Board Game Tournaments

TotalCon hosts a variety of official board game tournaments over the course of the con’s duration. The goal of the tournament games is to provide opportunities for experienced players to play together as part of a friendly competition. All tournaments consist of several qualifying games, called “Heats”, where players earn tournament points to qualify for the Final games. The winners of the Finals receive a commemorative plaque and the eternal admiration of their peers. Additionally, all tournament games contribute to a player’s Chairman of the Board rank, a convention-wide competition that rewards playing in a variety of different games. Certain tournament games also count towards a player’s participation in the Meeple League, an organization that tracks wins across several different conventions across the country.

Notices

Check this section for all notices and updates on official TotalCon tournaments.

12/5/23 Notice: TotalCon 2024 Tournament List, New Tournaments, and Rules Update

TotalCon 2024 Tournament List

• Splendor
• Ticket to Ride
• Azul
• Wingspan
• Terraforming Mars
• Lords of Waterdeep
• 7 Wonders
• Concordia
• Saint Petersburg
• Power Grid
• Kingdomino
• Camel Up

The tournament schedule can be found in the “NER Tournament Games” Section below.

NEW: Qualifiers for NER Tournaments at DexLite

This year, there will also be tournaments that qualify for the NER finals at DexLite 2024. These tournaments will be separate from the games run by TC staff and they will not count for Chairman of the Board. A future update will clarify the details.

IMPORTANT: Tournament Scoring Rules Update

Finally, there will be changes this year to the rules for qualifying for semi-finals and finals. The goal of these changes is to make qualifying for semis and finals more intuitive while still maintaining our usual scoring system. Please scroll to the “NER Tournament Games” section for more details. The full tournament scoring rules can be found in the “TC2024 Rules” word document.

NER Tournament Games

The following games will be offered as tournaments at TotalCon 2024:

• Splendor
• Ticket to Ride
• Azul
• Wingspan
• Terraforming Mars
• Lords of Waterdeep
• 7 Wonders
• Concordia
• Saint Petersburg
• Power Grid
• Kingdomino
• Camel Up

The schedule for the convention is shown here:

RULES UPDATE 2024

We will be changing the way players qualify for tournament semi-finals/finals this year. ALL WINNERS FROM HEATS WILL QUALIFY FOR THE NEXT ROUND, where a “winner” is a player who finished in 1st place. All games except for Terraforming Mars and Power Grid have the option of a semi-final round if there are enough participants.

After all Heats for a given game are complete, this will be the procedure for the next round of games:

1. If the number of winners is less than or equal to the max player count of the game, there will be no semi-final
   1. All winners will advance to the Final
   2. Any remaining empty slots will be filled based on tournament score, following our standard tournament scoring rules.
   OTHERWISE
2. The next round is the semi-final. The total number of qualifiers will be determined based on the total number of winners.
   1. All winners advance to the semi-finals.
   2. Any remaining empty slots will be filled based on tournament score, following our standard tournament scoring rules.

• Splendor, Azul, and 7 Wonders will each have 1 block for Heats and 1 block for Semi-finals and/or Finals.
• Ticket to Ride and Wingspan are both expected to need a semi-final, therefore they have been pre-scheduled.
• Concordia, Lords of Waterdeep, and Saint Petersburg have a single block scheduled for a semi-final (if needed) and a final. The final round is assumed to immediately follow the semi-final unless a different timeslot is agreed upon by all finalists.
• The Kingdomino and Camel Up tournaments will be held entirely within a single block, including Heats, semi-finals (if needed), and Finals.
• Terraforming Mars and Power Grid will NOT have a semi-final round. Additionally, there will be a hard limit of 10 players (2 full games) for each Heat. This is to limit the maximum possible number of winners to 4.

You can read the detailed rules for each tournament game in the following file here: BoardgameRulesScoring2024.docx

The Meeple League

Totalcon is also a sponsor of the Meeple League, which is dedicated to advancing competitive boardgame play. Six of the ten NER tournaments are also Meeple League Sponsored events, where players earn points toward Meeple League annual ratings: Azul, Lords of Waterdeep, Splendor, Terraforming Mars, Ticket to Ride, and Wingspan.

Sign Up & Table Assignments

To participate in a tournament Heat, players should follow these steps:

1. Write your name on the Heat sign-up sheet in the tournament room. Sign-up sheets are usually posted ~20 minutes before the Heat’s scheduled timeslot. If you have brought a copy of the tournament game to use, notify the Tournament Director and they will direct you to a table to start setting up.
2. At the scheduled game start time, the Tournament Director will randomize the table assignments + starting turn order. All Heat players should be present to receive their table assignments.
3. Players move to their assigned tables and begin playing. The Tournament Director will pass out a Tournament Game Sheet to each table.
4. When the game ends, fill out the Tournament Game Sheet with the players’ names, badge numbers, and scores.
5. The winning player delivers the Tournament Game Sheet to the Tournament Director and receives a Prize Ticket.
6. Check back in the tournament room later to see the updated standings for the Heat. Typically, standings are updated by the end of the following timeslot. Scoring is explained in the next section.

