Nations' Cup 2025
Posted: 30 July 2025, 17:15
Hi there,
Nations Cups used to be the most competitive and intense tournament on the Days of Wonder platform.
When ? Traditionally : Sept-November
Format : 2 player USA.
Tournament : Group phase, then KO round.
Clash : 2 teams of 4 players are scheduled to meet each week
Match : Live play, 6-game match, alternate start.
If you have any interest in participating in the Nations Cup, please state your BGA name, and your country to help form as many teams as possible. With a one month registration period. Registration will open by the end of August.
We have a discord that you can join to play tournaments in : https://discord.gg/g2xaQQpY
jump0501
onyx puffin
admitted
Qorlas
SuperPello
ExaltedAngel
Tempest0
shlitn
Flop Kasi
Eichi05
ossi15
Shimon
LoinduFroid
----
Rules draft
1. NC is a competition primarily for National teams
2. Players who live, study or work in country A and have nationality B may play for either A or B. Players with a double nationality may choose for which country they play.
3. Players to whom 2. and 3. applies have to decide in the registration phase for one nationality
4. Players of the same nationality (or chosen nationality as in 2./3.) are expected to play together
5. Any country that has 5 or more players listed in the player/country list HAS to try to form their own national team. (No team can reject a player of the same nationality unless they register a full team. If they fail to get 4 players together - see 11.)
5.1 several teams per country are allowed.
A team formed by players may be transnational IF there are not enough players from their country to form a team. Players that are not able to form a full team under these conditions may join with other nationalities regarding 8.
(Base for national/transnational teams is a player/country list before the end of the registration phase)
(No player that rejects to play for his nation can play for any other team.)
Players that are not registered players at the end of registration phase cannot play unless special provision is made by captains of the majority of the teams in the tournament. Players are not allowed to change their names during the tournament.
Players that are overhangs of registered nations may join transnational teams as in 11 regarding rule 8. In special cases a NC board may allow these players upon request to join a registered nations team (language problems i.e.). No national team that has declared itself 'complete' (= has rejected one or more players of their own country) may ever be joined by a player from a different country. There will be a "Split registration" in two phases, part one for the national teams, part two for the TN Teams and overhangs. In phase one only national teams can register. Two weeks before the start of the NC phase two will be opened to leave the remaining players possibility to form transnational teams regarding the rules.
6. A team formed by players may be transnational IF there are not enough players from their country to form a team. Players that are not able to form a full team under these conditions may join with other nationalities regarding 8.
(Base for national/transnational teams is a player/country list before the end of the registration phase)
7. (No player that rejects to play for his nation can play for any other team.)
8. Players that are not registered players at the end of registration phase cannot play unless special provision is made by captains of the majority of the teams in the tournament. Players are not allowed to change their names during the tournament.
Players that are overhangs of registered nations may join transnational teams as in 11 regarding rule 8. In special cases a NC board may allow these players upon request to join a registered nations team (language problems i.e.). No national team that has declared itself 'complete' (= has rejected one or more players of their own country) may ever be joined by a player from a different country. There will be a "Split registration" in two phases, part one for the national teams, part two for the TN Teams and overhangs. In phase one only national teams can register. Two weeks before the start of the NC phase two will be opened to leave the remaining players possibility to form transnational teams regarding the rules.
10 Organisation of play
10.1. Explanation
Tournament > Round > Clash > Match > game
Clash = encounter between two teams
Match = encounter between two players
Round robin: if a group plays a round robin, each team plays against each other team in that group once.
10.2 Team's rank is decided by the sum of ratings of best 4 players as of Sunday, Sept. 16th, 23:00 CEST.
10.3 Captains
Captains can be either playing or non-playing. The captain acts as the spokesman/woman of the team in the following way:
He/she registers the team by posting a reply on the REGISTRATIONAL thread;
The captain sends the TD a PM WEEKLY with the four-player lineup no later than Wednesday, 11:00 PM (GMT) (the week before the start of the next round). If the TD doesn't receive it in time, she/he will use the lineup of the round before;
The players play their games (they can make arrangements by PM) and pass the results through to their captains, all within the time limit.
10.4 It is allowed to start arranging and playing a new round right after the TD has posted the pairings for the next round, even if the previous round hasn't been finished.
10.5 Tournament overview
The tournament will comprise 8-12 weeks including a break of a week in between round robin and knockout phase.
Below the division in groups and continuation in knockout phase is shown, based on team's rank, with various numbers of teams:
6-10 Teams: Full round robin with SF and F. #1 chooses opponent in SF
6: 8 weeks
7: 10 weeks
8: 10 weeks
9: 12 weeks
10: 12 weeks
11-16 Teams : Round robin, 2 groups, with QF, SF and F. #1s choose opponent of other group in QF; cannot meet other #1 in SF, cannot meet best classified of own group in SF.
