Heroscape Tournament/Demo Event Guide for Event Organizers

[reapersaurus]

I am hoping that we can get a Guide to provide advice, structure and feedback about running HS events.

There are a lot more events being run nowadays, and many people being faced with the same kind of questions and planning issues that many HSers have had to encounter for their events. I was hoping for a one-stop resource for people wanting to plan an event, whether it be a tournament or a demo.

Any help and contribution to this effort is appreciated. This is for the community, and the game to get more good exposure - the better-run the event, the better the impression of the game.

Tournament Guide
(to be filled in and added to as people post)

* Sponsorship (who provides the terrain, figures, etc and the prizes (if any).
- HouseMouse BoardGames, Hasbro themselves (at Gencon), Convention producers (@ Kublacon), or Event Organizers

*Materials
- HS banner
http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10027/SFbanner_test1.jpg
- Laser pointers for LOS determination
- Latest FAQ
- Summary of Rules play (player aids) - available from the TrU event package (ask me if interested) and a reference sheet at www.HeadlessHollow.com HERE. (http://www.headlesshollow.com/downloads/games/Heroscape_rules.pdf)

* Prizes
- when should they be expected/provided?
- how many entrants should receive prizes?
- compare/contrast the different prize formats (sponsor, the event host, or shared amongst the participants (i.e. everyone brings a prize and the winners get first pick.))

* Structure
- Swiss scoring, single elimination, double-elimination, etc (pros and cons of each, and which is applicable for how many players)
- Will figures/order markers be provided? (for new and/or experienced players)
- Will you allow proxied figures to be entered? (i.e. repainted or unpainted Swog Riders and Knight of Weston for Nerak and Sir Hawthorne) *recommended*
- Will house rules be allowed? Choose and advertise which rulings or non-standard play asap. There is nothing wrong with non-radical rules changes - don't be afraid to mix-up your event with different scenarios/all-general armies/well-reasoned ability/point changes, etc.
- Will a sideboard be allowed? A sideboard may be allowed (25 - 50% of the army size), when armies are written down and not allowed to change between rounds. Any sideboard units may be exchanged for army units between rounds. Once both players say they are ready for the match, no sideboard exchanges may be made.
- Who places first? Many maps are not exactly mirrored/symmetrical- Roll the D20 or flip a coin to determine who gets to pick his starting zone.
- How long for rounds (My estimation would be 40 minutes at most, on average)
- If calculating a score for remaining figures, will you count each figure (1 Izumi Samurai is worth 20 points) or are full points awarded for squads even if only part of the squad survives?
Full points are more standard, but it is a less accurate estimation of remaining army strength.

* Which maps are best suited for what the tourney is trying to achieve
- The Glyph issue (too many unbalances the army matchups, none seems to be less strategy, proper location, etc)
- Visibly interesting vs balanced gameplay.
- The Ranged unit Dominance problem :?:
- List of successful maps (Soulrazor (http://www.heroscapers.com/download/index.php?dlid=93), other official maps (http://www.hasbro.com/heroscape/default.cfm?page=scenarios), The Pond (see below) & other fanmade maps)
- starting zone may limit common squad multiples - is this good?
Consider limiting to 2 of each common squad if you don't want CommonSquadScape.

* Location
- game conventions (GenCon, Kublacon, and GenCon SoCal, and other regional cons that have enough gaming presence to be promising)
If at a convention, can you leave the maps on the tables overnight
- Game Stores (for regional Gameday tournaments)
- HSers member's houses


Demo Guide
(to be filled in and added to as people post)

* How many/which maps to set up?
- One large (a la Hasbro), or many small?
- Which maps work well (official or unofficial) with links to download
(I suggest both 2 player and multi-player maps are shown to demonstrate the different fun of the game and to support different numbers of interested participants)
For example, The Pond (2 player) and Last of the Wellsprings (3 player free-for-all)
http://files.boardgamegeek.com/bggimages/pic128835_sized.jpg
Click for full size (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/128835)
- How many points will you use on each side to demo?
I would strongly recommend around 200 points for each side when demoing the game to multiple groups (like in a typical convention situation where many people may be playing, and the shorter the demo the better).
You can have pre-combined combos of hero and squad that work thematically and balance-wise. The combos I used to good response at Kublacon to give players a good selection of theme, abilities, and powers were:

DW9000 and Zettian Guards
Sgt Drake and the Airborne Elite
Grimnak and 2 Blade Gruts
Marcus and 2 Roman Legionnaires
Khosumet and 2 Anubian Wolves
Agent Carr and the Krav Maga
Me-Burq-Sa, Ne-Gok-Sa, and Marro Warriors
Charos
Alistair MAcDirk and the Highlanders
Raelin and the Sentinels
Mimring and ?? Roman Archers
Venoc Warlord and 2 Venoc Vipers
Taelord and Minions
there are more, but you can probably see the pattern.

Anyone who has run events of any kind or done work for them (Jim, Oogie, grungebob, truth :?:, Satyr & Alistair, allskulls, etc) and has ideas/advice or words of wisdom, please add to this Guide to make it as useful as possible.
I will edit this post as things are added by other people.
Please add links to resources or pictures of maps to help other Organizers get a good picture of your point.

Grungebob added a sample Tournament Rules in another thread, so I'll copy them here, removing a couple (glyph requirement and dice falling off):

• There should be a minimum of 8 Players, and one battlefield for every two players.

• There will be at least one referee, the ultimate judge – whose decision will be final in the case of a rules dispute. The referee will be thoroughly familiar with both the Heroscape 2nd edition rules and the latest official FAQs on Heroscapers.com.

• There will be a copy of the 2nd edition rulebook at all tables.

• A timer will be visible to all players, or time left should be announced at regular intervals.

• As players arrive (we suggest 30 minutes before the scheduled start time), they sign in at the registration table with their completed army, whether they are pre-registered or not.

• Each player should bring one pre-drafted 400 point army. Only official Heroscape figures markers and cards are eligible to be used. Extra master set figures and cards can be available for those who do not have an army at registration time. Once you register an army, you cannot change it for the duration of the tournament.

PREPARING FOR A TOURNAMENT ROUND.

•Players will be paired up with an opponent and assigned to a map.

•Players roll a 20 sided die. The player with the highest roll chooses one of the deployment zones, and places his entire army in the designated deployment zone spaces. Initiative in the first round is still determined normally once play starts.

•The opposing player places his entire army in the opposite deployment zone spaces.

PLAYING THE GAME

Players play the game as per the most current set of rules with the following exceptions:

•The game will last 1 hour from the time it starts. Keeping track of rounds is not necessary.

•When the time is called all play must finish the current order marker number. If the players have not finished the game when the one hour is over, victory goes to the player with the most points worth of figures left on the field. Full points are earned for squads even if only part of the squad survives.

•Players place their order markers simultaneously and may shield or hide them from view of the other player until placed if so desired.

•Touching an opponent’s figure during your turn is not allowed. If a figure gets accidentally moved during play the player who controls that figure may ask a judge to assist in replacing the figure if so desired.

•All dice must be rolled on a flat surface near the playing area and in full view of all players. Dice towers are acceptible. Any dice that do not lay flush at the end of the roll will result in a re-roll of the dice in question.

