immediately once time runs out. Maybe it was like that back in the early days of CCG, but I've always seen games played until the end of the Round sequence once the TO called time. I heard this wasn't the case at Worlds at GenCon for Call of Cthulhu LCG, so definitely a good question. However, you're best bet is to speak with the TO before the tournament; even though it's probably safe to assume you'll be able to finish out the round. Personally, I let the game run until the end of the round if I'm a TO.

The answer is the same for Melee. Once time is called players play until the end of the round. There is only one Championship Round in Melee - The Final Table. There is (generally) no time limit at the Final Table, and the game is played until someone has reached their victory condition. Again, I advise speaking with the TO before the tournament to be certain of these things. (For example, last year's NYC Melee Regional had a time limit at the final table, but the World Melee at GenCon doesn't).

FATMOUSE said:

Take it from me. I know from experience that if you reach time limit and let the game run to the end of the round, you can be waiting for an additional 10-15 minutes, longer in Melee. This is why FFG usually does not say to finish the round at time limit in the big events.

Usually what I do is split the difference: finish the phase. And when I announce the 5 minute mark (10 in Melee), I tell them not to start a new round.

What is the time limit? 30 minutes?

ktom said:

Yeah. I've seen time overrun by about an hour in previous CCG tourneys I've been in. And that was a 2-player CCG.

Thanks fatmouse, you've been a great help.

You too, ktom.

Mathias Fricot said:

Melee is 105 minutes (1hr, 45min), with the TO able to adjust +/- 15 minutes as they see fit.

Where can one find the official rules for the Tournaments?

Winged_Human said:

In the "Support" section.

the player closest to his victory total (in power) earns a modified match win and his opponent receives a match loss ."

Is it me or did FFG forgot the word "modified" between match and loss? Did you all still award 1 point for the defeated player when reaching time limit?

the player closest to his victory total (in power) earns a modified match win and his opponent receives a match loss ."

Is it me or did FFG forgot the word "modified" between match and loss? Did you all still award 1 point for the defeated player when reaching time limit?

I'd say this is an obvious oversight, and that the table detailing the possible results, which does have the modified match loss with 1 point, is the applicable provision. That's how I handled it at my tournament, and how it was handled at tournaments I attended.

the player closest to his victory total (in power) earns a modified match win and his opponent receives a match loss."

Is it me or did FFG forgot the word "modified" between match and loss? Did you all still award 1 point for the defeated player when reaching time limit?

The thread, which is more than 2+ years old, pre-dates the existence of the modified loss. So at the time, the quote was correct. The fact that this sentence is still in the tournament rules implies that when FFG introduced the modified loss (and the point for the "loser" at time limit), they did not update the rest of the rules text and the editor missed it. Wouldn't be the first time....