11: (1,4,5,8,9) and (2,3,6,7,10,11), 9 weeks
12: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11), 9 weeks
13: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,13), 11 weeks
14: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,13,14), 11 weeks
15: (1,4,5,8,9,12,13) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15), 11 weeks
16: (1,4,5,8,9,12,13,16) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15), 11 weeks
17-22 Teams: Round robin, 3 groups, with QF, SF and F.
4 teams advance per group, the group with the best 2nd comer will be renamed to group D, the next groups circular to E and F, then the pairings for first rd KO will be:
1E-bye, 3F-3D, 2D-bye, 2F-4E ---- 1F-bye, 2E-4D, 1D-bye, 3E-4F
best 2nd comer will be determined according to the tiebreaker rules (13.7)
Quarterfinal: 1Evs3F-3D; 2Dvs2F-4E;;; 1Fvs2E-4D; 1Dvs3E-4F
17: (1,6,7,12,13), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16), 9 weeks
18: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16), 9 weeks
19: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,19), 11 weeks
20: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,19), 11 weeks
21: (1,6,7,12,13,18,19), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,21), 11 weeks
22: (1,6,7,12,13,18,19), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,21,22), 11 weeks
23/24 Teams: four groups (1,8,9,16,17,24)(2,7,10,15,18,23)(3,6,11,14,19,22)(4,5,12,13 ,20,21) - groups split according to ELO team rank.
1/8, QF, SF and final (16 teams advance to KO phase)
Each group gets assigned a letter A-D randomly (using toutoune`s suggestion of starting a 4 player game with 1 member of each group and seeing who is the start player - that group becomes Group A, then do it for 3 players to figure out Group B, etc.). Once a letter is assigned then the matchups are fixed.
A1 plays B4 (i.e. Group A 1st place Team play Group B 4th place team)
A2 plays B3
A3 plays B2
A4 plays B1
C1 plays D4
C2 plays D3
C3 plays D2
C4 plays D1
13.6 Clash pairings in round robin stage
Pairings by number of teams in a group, team number according to team rank.
5 teams
Round 1: 1-3, 5-2
Round 2: 4-1, 3-5
Round 3: 2-3, 4-5
Round 4: 5-1, 2-4
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4
6 teams
Round 1: 1-4, 2-5, 3-6
Round 2: 5-1, 2-3, 4-6
Round 3: 1-3, 6-2, 4-5
Round 4: 6-1, 2-4, 3-5
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
7 teams
Round 1: 7-1, 3-5, 6-2
Round 2: 1-4, 2-5, 6-7
Round 3: 5-1, 2-3, 4-7
Round 4: 7-2, 4-5, 3-6
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Round 6: 6-1, 7-3, 2-4
Round 7: 1-3, 5-7, 4-6
8 teams
Round 1: 1-6, 2-5, 3-7, 4-8
Round 2: 1-3, 2-4, 5-8, 6-7
Round 3: 1-7, 2-8, 3-6, 4-5
Round 4: 1-5, 2-6, 3-8, 4-7
Round 5: 1-4, 2-7, 3-5, 6-8
Round 6: 1-8, 2-3, 5-7, 4-6
Round 7: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
10.6 Match pairings
Captains choose a lineup per clash. EACH CLASH, THEY ARE FREE TO CHOOSE PLAYERS AND SLOTS THEY PLAY IN.
11 Schedule of play
11.1 Explanation
Once the draw for the next round is posted (on Thursday or Friday in the week preceding that round) the players can play their games (they can make arrangements by PM). The captain must have the results of the match before the end of the week of that round. Example: the second round, of which the draw will be posted not later than Friday, 19th of September, must be finished latest on Sunday the 28th of September.
11.2 Safe exit
Once the schedule of Round Robin is released :
If a team knows in advance that one of their players is not able to play in the time of a certain clash, they can ask for the TD's agreement to have that particular match played before the due time. It is the responsibility of the captain of that team to contact his/her peer to find an arrangement.
Each team, when ready, will send a lineup made of 1 name for that match. The remaining lineup will be sent to the TD at the time scheduled including the score of the match already played.
15.Format of a clash in Round Robin.
12.1 Duration of a match in the Round Robin
A. Number of games per match during round robin
Each match consists of 6 games. Possible results of a match are 6-0; 5-1; 4-2; 3-3.