[Codeman]

Format:We have had good luck with a Swiss Format.
Prizes: Have a low entry fee and all money goes for prizes, even the last place person goes home with a prize or two. Everything is put on the prize table and then eveybody goes up in order determined by their finish/place.
Location:We also have had good luck holding tourneys at public places (Resturants/Cofffe Houses). No need to bring table and chairs plus they are set up! We have had a good time with the public exposer and promoting the game.
Setup: To help speed up the map setup - I have them pre-made days before and put on 1/4" plywood, that we can haul them to the event site and slide them onto the tables. It also help with tear down as they are slid into a rack set up in a full size van.


Here is the info on our up coming event.

Place: Godfathers Pizza (upstairs) – Forest City, IA
Date: October 21, 2006
Sign in: 9:30 – 9:50 am
Start 1st round: 10:00 am
Entry fee: $ 5.00
Format: Swiss Style
490-point army
1-hour time limit per round.
Maps – Wolf Swamp Road, Forsaken Waters, Meat Grinder
TTO Rule: - Any figure adjacent to a tree may roll an additional defense die when being attacked by a non-adjacent figure. ( what did you expect after all your playing in " The Tree Town Open ")

Prizes - Dice Tower, Dice Box, HS Gen-Con Promotional Figure " Sir Hawthorne, Laminated Heroscape Card signed by Craig VanNess Custom Painted Sergeant Drake (by Jormi_Boced), Misc Dice assortment including Dice Bag (by Memeriories & Keepsakes), several expansions will be broke apart into squads and all the terrain will again be grouped together for a prize,more to be anounced

Tournament Director:[/b] Jormi_Boced

Registration Note: I am planning on having Tournement T-shirts made so I will also need your shirt size when you register.

[Grungebob]

4 people can set up 12 maps in less than an hour

You can use those stick on stars to mark deployment zones. These come off easy and are super cheap. I used them in place of glyphs also as one less thing to keep track of.

Make sure to number each map clearly using something simple like an index card with the map number written largely.. It makes it easier to announce: "Joe and Blake map 4" and move quickly on.

You'll need scratch paper and lots of penciles. Have a roster available for folks to write their army on. These rosters can be turned in and looked at days later when asked about who won and what army did they field. I have an army roster PDF for anyone interested.

Bringing something for the prize table is something we do in Texas and is really great fun because everybody goes home with something.

We have everybody write the names of their oponents on their roster and vote for the one that was the best sport, The player who has the most votes gets the sportsmanship award. Amazing when you do it... Try it.

Plan an hour for set-up, and an hour for each round and another hour to clean up.

[Oogie_Da_Bruce]

So, I've kinda been avoid this thread all day... I really wanted to give it some thought before I jump in. This is a great topic and one that will serve to help future event organizers.

The only real event type that I can comment on is the Semi-Casual Monthly Tournament. Yes, Gencon SoCal was the first tournament, but Boom and I didn't really know what we were doing. We just got some cool trophies and put it out there for whoever to show.

We were fortunate though. The basic setup we used was stable enough, that it worked great... and is still, basically, the same setup we use today.

The focus on this type of tournament is timing. Most guidlines were put in place to keep the tournament time down to a minimum (4-5 hours).

Tournament Guide
Roving Monthly Tournaments

Sponsorship:
HOST (players pay $5 entry fee)
Each month there is an open invitation to who would like to host the next event. The host is responsible for coordinating the event and finding a location. Often the Host will ask for help setting up, bringing extra terrain, etc.

Materials: Tournament Sheets and Matchup Cards

Tournament Sheets are where players can write their rosters (4-400 point prebuilt armies), who their opponent is each round (and what army their opponent played), and their score for each round.
http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10006/normal_Player_s_Sheet.jpg (http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10006/Player_s_Sheet.jpg)
click image for larger view

Matchup Cards were developed by Allskulls. It is a system that generates random matchups for the first 5 rounds of play, where no two players ever match up against eachother twice AND no one player will ever play on the same map twice (on 5 maps). There is also a "bye" card that can be used in the event of an odd number of participants. Allskulls can comment on this further. This is a great sytem that drastically reduces the down time between rounds. Also the fun of knowing who your opponents will be makes trash talking easier.

Prizes:
Prizes are bought by the Host, based on an expected number of guest. The Host is reimbursed with the entry fee money. The amount of prizes are adjusted to match the amount of money collected from the participants. Typically 1st and 2nd are assured prizes, but often there are plenty of prizes for everyone (as some participants bring extra prizes). The winner gets 1st pick and so on.

Structure:
1st 3 rounds are determined by Matchup Cards. At the beginning of the 4th round, any undefeated players are matched up. If there are an odd number of Leaders, Total Points are used to add another player to the Finals/Semifinals.

Point totals (per round) are calcuated as:
Your remaining points + Opponents defeated points (possible 800 points per round)

Win/Loss record takes priority over points.

Player's are responsible for bringing all their own materials (except terrain).

Any House Rules are declared by the Host in advance of the tournament (weeks/days).

Rounds are timed at 40 minutes. Once the timer sounds, players must finish their current round quickly.

Maps
All maps are made up of no more than 1 Master Set and 1 of each terrain expansion (there have been some exceptions) and are clearly labled "Map A, Map B, etc.). If possible maps are posted before the tourney, but not required. Maps are picked based on their balance. Some maps contain a glyph or two. Players are allowed to exceed their starting zone if they cannot fit their army. In that case their opponent may setup beyond their starting zone as well. Cheese Armies are allowed (at this time), but discouraged (and frowned upon).

Other
We mostly play for fun, and have been experimenting with new ideas. We will be having our 5th monthly tourney tommorrow, General specific. Food is either BYO or we chip in for pizza. We have also had great BBQ's. We started small but are growing.

[Hendal]

You all so rock, I really mean it, how great is this to have all this info posted.

I only made one tourney, ScreamingT's in CLyde Ohio, but it ran really smootly, he basically did all that was mentioned above. I think all the above info is right on the mark. Thanks all.

I like the idea of everyone trying to bring prizes, but I understand if some of the younger players don't.

I have been throwing around the idea of hosting a little tourney, and was thinking of trying a 3 person swedish style tourney, just to do something different, a 3 person free for all. Of course the first down fall would be needing enough people to fill the extra slots, but besides that I really like the idea. IF any one has any idea of hosting 3 way battle tourney, post awy, please, thanks in advance

Love the game sheet, how nice

[Oprime]

This should get stickied.

[LilNewbie]

Good point, Oprime. Done!

Newb.

[Grungebob]

I just want to mention that I have talked to Sandra and she has 18 Master sets available for anyone who wants to host a big tourney and does not havce the supplies. The cost to ship to and from your location could be around $250, so you would have to structure that tourney in such a way so that it would cover the cost. This is not really necessary for a local event as your players live locally and can bring their stuff... But, if you run a tourney or other event at a big Con then you might consider this. The way to do it is to make sure that your entry fees generate enough income to cover the shipping. The best way to ensure that you make enough money is to run multiple events. Remember that there is only one charge for shipping no matter how many events you run. Say you run three events that can seat 36 people and you charge $6 per person per event. Lets say you don't max out but get like 30 to show up for each event... Well that is $540. That would cover shipping and prizes.

[reapersaurus]

GB & Sandra - there are some points to think about:

* Maybe I remembered it wrong, but I thought $50 had been mentioned as the approximate cost of shipping. :?: Maybe that was one-way?

