What do you look for in a good tournament?

[General_Norris]

Some friends of mine and I run a cultural organization centered on competitive gaming, among other things. Given the lack of tourneys in our area and the incompetence of other organizations we decided to set up some tourneys in the future.

However I do not have a lot of experience on the topic and thus I thought that asking you, Smogoners, about what a player may like in a tournament was a good idea. I know the basics, Smogon banlist, clauses, etc.

First of all, what would most prefer? Doubles or single? It seems to me that less players have a decent doubles team and it's easier to get swept without any fun in doubles as it's a faster format.

As prizes we have thought about giving out plushes and pokemon toys. Everyone who is going to play or win already has the games so it seems a good choice. Everyone loves to take a plush home.

Any differences I should be aware between PBR and the DS games other than Rotom-A is not avalible?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Proboscidea]

I prefer doubles. I actually started real battling at doubles. It's tough at first but you learn fast. Building a team is much different from singles and many Pokemon are different between the two. When I went to try out singles, I saw where Skarmory was in the tiers and though "Skarmory is considered good?! O.O" Most people who start battling at singles have a hard time adapting to the doubles environment so it's harder for them to enjoy. They're also used to using certain Pokemon that are good in singles but aren't the best in doubles (vice-versa) so it can really be a problem for many people.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

It's best to just get a feel for the type of modes/rules your particular community prefers to use and go with that. Fall back on Smogon rules for any unknowns because it's more or less the standard for the English-speaking Pokecommunity at large as far as I can tell.

I've come to loathe single battles over time. The centralization around entry hazards and the willingness of too many players to ban any Pokemon that are difficult to counter have killed my interest in the standard metagame. Double battles don't really have those problems, though I know my preferences are in the minority.

You could try giving out rare/valuable Pokemon (event pokes, RNG'd pokes, etc) as prizes in addition to the other stuff you listed.

Any differences I should be aware between PBR and the DS games other than Rotom-A is not avalible?

PBR uses Diamond/Pearl gameplay rules, not Platinum/HGSS. I think the only difference between PBR and D/P is that PBR doesn't have the Thunder/Blizzard hitting through Protect in weather glitch, but there may be more.

 

[Proboscidea]

Mini-Wobbuffet plushies are always fun!

 

[Unbreakable]

Most tournaments I've seen that become successful do so by incorporating special rules (or in the case of StreetPKMN, a lack thereof) or otherwise altering the generally accepted rule set. Tournaments such as these gain at least some of their flavor (and therefore, garner attention) precisely because they're different from what you usually see.

Whether you choose to run singles or doubles is irrelevant; I think the real trick to making a tournament work is to give potential players a fresh challenge. Even something as simple as adding the Item Clause (every Pokemon on a team must hold different items) could transform what would otherwise be a bog standard tournament into something unusual, challenging, and fun.

 

[Vratix]

Also, I don't see why you couldn't feasibly run a singles and a doubles bracket at different points during the day. Most people are going to assume that the tourney will last the better part of the day anyway so why not run them as separate things?

Though yes everyone has the game I still am not sure I would suggest a plush prize. If you want to attract a lot of people you almost need some sort of cash prize. Why not charge per entry ($7 to enter the singles bracket and $5 to enter doubles or vice versa) and offer 30-35% to first place, 20-25% to second and 10-15% for third? You still make money, some money, and offering a cash prize and finding a good medium to get the word out could turn that 11-man tournament into a 36 man tournament.

 

[Revolution.Z]

I think you should start from basics. Host a normal 6v6 singles battle with all the common clauses, ban list etc. then work from there. Prizes isn't an issue I never enter a tournament just to win the prize I think that defeats the whole purpose. I enter a tourney for fun and times to remember and I think that's what you have to capture. Try make the tourney as fun as possible!


Good Luck!

 

[General_Norris]

Fall back on Smogon rules for any unknowns because it's more or less the standard for the English-speaking Pokecommunity at large as far as I can tell.

It's also the standard for Spanish-speaking communities but they ones who tend to make tournaments are the kind to change tiers and bans without any kind of proof or reasoning. Like "Dude, Alakazam is really good, those Smogon guys are idiots because it should be at least OU!". And they put Alakazam into OU even if nobody uses it.

Fortunatedly most players know this and want Smogon rules. Last tournament Wynaut was allowed but the players decided not to play it because it would ruin the tournament.

You could try giving out rare/valuable Pokemon (event pokes, RNG'd pokes, etc) as prizes in addition to the other stuff you listed.

Seems a good idea. We will consider it.

Also, I don't see why you couldn't feasibly run a singles and a doubles bracket at different points during the day. Most people are going to assume that the tourney will last the better part of the day anyway so why not run them as separate things?

We have a lot of other activities including a RBY tournament and we think that's enough pokémon. We have other activities and guests prefer to roam and visit everything than to spend all day long in the same stand.

Though yes everyone has the game I still am not sure I would suggest a plush prize. If you want to attract a lot of people you almost need some sort of cash prize.

Giving out a money prize is illegal where I live so we can't. We also don't think that giving money has an impact as good as goodies (Pun not intended) or gives the imagine we want to give to our organization.

In our experience with other games like SSBB money as a prize has no big impact, the players who win money instead of goodies are not as happy as they are if they win something tangible.

More importantly, if you win money and you tell your friends they may congratulate you and that's it. If you go to them with a plush they are going to want to hug it. If someone else wins and you tell your friends him winning money looks boring while him winning a plush isn't. There are lots of people who may not even have a game now but everyone played it back in RBY/GS and that will potentially give us more recognition.

Recognition matters, not only because pokémon but because we host other activities as well.

You will also burn your money while a goodie will remind you of the tournament forever (As you will not throw it out). Just picture your group of friends who don't play pokémon. What is going to create a more lasting effect?

Money doesn't attract more players. Our experience shows quite the contrary, the comp players will play anyway while the less experienced players prefer this kind of goodies.

And even then, other organizations around here do things like cashing 100 euro and giving out a crappy keychain to the winner and they kept players. This is the main reason why we are making this organization, to do things right and provide a good alternative.

However note that we are not going to run short of players, we have been around for quite a while and we think we will hit the 32 man mark pretty easily.


@On Special rules

There are almost no tournaments around here and the ones that exist then to be pretty bad. So I think providing a good, stable tournament is better than trying to diversify the field since we are going to be a bit alone.

@RBY Tournament

Since I didn't mention it the first time: We are going to set up two N64 and run Pokémon Stadium. You can bring your own cart or rent pokémon we have created (All the OU pokémon, most of the BL tier and some popular UU pokes). It may not be the best metagame but it will be fun and since they can just play we think we will get a sizable number of players.

 

[mintyfresh7]

I personally prefer single battles, but I've never really gotten into doubles.

I think the rules should depend on what skill level the participants are at. Like, if they are not Smogon battlers, you should try to ban the more difficult pokemon to obtain. This is just an example; rules that sort of even the playing field for everyone should be encouraged. As far as the tiers go, smogon does a good job with them (despite recent criticisms, lol), as we have nearly hundreds of people analyzing and balancing the tiers constantly. As I understand it, some other tiers are set up differently, so I'd look around before you settle on the rules.

On the RBY tournament, I think thats a fantastic idea! Me and my friends have planned to have a small RBY tournament this summer, as everyone thinks they were so good when they were younger. It should be a great time, and bring back some nostalgia.