Our local play group seems to be very… non-competitive. We have tried to schedule a tournament and we were not able to get anyone to actually show up. This goes beyond that however as no one really seems to be willing to actually schedule or able to hammer down their schedule enough to actually play in an event type day.
As a compromise to the situation myself and one other who sort of try and spear head DT:R in the area are going to try and get a league going for the month of July. However, I do not want it to just be an tournament that is played out of a few weeks. I want to try and set up a system that encourages deck building and playing differently.
When I was a press-ganger for privateer press they would have leagues that while winning was most certainly the goal, you could maintain a healthy point total in the league by doing creative plays or playing with off lists or ones that were extremely flavorful. So, I’m seeing if I can come up with a point system that opens up the prize structure to all comers and will encourage people to build casually, but still play competitively.
Here is what I have come up with so far:
You can not qualify for more than one prize, and this list is being made without it being known who is going to play or what the prize support looks like.
I figure the prizes should be for:
Most overall league points: Whoever has the most league points at the end of the month gets the 1st place prize.
Best in faction: Each player will register 2 factions (Law Dogs, Morgan, etc.) and any league games they play must with decks using those two factions homes exclusively. The player with the most points that registered for each faction will get a prize.
Most Games: simply whoever played the most games.
Playing points: You must finish the game to a legal conclusion (have more control points than your opponents influence points, scoops earn you no points) for the points to be gained, and you can earn these points repeatedly.
Each game earns you 1 point per opponent in it (so a 2 player game is worth 1 point, 3 players is 2, etc).
Winning a game gets you 1 point
Achievement Points:
Achievement points can only be earned once and are meant to encourage different styles of deck building and play.
Having a shoot out occur where your stud rating is 10 or higher: 1 point.
Winning a game on the first sundown: 1 point
Winning a shootout with one dude in your posse who has a 0 bullet rating: 1 point
Having an natural (no jokers or card value/suit modification) dead mans hand in any draw hand: 2 points
Having a dude with an apparel, weapon, and horse at the same time: 1 point
Winning a shootout while revealing a rank 3 hand or lower: 1 point
Your entire starting posse is in town square at the same time: 1 point
Starting the first noon phase with negative income (upkeep higher than home GR generation): 1 point
Starting the first noon phase with your homes full income available: 1 point
Teaching someone new how to play the game: 2 points
Playing in a 4+ player game to completion: 1 point
Not failing on a single spell or gadget pull in one game: 1 point
This is a good idea. Our local scene does something similar. With fairly high success.
I would recommend against forcing players to stick with a particular faction or factions as I find that people will get burnt out and want to try something new or go back to something old. That being said i like the idea behind the prize breakdown you have suggested. Maybe have players record their factions on league sheets or whatever you happen to be using and at the end tally them up for the best in faction.
Our league does something similar to what you are trying to pin down. However we do themed leagues. For example, bicycle games are worth double game points for the next month. I would suggest coming up with pregame point increases rather than in game point increases. You have a few in there like “playing in a 4+ player game to completion” But i worry that a lot of the things in your list will result in trying to “game” for points. Where as something simple and easy to track like 4+ player games are worth more points than a normal game for a while. And then switch it to something else after a set amount of time. It will be less for you and others to keep track of. And will push all of your players to a common goal, which allows them to earn points playing fun variants of the game.
Need more crazy achivements!
Also give them cool names.
For example:
“I have strings on you” Puppet dude with printed grit 13 or more.
“He is in better world now” Fail teleportation of puppeted dude.
“I hope he is prepared enough” Have 8 or more gadjets on a single dude.
“Gomorra vanish” Finish game without a single dude on either side.
Not failing on a single spell or gadget pull in one game: 1 point
Also this is not very intresting. Despite the fact you can easily make a deck with high values only, you can just play desolation row and do not fail any pull due to their absence;)
You could mimic video game achievements and require a minimum # of skill pulls. (I’d say 5), so Finish a game without failing any skill pulls and you did at least 5. I suppose this opens up non spells/gadgets too, but those are typically one per turn.
Video game achievements with numeric values in them are the worst thing ever in the history of both video games and achievements. This is certainly not something worth mimicking =__=
The reason to create the spell and gadget achievement is to encourage the building of a deck that uses them even if they aren’t what they are focusing one in a faction. They are to encourage new decks.
I like the idea of names for achievements.
As for the registering for two factions for a league I really don’t want to get rid of that part of it. I am letting them register for two factions so they can have variety. There has to be some restrictions to what you can play.
Really, I think you have some great ideas here. The specifics should probably shake out as your group plays more, and they find out what makes the game fun for them.
If no one cares about a specific achievement, that’ll be how you know to drop it.
As for some other achievements:
“We can rebuild him…” Play a Dude on the same turn as a previous copy was aced or discarded (acing only for QUATERMAN or Pag so far).
“I think he shot himself!” Get in a shootout where the same Dude is on both sides, and both copies get discarded or aced.
(Faction specific Dude achievements)
“No no, I’m sure it’ll work this time…” Make at least three pulls with Elander Boldman’s (Non-XP) ability
“Everyone likes a bad boy” Get Fred Aims up to 10 or more influence.
“Philip Finds Trouble…and Lives!” Get Philip Swinford (either version) into a shootout on his own, and live through at least one round.
“Smiling Tom’s Day Off” Have Tom visit at least 4 in town deeds in one game.
Achievement Points:
Achievement points can only be earned once and are meant to encourage different styles of deck building and play.
“What a stud!” - Having a shoot out occur where your stud rating is 10 or higher: 1 point.
