FAQ is very out of date?

[digitalison]

I have a lot of questions about how tournaments work, so I was delighted to find that there was a "Tournaments FAQ" pinned post, but the information listed there seems very incomplete, and possibly just way out of date, since that post was written ten years ago (!)

For example, it says that there are only two types of tournaments supported, and that those only work for two players, but it appears there are actually currently six, some of which do support more than two players. I would love for the current six to be listed, with links to how they work (like there's a link to the Swiss System).

I want to try a tournament, but I'm concerned about statements like "If you register to a tournament and then don't come, you receive a "leave" penalty on your profile. Consequently, this is very important to check that you are available for ALL planned matches." I don't want to get kicked out of games and ding my reputation and such.

If a tournament is turn-based, what does it mean to "come" to the tournament?
Do I need to be online and waiting at the start time?
Is there some kind of notification of when it starts?
If I need to be sure I'm available for all planned matches, how do I know when the planned matches will be for a turn-based tournament?
Does/can one play in multiple turn-based games at a time in a tournament? (obviously not in single-elimination, but, say round-robin, since I understand how those work, I think)

Thanks for your answers. I apologize if some of these are answered in the incredibly long list of responses on that ten-year old "FAQ" post.

-digitalison

[Shivaware]

I have a lot of questions about how tournaments work, so I was delighted to find that there was a "Tournaments FAQ" pinned post, but the information listed there seems very incomplete, and possibly just way out of date, since that post was written ten years ago (!)

For example, it says that there are only two types of tournaments supported, and that those only work for two players, but it appears there are actually currently six, some of which do support more than two players. I would love for the current six to be listed, with links to how they work (like there's a link to the Swiss System).

I want to try a tournament, but I'm concerned about statements like "If you register to a tournament and then don't come, you receive a "leave" penalty on your profile. Consequently, this is very important to check that you are available for ALL planned matches." I don't want to get kicked out of games and ding my reputation and such.

If a tournament is turn-based, what does it mean to "come" to the tournament?
Do I need to be online and waiting at the start time?
Is there some kind of notification of when it starts?
If I need to be sure I'm available for all planned matches, how do I know when the planned matches will be for a turn-based tournament?
Does/can one play in multiple turn-based games at a time in a tournament? (obviously not in single-elimination, but, say round-robin, since I understand how those work, I think)

Thanks for your answers. I apologize if some of these are answered in the incredibly long list of responses on that ten-year old "FAQ" post.

-digitalison

It's unfortunately true that there is no comprehensive description of how tournaments work.

You haven't asked about this, but the biggest surprise for many people joining a tournament is how your clock works. You are given a fixed amount of time and extra time is not added to your clock each turn. BGA allows any premium player to create a tournament, so some are created with unrealistic time settings. A game of Through the Ages with a total duration of 1 day is not going to work well if the players are scattered around the world. Some tournaments have playing hours (which should be displayed in your time zone) where the clocks only count down during that range. Make sure you are available during those playing hours, or you will probably run out of time. You also probably don't want to sign up for a tournament that starts hundreds of years from now.

Some tournaments have a setting that prevents out-of-time players from being skipped, but many tournaments still permit it. If someone is skipped, the remaining players with the oldest accounts are the winners. If the total time allocated to the game runs out before the game ends, the players with the most remaining time on their clocks are the winners.

Round robin tournaments are the only ones where you have to play multiple games at the same time.

Tournament games are automatically started, so they will get added to your games in progress. You can look at the maximum duration to get an idea when a new round will begin, but it might be earlier if all games complete quickly. BGA shows you games where it is your turn, based on how much time is left on your clock, so tournament games are often at the end of your queue during the early part of the tournament.

Hopefully, this is somewhat helpful. Note that all of my answers came from a turn-based perspective, so I'm not sure what might behave differently in a real-time tournament.

[Mathew5000]

I have a lot of questions about how tournaments work, so I was delighted to find that there was a "Tournaments FAQ" pinned post, but the information listed there seems very incomplete, and possibly just way out of date, since that post was written ten years ago (!)

https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=61176 (currently 76 upvotes)

https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=112566 (currently 42 upvotes)

Maybe BGA is just awaiting a few more upvotes, before taking action.

[digitalison]

Thanks, I have upvoted both of those!

[dschingis27]

You can go here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47591

I try to establish it as an inofficial incomplete information hub, as long as there is nothing better.