People have asked me, "How do you run tournaments? Aren't they hard to organize? Don't they have to have lots of people in them?" and my answer is, "NO! Tournaments are EASY to organize and run!"

Small, medium, and large tournaments are all pretty much the same--just more people. If you are interested in organizing tournaments, you really only need three simple things: players, prizes, and a way to keep score.

The number of players you have determinies the type of tournament you run. Starting off with small tournaments is the best way for anyone wanting to learn how to organize and run tournaments to start. Small tournaments are easier to manage, and less likely to make your bloodpressure shoot through the roof.

If you have 8 players, or less, it is a good idea to set up a tournament "season." A season is a set number of weeks that the tournaments will run, usually 6 or 8 weeks. Have the tournaments on a specific day and time, like Saturdays from 4-6 pm, and try to have them at the same place. That way, people can plan to attend each week. At the end of the season, prizes can be awarded based on who won the most games total, who won the second most, third most, who improved the most over the "season" and who had the best sportsmanship etc. Since you're the organizer, you get to decide.

As prizes, what I usually do is have each player buy 2 booster packs, which they buy and turn in to me before the play begins. I then open HALF the packs, and the winner gets all the Rare Pokemon, the 2nd place person all the uncommon Pokemon and the 3rd place person gets the common Pokemon. "Consolation prizes" can be trainer cards that are held back until everyone has a prize, and then the rest can be divided equally among the players. This way, everyone leaves with a prize =) The second pack is set aside as prizes for the end of the season.

If you have under 8 players, you might find that you'd do best to play a round robin type of tournament... in this type of tournament, every person plays every other person. The winners are the persons with the most wins. In Table 1.1 , you can see how people can be paired. (person 1 can't play himself, and if 1 plays 2, that's the same as if 2 plays 1.) Recording who wins in table 1.2 clearly shows who has the most wins. Player 3 Won 3 games, which makes him first place, player 2 won 2 games and he comes in 2nd, while player 1 came in 3rd. Player 4, who didn't win any games came in last. I try to make sure that every player gets a prize, even if they did poorly, as it will encourage them to come back and participte next time.

Table 1.1  4          3          2          1            1  2  3  4

Table 1.2  4  2  2  3    3  3  3      2  1        1            1  2  3  4

If you are running a "Season" then the players total number of games won would be posted along with thier name--so that the players can see where they stand. In this example, the standings at the end of week 1 might look like this:

This setup works for anywhere between 3 and 8 players. If you have 8 or more players, you might consider contacting a local card store or hobby shop, as 8 players is all you need to sanction a tournament through DCI. Your local card shop will have more information on how to sanction DCI tournaments, or you can contact DCI by emailing DCI@wizards.com.

Organizing and playing in small tournaments will prepare you for organizing and playing in big tournaments. Small tourneys will help you to hone your playing abilities, your deck, and help you learn the basicics of good tournament ettiquite and fair gameplay--and after all, we play this game for fun, right? ThePokemonLady@aol.com