B. Tiebreaker in Round Robin
To decide upon rank in the round robin, number of clashes won is the first tiebreaker, then the number of matches won, then the number of games won, then the round robin result between the relevant teams.
C. Starter rule
The first game is opened with random start. For subsequent games the starter alternates.
12.2. Format of clash and a match in KO Round
A. Lineups
The captain sends the TD a pm with the four-player lineup and nominates a player for the tie-breaking match (that will be played only if needed).
Players that play the first 4 matches can play the tie-breaking match.
B. Duration of a match
Best-of-seven, i.e. match is over when a player has won 4 games. Possible results are 4-0, 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3.
C.To decide upon win in the KO round, number of matches won is the first tie breaker, then result of the tie-breaking match.
13 Nature of the games
A. 1v1;
B. US map;
C. Rated;
13.1 Alternating starts
The starter will be assigned randomly in the first game. At the end of each subsequent game, players select "propose a rematch" to alternate the start.
14 Anti-Cheating Trust:
Each player plays with his/her personal account. It is forbidden to have anyone else play NC games with that account. The players rating should reflect his playing strength.
Each player plays with his/her strongest account (overall).
Each player plays alone. Any contact with others (other than one's opponent) during the game that has to do with that current game is forbidden.
15. Miscellaneous
A. It is not allowed to add players to a team after the start of the tournament unless the TD decides otherwise (mostly in case of emergency). A player can only be registered to one team. This emergency registration has to be according to rules 2./3./6./8./12.
B. In case of a dispute, one of the involved captains sends a PM to the TD with a copy to the other captain. The decision will be under the discretion of the TD. The TD will inform both captains by PM about the decision and post it in the organisational thread if necessary. The TD may request support from the NC board to cover her/his decision.
C. If a team is not able to finish a round, it forfeits all unplayed games and loses therewith each unfinished match.
D. Captains can temporarily or permanently resign during the tournament by adjusting their posting in the REGISTRATIONAL thread, in which they appoint a new captain.
E. Every team is free to choose a name; by default, every team gets the name of the team members' country.
Nations Cups used to be the most competitive and intense tournament on the Days of Wonder platform.
When ? Traditionally : Sept-November
Format : 2 player USA.
Tournament : Group phase, then KO round.
Clash : 2 teams of 4 players are scheduled to meet each week
Match : Live play, 6-game match, alternate start.
If you have any interest in participating in the Nations Cup, please state your BGA name, and your country to help form as many teams as possible. With a one month registration period. Registration will open by the end of August.
We have a discord that you can join to play tournaments in : https://discord.gg/g2xaQQpY
- This is a national team tournament. Each team would need a minimum of 4 players, ideally 6, or more to guarantee a roster each week (4 players are playing each week)
- If you are part of a country with a limited number of players, please be proactive in contacting players. Anybody serious can play. No level requirement (no ELO requirement), though I'd say that a history on DoW or BGA (arena or tournaments) is a plus.
- Countries with limited number of players could form a transnational team.
- National residents could play for their home country or country of adoption.
- France
jump0501
- USA
onyx puffin
admitted
- Italy
Qorlas
SuperPello
ExaltedAngel
Tempest0
- Germany
shlitn
Flop Kasi
Eichi05
- Finland
ossi15
- Montenegro
- UK
Shimon
- Ukraine
LoinduFroid
- Greece
----
Rules draft
1. NC is a competition primarily for National teams
2. Players who live, study or work in country A and have nationality B may play for either A or B. Players with a double nationality may choose for which country they play.
3. Players to whom 2. and 3. applies have to decide in the registration phase for one nationality
4. Players of the same nationality (or chosen nationality as in 2./3.) are expected to play together
5. Any country that has 5 or more players listed in the player/country list HAS to try to form their own national team. (No team can reject a player of the same nationality unless they register a full team. If they fail to get 4 players together - see 11.)
5.1 several teams per country are allowed.
A team formed by players may be transnational IF there are not enough players from their country to form a team. Players that are not able to form a full team under these conditions may join with other nationalities regarding 8.
(Base for national/transnational teams is a player/country list before the end of the registration phase)
(No player that rejects to play for his nation can play for any other team.)
Players that are not registered players at the end of registration phase cannot play unless special provision is made by captains of the majority of the teams in the tournament. Players are not allowed to change their names during the tournament.
Players that are overhangs of registered nations may join transnational teams as in 11 regarding rule 8. In special cases a NC board may allow these players upon request to join a registered nations team (language problems i.e.). No national team that has declared itself 'complete' (= has rejected one or more players of their own country) may ever be joined by a player from a different country. There will be a "Split registration" in two phases, part one for the national teams, part two for the TN Teams and overhangs. In phase one only national teams can register. Two weeks before the start of the NC phase two will be opened to leave the remaining players possibility to form transnational teams regarding the rules.
