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The Tournament System uses a non-elimination format, also called a Swiss-system tournament. In this kind of competition each player meets one-to-one in each round and is paired using a predetermined set of rules designed to ensure everyone gets a good game against an equal opponent.
In the first round players are paired randomly. In subsequent rounds player are ranked by their cumulative score and 1st place plays 2nd, 3rd plays 4th and so on. Players cannot be drawn against the same opponent twice so the draw is adjusted to prevent this. If there are an odd number of player, the player in last place will have no opponent and gets awarded a win or BYE. A BYE will get you almost a maximum score so you do not get penalized for having no opponent.
The winner is the player with the highest aggregate points earned in all rounds.
Games must be finished before the round end time, which is shown on the details page for a tournament. Usually this is 30 minutes before the next round is due to start but custom tournaments can change this. If neither player has claimed victory before the time runs out, we adjust the scores based on how much time each player took to play their turns. The aim of this adjustment is to prevent stalling tactics where a player sees they are in a bad situation and stops playing and waits for the game to time out. Players who do this will get a points penalty and in extreme cases may be withdrawn from the tournament and dropped from the draw for the next round, so it is in the player's interest to play turns as quickly as possible. Fundamentally the less turns you play the bigger your penalty will be!
On the tournaments page you'll find a list of all upcoming, ongoing and completed tournaments, and stats about each (how many rounds, players, start date, current score, draw etc).
To participate just click on the green Join button on an upcoming tournament. You cannot join a tournament that has already started. When the tournament kicks off you will be paired with another player and receive an email to let you know the game has begun. Most tournaments will be paired games, which means you get to play a single scenario from both sides. The winner is the one with the best combined score from playing both sides.
To play your games just run the game and access multiplayer as you would for a normal multiplayer game. You'll see your tournament games in your games list. Make sure you know how long each round lasts as this will determine how much time you have to play. It's a bit like a chess clock and you're allocated an amount of time. While it is your turn your time counts down. While it is your opponents turn their time counts down. If you run out of time you will receive a score penalty. Players who are inactive will be removed from the draw so as not to spoil future rounds for other players. The timer is required to keep the tournament on track and ensure all games are completed by the time the next round is due to start.
The results of your games are reported automatically to the tournament system and you'll see the page update as you play with interim scores. You can also see the results of all the other games in your tournament.
That's about it - just join in and have fun!
You must be 12 years of age or older to participate in a tournament. Admission to the tournament is at the sole discretion of Slitherine. Slitherine's decision on all matters relating to the digital tournament is final. Entry to the tournament denotes acceptance of the rules.
Whatever happens in the game counts. If there is a bug or result you did not expect that causes some advantage or disadvantage, you must accept this. Any issues encountered will be investigated and we will attempt to resolve these for the future. However this will not affect the results of the game.
Tampering with script or core files is absolutely forbidden in the version used to play the tournament. The organisers will be monitoring this and anyone found to have done so will be disqualified immediately and may be banned from future tournaments or multiplayer completely.
In the event of any disagreements Slitherine's decision is final and irrevocable.