* If it is $250, that is 12 Master Sets worth on a 2-for-1 sale, as we all know. It would of course be better to purchase HS product for continual re-use than it would be to pay money to UPS and not gain product.

* Some (actually, the majority AFAIK) of the game conventions don't charge money for events.
Those estimates GB mentioned are rather ... shall we say, large.
3 events of 30 participants each at $6 is 3 FULL days of large tournaments. AFAIK, Gencon didn't even have 30 participants in 3 events (the general tournaments & NGS were smaller than 30), but please mention if it did (even though Gencon is >3 times bigger than any other game convention).

The amount of people effort involved in putting on that many events is problematic. Those are full-time jobs, all-day long.
Plus, AFAIK when an event fee is mandated by the con, the money isn't given to the HS organizer - it's given to the con. Please correct if that's false.
I believe Kublacon, for example, will not allow fees to be charged for the events, but I easily could be mistaken....

I fear that if those are the best-estimate of costs for shipping the great resource that HouseMouse has for running HS events, the shipping makes using it problematic. :( Which is very disappointing to me, because that's what I was hoping to encourage with this and the Envoy thread - a group of people that could have the resources to run events at game conventions, to increase industry exposure for HS.

One more applicable point on this area of running events:
If you want to support a 16-person event (which is likely a good number for any con smaller than Gencon), all it takes is 8 Master Sets.
If you want to support a 32-person event, you still could with 8 Master Sets, if you simply have the first round be an elimination round. I know this is problematic, I'm just mentioning it as a viable alternative.

[Grungebob]

The shipping estimate is from Sandra who said it cost $240 UPS. If you bought the sets too then you would have that additional money to contend with. In this case Sandra has already purchased the sets. Anyway, the Gencon events generated excess funds. As far as Gencon goes, you are allowed to set the price of admission to your events. If you just charge the minimum, then the event will not generate funds. This is appropriate for learning events and events with no prizes. But for events that have prizes and tournaments, most organizers structure the entry fee so that it covers expenses. The Gencon events I ran generated extra funds in this manner. That extra money was given back by Gencon in the form of a check.

In Texas we talked about renting a bus and driving up to Gencon and therfor being able to bring our own supplies. A big shipping bill like $240 ccould go a long way toward rental and gas.

I just mentioned these as informative alternatives for folks thinking about running a tourney.

[reapersaurus]

I'm kinda shocked that Gencon attendees were forced to pay extra money out of their own pocket, and it ended up being given to GENCON, who already got their money in the form of the Gencon entrance fee?

I would have completely guessed that Sandra getting the excess would make sense, since the sponsor allowed for the event to happen, and if not HouseMouseGames getting it, then you as the principal organizer should get it, due to your AFAIK monumental personal efforts in running the events.

Gencon is the LAST candidate I would have thought of that should have gotten $$$ from HS players pockets. (Well, Hasbro would be the last candidate :lol: )

Could you explain why you went that direction?
If there was some political benefit from that decision, than other organisers might be able to learn from that example and see if it's applicable at their events.

:lol: at the idea of a Heroscape Bus making the pilgrimage from TX to Gencon next year. :rofl:

[Grungebob]

I'm kinda shocked that Gencon attendees were forced to pay extra money out of their own pocket, and it ended up being given to GENCON, who already got their money in the form of the Gencon entrance fee?

I would have completely guessed that Sandra getting the excess would make sense, since the sponsor allowed for the event to happen, and if not HouseMouseGames getting it, then you as the principal organizer should get it, due to your AFAIK monumental personal efforts in running the events.

Gencon is the LAST candidate I would have thought of that should have gotten $$$ from HS players pockets. (Well, Hasbro would be the last candidate :lol: )

Could you explain why you went that direction?
If there was some political benefit from that decision, than other organisers might be able to learn from that example and see if it's applicable at their events.

:lol: at the idea of a Heroscape Bus making the pilgrimage from TX to Gencon next year. :rofl:Like I said... Gencon wrote ME a check after it was all over.

[reapersaurus]

I've lost track, or missed you stating that - you got $$$ for running the Gencon events? :confused:

[HouseMouseGames]

GB & Sandra - there are some points to think about:

* Maybe I remembered it wrong, but I thought $50 had been mentioned as the approximate cost of shipping. :?: Maybe that was one-way?

.

Shipping is amazingly expensive. Hahnarama took the 7 boxes to UPS after the tournament and I just got the bill. $121 to return them to California. So roundtrip was around $240. You can check the shipping rates to your destination. Go to UPS.com. Each box of 3 games is 18 lbs. I'm shipping from zip code 92532.

Borrowing these games from me is NOT a recommended solution because shipping is so expensive! It's just another option to consider. But if you can bring your own sets, by all means, that's what you want to do. $240 can buy a lot of prizes. It's a shame to waste the money on shipping if you've got alternatives. For Gencon, we had no alternatives, so we did what we had to do.

[HouseMouseGames]

I've lost track, or missed you stating that - you got $$$ for running the Gencon events? :confused:

There seems to be a misconception here, so let's try to clarify it.

Gencon charges a fee for each hour of game play. Our entry fee was generally higher (but not always) than the fee charged by Gencon. At the end of the four days, Gencon wrote a check to Grungebob for the difference between the total we owed for Gencon fees and the total collected from our entry fees. Grungebob applied the money to cover expenses he incurred in organizing the event.

There was no "profit" and Grungebob didn't get "paid" to run the events. We tried to price the events so that Grungebob would not be "out of pocket" when all his bills were paid.

[Joah]

GB & Sandra - there are some points to think about:

* Maybe I remembered it wrong, but I thought $50 had been mentioned as the approximate cost of shipping. :?: Maybe that was one-way?

.

Shipping is amazingly expensive. Hahnarama took the 7 boxes to UPS after the tournament and I just got the bill. $121 to return them to California. So roundtrip was around $240. You can check the shipping rates to your destination. Go to UPS.com. Each box of 3 games is 18 lbs. I'm shipping from zip code 92532.

Borrowing these games from me is NOT a recommended solution because shipping is so expensive! It's just another option to consider. But if you can bring your own sets, by all means, that's what you want to do. $240 can buy a lot of prizes. It's a shame to waste the money on shipping if you've got alternatives. For Gencon, we had no alternatives, so we did what we had to do.Are you shipping Next Day Air?

And if so why?
I ship things all over the world, everyday.
There are extra charges being thrown in there I think.
I'd look into that.

[Rÿchean]

I've lost track, or missed you stating that - you got $$$ for running the Gencon events? :confused:

There seems to be a misconception here, so let's try to clarify it.

Gencon charges a fee for each hour of game play. Our entry fee was generally higher (but not always) than the fee charged by Gencon. At the end of the four days, Gencon wrote a check to Grungebob for the difference between the total we owed for Gencon fees and the total collected from our entry fees. Grungebob applied the money to cover expenses he incurred in organizing the event.

There was no "profit" and Grungebob didn't get "paid" to run the events. We tried to price the events so that Grungebob would not be "out of pocket" when all his bills were paid.

And as a participant there...watching GB day after day...he worked it like a JOB...the man barely got to see or do anything else the entire time...