To participate in a Final:

1. Check the final game standings after all Heats have finished. The Tournament Director will indicate which players have qualified for the Finals and the list of alternates.
2. If you are a Finalist, report to the tournament room ~10 minutes before the scheduled start time.
3. If you are an alternate, you may wish to also be there in case you are needed. Either way, the Tournament Director will attempt to find the alternates in order of qualification if there are available seats for the game.
4. When the required players have assembled, the Tournament Director will randomly assign starting turn order and begin the game.
5. When the game ends, fill out the Tournament Game Sheet as normal and have the winner deliver it to the Tournament Director. The Tournament Director will award the winner a TotalCon 2022 Tournament Plaque.

Tournament Scoring & Chairman of the Board

A player’s tournament score for each game is determined by how well they place during the heats. Players are awarded points after each heat according to their placement:

• 1st place finish: 1 pt
• 2nd place: 0.1 pt
• 3rd place: 0.01 pt
• 4th place: 0.001 pt

After all heats have been played, the 4 players with the highest tournament score advance to the finals. If two players have the same score, the tie-breaker is the percentage of the winner’s score for their best non-first finish.

For example:

The player rankings for each game will be posted after each heat. Two 1st place finishes (Score ≥ 2) guarantees a player automatic advancement to the finals. In the event of more than 4 players with two points or if a tournament has more than 32 participants, there will be a semi-final round scheduled immediately before the final.

All players below Rank 4 are considered to be alternates for the Final round. If any Finalists choose not to play in the Final, then the next highest ranked alternates will be offered to take their place.

Any final game can be rescheduled to a different timeslot if an agreement is reached by all qualified players. Please notify the tournament director if you wish to reschedule a final.

Chairman of the Board: Explanation

This prestigious award goes to the best overall competitive boardgame player during the convention. Players score Chairman points based on their best finish in up to 10 different tournament games, plus bonus points for playing in Finals. The winner of Chairman of the Board receives a special plaque and the honor to have their name listed with previous winners.

The following events qualify for Chairman of the Board scoring:

• Official TotalCon tournaments (this section)
• Puffing Billy scheduled games (not pick-up games)
• Catan Regional Qualifier

The Chairman points earned from Heats are determined by best finish across all Heats for that particular tournament. The points earned from a Final is determined both by finish and the total number of players in that tournament across all Heats.

For example, here is a point breakdown for a player who participated in 4 tournament games:

Tournament Results

See the results of previous convention tournaments:
History of Champions

Tournament FAQ

Q. How experienced do I need to be to participate in a tournament?

A. There are no qualifications required for participation in TotalCon tournaments. The only experience needed is for players to know the rules, as rules will not be taught. Generally, having been just taught the rules before the game is acceptable for Heats. Asking for rules clarifications is always encouraged.

Q. Do I have to play in Heat 1 to qualify for Heat 2, and so on?

A. No. Players may play in any Heats they wish regardless of previous or future participation. The benefit of playing in the earlier Heats is more opportunities later on to qualify for the Final in case you do poorly the first time around.

Q. If I play in Heat 1, am I required to play in more Heats?

A. No. Players have no obligation to participate in more tournament rounds than they wish to.

Q. How many Heats should I expect to play in if I want to qualify for the Finals?

A. It depends on the number of participants and how well players fare. Tournaments with high player counts (>30 participants) generally require 2 wins, while tournaments with low player counts (< 10 participants) often require only 1. For the rest, a 1st and a 2nd is usually sufficient. The best practice is to check the standings after each Heat to try and determine what score will likely be needed to advance.

Q. I qualified for a Final, but I can’t or don’t wish to play. What should I do?

A. Contact the Tournament Coordinator before the Final game begins. The next available alternate will take your place.

Q. The tournament rules say to use a certain expansion/ruleset for a game, but I would rather play with a different expansion/ruleset. What can I do?

A. The tournament rules are intended to be the default, but they are not mandatory. After tables for a game have been assigned, each table may suggest playing with a different set of rules. If all players at the table agree, then they may play using the non-default rules. If any player objects, then the table will play with the default tournament rules. In some cases, the default rules may call for an expansion that not every copy of the game has. In this case, players can be given the choice before tables are assigned which game they would like to play with.

Q. Do I get a prize ticket for winning a Final?

A. Nope, sorry. You get an extra special tournament plaque, instead.

Q. Do I need to purchase an event ticket on TableTop Events for tournament games?

A. No, event tickets are not needed for TotalCon tournaments. Players must only write their name on the appropriate sign-up sheet before the game starts. The event listings for tournament games on TableTop Events are for scheduling purposes only.

Q. Is there a limit to how many people can play in a Heat?

A. The limit for the number of players in a Heat is determined by how many copies of the game are available. In the event that there are more people signed up than there are spots available to play, tables will be assigned based on sign-up order (first-come, first-serve). For certain shorter games, players may be invited to come back later during the same timeslot to play after the first group of players have finished. These delayed games will count towards all tournament scoring as normal.

Q. What happens if I bring my own copy of a tournament game to play?

A. If your game is used for a tournament, you will be guaranteed to play with your own copy. This means you will also be given priority if there are not enough copies to seat all signed-up players.

Q. If I bring my own copy of a game for a tournament, do I have to let others use it during heats I’m not in?

A. No, players have full control over when and how their games are used for tournaments. Most of the time, players will volunteer their own copy only during heats they are playing in and take the game with them after the heat finishes.

Tournament Staff

Kara Morse – Tournament Board Gaming Coordinator. Contact: kara@totalcon.com