Have you been wanting to run an event at your game store but haven’t had any solid guidelines to go off of? Check out the Rogue Trader Guidebook
The Rogue Trader event Guidebook was released back in the early 2000s back when GW had more of a hand in Competitive play in the U.S. They ended up backing out and threw the guidelines to the wayside. That’s when we started to see multiple events pop up around the country.
The Old RTT Award for Overall, dubbed the Golden Chicken
These events were called Rogue Trader Tournaments chiefly because the events were put on by independent game stores (i.e. Rogue Traders).
Games Workshop’s Guide to Running an Event
Even though the Rogue Trader book is from the early 2000’s it’s still a goldmine of helpful information to anyone wanting to run an event. It sort of “sets the standard” for Warhammer gatherings. Let’s look at some helpful ideas that are in the book.
Gamer’s Bill of Rights
Set the baseline for your events with the Gamer’s bill of rights. It’s the foundation for fair playing and a fun time.
Structuring the Event
The key to success is to plan ahead and plan often. Judges should know their rules and should not be allowed to play in the tournament. Nothing looks sketchier than having a judge tell you what you can and can’t do and then have him end up in 1st place.
This is a tournament so make sure you can equalize everything as much as possible. That means everyone gets a 4X6 or 4×4 table and about the same terrain on both sides of the playing field. You want it to come down to dice rolls. Not someone winning because they started on the high ground.
Don’t run a single-elimination style event. People could travel and pay good money to play in your tournament. Make sure everyone gets to play the same amount of games.
Don’t participate in your own events if you don’t want an angry mob of gamers in your store. Nothing looks worse than an organizer winning something he put together. If you feel like you absolutely HAVE to play, just let someone else run the event instead.
Putting it All on Paper
Players don’t want to feel rushed. If you’re going to be running three matches in a tournament, start the day early. Don’t be afraid to begin the tournament in the morning. People will show up if they want to play Warhammer. Just be sure you advertise plenty and ahead of time.
Make a chart and print out a schedule for everyone. Heres an example of what a twenty-player tournament would look like on paper:
And here’s an example of what a painting competition would look like:
Scoring & Recording Points
Now that you’ve got the players, the Tournament rules, and the schedule, you’ll have to set objectives and record points. Of course, you should have the obvious objective points but one area that a lot of tournaments neglect is Sportsmanship.
It encourages players to stay in the best of moods and it turns out they’re generally happier at the end of the day. Factor in other areas like army presentation. Someone may have spent a lot of time piecing together each part of their army and painting it all by hand. reward them for it!
Hopefully, this has served as a solid building block to start organizing an event. It’s a lot of information and takes some practice. But, when done right, people will keep coming back for more.
Are you wanting to organize a local event? Have you used the Rogue Trader Guidelines before?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
More articles on tournament play
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
