Having finally run my first DBM tournament, I have concluded that some changes should be made to my previous suggestions for tournament formats. While DBA tournaments have run quite well using the double-elimination format, I found in running a DBM tourney that my original suggestion of the modified double-elim was inconsistent with players behavior in a tournament. I originally thought that players could complete five rounds in a day. This sadly overestimated the player's speed of play. While most games concluded within two to three hours, there were a few who took almost four, and a couple that could have gone over that! The tournament I ran at TwisterCon in Oklahoma City in March consisted of four rounds. Three on Saturday and one Sunday morning. What I did not anticipate was players losing interest in competing when knocked out of any chance to place well in the tourney. After defeats in the first two rounds Saturday, most were ready to drop out and play something else. None were interested in continuing or competing in consolation rounds. Of those that played on, one pair was fighting for the title as the undefeated tournament winner, the other three were vying for second place. With these realities of tournament competition staring me in the face, I concluded that the format should be modified. Rather than confine the players to eight-player pools, sixteen or thirty-two can compete in a modified double-elimination knock-out format. In the chart below, I have sixteen players. If more than sixteen sign up, some will have to play as teams unless there are enough tables, and there are enough players to make the thirty-two chart workable. Armies are 325 points, which 1'vc been told, NASM\V is trying to make the standard, so I'll cooperate. Players advance on the win or loss side of the chart. Those losing their first battle in the second , or third round are shifted to another put of the chart so they don't play the same person again. The winner will be undefeated -- not just the player with the most points. In this way thc tournament awards the title to the victor, and not someone who just got lucky enough to face a number of unskilled or unlucky opponents. You must actually beat the player's who are the toughest opponents. Second place will be based on points as there will be four players with one defeat, and not enough resources to allow them to fight over their positions. Fourth place is a consolation point for one of the three players with two defeats and two victories, also going to the player with the most points. For thirty-two players, a fifth round is required I believe organizers should be able to extrapolate from the chart presented. Those who lose two battles are out of the competition entirely, it being presumed that they will have lost interest in competing, so why push them into playing more when they will do so only half-heartedly? I hope players and organizers find this useful and enjoyable. Back to Saga #50 Table of Contents Back to Saga List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Terry Gore This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com