Plus he had to put up with my high maintenance a$$ in every single tourney ;-)

[Rÿchean]

I'm kinda shocked that Gencon attendees were forced to pay extra money out of their own pocket, and it ended up being given to GENCON, who already got their money in the form of the Gencon entrance fee?

gaming hall was seperate from exhibitor hall. It was free to get into the gaming hall. You could just show up just for the gaming without having to pay for a Gencon badge.

[HouseMouseGames]

GB & Sandra - there are some points to think about:

* Maybe I remembered it wrong, but I thought $50 had been mentioned as the approximate cost of shipping. :?: Maybe that was one-way?

.

Shipping is amazingly expensive. Hahnarama took the 7 boxes to UPS after the tournament and I just got the bill. $121 to return them to California. So roundtrip was around $240. You can check the shipping rates to your destination. Go to UPS.com. Each box of 3 games is 18 lbs. I'm shipping from zip code 92532.

Borrowing these games from me is NOT a recommended solution because shipping is so expensive! It's just another option to consider. But if you can bring your own sets, by all means, that's what you want to do. $240 can buy a lot of prizes. It's a shame to waste the money on shipping if you've got alternatives. For Gencon, we had no alternatives, so we did what we had to do.Are you shipping Next Day Air?

And if so why?
I ship things all over the world, everyday.
There are extra charges being thrown in there I think.
I'd look into that.


We're talking UPS Ground. Go to the UPS site and price the boxes. That's 7 boxes x 18 lbs. = 126 lbs. If I could have found a cheaper solution, I would have used it.

[ultradoug]

In Texas we talked about renting a bus and driving up to Gencon and therfor being able to bring our own supplies. A big shipping bill like $240 ccould go a long way toward rental and gas.


Bus could be great! I'd have a way to Gencon thats afordable, even if I payed something towards gas, be a zillon times cheeper then flying, could even maybe hire a pro driver? (?) not sure, maybe not, could take turns driving, whoever drives maybe take a class for truck driving type deal? Not sure how that would work.

Everyone could bring there heroscape stuff and have a ton of stuff, bring food etc, make things very accecable to those who would otherwise be unable to do it.

[Codeman]

I’ve found it helpful to use a dry marker to identify the starting zones. Glyph, tree, and ruins locations. It will wipe/wash off. With several maps it really helps with set up time and during the course of the event trees & ruins do get knocked over and this is an easy way to make sure they get put back on the correct hex.

I bring in the maps pre-made on plywood sheets so all I have to do is slide them onto the tables and look for the dry marker lines as where to put the ruins and trees… very quick and easy.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/DryMarkerGlyph_Trees1318.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/DryMarkerStartZone1317.jpg

PLEASE NOTE: I found out thru experience that if you leave the dry marker on the hexes for over a month you may need more elbow grease to rub these marks off... I've also went to the extent of using 409 or other type cleaners to help clean off the hexes. Please be aware - and use at your own discretion.

[Rÿchean]

cool tip, codeman!

[Rhydderch]

Cool idea Reaper. This would probably make for a good Word/PDF document or Codex submission once it is completed *hint hint* :wink:

[Codeman]

As tournaments get bigger we found it helpful to have the Tournament Director stand out.

At our last tourney we gave out Black T-shirts to everyone that participated, the shirts had special tourney graphics on the front & sponsors on the back. Our Tournament Director wore the identical printed T-Shirt other than his was Orange. This concept could also be done with a bright colored hat or some other means.

I think it is import to make your TD accessible and easy for people to reach him/her instead of guessing at the answer or having the more dominate player sway his way of thinking on a player... everyone should be on a level playing field.

[Satyr]

I saw Swiss Style tournaments mentioned and I’ve been reading up on the concept. I like it, but I’m having trouble integrating it into Heroscape.

As I understand it:
You assign tournament points for wins, loss, and ties (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). From round to round people with the same number of tournament points play each other. You can determine a winner outright after a number of rounds required for a single elimination tournament with the same number of people or you can whittle the number of top ranking players down to 4 for semifinals and finals. I like semifinals and finals since provides a more focused climax.

Here is my problem:
To me a tie implies both players have figures left on the board when the time/round limit is reached and you are not counting remaining point (or points killed). This encourages players to hide figures in the backfield and play slowly when things are going badly. Not the thing I want to encourage … I want carnage!

I’ve been thinking a solution is to count points killed and bracket people with the same number of points killed throughout the tournament, but this will not provide clear stratification if all of the battles are close.

Any Ideas ???
Past Experiences ???

[Codeman]

Satyr, your close, but there is a little more to it. On a tie it is a true tie and I've only seen it happen one time in a HS tournament. It would be when time has run out and both parties have equal number of points left on the board.

If time expires and both parties still have figures left on the board ( which happens about 10-15% of the time - most people do finish their matches before time expires ) the it goes to points. Any card that still is active that person receives points for that card. So typically both sides do not tie as usually someone is ahead on points and would get the win.

In our tournaments even matches that finish within time we calculate the points left on the board by the winner. This point differential is also recorded and used in the pairing and to figure the ultimate placing. In the 2006 Tree Town Open we had 6 people finish at 4-1, 12 people finish at 3-2 , 10 people finish at 2-3 and so on…. So the point differential was used after the won/loss to figure their placing. It was also used during the tournament to figure the matchups. The first round the match-ups were random, but after all the matches up where strictly based off of Won/Loss record followed by the point differential.

As an example we had some one finish 19th with a 3-2 record but a –210 point differential and the 21st place finisher had a 2-3 record with a positive point differential of 210.

Note: For squads as long as you have one figure left on the board you get to count the cards points. Example I have 4 arrow grut cards and during the game I loose 5 gruts I would only loose one cards worth of points (-40) I would still have one out of three left on my second card and two cards are still intact. I get 120 points for the gruts I have left on the board along with all other figures that are alive.

[Satyr]

Codeman, thanks for the clarification on ties and the lowdown on how you've been running your events. Not sure what made me think that you were not counting points after time expired. :shrug:

I'm probably going to break with the rulebook and count points killed and break it down to the figure level (1 Izumi is worth 20 points). It seems less likely for people to try and play the tourney system rather than the game.

Thanx!

[Revdyer]

I have to say, Satyr, that in the Dallas tourney last October, absolutely no one played the system rather than the game. That was a large part of the enjoyment for me.

[Codeman]

Codeman, thanks for the clarification on ties and the lowdown on how you've been running your events. Not sure what made me think that you were not counting points after time expired. :shrug:

I'm probably going to break with the rulebook and count points killed and break it down to the figure level (1 Izumi is worth 20 points). It seems less likely for people to try and play the tourney system rather than the game.

Thanx!


That's fine... you of course can run your tournament however you like ( that's what I do ). I would just like to point out a few items.

1. Almost all matches do get done within an hour time limit. So if you do count kill points and say you do 500 point armies - after 3 rounds you would have several people at 3-0 with 1500 points and they are all grouped together with no seperation ( no way to do the pairings ). If you do it by point differental it would seperate out the guy that one the battle with just one 25 point figure left on the board from the guy that has been crushing his opponent I hope I understood your scenario correctly if not I apologize.

2. Too Keep it Simple - I would recommend not dividing the card points up... using my arrow grut example each arrow grut comes out to 13 1/3 points each. People seem to have trouble enough adding number that end in 0 or 5 at our tournament and the TD had to correct some math. I would strongly recommend in keeping it Simple.

