Rules

Army Composition

Armies can be a maximum of 2,300 points.

Participants may use Armies listed in the Kings of War List Builder in the Kings of War Companion.

Armies may not include allies.

Army lists are due one week before the event and can be submitted to the Tournament Organizer.

Painted models are not required, but all models must be fully assembled, properly based, and sufficiently identifiable to avoid confusion.  Army appearance judging will be conducted by a qualified judge using the format described here.  If you did not paint your own army you will not be eligible for the ‘Best Appearance’ award and your maximum appearance score will be capped at the average appearance score given at the event.

The tournament is open list.  Each participant should bring six copies of their list to the tournament.  One for each opponent, and one for themselves.

Game Rules

All five games will be played according to the current version of the 3rd edition Kings of War rules in the Kings of War Companion.  The Tournament Staff has final say on all rules disputes.

We will be using the optional Withdraw rule.

First round pairings will be randomly assigned, but participants are allowed to challenge one another for the first round.  Challenges must be made and accepted by the list submission deadline.  The challenged player gets to select which table they will play on.  The current lists of challenges and open tables can be found here.  Subsequent rounds will be determined by Swiss pairing based on Battle points, but we will try to avoid pairing club members against one another.

Games will be timed with chess clocks, and all participants have 65 minutes per game.  In the event that a participant runs out of time, we will use the ‘Finish the Phase‘ method to resolve the remaining turns.  The timed out participant may complete the current phase of their current turn.  After that, they may not roll dice for the remainder of the game, and all their remaining units execute ‘Hold’ orders.

Terrain

We will be using a predetermined terrain map for each round.  Each table will use the same map for the round, and each table will be reset to the new round’s map before each round.  This both allows each game in the round to be played on the same terrain map, and allows a participant who plays on the same table for several rounds to get some variety in terrain layouts.

Each map will contain the following pieces of terrain:

  • 2 height 3 hills
  • 2 height 9 blocking terrain pieces (ex. building)
  • 2 height 1 obstacles
  • 2 height 9 difficult terrain pieces (ex. forest)
  • 2 height 2 difficult terrain piece (ex. field)
  • 1 flat difficult terrain piece (ex. lake)

The flat difficult terrain only provides cover to units of height 2 or less with the majority of their base within it.

Game Scenarios

All games will use scenarios from the 3rd edition Kings of War rules in the Kings of War Companion.

Bonus Objectives

At the beginning of each game, before sides are chosen, each participant may select one Bonus Objective from the following list.  This objective should be kept secret from their opponent.  Each participant may only select one objective per game, and each objective can only be selected once by each participant.  Participants should write their selected objective on their game result sheet at the beginning of the game, and strike it off their list of remaining objectives.  These objectives are worth an additional 2 Battle points.

  • Claim the Field – At the end of at least one of your turns, have at least 3 Unit Strength completely in each table quadrant.
  • Hamstring – Rout all enemy units with a Movement value greater than 7.  You may only select this objective if your opponent begins the game with at least one unit with a Movement value greater than 7.
  • Hold the Line – End the game with a higher total Unit Strength completely on your table half than your opponent has completely on your table half.
  • Look Out, Sir – Have more sources of Inspiring still alive than your opponent at the end of the game.  You may only select this objective if your opponent begins the game with at least once source of Inspiring.
  • My Precious – Before the game begins, select one enemy unit with a Magical Artefact worth at least 30 points.  Rout that unit before the end of the game.  You may only select this objective if your opponent begins the game with at least one unit with a Magical Artefact worth at least 30 points.
  • Quality Over Quantity – Keep your highest point-cost unit alive for the entire game.  If you have multiple units tied for highest point-cost, pick one and denote it on your army list before deployment.
  • Sever the Head – Rout more non-scoring enemy units than your opponent routs.  You may only select this objective if your opponent begins the game with at least one non-scoring unit.
  • Strength in Numbers – Have a higher total Unit Strength still alive than your opponent at the end of the game.

Game Results

We will be using Bartshroud scoring with a max score of 23 per game.  Win/Draw/Loss will be worth 10/5/1.  There will be 7 points for Scenario and 4 points for Attrition, 1 for every 20% of the opponent’s army points routed.  Bonus Objectives will be worth an additional 2 points per game.

Sportsmanship

All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner during the tournament.  This includes being polite and courteous to all other participants and the tournament staff, playing in a clear and easy to follow manner, and not engaging in any behavior that reflects poorly on our hobby.

At the end of each game, participants will report whether or not the game was “good” to indicate whether or not their opponent behaved in a sportsman-like manner.  This should not be answered out of spite, and any participant reporting a “bad” game will be asked for an explanation.  Criteria for a “bad” game include,  but are not limited to cheating or a very poor or abusive attitude.  Participants will receive 2 Sportsmanship points for each “good” game report.  The Tournament Organizer will have a discussion with any participant receiving more than 1 “bad” report, and may eject them from the tournament if needed.

At the conclusion of the 5th game, participants will be asked to vote on their Favorite and Second Favorite Opponent.  Participants will earn 4 Sportsmanship points for each Favorite Opponent vote and 2 Sportsmanship point for each Second Favorite Opponent vote they receive.