6. A team formed by players may be transnational IF there are not enough players from their country to form a team. Players that are not able to form a full team under these conditions may join with other nationalities regarding 8.
(Base for national/transnational teams is a player/country list before the end of the registration phase)
7. (No player that rejects to play for his nation can play for any other team.)
8. Players that are not registered players at the end of registration phase cannot play unless special provision is made by captains of the majority of the teams in the tournament. Players are not allowed to change their names during the tournament.
Players that are overhangs of registered nations may join transnational teams as in 11 regarding rule 8. In special cases a NC board may allow these players upon request to join a registered nations team (language problems i.e.). No national team that has declared itself 'complete' (= has rejected one or more players of their own country) may ever be joined by a player from a different country. There will be a "Split registration" in two phases, part one for the national teams, part two for the TN Teams and overhangs. In phase one only national teams can register. Two weeks before the start of the NC phase two will be opened to leave the remaining players possibility to form transnational teams regarding the rules.
10 Organisation of play
10.1. Explanation
Tournament > Round > Clash > Match > game
Clash = encounter between two teams
Match = encounter between two players
Round robin: if a group plays a round robin, each team plays against each other team in that group once.
10.2 Team's rank is decided by the sum of ratings of best 4 players as of Sunday, Sept. 16th, 23:00 CEST.
10.3 Captains
Captains can be either playing or non-playing. The captain acts as the spokesman/woman of the team in the following way:
He/she registers the team by posting a reply on the REGISTRATIONAL thread;
The captain sends the TD a PM WEEKLY with the four-player lineup no later than Wednesday, 11:00 PM (GMT) (the week before the start of the next round). If the TD doesn't receive it in time, she/he will use the lineup of the round before;
The players play their games (they can make arrangements by PM) and pass the results through to their captains, all within the time limit.
10.4 It is allowed to start arranging and playing a new round right after the TD has posted the pairings for the next round, even if the previous round hasn't been finished.
10.5 Tournament overview
The tournament will comprise 8-12 weeks including a break of a week in between round robin and knockout phase.
Below the division in groups and continuation in knockout phase is shown, based on team's rank, with various numbers of teams:
6-10 Teams: Full round robin with SF and F. #1 chooses opponent in SF
6: 8 weeks
7: 10 weeks
8: 10 weeks
9: 12 weeks
10: 12 weeks
11-16 Teams : Round robin, 2 groups, with QF, SF and F. #1s choose opponent of other group in QF; cannot meet other #1 in SF, cannot meet best classified of own group in SF.
11: (1,4,5,8,9) and (2,3,6,7,10,11), 9 weeks
12: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11), 9 weeks
13: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,13), 11 weeks
14: (1,4,5,8,9,12) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,13,14), 11 weeks
15: (1,4,5,8,9,12,13) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15), 11 weeks
16: (1,4,5,8,9,12,13,16) and (2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15), 11 weeks
17-22 Teams: Round robin, 3 groups, with QF, SF and F.
4 teams advance per group, the group with the best 2nd comer will be renamed to group D, the next groups circular to E and F, then the pairings for first rd KO will be:
1E-bye, 3F-3D, 2D-bye, 2F-4E ---- 1F-bye, 2E-4D, 1D-bye, 3E-4F
best 2nd comer will be determined according to the tiebreaker rules (13.7)
Quarterfinal: 1Evs3F-3D; 2Dvs2F-4E;;; 1Fvs2E-4D; 1Dvs3E-4F
17: (1,6,7,12,13), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16), 9 weeks
18: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16), 9 weeks
19: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,19), 11 weeks
20: (1,6,7,12,13,18), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,19), 11 weeks
21: (1,6,7,12,13,18,19), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,21), 11 weeks
22: (1,6,7,12,13,18,19), (2,5,8,11,14,17,20) and (3,4,9,10,15,16,21,22), 11 weeks
23/24 Teams: four groups (1,8,9,16,17,24)(2,7,10,15,18,23)(3,6,11,14,19,22)(4,5,12,13 ,20,21) - groups split according to ELO team rank.
1/8, QF, SF and final (16 teams advance to KO phase)
Each group gets assigned a letter A-D randomly (using toutoune`s suggestion of starting a 4 player game with 1 member of each group and seeing who is the start player - that group becomes Group A, then do it for 3 players to figure out Group B, etc.). Once a letter is assigned then the matchups are fixed.