3. Using point differential along with the win loss record does help put the top players together as the game goes on …. In general typically people end up playing people at their level as the tournament goes on. I have not seen a system that works better ( Not that there isn’t one.. but this I feel works well )

Good Luck – with your tourney

[EyeOfSauron]

I'm just starting to contemplate running a tourney. Has anyone dealt with the issue of different ages playing and how to "handicap" appropriately.

One of the great things about HS in my experience is that the dice roll is a great "equalizer" but I would still feel bad about putting 10 yr olds against 30 yr olds in a multi-age tourney...

[Revdyer]

No handicapping is necessary. The Dallas tourney mixed all ages and game experiences just fine. (You could have a special prize for the youngest, of course...or the oldest, but I'd probably get that one!)

[LilNewbie]

LOL! Yeah those poor 30-year olds need help against those powerful 10-year olds....errr...oh you meant the other way around....

In all seriousness though, I haven't seen a need to handicap anyone as long as the people playing are old enough to understand the abilities. Like you said the dice are a very big balancing factor...the only thing an older person can bring to the table is experience and that can go right out the window with bad rolling. In fact, most of the people involved in the last DFW tourney would help out novices (in this instance, novice does not equal young age) while playing against them...little pointers on why a move here or there would be better and why using a certain ability would be more beneficial.

Newb.

[markwars]

Why do the kiddies always seem to turn into Dice Jesus when I play them?

[LilNewbie]

Ummm...because like the song says, "Jesus loves the little children".

:D

Newb.

[markwars]

You are right. That song never mentions middle aged fat men clutching Sam Adams bottles.

[Revdyer]

No, that hymn would either be "Just As I Am, Without One Plea," or "Turn Back, O Man, Forswear Thy Foolish Ways." <grin>

[markwars]

:rofl:

[gamjuven]

i had sam adams the other day and was not too impressed with it, altho i'm not a beer kind of guy anyway. don't have the matured beer pallet yet i guess. and just in case ur wondering , i am 21, lol.

[Revdyer]

Sam Adams' Scotch Ale is one of my favorites, actually.

[yagyuninja]

I'm planning a tourney on May 26th here in Eugene and I've got a question for all you pros out there.

How do you cycle maps? Is there a logical way to decide who plays on what map next? Something obvious that I'm not seeing? I've thought about it a bit but I've yet to come up with anything that isn't willy-nilly random assignment.

[Codeman]

I'm planning a tourney on May 26th here in Eugene and I've got a question for all you pros out there.

How do you cycle maps? Is there a logical way to decide who plays on what map next? Something obvious that I'm not seeing? I've thought about it a bit but I've yet to come up with anything that isn't willy-nilly random assignment.

In our Iowa/Minnesota Tournaments we have a spot on our score card that you fill in which map you have played on. These cards are all gathered each round and are sorted in order by total points ( 3 points for a win, 2 for tie ,1 for a loss) and each group of cards that share the same point value is further subdived by point differental ( points left on the board or if both parties have points on the board the difference between the winner and loser - per HS rule book ). The Tournament Director then just takes the top two cards an looks at which maps each card has played on and then puts them on a new map or one neither has played much. Then he takes the next two cards ,does this processes all over again, and continues until all cards have a table/map. To my knowledge this has worked well and I have not heard any complaints. Simple - fairly easy to accomplish with not much effort or thought. I am sure everyone played on each map at least once, and hopefully no one more than twice on any of the other maps.

Good luck in your upcoming tourney - hope all runs smoothly & have fun.

[yagyuninja]

Thanks for the info, Codeman!

Your tournaments are pretty much what I want to base mine after. I've even saved that picture of your registration card from some old thread. Anyway, that method sounds fine to me.

[Marduk]

Having now run my first tournament, I have a few things to add.

In order to avoid having people play on the same map, I used a large number of different battlefields - and while there were setup snags, this did work well. However, most of my pre-tournament setup time at the site was spent pulling out the terrain needed to build each given map. In two hours I completed five and a half maps - of that two hours, about 50 minutes was actual construction time. I think having the terrain already grouped by map would let me build maps at least twice as fast. In the future I will have a bag for each map I plan to use, containing the all necessary terrain to build that map.

In the event you cannot complete all the maps in time by yourself, you will find people quite willing to help out with setup. That does not work so well when you are working from a single computer with the maps... I was going to print out the build directions for each map still needing construction the night before the event. Naturally my printer chose that time to run out of ink in a rather messy manner. So be sure to print the directions days or weeks in advance so you have time to fix your printer if something goes wrong. (I find that black-and-white printing is not good enough to differentiate most terrain types, so color was a must.)

Something I thought of the night before the tournament was including any relevant terrain information on the map's name tag. I only had time to laminate one of them, but now I have it available for whenever I use that map. As I select maps for my own personal list of good tournament maps, I will make sure to do the same thing for each one. I am waiting for feedback on the notion, but it saves looking up the terrain rules (like road bonus movement or the effects of slippery ice) if you are a bit fuzzy on them. When I get color printing capability back again, I will include a picture on the front with start zones and object (tree, ruin, etc.) placement and the build directions on the back.

Related to having a picture with start zones and such on the page, I have had mixed luck with using dry erase markers. Some of the marks came off easily with a wipe of my thumb, others needed a little work, and still others would not come off at all. I have no doubt that using any kind of real cleaning technique will do the trick, but having a picture would let you avoid the hassle. If you use the map multiple times, I think it would be well worth the effort.

Something I plan to do next time is ask people to PM me with their planned army a little ahead of time (after my own army design is finalized, certainly) so I can save time by not recording these things at the event. The person would not be locked in to the army they sent, but if they used that one sign in would only be a matter of giving their name and saying they are using the units they listed earlier.

I was going to use Codeman's Point Differential system as a tie-breaker after both win-loss recirds and strength of schedule; however, with all the delays getting set up I did not take the time to remind people of that and explain what they needed to do. I had thought about bringing my printer to print out record sheets for it, but I was already running late and carrying a lot of things. If by bringing the terrain in map-specific bags/boxes I can save enough time and reduce my cargo hauling, it might be worthwhile. Especially if some of them can be done ahead of time with players giving me a list of their planned force.

Oh yes - I ran one-on-one matches and then decided the final four positions through a free-for-all fight of the top four after the one-on-one games were through. Prizes were picked in order from first place on down after this final fight. The four-player final match seemed to be well-received, though it did point up a potential problem with doing things that way. If the other players do not want to stick around and play "just for fun" games while the final match is being played, how will they pick their prizes? And if I allow the lower-ranking players to pick their prizes before the final match completes, the top players are likely to miss out on their preferred picks.

For a solution, I am thinking I will separate four good prizes to be extra stuff for the top winners, and let everyone else pick from the rest in rank order as soon as the one-on-one matches are done with. For instance, the store donated a Nerak - a good candidate for a top-tier prize. Likewise the $20 gift certificate for the store, and perhaps one or two of the flagbearers that were up for grabs. A piece of CupidsArt custom terrain, when available, a dice tower, or some other special and sought-after prize would also be a good choice for the final four prize pool.

That leaves players who do not want to (or cannot) stay around for the final match free to leave without missing out on their prize. If they skip out earlier, that is different... nothing much to be done about that in most cases.

