Running a Tournament

In a broad sense, be aware that your decisions will be scrutinised and criticised to the nth degree. Don't be dispirited by this, even if after conducting several tournies you still get half a dozen forum posters bitching about this or that. This is inevitable - some users just love to snipe at you.

Having said that, it is imperative that you make the rules for your tournament as expresed in the group info as clear and concise as possible. Look at previous tournaments for a guide. The FUMBBL Cup 3, which was an adaptation of rules for the second cup, has undergone several adjustments to deal with problems that cropped up over the course of the tournament, so it's a good example. Changing the rules mid-stream is okay, as long as you're doing it to solve problems and not punishing anyone unduly.

In particular, the rules for misconduct and bannable offences (e.g. dropping games) have to be clear. One approach is to make the rules on paper very strict but more lax in application, which will negate whining from the offending players but might backfire when others accuse you of being soft. If you do have a rule for banning someone, make sure you include a warning structure so that the player can not say they were not alerted to the danger of their banning.

Finally, the most important thing about running a tournament: DON'T GIVE UP. Yes, it is time-consuming. It can be very frustrating. You will sometimes feel that you don't get the recognition you deserve for all the free time you put into it. But when it's all over you will get a real sense of achievement.

Now, for advice on individual tournament types.

• How to Run a Knockout Tournament?
• How to Run a Swiss Tournament?
• How to Run a Round-Robin Tournament?
• How to Run an Open Round-Robin Tournament?