How to host a tournament

So, you want to create, host, and run a tournament? But, you’re nervous and not quite sure how to do it? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Running a tournament on Conquer Club is a whole lot of fun, a great way to meet new players, and provides a perfect outlet for the competitive beast in all of us. Not to mention that it’s guaranteed entertainment when you are bored at work.

This trusty set of step-by-step guidelines will provide the perfect source for “one-stop-shopping” on how to build, host, and run your own tournament from beginning to end. Until you are familiar with the process, my advice would be to print this out before you begin. That way, it will be in front of you as you go through the process.

Let’s get started.

1. If you want, you can have a theme to your tournament. This is where you can be really creative. The best resource for theme ideas, if you choose to have one, is to look at actual themes that have been used in the past. You can get some great ideas from seeing what other people have done. Or, you can come with something completely original. Or, you don’t have to have any theme at all. It’s up to you.
2. Next, you will need to give your tournament a name. It can be based on the theme (if you have one) or it can just be called “Joe’s Knucklehead Tournament.” The sky’s the limit!
3. Now you have to decide the details of the Tournament and how it will be set up. For this you will need to decide upon all settings for the games and list them in the tournament thread. The settings are:
	* Number of entrants (keep in mind, it should work out evenly all the way to the end).
	* Map
	* Game Type
	* Play Order
	* Troop Deployment
	* Spoils
	* Reinforcements
	* Special Gameplay (Fog of War and Trench)
	* You will need to keep in mind several minimum requirements that must be observed in order for your tournament to be considered a public tournament. (Effective 04.12.10)
4. All tournaments must have at least the following amount of participants:
	* 1v1 and Singles Tournaments: 16 players
	* Team Tournaments: 8 teams (no more than 12 players per team; Added June 16, 2011)
	* The maximum point restriction allowed on a tournament is 2000+ points per player or team average.
	* The tournament format must cause the eventual winner to play at least 3 games.
	* The tournament must list all settings.
	* All players must be given at least 24 hours to join their games, unless the tournament uses speed games (at least 48 hours is preferred).
	* At least 50% of the spots must be for open/public sign-ups and not filled with special invitations; every player or one person from every team must post in the thread to enroll.
	* All players must be listed in the tournament thread in order to receive tournament privileges.
	* Each tournament should be designed to end within 1 year. (Added June 16, 2011)
	* Each organizer can have only 4 tournaments recruiting players at once (has NO effect on ongoing tournaments or reserves threads).
	* The Tournament Directors reserve the right to deny privileges for your tournament if the tournament is deemed to break site or tournament rules, has an unfair structure, or has pertinent settings missing from the tournament description.
	* If you wish to run a tournament based upon an actual sports league or another well-designed format, and it requires you to have less than the minimum amount of participants or games, please contact the Create/Join Director to discuss a possible exemption.
5. Now that you have all the details of the Tournament established, all you need now are some players. For this, you need to create a thread in the Create/Join a Tournament section of the forums letting everyone know that you are looking for people to sign up. Most people will respond right there in the same thread, but you might receive a few PM’s as well. Either way, keep track of it in the order in which you receive players.

It’s also good to let the players know what their status is. In other words, let them know if they are in or not, or reserves, etc. You can do this by affirmatively responding to their posts with a new post of your own, or by listing entrants as they join on your original post by clicking “edit,” and then making the updates.

Once you have received enough players to fill your tournament, I strongly suggest that you accept some reserves (2-5 depending on the size of your tourney) just in case someone drops out or deadbeats. Hopefully you won’t need them, but it can save you big headaches down the line.

Once your tournament is full, please designate as such. You can do this by “editing” your original subject line and writing “FULL” at the end of it. Your thread will be moved after you request your privileges.

