Yeah, you basically have to beg, borrow and steal. Often you have to deal with paranoid owners who don't want to give you the keys. Maybe 1 in 5 games is actually working 100%, so hours of tech to get them ready.

One guy offered to let me use his game, but if it sold, he would have to pull it at any time with no notice. He was surprised when I turned him down.

A funny thing happens psychologically when you put a game in the tournament area. Suddenly EVERYONE just has to play it. "Can I just play one game?" And then the complaints on the message boards about how the tournament takes all the "good" games.

When I ran PPE 2011, and I made our "tournament game only" signs, I put in the fine print: "There are 16 games in the tournament room and over 400 in the main room. No, you cannot play these games if you are not in the tournament. Please enjoy one of the other 400 games. Thank You."

Everyone I've spoken with lately who runs tournaments is talking about maximizing wpprs under the new rules. I think it's partly a perception issue: a combination of the removal of the base value as well as no longer being able to combine main and side wppr points. Tournaments seem to be "worth less" so every effort is made to squeeze the max points out.

I think the situation will mellow out in time as people get used to the new normal. The fact that some tourneys will now be too grindy for some peoples' taste is a small problem compared to the problems of the old system.

I agree, though, run the tournaments the way you want and let the wppr chips fall where they may. For all but a small number of players it's about the fun and social aspects of competition.

I suggested the starter pack idea to Bowen a few years ago at CAX for exactly the same reasons. I think it sort of worked, not sure. Maybe he can comment.

For all tournaments where the TD expects to be too busy to explain the rules a million times, or where an orientation isn't really practical (too loud, no set start time for all players, etc), the full rules should be posted somewhere in the tourney area.

I also suggest a one page simple explanation of how the tournament works. It should include:

1)The basic format
2)The schedule (even if approximate, i.e. Finals will start 6 PM or ASAP after Qualifying ends)
3)Link to online standings web site
4)Link to online full rules, and/or make players aware that full rules are posted in the tournament area.
5)How to get help.

This last part I always phrase like this:

"If you have questions, remember, there is only one of me and a lot of you. Please:

1) Read the posted rules
2) Ask another player
3) Ask a score keeper

If your question is still not answered, feel free to ask me."

Another idea I had for PAGG (but got lazy) was making a short "How the tournament works" video and posting it here on pinside. I think it would serve the dual purpose of informing some participants directly but also enabling them to knowledgeably answer other players' questions at the event itself.