FSX2017 Qualifier Tournaments

Hey guys! This doesn’t exactly fit into the Codex or Yomi forums so I decided to put it here in GD.

So starting early next year we want to do some official events for Codex and Yomi that act as qualifiers for Fantasy Strike Expo in June. Basically the winner of these events (and probably the runner-up as well) would clinch a spot in the final bracket at FSX, though FSX itself would host a “last-chance” tournament so you could make it to grand finals in either event even if you didn’t qualify at other events.

To make this happen, we’re gonna need some volunteers around the world to host qualifier events, and we should start planning these things now to make sure they run smoothly!

First things first, we should decide how many and where these events should take place. If you are interested in helping run a qualifier tournament in your area and/or you think that there is a large concentration of players who’d be willing to make it out to your event, post in this thread so we can start brainstorming ideas.

I know we can definitely get a Southern California event rolling in the LA area; lots of Codex players (and damn near all of Fox’s Den) live down here so that one’s almost a given. Where else, though? Ohio Yomi scene? UK? Germany? Let’s figure this out together!

After we figure this stuff out about IRL events, we can make decisions about online qualifiers, so don’t worry about or post about those just yet.

Keep in mind, the prime goal of winning one of these qualifier tournaments is that you’d be winning a spot in the Grand Tournament at FSX in San Francisco in June, so any sort of tournament system we do should keep that goal in mind. I don’t think we’d be able to front a prize pool that allows the winner to fly out to play for free, but maybe some of these tournaments can get big enough to merit an entry fee and a prize pool themselves? I don’t know; that’s what this thread is for! Give us your ideas and let’s see what we can make happen!

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I’m wondering if players who have had their account banned from Sirlin Games are allowed to participate. Asking for ntil— uhmmmmm I’m just curious.

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I know of a few people here in MN that play, and while I’m not a pro tournament organizer I have run events in the past. I would at least entertain the idea of running a Codex event here in the Spring, so long as it wouldn’t disqualify me from participating (not that I’d be likely to win, but I’d want to play at least ^_^).

Format-wise, I would think x rounds of swiss followed by a top x% single-elim bracket would make sense? X sort of depends on how many players show up yeah?

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Yeah, that’s typically what we’ve done at FSX: 6 rounds of Swiss, cut to top 2, then have a Grand Final. It definitely depends on how many players show up.

How about a requirement for chess clocks for Codex?

Also, are we only talking about Yomi & Codex? No Puzzle strike?

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The first thing we should figure out is which 4 places across the US would be good locations. Ideally spread out. Southern California can be one. Is there enough interest to have on in MN? in Ohio? In New York or Boston? Let us know and if you’d be able to run the events in your area.

This is not to say international should be excluded. Nor is it to say 4 events is a hard cap. But at the very least, we should figure out the 4 locations across the US that would be best to hold events in, with the goal of those winners attending Fantasy Strike Expo 2017 in June in San Francisco. If we can figure out that much, we can then discuss if any more events (either in the US or outside of it) should be added to the schedule.

Tournament organizers should be allowed to enter imo. Just be sure to uphold a high standard of fairness.

Codex tournaments should use chess clocks.

All tournaments should probably be swiss with cut to top X. For guidelines on how many rounds of swiss you need, which depends both on number of players AND now the size of single elim bracket you cut to, refer to this document.

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I had to look up where MN was, and get this, I live there. I’d be down to help organize, host, or set up a tournament for games here in MN, and I would compete too, if need be.

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You live in Minnesota and have not seen it referred to by its postal abbreviation code? :thinking:

What is FSX, exactly?

Yeah that’s me.

Short for Fantasy Strike Expo. It’s a convention hosted by David Sirlin once a year in June in San Francisco where many many many hours of Yomi, Codex, Fantasy Strike Fighting Game, and other games that people bring are played. It’s a crazy amount of fun.

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You might consider aiming to have a qualifier event in the SF Bay Area itself.

It would mean a second event in California, yet still with considerable distance between them, and since that will be the location of the final event, having a free(?) qualifier tournament might boost attendance to the main event later.

Why? Because a lower commitment event might help entice potential local players who could easily get to FSX if only they were willing to make the commitment by getting them comfortable with the idea of playing Yomi at a tournament. Especially if they have fun.

I’m thinking of not just the hardcore local players who already show up to FSX and could maybe serve as a healthy baseline for attendance, but also more low-key local players I’ve run into over the years at local board game events who just don’t really consider themselves hardcore enough to enter FSX but could probably be persuaded. When the game was newer there were even a few ocal tournaments in the Bay Area populated and run by players who didn’t play online.

Unfortunately, I’ve been much more disconnected from the local board gaming community lately and have zero experience running a tournament so I’m not really volunteering to jump start this all by myself at this time, but just planting the seed because I think there is potential. But if the idea is liked then I might be able to help a bit more and have some more suggestions.

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I’d be happy to run a Codex event in or near Virginia. I can’t promise any attendance though (I still need to build my local scene, which will begin in earnest now that I finally have my deluxe set).

If someone else thought they could assemble a sizable body of players somewhere in my region, I’d potentially judge/TO for them.

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Is this still a thing? If online Codex is going to have a qualifier, it would be good to know sooner rather than later.

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After much deliberation, I’ve determined that there aren’t large enough pockets of players to warrant several Codex tournaments in the US just yet. The game is still very young, and we hope to see its competitive scene grow even farther in the future, but as for right now it’s still just us, the faithful Sirlin Games community who are taking the time to become serious competitors in this game.

As a result we won’t be having multiple qualifier tournaments this year, but instead hope to focus on making FSX as great as possible. We hope you all attend our expo in June and compete against the best Yomi, Codex, and Fantasy Strike players in the realm!

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