There’s a certain panic that sets in if the guy who beat you last week has the same exact record as you do tonight at chess night. Five wins, one draw, and two losses. The spreadsheet can’t tell you who should of been higher. So this is where ladder management gets philosophical instead of mathematical. … Read more

As time ticks down to the last cut line, we’re all wondering where we stand, and the atmosphere get tense in the game store. Challengers encircle you like vultures. Defenses stack up. The math isn’t so easy any longer. It’s not just simple arithmetic any longer, it’s a point threshold and tiebreaker hierarchy puzzle, and … Read more

Solkoff is basically a way to figure out how difficult your section was and compare two people’s sections if they each ended up tied at the end of the event, say after 5 rounds. They has the same score on paper, but maybe one person won against a bunch of weak opponents where the other … Read more

This is a different kind of panic. It hits when you realize that you’ve got a broken bracket before the tournament even begins. You’re running a board game competition with 16 players, but you only has four tables available. Running it in a normal single-elimination fashion means half your field departs by the end of … Read more

That’s the sort of panic that comes from having a board game tournament that isn’t large enough for a convention center, but too large for living room. Thirty-two players, four tables, everyone want to do Commander. What happens? How many rounds of this thing are going to happen on a Saturday afternoon? Enter the free … Read more

This is a lesson learned by every organizer, precisely one time. This is typically on a Tuesday when a match extend past its posted conclusion time by half an hour. Players wrap up their current game as you look down at your clipboard. Opponents for the next round wait impatiently. Why’s everyone so late? No … Read more

Fifteen minutes can be the difference between an unforgettable tournament and a crazy, disorganized Friday night. Games is set up, tables are waiting, and players are in place, but there is no schedule. When do we post the standings? Do they eat lunch before or after? Who’s finished with their last round when it’s time … Read more