Dear Tournament Veterans,

I approached my local game store about hosting a Regional Championship for Call of Cthulhu, and a bit to my surprise, they seem excited about the prospect. Now I've started to realize I'll probably help run the event, at least in part. I've organized a few tournaments in the past (for different games and just between friends), but I'm not entirely sure how a CoC Regional Championship works. Here's where your experience can help a rookie out:

1) The latest tournament rules are version 1.1, correct?

2) In previous tournaments, was there a copy of A) the rulebook, B) the most recent FAQ, and C) the tournament rules on hand?

I'm considering cutting the binding on one of my rulebooks and putting it into a sleeved binder, along with sleeved pages of the FAQ and tournament rules, so players can reference them during the event.

3) What happens with an odd number of players?

4) How many rounds is typical? Should there be a semi-final and championship round?

5) How did you score your matches, especially with regards to a tie? Did you hand out score cards for everyone, or track the tournament's progress on a reader board?

6) Can you really play up to 3 matches in 50 minutes? This seems completely absurd to me, but perhaps my decks and playing style are slow. What was the general percentage of rounds where players finished all of their matches?

7) When does a match officially start? Before or after each player has drawn 8 cards and completed their initial resourcing?

8) Was the event beginner friendly, or all business? For example, did the T.O.s encourage new players (those who have played a month or less and might not own their own cards) to enter the tournament?

9) How long did the event take to complete? Did you take breaks between rounds?

10) What are other tips and tricks I should know?

Thank you for taking the time to answer, it's truly appreciated and will help make this event as fun as possible.

I can give my personal experience from running 2011 Regionals at my LGS

1. yes, 1.1

2. I brought a copy of the rulebook, FAQ and tournament rules with me. I think 1 time we had a question for the FAQ - it was no big deal. I wouldn't bother with chopping up the rulebook, etc. You probably won't need to access it much.

3. WIth an odd number of players, 1 person gets a bye each round. I treated that as a win.

4. We ran Swiss pairings (actually this is required from the Tournament Rules) with a number of rounds equal to the log base 2 of the number of players, rounded up. For us this was 4 rounds.

5. We used 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie. I tracked the results on paper.

6. I think we had 2 matches end up in a tie (1-1 stories) out of the many we ran. Yes, 50 minutes is fine for best 2 of 3.

7. I would call "Round n begins now." Then players can draw, etc.

8. We had a couple of brand new players, and although they did not place high in the tournament, I think they had fun.

9. We finished in just over 4 hours, so figure a little more than 1 hour per round. Total time depends on the number of players you have.

10. Give players deck lists - make them available through the store's website, and print some out in advance. Ask them to show up 1 hour prior to the official start so the players who forgot to fill out the deck lists have time to do so, get settled, say hello to everyone, etc.

10.a Try to start on time! Some players may have travelled a long distance to get there and it is not fair to them to make the tournament run late especially if they have a long trip home.

10.b Keep it fun!

10.c Ask the store to make sure they have drinks and snacks available for purchase.

10.d Thank everyone for participating!

Yipe said:

Were are you thinking of hosting it? i find this extremely exciting because i live in Portland and would love to take part of a CoC tournament but cant afford to go to all the other countries and states that seem to have them. When are you thinking of doing it?

MinionOfProvidence said:

I don't want to say anything at this time as nothing is official yet. FFG is going to make their announcement regarding Regional Championship locales and dates on March 12th - so stay tuned and start practicing!

TheProfessor,

Thank you for your insightful answers and great advice, it was a big help.

I have a follow-up question regarding story cards:

How did you have enough sets of story cards at the event? Did you provide story cards for everyone, or was each player expected to bring their own set?

Now that the Shifting Sands set is the official story card deck, what happens if not everyone who is playing in the tournament owns them? Can you use the story cards from the Core or Secrets of Arkham?

You must use the current story cards (The Shifting Sands) for everyone.

When I ran mine, I was lucky enough to have 3 sets of story cards myself, and my son's set, and I asked all the players I knew personally to bring theirs. That way the players who just showed up without stories would be covered. In fact only 1 player did not bring their own story cards, so we had no problems. I would spread the word in your announcements that players are requested to bring their set of 12 The Shifting Sands story cards.

Remember you only need 1 set of stories per 2 players, so you should probably be OK.

I have access to 3 sets, but I'm considering buying a second Shifting Sands AP just to be safe. I have no idea how many people are going to attend. It could be just a few, or more than 10.