[yagyuninja]

Marduk,

Looks like you learned a lot from running that tourney...I'll be in the same boat in a week.

I thought of that problem with the top four (since we are planning a similar 4 player free for all at the end), and here's what we are going to do in Eugene. After the four normal games, everyone will choose their prizes from the top down, including the top 4. After the top 4 have chosen their prizes, they start their final free-for-all. The winner of that game will get a trophy and perhaps another prize. So, it's more for fun and bragging rights, and that way people can leave after their fourth game if they need to.

[Grungebob]

I think we are dispensing with the final rounds and just going with swiss rounds for the whole tourney. This keeps everyone in it 'til the end.

[Revdyer]

In the two Dallas tournies that I have attended, with the high and massive quality and quantity of things on the prize tables (almost a competition in and of itself), those who left early, knowing that most people would get two choices for prizes (down the list and then back up), simply lost out. Not many left early, either. And everyone who stayed had fun the whole time anyway.

[Codeman]

I think we are dispensing with the final rounds and just going with swiss rounds for the whole tourney. This keeps everyone in it 'til the end.

I think that will be a worthwhile move that all should like. All of our Iowa & Minnesota tournaments have been straight Swiss format ( rounds continue until you have one undefeated player left ). Everyone gets a lot of games in, and I believe people have enjoyed that format.

[Marduk]

I really liked having a four-player fight. I am toying now with the idea of ending up with all four-player fights to decide positions 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, and so on. I would design a double-size map from terrain used for the two maps at each table, which would probably require care in selecting which maps went together, but I could do it. Then I can put the players to work tearing down the two maps and building the new. I would have to consider the cases of needing a three-player or five-player design just in case. It might end up that the bottom two places would still fight on a two-player map; though I could have two five-player designs to avoid that.

I will have to poll people on what they thought of the four-player final (everyone in it seemed to like it, and there were people watching instead of playing their own games) and how they would like all four-player games to finish - the main thing is to have fun, after all.

[Grungebob]

I really liked having a four-player fight. I am toying now with the idea of ending up with all four-player fights to decide positions 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, and so on. I would design a double-size map from terrain used for the two maps at each table, which would probably require care in selecting which maps went together, but I could do it. Then I can put the players to work tearing down the two maps and building the new. I would have to consider the cases of needing a three-player or five-player design just in case. It might end up that the bottom two places would still fight on a two-player map; though I could have two five-player designs to avoid that.

I will have to poll people on what they thought of the four-player final (everyone in it seemed to like it, and there were people watching instead of playing their own games) and how they would like all four-player games to finish - the main thing is to have fun, after all.What is to prevent folks from ganging up on the poor guy who has the best record???? No sir! I would never use this method.

[Marduk]

What is to prevent folks from ganging up on the poor guy who has the best record???? No sir! I would never use this method.
Hmm, not announcing beforehand what the rankings are - I did not announce any between rounds, this would be no different. If they do not know who is the 'best' coming in to the fight, they will not have that incentive to start picking on one person.

Granted, once someone starts getting a clear advantage there will likely be some ganging-up; that happened in our final when ManTrainChooChoo got his AE to drop at the start and won initiative, getting four glyphs the first turn. However, he knew beforehand what would happen if he grabbed all the glyphs right away. It was his choice to attract that kind of attention.

I am asking what people thought of the four-way at the end, and how they would feel about going to all four-way battles for the final round - so far I have only gotten some positive feedback about the top-four fight and none against it. Hopefully I will start getting responses to the notion of all four-way fights... I will let you know. Hmm, I will have to ask the fourth-place player (Fareed) what he thought of it. If he thought it was a good thing, that would be a good sign.

I do like the effect it can have on army design. It makes area-effect powers like explosion attacks more attractive. Hmm, I suppose starting with four-player battles would also be an option... count the fist one dead as a loss, the next two dead as a tie, and a win for the winner. It would be troublesome to decide how to do point differential for that though. Maybe use the lowest remaining point total of the other three players to calculate PD for the fourth-place player, lowest total of the other two for the third-place player, and then normally for the top two. Hmm, maybe not - that could end up ranking the third-place finisher above the second-place finisher. Hmm.

[Codeman]

What to do with all those extra Order & Wound Markers? To keep your tourney running smoothly it may be beneficial to make up a few “Tournament Emergency Kits” it seems as though one or two people remember their army but forget to bring markers & dice. I’ve done it myself :oops: . I also have a couple bags of the white dice ( have to hang on to the red & blue dice for myself ). While going over the basic rules of the tourney it may be good idea just to ask everyone if they have there markers… if not have them come up for an “ Emergency Kit “ …should help you keep your tourney running on time.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/TourneyEmergencyKit3171.jpg

[Codeman]

Note: Tournament Score Sheets are now available in the download section under “ Bin-O-Goodies.

Here is the link: http://www.heroscapers.com/download/?dlid=639


http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/DSC02308.jpg

[Revdyer]

Those are really nice scoring sheets, Codeman.
But I do think I'm probably the only one around here old enough to only need two year boxes for birth year <grin>.

[Jormi_Boced]

What is to prevent folks from ganging up on the poor guy who has the best record???? No sir! I would never use this method.
Hmm, not announcing beforehand what the rankings are - I did not announce any between rounds, this would be no different. If they do not know who is the 'best' coming in to the fight, they will not have that incentive to start picking on one person.


People like Spider_Poison would almost never win at your tourneys.

[Blackrock]

I'm working on arranging a small demo for the new Dicehead Games store in Chattanooga, not really running it as I don't work there and I don't have money but I'll work with the owners, who showed strong interest, to help expose the game and hopefully get people interested in the best kind of demo we can. They don't usually carry the product, which is a concern to the woman I spoke to, but she also said she can order some and have it at the store within a week. I don't know if she was implying she'd order some to be there next weekend, when we plan to do this, or if she means she'll place orders if anybody shows interest in the game.
I have two Master Sets worth of tiles, but only one pair of ruin walls (the second set was incomplete, found cheap at a thrift store; no figures or ruins). I also have one Thaelenk Tundra and one Castle set. Can anyone recommend a good pair of battlefields to set up at a demo?

[Troy Spiral]

Great post. Being a total noob i have nothing to add other than to ask why 400 point armies rather than the 500 that seems to be "standard" ?

[Revdyer]

Great post. Being a total noob i have nothing to add other than to ask why 400 point armies rather than the 500 that seems to be "standard" ?Old School...a year and a half ago or so (Taelord and 2 x Minions)...400 points was standard.

[Troy Spiral]

Great post. Being a total noob i have nothing to add other than to ask why 400 point armies rather than the 500 that seems to be "standard" ?Old School...a year and a half ago or so (Taelord and 2 x Minions)...400 points was standard.

Ah ok thanks sir. =)

[Codeman]

Great post. Being a total noob i have nothing to add other than to ask why 400 point armies rather than the 500 that seems to be "standard" ?

Depends on what part of the country I think. The Iowa & Minnesota ( now Nebraska ) Tourneys have always used a diffenent point value. Looking back they went something like: 410, 530, 600, 490, 560, 450, 510 ect .... So I would say in the upper midwest the standard seems to be anything that is between 400 and 600 ( for one hour long rounds ).

[EyeOfSauron]

I'm not sure of the best place for this question....

Have "age brackets" been used at any of the tourneys? I', thinking of something like "13 and under".

