Why did I not advance?

[Andrew Davidson]

Looking at the other threads listed above, I find that bug report #33628 was resolved:

The suggested tiebreaker have been implemented ("Last in order of play")

. This is consistent with my outcome as I was the second player in our game.

[Mathew5000]

Looking at the other threads listed above, I find that bug report #33628 was resolved:

The suggested tiebreaker have been implemented ("Last in order of play")

. This is consistent with my outcome as I was the second player in our game.

But the bug report you linked to is about Carcassonne. Didn't you say you were playing Ark Nova?

[Andrew Davidson]

But the bug report you linked to is about Carcassonne. Didn't you say you were playing Ark Nova?

Yes, it was a different game but maybe they have implemented a general tie-break in the tournament software which applies to all games?

[Mathew5000]

But the bug report you linked to is about Carcassonne. Didn't you say you were playing Ark Nova?

Yes, it was a different game but maybe they have implemented a general tie-break in the tournament software which applies to all games?

That's very unlikely but you don't have to speculate. Gather some data and see whether it is consistent with your hypothesis.

[Andrew Davidson]

That's very unlikely but you don't have to speculate. Gather some data and see whether it is consistent with your hypothesis.

It seems very likely that the tournament software for formats such as single elimination is generic rather than being repeated afresh for each different game. Confirming this is not going to be easy as ties are not common in the games I play. We might hope that such issues are better described in an update to the FAQ.

[Mathew5000]

That's very unlikely but you don't have to speculate. Gather some data and see whether it is consistent with your hypothesis.

It seems very likely that the tournament software for formats such as single elimination is generic rather than being repeated afresh for each different game.

1. The bug report you linked to does not suggest in any way that there was a global change made affecting all single-elimination tournaments. They are talking about Carcassonne specifically, in that bug report and in this thread headed "New tie breaker rule for Carcasonne": viewtopic.php?t=37865

2. The logic of that new rule is that the game gives a slight advantage to the first player to act, but that's not true of every two-player game. In some games the last to act may have the advantage.

3. Some two-player games do not even have a "first player to act"; rather all players make their moves simultaneously.

Confirming this is not going to be easy as ties are not common in the games I play.

As I said before, you can gather the data yourself and see whether it supports your hypothesis. Doing so would be useful for the community. It doesn't matter whether the data is from games you play personally or not. Just find a two-player game where ties are not rare, and then search at https://boardgamearena.com/tournamentlist for recently completed single-elimination tournaments of that game. Find a dozen or so tied tournament games, and note down who was first to act in the game, and who advanced. Then post your data in this forum.

[Meeplelowda]

That's very unlikely but you don't have to speculate. Gather some data and see whether it is consistent with your hypothesis.

It seems very likely that the tournament software for formats such as single elimination is generic rather than being repeated afresh for each different game.

1. The bug report you linked to does not suggest in any way that there was a global change made affecting all single-elimination tournaments. They are talking about Carcassonne specifically, in that bug report and in this thread headed "New tie breaker rule for Carcasonne": viewtopic.php?t=37865

2. The logic of that new rule is that the game gives a slight advantage to the first player to act, but that's not true of every two-player game. In some games the last to act may have the advantage.

3. Some two-player games do not even have a "first player to act"; rather all players make their moves simultaneously.

Confirming this is not going to be easy as ties are not common in the games I play.

As I said before, you can gather the data yourself and see whether it supports your hypothesis. Doing so would be useful for the community. It doesn't matter whether the data is from games you play personally or not. Just find a two-player game where ties are not rare, and then search at https://boardgamearena.com/tournamentlist for recently completed single-elimination tournaments of that game. Find a dozen or so tied tournament games, and note down who was first to act in the game, and who advanced. Then post your data in this forum.

That seems like a lot of work. Speculation is much less exhausting.

[Montu]

I was eliminated from a single-player elimination Ark Nova tournament on a dead tie, and I was 2nd in turn order, so it looks like that hypothesis is not correct:

https://boardgamearena.com/14/arknova?table=754508708

Why is it so hard to get a straight answer to this seemingly simple question?

[Mathew5000]

Why is it so hard to get a straight answer to this seemingly simple question?

As I said upthread, where a game in a single-elimination tournament ends in a tie, it appears to be a random selection which player advances. I said that in May 2024, and since then I haven't seen a more plausible explanation.

See also https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44873

[Meeplelowda]

Why is it so hard to get a straight answer to this seemingly simple question?

As I said upthread, where a game in a single-elimination tournament ends in a tie, it appears to be a random selection which player advances. I said that in May 2024, and since then I haven't seen a more plausible explanation.

See also https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44873

I'm guessing Montu meant an official answer from BGA.

We don't know why some operations of tournaments are so opaque. My only guess is someone has decided it's not in their job description to answer these questions or update the FAQ.