Tournament two-dayers on the decline?

I just read a forum post that got me thinking. This post was to notify Australia that a tournament was being cancelled because of low numbers. The author believes that numbers across the tournament scene are beginning to drop. I think I know why.

1. Two day events. Personally, I can rarely go to them. I can't justify to myself or, more importantly, my partner as to why I can attend them. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people in this scenario to. Furthermore, nothing would be worse then having three losses on day 1, followed by the thought that you have to turn up on day 2 to a loss. Motivating? No. I applaud the guys who do it.

2. Meta play. There has been a lot of talk around competitive gaming. Spicerack threw a post up about it a few days ago and readers seemed to feel heavily about the subject. How far are you willing to go to win? For most of us, not very. I'm happy to proxy models at tournaments and such, but I won't get my army commission painted to get 2 extra points added to my overall tally. This is another reason for why I think tournaments are drying up. The same top players are winning over and over again. The same lists are being played over and over again. I can understand why people are reluctant to go to big events just to be creamed on day one and end up playing to lose on day 2. 

One player has quoted "we need two day events, otherwise the top players never end up playing against each other for first place." Another has even gone as far as saying "if I don't draw an easy match up on the first round, I lose interest as I know I won't come first - maybe going as far as not bothering to turn up on day 2." Wow.....

On a side note, the old first, second and third place overall should be scrapped at two day events. If T/O's want to motivate less experienced players to their events, it needs to be bracketed with prizes for first (maybe second with enough players) from each bracket. I know some are already doing this, I can see it becoming standard. Also, the nations No.1 player tabling his newbie opponent by turn 2 should not award a 20-0 score. I'll leave it up to the organisers to figure out a system to overcome this but it needs looking at.  

3. Tournament Fatigue. Like the first reason, having a lot of big tournaments means that players sometimes have to choose which they are going to get to. If there is one every 3-4 weeks, it may be a case of "I'll make the next one." Obviously, people have responsibilities to adhere to. Work, family, social lives etc. I started off the year saying I'd like to get to a few of the big tournaments but, in the end, I didn't. As I said before, I couldn't justify it. Plus, there are a whole host of one-day tournaments popping up around the scene that only add to the list of options.

4. One-Dayers. This is where things are headed in my opinion. One day tournaments make it far easier on peoples lives. They are cheaper and, in most cases, offer a better chance of winning to less experienced players. Here in Sydney, we have one day tournaments being held by GW, Good Games and a host of other smaller venues. It also opens opportunities like doubles or team tournaments. I've been to at least ten this year and enjoyed every one of them. 

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I know some tournament organisers are trying to talk to the regular tournament players to encourage them to enter more events by taking softer lists. Some people are calling for "comp" to make a come-back. Others, are using customised missions to make the games as equal as possible for both players. On the other hand, competitive gamers could argue that it is their right to take power lists. They paid the entry fee as well, right? Well I guess that is true, but, at the end of the day, the more competitive they make the event, the average gamers will continually be driven away.

Or, maybe It's just the end of the year and people are saving money for Christmas?

- Out.