These aren't IFPA rules per say. These are just the typical rules for a herb style format. People are free to run a tournament however they please really.

With the new Ifpa point system there are 2 major factors for points. # of players to create the base points. 64 players equals 32 points. So a tournament with 20 players is going to get 10 points at best. I don't see a huge buying points problem in that scenario. 2nd factor is number of games. 28 possible games played to road to victory to get the full 32 base points with 64 players.

Running tournaments is not an easy task. I prefer running match play events myself but that needs lots of time and a much larger # of machines. 8 games and you can have a great 2 day herb style format event. 64 people and say top 16 qualify. Match play you would need at least 32 games to have that run at all smoothly. Just not feasible for most locations.

Just some of my thoughts.

-Jim