Need Ideas for Running a Tournament at my Local Gaming Store

I was a HUGE player of Car Wars back in the 80s, and even still have my original CW Deluxe, Dueltrack, and a handful of expansions, ADA Quarterlies, Uncle Al's Catalogs. Heck, I even have Boat Wars in the little plastic box that I never used. Over the past year I have been getting back into it and even introduced a few friends to the game, but I want more. So I spoke with the owner of my local shop and suggested we put on a day long tournament and he was more than thrilled to host it. Now I just need to figure out how. :)



I have been researching and looking around and think I have come up with something that is workable but would like to run it past the community to make sure I didn't miss anything as well as suggestions and ideas. Some things to keep in mind are:

• There will be mostly new players, so it needs to be exciting and fun.


• I want to make is visually appealing to get people's attention.


• I want to use the Car Wars Classic rules since players will actually be able to buy that right then and there in the store (assuming he can get some in).

So with that in mind, here is what I have so far:

1. Rules:Car Wars Classic for the above listed reason and because I feel it is the easiest for new people to understand. I just wish is had gasoline engines in it....


2. Scale: 3X. Going large so we can use Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars and because it will grab people's attention. I have already started collecting cars and planning the tools I will need such as a large turning key, yardstick, etc. including graph paper that has .75" squares with every 4th line bold to mimic the 1/4" and 1" of standard scale maps.


3. Format: The tournament will consist of 2 rounds. First round will be a race around an oval track. The 2nd will be classic arena duel. We will have time before we get started for players to register and for me to teach them the basics. I am planning on using the WADA Rules that are on the SWATwebsite (Thank you Owenmp for that awesome list of resources!) for general scoring. In addition there will be cash bonus prizes for a variety of things that you can do during the duel such as disabling another player, complete kills, setting someone on fire, disable them by ramming, etc. The cash will be used for additional upgrades between races and possibly count towards final scoring.


4. Starting Vehicles: I am still working on this and welcome suggestions and ideas. I tend to think that a higher class ($25k-$30k) vehicle would be more fun for first timers, but that's not particularly typical.


5. Upgrades: Once I decide on the starting vehicles this will be easier. I figure I would have a base car with 2-3 option packages they can pick from at no cost, and then another 2-3 that they could upgrade to with their cash. They will be given a bit of cash to start with for each round and in the 2nd one they will also have their winnings from the first round.


6. Winning: For the race it will either be who completed X laps first, or who completed the most laps in the time allowed. Rankings will flow from their. For the arena battle it will be in reverse order of when your vehicle was eliminated. So first one eliminated is last place, etc. Overall winner for the day will be determined by overall points between the two races. Ties will be settled by who won the most cash.

Now this is where all you awesome people come in. I want your opinions, ideas, suggestions, criticisms, whatever on my plan. Tear it apart, look for the weak points, make suggestions for it to be better. I even want suggestions and ideas on how best to keep track of everything (speeds, handling class, etc) for a large group. We haven't picked a date yet, but it won't be until after International Table Top Day (April 11th) so I have time to fine tune this.



My goal is that when as soon as we announce the winner, people start asking me when we are doing it again. :)

Need Ideas for Running a Tournament at my Local Gaming Store