We are trying to put together a National HS Day tourney in North Carolina, but I for one will be bringing 2 of my under 13 kids and several of their friends.

I am used to playing them and realize they can compete with adults, but I am afraid that adults who are not used to kids may have a problem with them...has anyone seen this?

Thanks.

[Rÿchean]

I'm not sure of the best place for this question....

Have "age brackets" been used at any of the tourneys? I', thinking of something like "13 and under".

We are trying to put together a National HS Day tourney in North Carolina, but I for one will be bringing 2 of my under 13 kids and several of their friends.

I am used to playing them and realize they can compete with adults, but I am afraid that adults who are not used to kids may have a problem with them...has anyone seen this?

Thanks.I think most players at Heroscape events are used to seeing kids in the tournaments. I can see at larger events having a separate tournament for kids under 13.

If the kids are competent and able to handle losses (and wins) well, I think they will be fine.

[bunjee]

We have been able to have kids as young as 8 play in our tournament events, (he place 4th of 8 if I recall) Usually the adults are fine with it as long as the kids are clear on the no take backs/you snooze you lose possibility. Adults will usually mention the kid is missing something obvious a lot or counting up something wrong, but I heard of an instance or two at other events where kids were flexing rules in their own favor and getting pissed off when it was contested.

So, as long as the rules are clear, so is everything else.

[Codeman]

Here is one way to get your maps to your tourney. I have all the maps pre-built on 28" x 36" panels that can slide right on or off the panel and on to the table. This saves alot of time escpically if you can not get in the night before to set up. I leave trees, ruins, glaciers off and have the spot marked on the map with dry marker so it is quick and easy to finish the setup. My van is set up to haul 34 maps or enough to accomodate 68 people.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/DSC01201.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/DSC01203.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/VanRackBackDoor4029.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/VanRackMidDoor4031.jpg

[bunjee]

You are the tournament organizer god.

[Codeman]

Goodie-Bags

The last couple years we have put together goodie-bags for our participants. You just kind of have to take a stab in the dark and guess how many people you think will attend. Last year we put together 42 bags and this year I’m doing 64. The one item I would suggest that all bags should have is a pen or pencil as everyone will need one to fill out their army and tourney scoring and it is just handy to give everyone one up front.

I think people appreciate getting these – it’s just something extra. It doesn’t take a lot of effort asking for items. It does take some time to stuff them however, but I think they are worth it.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/Codeman1957/TTOgoodieBag2007.jpg

[NecroBlade]

Codeman, that is pure awesome. (Which is almost as good as Awasome, in case anyone was wondering.)

[Blackrock]

If I may ask, what could persuade a gaming store to engage in Heroscape promotion? I was flat-out turned down (albeit politely) for an offer to help organize a demo at the local Dicehead Games. The lady in charge told me that the cost for them to order product to sell would cost as much as it would for anyone to buy the stuff off the shelf at Wal-Mart. If they can't sell product to anyone who gets hooked at the demo, they won't do it.
How do other gaming stores manage to carry and sponsor Scape if it's so expensive? Do they find ways around the cost or what?

[bunjee]

If I may ask, what could persuade a gaming store to engage in Heroscape promotion? I was flat-out turned down (albeit politely) for an offer to help organize a demo at the local Dicehead Games. The lady in charge told me that the cost for them to order product to sell would cost as much as it would for anyone to buy the stuff off the shelf at Wal-Mart. If they can't sell product to anyone who gets hooked at the demo, they won't do it.
How do other gaming stores manage to carry and sponsor Scape if it's so expensive? Do they find ways around the cost or what?A lot of the gaming stores sponsor on the hopes that people will buy other games they sell that Walmart doesn't sell. Many gaming stores run into the event sponsorship problem with Heroscape for the same reasons she mentioned.

If they are already set against it, there is little you can do.

[tokomi]

If you see a ma and pa gaming store carrying heroscape, the chances of the owners playing are high. Usually shop owners will keep product around that they are interested in so they have someone to play. Although they may not make much of a profit on Heroscape they will make thier money on other products to cover the loss.

I learned the secret from a shop owner. Buy Heroscape based on demand and not to have backstock. He will buy a box of booster but will not buy more until those have sold. This way he is not left with a lot of product that is not selling.

[ElderberryNSprouts]

I knew Heroscapers would not fail me! This is exactly the thread I was looking for. See, I have this friend who is organizing a minicon for all things gaming, and I asked him if there was going to be a Heroscape tournament. He said "If someone wants to set one up. You volunteering?" And then I volunteered. So, despite never having been to a tournament, I'm organizing it.

I have gleaned much of what I need from this thread, but will probably be asking some questions as I panic periodically.

I'm thinking we'll have 500 point armies and a time limit of 45 minutes. Do y'all usually have a time schedule set up beforehand that you try to keep to, or just start the next battle when everyone is ready? Additional advice on running this thing will be greeted happily.

Will any of y'all be in Central Illinois on Feb. 23rd? Come play with us.
http://www.goplaypeoria.com/

[CaptainCanuck]

Keeping your maps small don't allow for a lot of posturing and your games will finish in under 45 mins each. Also it makes for not as exciting gameplay but eliminating line of obstacles will help because there will be very little checking LOS.

[DragonSlayer2]

So, if I were to ask House Mouse Gamesto sponsor a tournament in NJ would they send prizes and extra land to play on?

[Cavalier]

So, if I were to ask house of mouse to sponsor a tournament in NJ would they send prizes and extra land to play on?
Ask HouseMouse. The most they can do is say no.

I would honestly suggest you know what you are getting in to before trying to host an event. There is a lot to it, not the least of which is a firm understanding of the rules along with GREAT organizational skills.

[DragonSlayer2]

2 things First my dad would be holding the tournament if I can get him to, because I am to young. Second is I know alot if not all the rules and National Heroscape Day is noy until Oct. giving me plenty of time. Also this was just for my own info in case I wanted to have a tournament some day.

[Cavalier]

2 things First my da would be holding the tournament if I can get him to, because I am to young. Second is I know alot if not all the rules and National Heroscape Day is noy until Oct. giving me plenty of time. Also this was just for my own info in case I wanted to have a tournament some day.
Just giving advice. Again, your best bet to find out is to simply email Sandra at houseMouse and see what she says.

[DragonSlayer2]

Ok, thanks Cavalier, but what is the e-mail address that I should mail her at.

[Cavalier]

Ok, thanks Cavalier, but what is the e-mail address that I should mail her at.
It is easily found at www.housemouse.com (http://www.housemouse.com) on the contact us page.

[DragonSlayer2]

Ok, thanks for all your help.

[DragonSlayer2]

Thats not helpful that link is to some media making website. I would like to PM her; what is her heroscapers s/n.

[CaptainCanuck]

This is the real link Goodluck!!

http://www.housemousegames.com/index.html

[Mr Migraine]

Thats not helpful that link is to some media making website. I would like to PM her; what is her heroscapers s/n.

It's HouseMouseGames.