I'm working up a flier for the store - as well as deck list sheets for players to fill out ahead of time - and I'll make sure to request that players bring their own set of Shifting Sands story cards to the tournament.

I know of at least three four people who would be interested in going. Out of curiosity why cant you just use randomly assorted story cards from each set?

MinionOfProvidence said:

As this is an officially sanctioned event, you must follow the official tournament rules dictated by FFG. For 2012, the story cards from the Shifting Sands AP is the official set. You must use those to be official, officially speaking.

Good to hear that people are interested in attending the event. The more the merri - err, insanity.

Yipe said:

If you are a 3 years veteran player, you can, sometimes, run 3 matches in 50 minutes fi you play rush decks and if your opponent is just a vegetable.

If you are not a veteran player, you 'll just end with at best a tie.

As an organizer, you ll have to deal with 2 win and 3 ties each round in a 10 participants tournament. Enjoy swiss paring with that. But that is an old debate here and I strongly suggest you to run a test with some of your players before and modify as you wish the tournament rules.

My last tournament (26 players) we had 1 match per round, one free mulligan accepted in 45 minutes,swiss pairing, 5 round and the a cut at top 8 and deathmatchs. In this configuration, no tie was accepted.

We began at 11 am and finished 9:30 pm. Not perfect but it seems important to me to let players play and think with ease. Even in tournaments. Especially if there are new players.

B_P said:

Tournament rules 1.3 have changed this to 1 game per round. I just checked the FFG Support page for CoC and don't see the Tournament Rules listed. I don't know if a revision is underway or some such...

But we must pay attention to whatever the most recent Tournament Rules are (or will be!?) and all run the same format!

The tournament rules have been missing from the support page for over a month at least. Perhaps FFG will put them back - along with updates - around the same time they announce the dates and locations of the regional championships (March 12th)?

I had saved version 1.1 of the tournament rules, which still shows the format being best 2 out of 3. Interesting to note that this is no longer the case. Playing only 1 game per round vs up to 3 could make a big difference in deck design. Whatever the format, we'll definitely be playing the official rules in Portland (should we be accepted to host).

Right now, it seems a lot is up in the air. That makes it a bit difficult to build and play test decks.

1.2 and 1.3 both have 1 match in I think 50 minutes. I seem to recall that was also what people were reporting for Gencon also. You'll want to follow whatever the new rules say, but I'm willing to bet that it will be 1 match, 45-60 minutes, 1 mulligan.

Penfold said:

jhaelen said:

Shame on you. Against who?

But on topic: I do like the format of 1 game in 45-60 minutes. With the mulligan rule you can mostly rule out bad drawings and you won't end up in lots of draws which can be a problem when calculating who is the winner or who may procede.

But is there already word out of a new version of the tournament rules or can we use the latest known version (1.3)?

I have three more questions:

1) What is the typical cut-off date for determining the event's legal card pool?

I imagine FFG wants everyone to have access to the same cards at each regional championship, and as they are spread out over 3 months, I'm wondering if any APs from Revelations cycle will be allowed?

2) Are the submitted deck lists kept secret, or are they made available to every player before the event starts?

As a potential T.O. who still wants to participate, I'm wondering how to handle both verifying each deck's legality and not giving myself an unfair advantage (assuming deck lists remain confidential).

3) How have you divided up the prizes at past events?

Yipe said:

1. In the past, FFG has not specified cut-off dates for new cards in the Tournament Rules or elsewhere. At one GenCon, a pack was released during the convention and they indicated that would NOT be allowed. If you use that as a gauge, then at least 3 days old would be a rule. But it is not written (yet).

2. We kept them secret. In fact, as judge, I didn't even look at them until the event was over. They are there for security in case there is a question of foul play. If you look at them and are playing, then it would only be fair to let everyone look at them. Oh, don't forget you have to have at least 1 other judge (by Tournament Rules 1.3) present if you want to play. I prefer 2 other judges.

3. Some of the prizes are specified for certain finishes. One for last place, one for first place. Personally I divided the remaining prizes as much as possible and let the 2nd place finisher have first pick, then 3rd, then 4th... until everything was claimed.

I's official - Guardian Games is hosting the only CoC Regional Championship west of the Mississippi!

Whether you're a beginner or a pro, interested in competitive play or just want to help grow the local CoC community, we'd love to see you at this event.

Here's the official thread:

www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

New question:

1) What is a typical or appropriate entry fee for this type of event?

The Regional Championship kit costs $150. Does your host try to re-coup this cost through entry fees, or write it off as a means to promote more LCG sales?