Tournament Scoring and Awards

The 2010 North Star Tournament focuses on the three elements of good Warhammer gameplay - skill, sportsmanship, and appearance - in order to determine who goes home with the prizes. Every player will be scored on the basis of their ability to play the game, play a fun game, and paint their army. To that end, players can score a maximum of 235 points, broken down as follows:

Battle Points = 100
Sportsmanship Points = 60
Army Appearance Points = 60
North Star Bonus Points = 15

Awards

Overall Champion = Battle Points + Sportsmanship Points + Appearance Points + North Star Bonus Points
Best General = Total Battle Points + Base Sportsmanship Points (i.e. before Best Game Votes)
Best "Army Book" General = Total Battle Points
Best Opponent = Total Sportsmanship Points
Best Army = Total Appearance Points
Player's Choice = Most Player Votes

Awards will be given out for first, second and third place in these categories: Overall, Best Opponent & Best Army. A Best General award will be given out - in addition, 2010 will be the first year for Best "Army Book" General Awards. The player with the highest battle points from each of the army books (Dwarves, Vampire Counts, Empire, etc) will receive an award. In order for an army book award to be given, there must be at least two players playing that army. So if you're the only Dogs of War player, you're out of luck, sorry.

Players will only be able to win one award, with the exception of Player's Choice and Best Army Book General. If a player's score wins in more than one category he or she will be given the higher award.

Battle Points (20-100)

Players will be able to earn a maximum of 20 Battle Points per game:
Win = 16
Tie = 10
Loss = 4
Objectives = 4

Each game will have a scenario. The scenarios may be similar to some of the scenarios from the 8th edition rule set. Battles will follow the victory conditions as defined in the main rule book. Players will also be able to score up to 4 additional battle points by achieving the objectives defined in the scenario.

Sportsmanship Points (0-60)

Sportsmanship is about not only having a good game, but also giving a good game to your opponent. What constitutes a "good" or "bad" game is very subjective. There are hundreds of factors, and everyone has a different criteria. However, it's very easy to recognize a bad game when you have one. It's also equally easy to recognize an exceptionally good game when you have one. So for the North Star Tournament, sportsmanship scores will focus on your game experience with your opponent.

We assume that everyone coming to the North Star Tournament will be bringing their best sportsmanship to the table. As a result, each player will start with 30 sportsmanship points on credit. We have faith that you deserve them and will keep them.

Game Votes

After each game the players will have one question on their score sheet which asks, "How did your opponent's behavior and/or army selection honestly make this game for you?" The options will be: "Bad Game," "Good Game" or "Great Game." If a player receives a great game vote, they will be awarded +2 points for the game. If a player receives a bad game vote, then they will have to give back some of those points given on credit.

1 bad game vote = -3 points
2 bad game votes = -8 points
3 bad game votes = -15 points
4 bad game votes = -20 points
5 bad game votes = Sportsmanship score of zero
Each Red Card = One extra bad game vote

Note that these penalties are not cumulative - only the lowest applicable penalty will be applied.

This scoring system was designed to minimize the impact of a single bad game vote. No one should be worried about being penalized out of spite, because a single bad game vote will not put a player out of the running. However, several bad game votes tend to indicate a pattern of behavior that will be severely penalized. So if someone gives you a bad game, then don't hesitate to be honest and mark them accordingly. In addition, if you do mark a bad game against your opponent, be prepared to explain the reason why to a tournament organizer.

Best Game Votes

At the end of the tournament, each player will get to cast a vote for their most enjoyable opponent of the weekend. As with bad game votes, the value of each best game vote goes up dramatically the more of them you get:

1 best game vote = +2 point
2 best game votes = +5 points
3 best game votes = +10 points
4 best game votes = +16 points
5 best game votes = +20 points

So to sum up: Sportsmanship Score = 30 + (Best Game bonus) + (Great Game bonus) - (Bad Game penalty)

Appearance (0-60)

Every army at the North Star Tournament will be awarded a score by the tournament judges based on the overall appearance of their army. Technical painting is important, but it is only one factor in your appearance score. Conversions, theme, basing and overall presentation are equal factors as to what makes an army look good and score well in this category.

Paint Your Own - Players must have painted their own army in order to be eligible to win the Best Overall, Best Army, or Player's Choice awards. This restriction does not apply to Best General or Best Sportsman. Please notify the judges if you did not paint your own army.

Previous Best Army Winners - Armies that have won 1st Best Army at a previous North Star Tournament are not eligible to win another Best Army award.

North Star Bonus Points (0-15)

North Star Bonus points are awarded to players that help keep the tournament runnning smoothly. Bonus points are awarded for:

Arriving at your table and beginning your game on time = +1 point per game
Turning in your score sheet within 10 minutes of time being called = +1 point per game
Submitting your army list and paying your registration by September 30, 2010 = +5 points

Player's Choice

Player's choice is awarded by one's peers at the tournament. The question many folks try to answer is "What army would I most want to take home with me?" This is not a painting competition per se. Technical painting and modeling is scored by the tournament judges. This is all about who you think brought the coolest toys. One player, one vote.

Players should set up their armies with their names clearly visible after game 2 on Saturday. All Player's Choice votes must be turned in before you leave on Saturday.