Note: Your tournament needs to be filled and started within 30 days of posting it. This is to keep the Create/Join a Tournament fresh with new tournaments, and saves you the hassle of having to find new players if some of the early sign-ups forget about the tournament. Some leeway is given, but don't abuse it. If you need help finding players, contact another organizer or a Tournament Director.
6. Now that you have enough players to run a public tourney, you must get “Tournament Privileges.” Most of the time these will be given to you soon after your tournament is marked as [Full] in the thread title. If your tournament has not been added to the database as Open or has not been moved to Ongoing after a couple of days, simply fill out the below form and PM it to one of the Tournament Directors. You can also use this form to update the data for your tournament or for rescuing tournaments.
	* Tournament Title: Put the name of your Tournament here. Make sure you use proper spelling and capitalization, because what you send us will be the label for your games. You cannot use the same title as a previous tournament.
	* Tournament Type: Pick the ONE most important option to describe your tournament: Standard, Terminator, Assassin, Doubles, Triples, Quadruples, Fog of War, Manual Initial Troops, Sports League, Large Team, Mixed (mixed game types like doubles then singles).
	* Tournament Topic: Copy/Paste the link to your Tourney thread here. Make sure it's clickable so we can get to the thread.
	* Tournament Organizer: Put the Tourney organizer name here (co-organizers will only receive privileges/medals on a case-by-case basis as determined by the Director if the tournament is sufficiently large in number of players and/or games played).
	* Comments: If you have any comments or questions, put them here.
	* Now we have to create the games. The number of games to be created will be dependent on how many people are in your tournament and how many players you wish to be at each game. For example, if you are running a 64 person tournament, you could have 4 players in 16 games. This would require you to create 16 games. Or if you are running a 20 person, head-to-head tournament, you would have 2 players in 10 games.

	To create the games, go to “Start a Game,” scroll to the selected tournament name, decide upon a password for each of the games, and fill out the details that you decided upon in Step #3. You can also add a descriptive Game Label that will follow your tournament title. You will have to go through this process for each game you need. Like the example above, you would need to create 16 games for a 64 person tournament, and repeat the process 16 times. Sounds like a lot, but it’s a piece of cake once you get the hang to it.

	Again, I strongly recommend you write down each of the game numbers and passwords you use. You will need to remember them when you send out game assignments to your tournament participants.
7. Now simply assign your participants their game numbers and individually PM them along with passwords (that you make up) to get into each game. Hopefully, they will all join in a reasonable amount of time and you can sit back and enjoy the show.

Sometimes, you will get people that just don’t join the games, change their minds, disappear, or whatever. This is where the “reserves” (see Step #4) can save your butt and keep you from looking foolish. Simply PM one of the reserves and let them know that they are “in” and give them the table number and password of the person they are replacing.
8. Congratulations, the hard part is over!!!! Now, just simply keep track of all the games. I like to post each of the Game Numbers and all Tournament updates in my original post. It gives your participants a place to check the tourney status and keeps them involved. I also like to post the round-by-round winners so players can “scout” possible upcoming opponents.
9. As games end, request that the winner of each game send you either a post on the thread, or a PM letting you know of the results. This will allow you to keep track of the tournaments’ progress and set the brackets and match ups for the upcoming rounds.
10. Finally, congratulate the winner publicly. There is no greater feeling than having your victory posted for all to see. And, why not…they fought hard and earned it. They should be rewarded with a little bit of “spotlight.” Also, it will keep people interested in joining future tournaments you might host as well.
11. The staff at Conquer Club like to keep things as user-friendly as possible. One way we are able to do this is to literally move tournaments, based upon the status of each.

So, once your tournament is full and under way, please type "Full" or "Ongoing" in the Subject line of your original post. This signals the CC staff to move your tournament to the Ongoing SubForum (after you request privileges). Likewise, when your tournament has concluded please type, "Completed" or "Winner: \_\_\_\_\_\_," in the same Subject line. This, in turn, will signal CC staff to move the tournament into the "Completed" SubForum.

And don't worry about not being able to find your tourney once it's moved. We always leave a "shadow" directing you to it's new home.
12. Sometimes things arise unexpectedly that are out of our control. It happens. If this should happen while you are in the midst of hosting a tournament, no worries. You may pass the torch to someone else to continue running the tournament in your absence. Just send a PM to one of the Tournament Directors letting us know who your replacement will be. Also, have your replacement send us a PM, with the above mentioned completed form, and we will grant them Tourney Privileges so that they may continue running the tourney. You can find detailed instructions in our Rescued Tournaments Policy.

You may, if you so choose, offer a real prize of a Conquer Club membership to the winner(s). If you do this, Conquer Club will generously match 100% whatever prize you offer. You may distribute the matched membership, in 3 month or larger segments, however you wish to your winner(s) or for a future tournament. For more details, check out the Premium Prize Policy.

That’s about it. My best piece of advice is to stay organized! It will make hosting your own tournament incredibly easy and possibly save you from looking silly. And, most of all have fun.

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, as you go through it, feel free to contact any one of the Tournament Directors. That’s what they are here for…to help you have fun.