[DragonSlayer2]

Thanks

[TheStorm77]

OK, I see a lot of info here about tournaments, but I *really* need a brain to pick about demos.
My wife and I have been playing at home for about a year, but it's time to get some new blood. We checked out the local Hobbytown USA, just to find out about getting some table time, and the games manager went straight to asking us to do a demo!
(They have some master sets and FOTA, but apparently nobody's shown any interest. I found on the forums here that somebody was playing there on '06, but they've apparently moved on.)
So, we're looking at getting something going on a Friday night. We've got some rough ideas as to how to go about a demo, and bits and pieces I've picked up here, but I'd love to hear about anything anyone else has done, any little tricks that'll make things run more smoothly, and get people as addicted as we all are.
Please help!

[Dualahorn]

How do you decide who battles who in the tournament? How does the Bracket work?

[Codeman]

How do you decide who battles who in the tournament? How does the Bracket work?

At the Tree Town Open and other midwest tournaments we do not use brackets but a Swiss style format.

I would suggest " Random Draw " to start. At the Tree Town Open and other events in the midwest we do more of a controled " random draw ". What I mean by that is we have our score cards color coded. We hand those cards out by what state you live in ( each state has a different color )... When the first round pairing happen we always have two different color cards play each other... the only reason for this is to keep people who drove togeter or who are their normal playing partners don't face each other in the first round.

After that the pairing are done strictly by the numbers. We pair the undeafted player with the highest point differental with an undeafted player with the second highest PD. This goes on thru all the cards till we have the last two winless players with the two worst PD play each other. Everyone is sorted out by how they finished all the round they have played to that point.

Every round the cards come in and get resorted first by won/loss ( or Victory Points ) and then by PD and put in order. Then all the TD has to do is take the top two cards and pair them up and then the next two on down till he runs out of cards. If there is a bye the last card ( which would not have a win ) would get a bye.

This system is explained in more detail in other threads, but I hope you get the idea .....

What ever system you do use I think " Random " is the key ... and then if it can be followed by a strict sorting critera ... is a good thing ... takes out the human factor .... what every you can do to keep people from thinking, blame or use that excuse that your tourney is unfair or rigged is to everyone as well as the games benefit.

[xraine69]

Would it be possible to get this thread updated? Possibly with links to tools for both tournaments and demos?

[simna12]

where can i get a second edition rulebook online. I lost my book for it

[nyys]

Would it be possible to get this thread updated? Possibly with links to tools for both tournaments and demos?

Not unless the person who started the thread, who was banned a couple years ago, does it.

[Gulp]

Can I get some advice on obtaining prizes for an event? Do I just email all the site sponsors and ask for donations? Is there some etiquette other than just being polite?

[Gulp]

I would still like a response regarding my question in the above post.

Also, has anyone created a nice template that I can use to promote my Heroscape event? I can grab the logo and type something up, but I'd prefer something a little bit snazzier.

[SuperflyTNT]

Gulp, call me. We can get all of this sorted out, bro.

PS - I am definately in, unless I am killed or arrested on the way there.

[Gulp]

Gulp, call me. We can get all of this sorted out, bro.

PS - I am definately in, unless I am killed or arrested on the way there.

Hey Pete. What's your number again? Why can't cell phones just automatically save numbers to the SIM card?

[Duker]

Hi all. Sometime in the near future I volunteered to run a demo of heroscape for some kids in my college gaming club. I checked in this thread for some tips on how to run a demo but its geared a little more towards tournaments. Can someone help me out as to what I should try to do with this demo and what maps, figures and scenarios I should use.

A list of what I own

RoTV
Forgotten forest
Tundra
Castle
SotM

Wave 1 duplicates of commons
Wave 2
Wave 4 duplicates of glads/archers
Wave 5 duplicates of all squads
Wave 6
Wave 7 duplicates -templars
Grok riders, wolves/10th foot


Thanks in advance

[GGGames]

[quote=Duker;1197835]Hi all. Sometime in the near future I volunteered to run a demo of heroscape for some kids in my college gaming club. I checked in this thread for some tips on how to run a demo but its geared a little more towards tournaments. Can someone help me out as to what I should try to do with this demo and what maps, figures and scenarios I should use.

A list of what I own

We have taught many people how to play. I don't think which maps and which figures really matter. I first would have two people before hand already know how to play. They need to have a general idea how to play before teaching a group. You should not be one of the two people. The day of the demo set up about 3 maps depending on the number of people in the club. Then have the two people play on one map as you narrate whats going on. By the third round the spectators will have a feel for how to play. During the demo realize you won't get to play. You will have to answer all the questions and judge the other games. It very rewarding seeing and having new players intreasted in the game. Our club averages at least one new person a week that learns to play. So much that on our meeting days we have a consistant 12 or more players playing scape. Please feel free to ask me any more questions. We are also doing a heroscape demo out of town at another game store on Sept 25th. We have invited the other local scapers to come out and show their support. Its good for the community and the FLAGS.

Pete
GG Games President

[xraine69]

It would be nice if our resident, premier tourney organizer could put together a nice guide for us amateurs.:ponder: Ry?

[Duker]

[quote=Duker;1197835]Hi all. Sometime in the near future I volunteered to run a demo of heroscape for some kids in my college gaming club. I checked in this thread for some tips on how to run a demo but its geared a little more towards tournaments. Can someone help me out as to what I should try to do with this demo and what maps, figures and scenarios I should use.

A list of what I own

We have taught many people how to play. I don't think which maps and which figures really matter. I first would have two people before hand already know how to play. They need to have a general idea how to play before teaching a group. You should not be one of the two people. The day of the demo set up about 3 maps depending on the number of people in the club. Then have the two people play on one map as you narrate whats going on. By the third round the spectators will have a feel for how to play. During the demo realize you won't get to play. You will have to answer all the questions and judge the other games. It very rewarding seeing and having new players intreasted in the game. Our club averages at least one new person a week that learns to play. So much that on our meeting days we have a consistant 12 or more players playing scape. Please feel free to ask me any more questions. We are also doing a heroscape demo out of town at another game store on Sept 25th. We have invited the other local scapers to come out and show their support. Its good for the community and the FLAGS.

Pete
GG Games President

Thanks for the help Pete. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be playing but thats okay as long as I help generate some interest in the game. I will let you know if I have any questions when they come up.

[Syvaris with maro]

Can we organize one in Wylie Texas USA or at least in a nearbye city? Wylie is in Dallas/fort worth area.

[Dad_Scaper]

Can we organize one in Wylie Texas USA or at least in a nearbye city? Wylie is in Dallas/fort worth area.
You have one of the country's real hotbeds of 'Scape in the DFW area. Keep an eye out in the "Events" forum, and I bet they have a thread in the "Meet Other Scapers" section, too.

Welcome to the board and happy 'Scaping. You are doing the exact right thing looking to play with those guys and you're lucky to have a chance.

edit: The Texas player's thread (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=72). I don't know your age, but maybe you would be a good match for TMac. A recent DFW event (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=37468).

[Rÿchean]

Can we organize one in Wylie Texas USA or at least in a nearby city? Wylie is in Dallas/fort worth area.

Plano close enough? We do events at Madness Games & Comics (http://www.madnessgames.com/Madness.html") in Plano TX, 2-4 times a year or more.

I am currently considering an event for early December, but haven't lined it up yet. I will talk with my guys tonight and we may have an event by 12/10 or 12/11 of this year. If so I will drop you a PM.

[LightBringer]

Yeah! Do please get on that. My holiday calender is filling up, but I would love to include a 'scape tourney. I need to get my name on that trophy again. That last time was 2007. Its been too long.