Announcing the first ever Battleground Championship, to take place at Pandeomonium Books and Games
http://pandemoniumbooks.com/ in Cambridge, Massachusetts (very near Boston, and under a minute from the Central Square subway stop).
First Place:
$500 cash, a small "gold" medal, and a trophy! 
Second Place: $200 cash and a small "silver" medal.
Third Place: $100 cash and a small "bronze" medal. (The two people who lose the semifinals will play each other for this.)
Fourth Place: A free faction (or $30 off PW) and a dozen dice.
Endurance prize:
everybody who completes all rounds on Saturday gets a personalized, one-weekend-only coupon to get any Battleground faction (except Punic Wars) for $20, or $10 off Punic Wars. So basically you get your $10 entry fee back in savings if you buy a new faction.
A small "gold" medal, a free faction (or one box of PW) and a dozen dice (Table dice which will have been used at that point) to the new/casual player with the best record.
A small "silver" medal, a free deck (or $15 off a more expensive product, like Dark Elves or Punic Wars) and a dozen dice to the new/casual players with the 2nd best record.A small "bronze" medal and a free deck to the new/casual player with the 3rd best record.
A free deck to the new/casual player with the 4th best record.
There will probably be a finals match to determine best new/casual player: If one new/casual player makes it farther in the final rounds than any other, that person wins the gold--the 2nd and 3rd then play a game for the silver medal unless one made it farther than the other. If there's a 3-way tie, the two with the best records play for the gold / silver, while #3 gets the bronze.
--------------
To count as a new/casual player:
- You have never played in a Battleground tournament in which you won more games than you lost.
and
- You check off the box on your entry form that you wish to be eligible for new/casual player prizes.
--------------
I'm putting up the cash, and will be the judge (and not playing). Everyone, including people who helped design the game, is invited to play!
There will be a $10 entry fee, with the money going to Pandemonium.
On Saturday, April 30, sign ups start at 10:15 AM. The tournament play will start at 11:00 AM sharp and will go through Saturday evening. This will determine the final cut.
The finals (Either a final 4 or a final 8, depending on how many people show up) will happen on Sunday, May 1. People who did not make the finals are still welcome to come to the store and play casual games, or watch the final games, Sunday.
---------------
Tournament details.
Players must play
one faction the entire tournament, but may change the units in their armies each game.
Armies must be "pure" faction only:
no mercenaries. (And yes, that includes Healer Mages.) You may, however, play "Monsters and Mercenaries" as your faction.
The
Saturday games will vary in format: see below. In games with terrain, three pieces of terrain with be generated randomly, then each player gets to veto one of them.
All games will be win-loss, so the Breaking Point and Ticking Clock scenarios will have predetermined tie breakers to ensure that there is a winner, even if the "victory point" split would be 3-3.
The
Saturday games are round-robin with Swiss-pairings, those who have the best records go into the final rounds. It is
not single-elimination until the final rounds.
Dice will be provided at the tables for all players to use. With $ on the line we don't want accusations of loaded dice flying around.
All updated rules/errata will be used, as well as a small number of unofficial rules. A document with all relevant rules is at http://www.swa-gaming.org/files/battleground/BFWMasterErrata-Apr30Tourney.pdf Thanks Dave!
--------
10:15 AM - registration.
11:00 AM - start of round 1 - 2000 points, Breaking Point, Open Map.
Games completed & reported by 1:45. (I expect most games to finish much earlier than that, and folks to grab a bite to eat after this game.)
2:00 PM - start of round 2 - 1200 points, Breaking Point, Open (reduced) Map.
Games completed & reported by 3:30
3:45 PM - start of round 3 - 1500 points, Ticking Clock, Terrain
Games completed & reported by 6:45 (I expect most games to finish much earlier than that, and folks to grab a bite to eat after this game.)
7:15PM - start of round 4 - 2000 points, Ticking Clock, Terrain
Games completed and reported by 9:45.
Some players who go 2-2 will play a 5th round - 1100 points, Total Warfare, Open (reduced) Map -- see below. Anyone who goes 4-0 or 3-1 makes the final 8. (Unless turnout is so high that over 9 people do this, but I highly doubt that will be the case. [1] )
If there are X slots left in the final 8 after the 4-0s and 3-1s get their slots, then the top (as determined by opponent records) 2X players with 2-2 records who then play one last game vs. each other. People who win get into the final 8. Only people who go 2-2 have this option, and they must play and win a 5th game. (If there's an odd number of 2-2s who qualify, then I get someone who went 3-1 to volunteer to play one of them, but I doubt this will be the case.)
If fewer than 8 people make it into the final 8, then the people who placed highest on Saturday (based on opponent record) receive a "bye" in the quarterfinals.
Sunday schedule:
Quarterfinals (assuming we have them). 2000 points, terrain, Breaking Point.
Semifinals 2000 points, terrain, Ticking Clock.
Finals 2000 points, terrain, Total Warfare.
[1] If attendance is high enough that more than 8 people go either 4-0 or 3-1, then a sufficient number of 3-1s with the worst opponent records do a tiebreaker 5th round (as described above) in order to thin the herd down to a final 8.
