Auto-tournaments

#### Types

Currently all AutoTournaments are Elimination, meaning that players get allocated opponents in each round and play a series of games against those same opponents. When the round ends a certain number of players will progress based on results. Once eliminated from a round there is no second chance.

#### Players

Each Tournament is configured for a certain number of players and will start after that many players have joined. Auto Tournaments are initiated by background processing on an hourly basis.

#### Games

Auto Tournaments can involve every possible type of games, with the
exception of Team Games and Bot Games. These are being considered for future integration. Some Tournaments may use the same game settings throughout, others may change the settings, or choose random settings.

#### Schedule

An automated may have a scheduled start time, which will be indicated in Conquer Club Time (CCT). The tournament will not start before this time. If the tournament is full at the scheduled time, it will start. If it is not full, it will revert to being an unscheduled Auto Tournament. If the tournament is a Speed Auto Tournament you should plan to be online at the scheduled time or your games will start without you.

#### Entry Rules

Tournaments can have a variety of entry rules to restrict entry to different types of players. They may be restricted based on Membership Type, Score, Rank, Games Played, and more. The Entry Rules are applied
at the time of joining the Tournament. Note that it is possible that after joining the Tournament player may stop meeting the Entry Rules,
however the Entry Rules are only applied upon joining.

In addition to the Entry Rules of the specific Tournament, if you do not qualify for the type or quantity of games being played at the time of joining, then you will not be allowed to join. If you join a Tournament legitimately then become unqualified for some of its games before it starts, or while it is running, then when a new round starts you will be precluded from entering any of those games you are not qualified for. Those games will be played with 1 less player or awarded to the remaining player if only 1 player remains.

#### Entry Price

Tournaments can have a price for entry that may be a combination of Inventory items or Credits. Any such price will be withdrawn from your player account upon joining. Any entry cost is refunded if you unjoin the tournament.

#### Rounds

* Tournaments proceed in a series of 1 or more rounds.
* Each round has its own rules for Draw Type, Game Settings, how many games each player plays and how many players progress to the next round.
* After each round players are eliminated according to the scoring system described below. Each round allows a certain number of players to progress based on their ranked Scores after all games are complete.
* The next round will start when every game from the proceeding round is completed. Players not qualifying for the next round will be eliminated.

#### Scoring

By default scoring is based on number of Game Wins over the entire tournament. However, individual Rounds may Reset the scores, so that the scoring will begin again from that round. When the first round of the Tournament is seeded by score, the player's score at time of joining the tournament is used in that round only.

Ties in Score shall be broken by the following rules, applied in order:

* Percentage of wins in the tournament as a whole
* The cumulative number of Game rounds required to win the games they have won in the tournament (since the last point reset, or the start of the tournament if no point reset has occurred). Note: winning in less rounds is better.
* The order in which the player joined the tournament (first player to join wins)

#### Draw

Matchups for each Round can be:

* **Seeded by Score**: Players are ranked in order of their Score, which will be their Player Score in Round 1, then their Tournament Score in subsequent Rounds. Tournament Score is based on the number of game wins in the Tournament. Ranked players are then matched using a simple algorithm. For example in a 4 Player Round the matchups would be: Seed 1 v Seed 4 and Seed 2 v Seed 3.
* **Random**: Players are matched up randomly.

#### Play Order

When each game is generated the Play Order is randomized.

#### Prizes

Prizes may be issued for Auto Tournament wins after the Tournament is completed. Every game must be completed before prizes are issued, even if the winner is already decided from the completed games. There are currently the following types of prizes:

* **Medals**: A Conquer Club Medal, usually a Tournament Achievement Medal.
* **Credits**: Conquer Credits.
* **Entries**: Entry to other Conquer Club events such as The Championships, The Conquer Cup or Community Run Tournaments.
* **Inventory**: Conquer Stars and other items of inventory.

#### Automation

Some things for Auto Tournaments are updated as they happen, for example Scores changing. Major Tournament transitions in regular (non-speed) Tournaments such as Rounds starting and ending, the Tournament ending, and prizes being issued are handled by background processing that
generally runs hourly. A few things, such as prizes for Entry to certain events, may be handled manually at a later time.