A1 plays B4 (i.e. Group A 1st place Team play Group B 4th place team)
A2 plays B3
A3 plays B2
A4 plays B1
C1 plays D4
C2 plays D3
C3 plays D2
C4 plays D1
13.6 Clash pairings in round robin stage
Pairings by number of teams in a group, team number according to team rank.
5 teams
Round 1: 1-3, 5-2
Round 2: 4-1, 3-5
Round 3: 2-3, 4-5
Round 4: 5-1, 2-4
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4
6 teams
Round 1: 1-4, 2-5, 3-6
Round 2: 5-1, 2-3, 4-6
Round 3: 1-3, 6-2, 4-5
Round 4: 6-1, 2-4, 3-5
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
7 teams
Round 1: 7-1, 3-5, 6-2
Round 2: 1-4, 2-5, 6-7
Round 3: 5-1, 2-3, 4-7
Round 4: 7-2, 4-5, 3-6
Round 5: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Round 6: 6-1, 7-3, 2-4
Round 7: 1-3, 5-7, 4-6
8 teams
Round 1: 1-6, 2-5, 3-7, 4-8
Round 2: 1-3, 2-4, 5-8, 6-7
Round 3: 1-7, 2-8, 3-6, 4-5
Round 4: 1-5, 2-6, 3-8, 4-7
Round 5: 1-4, 2-7, 3-5, 6-8
Round 6: 1-8, 2-3, 5-7, 4-6
Round 7: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
10.6 Match pairings
Captains choose a lineup per clash. EACH CLASH, THEY ARE FREE TO CHOOSE PLAYERS AND SLOTS THEY PLAY IN.
11 Schedule of play
11.1 Explanation
Once the draw for the next round is posted (on Thursday or Friday in the week preceding that round) the players can play their games (they can make arrangements by PM). The captain must have the results of the match before the end of the week of that round. Example: the second round, of which the draw will be posted not later than Friday, 19th of September, must be finished latest on Sunday the 28th of September.
11.2 Safe exit
Once the schedule of Round Robin is released :
If a team knows in advance that one of their players is not able to play in the time of a certain clash, they can ask for the TD's agreement to have that particular match played before the due time. It is the responsibility of the captain of that team to contact his/her peer to find an arrangement.
Each team, when ready, will send a lineup made of 1 name for that match. The remaining lineup will be sent to the TD at the time scheduled including the score of the match already played.
15.Format of a clash in Round Robin.
12.1 Duration of a match in the Round Robin
A. Number of games per match during round robin
Each match consists of 6 games. Possible results of a match are 6-0; 5-1; 4-2; 3-3.
B. Tiebreaker in Round Robin
To decide upon rank in the round robin, number of clashes won is the first tiebreaker, then the number of matches won, then the number of games won, then the round robin result between the relevant teams.
C. Starter rule
The first game is opened with random start. For subsequent games the starter alternates.
12.2. Format of clash and a match in KO Round
A. Lineups
The captain sends the TD a pm with the four-player lineup and nominates a player for the tie-breaking match (that will be played only if needed).
Players that play the first 4 matches can play the tie-breaking match.
B. Duration of a match
Best-of-seven, i.e. match is over when a player has won 4 games. Possible results are 4-0, 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3.
C.To decide upon win in the KO round, number of matches won is the first tie breaker, then result of the tie-breaking match.
13 Nature of the games
A. 1v1;
B. US map;
C. Rated;
13.1 Alternating starts
The starter will be assigned randomly in the first game. At the end of each subsequent game, players select "propose a rematch" to alternate the start.
14 Anti-Cheating Trust:
Each player plays with his/her personal account. It is forbidden to have anyone else play NC games with that account. The players rating should reflect his playing strength.
Each player plays with his/her strongest account (overall).
Each player plays alone. Any contact with others (other than one's opponent) during the game that has to do with that current game is forbidden.
15. Miscellaneous
A. It is not allowed to add players to a team after the start of the tournament unless the TD decides otherwise (mostly in case of emergency). A player can only be registered to one team. This emergency registration has to be according to rules 2./3./6./8./12.
B. In case of a dispute, one of the involved captains sends a PM to the TD with a copy to the other captain. The decision will be under the discretion of the TD. The TD will inform both captains by PM about the decision and post it in the organisational thread if necessary. The TD may request support from the NC board to cover her/his decision.
C. If a team is not able to finish a round, it forfeits all unplayed games and loses therewith each unfinished match.
D. Captains can temporarily or permanently resign during the tournament by adjusting their posting in the REGISTRATIONAL thread, in which they appoint a new captain.
E. Every team is free to choose a name; by default, every team gets the name of the team members' country.