“The quick…” - Winning a game on the first sundown: 1 point
“… And the dead.” - Winning a shootout with one dude in your posse who has a 0 bullet rating: 1 point
“Bill would be proud.” - Having an natural (no jokers or card value/suit modification) dead mans hand in any draw hand: 2 points
“The finer things.” - Having a dude with an apparel, weapon, and horse at the same time: 1 point
“This ain’t lowball, son.” - Winning a shootout while revealing a rank 3 hand or lower: 1 point
“Block party!” - Your entire starting posse is in town square at the same time: 1 point
“Negative growth” - Starting the first noon phase with negative income (upkeep higher than home GR generation): 1 point
“Investing in our future.” - Starting the first noon phase with your homes full income available: 1 point
“So you want to slap leather?” - Teaching someone new how to play the game: 2 points
“Iron Man” - Playing in a 4+ player game to completion: 1 point
“QA has been doing their job.” - Not failing on a single spell or gadget pull in one game: 1 point
“I have strings on you” - Puppet dude with printed grit 13 or more: 1 point
“He is in better world now” - Fail teleportation of puppeted dude: 1 point
“I hope he is prepared enough” - Have 8 or more gadgets on a single dude: 1 point
“Ghost Town” - Finish game without a single dude on either side: 1 point
“We can rebuild him…” - Play a Dude on the same turn as a previous copy was aced or discarded: 1 point
“I think he shot himself!” - Get in a shootout where the same Dude is on both sides, and both copies get discarded or aced: 1 point
Story Achievements:
“No no, I’m sure it’ll work this time…” - Make at least three pulls with Elander Boldman’s ability: 2 points
“Everyone likes a bad boy”- Get Fred Aims up to 10 or more influence: 2 points
“Philip Finds Trouble…and Lives!” - Get Philip Swinford (either version) into a shootout on his own, and live through at least one round: 2 points
“Smiling Tom’s Day Off” - Have Tom visit at least 4 in town deeds in one game: 2 points
Are there any other good “story” achievements that could be created. Like one where all of the characters that are still alive from the classic game are in one game (Max, Wendy, Dave, and Nick it think?).
Or one where both of the former mayoral candidates get aced in one game.
Some playgroups are going to be real competitive and that supports the game and the community.
Other playgroups are just going to be folks who like the game, which kind of supports the game. This provides a new way to get them to branch out, try new things, and expand their horizons in the game, which REALLY supports the game and the community.
The fun of actually crafting these various achievements and such is all part of it.
And I LOVE the story achievements. What a great way to work the story into your group’s playtime by trying to find creative ways to mimic the story in your games.
“It’s not what you know …” - Lillian Morgan casts a hex on Wilbur Crowley - 5 points
Great Scott! - Put a telepathy helmet on Roderick Byre - 1 point
Battering Ram - Move Elander Boldman through the Town Square to another location with a Force Field attached - 2 points
Sweet Tooth - Tyxarglenak is alone at the General Store after Sundown - 2 points
Burning the midnight oil - Louis Pasteur is at the Morgan Research Institute for one complete turn without moving - 2 points
“Never mind that spit, HERE COMES STEVEN!” - Play Steven Wiles, have him call out a dude, have Steven be the only member of your posse, win, and then choose to not pay his upkeep next round: 2 points
“Jailhouse is a rockin’.” - Use your Gomorra Jail react ability 3+ times in one game: 2 points
“We’ll work up a Number 6 on 'em.” - Succede at 3+ jobs that mark town square or a dude in town square.
Well considering the likelihood of getting Lillian in play with a hex AND having Wilbur Crowley in play on the OTHER side, THEN getting them together to make the achievement happen … I figured that would be worth a lot of points, because it’s dependent upon who your opponent is playing to even have the chance to get it.
Although I suppose you could play them both and just use one of your hexes on another of your own dudes to make that happen.
In Classic there were Event cards that represented characters getting killed by other characters. Reloaded rightly got rid of those. But these kinds of story achievements could bring that idea back. I’d say anytime you could follow the Boot Hill section of the DT:R Archives exactly, that could be worth a good amount of points.
For example, any time that Philip Swinford gets aced in a shootout where Sanford Taylor is in the opponent’s posse.
I see where you going with it. Sounds good to me, compromise to 3 points seems fair.
“My mind is aglow with whirling, transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention.” - Succeed at a difficulty pull higher than 10: 1 point
“Ditto.” - Do it again in the same game: 2 points
“How do you think I got elected?” - Nick Whately leads a “Meet the new boss.” Job, and succedes: 2 points
“An Honest Man” Participate in at least 5 shootout rounds (same shootout or multiple ones) and always reveal a legal hand.
“Just like riding a…” Win a game with a bicycle deck (in a non-bicycle tournament).
“Hey, doesn’t that clown look like Bob?” Play a Pagglaccio immediately after your successful Kidnapping job.
“Mad Max” Have Max Baine equip a Flamethrower, a mechanical horse, and call out an opponent’s dude…and win the shootout, with Max surviving. Bonus points if Max is alone.
“I shot the Sheriff…” Discard or Ace Dave Montreal, but Pistol Whipping out at least one Deputy from the shootout beforehand.
“An Honest Man” - Participate in at least 5 shootout rounds (same shootout or multiple ones) and always reveal a legal hand: 2 points
“Just like riding a…” - Win a game with a bicycle deck: 5 points
“Hey, doesn’t that clown look like Bob?” - Play a Pagglaccio immediately after your successful Kidnapping job: 2 points
“Mad Max” - Have Max Baine equip a weapon, a horse, and call out an opponent’s dude…and win the shootout, with Max surviving: 1 point (+1 if max is alone in posse)
“I shot the Sheriff…” - Discard or Ace Dave Montreal in a shootout: 1 point
“… I did not shoot the deputy” - Either remove a deputy from a shootout where Dave Montreal is involved, or have a deputy retreat after wounds are resolved: 2 points
