Battle for Stones River Scoring Guidelines

(A short explanation of our scoring and prize categories)

          So I thought as the tournament grows ever closer, I should elaborate on our scoring systems and the titles to be won. I know that tournaments are supposed to be competitive places for hard core players, but the truth of the matter is that we always have a huge percentage of players who are there for a great day of gaming, win or lose. With this in mind we try to create categories for everyone to strive for whether you’re here to utterly crush every foe beneath your boot, have the best looking army on the tables or just have the best possible time regardless of the outcomes. We have categories for all these with equal prizes and equally cool trophies.

Trophies from BFSR 2012

Matt Rogers, Best General BFSR 2012

First up is our title of Best General. This is based purely on gaming and points scored through the scenarios. This is the hardcore guy’s prize. This is nothing more than outplaying your opponent and dominating the battlefield. Generate more points than anyone else to claim this title. This year our scenarios will be win/loss/draw. Meaning that if you win you receive 15 points, lose and you receive 5 points and a draw gets you 10 points. Now once this is scored based on all scenario objectives (Primary and Secondary Objectives), add in any points you scored from secondary objectives to your 15/10/5. For example, I was playing Boltergeist in round one and I won the game because I held 3 of the five primary objectives (9 points) plus I got Slay the Warlord (1 point) and First Blood (1 Point). This gave me a total of 11 points to Boltergeist’s 1 point (for Slay the Warlord). Now in tournament points I receive 15 for the win and Boltergeist receives 5 points for the loss. I would also add 2 points (Slay the Warlord and First Blood) to my 15 tournament points for a total of 17 points and Boltergeist would add 1 point to his 5 points for a total of 6 points. So always take your win/loss points and then add your secondary objective points. Hopefully this was clearer than mud and helps out.

Grant Wyatt, Best Painted BFSR 2012

Second, we have our Best Painted. This title is based on a set of criteria that have been created. These criteria were designed to be as objective as possible in a very subjective area. Most categories for painting are earned by completing things, not necessarily how well they are done. For example, “Is the army completely painted with at least three colors?” (not is it painted well with three colors) “Are there layers of paint, such as dry-brushing, washes or inking done over the majority of the army?” (not how well is the layering done) The idea behind this is that not everyone has natural talent at painting. But everyone can put in the effort. We want to reward people for making the effort by giving points. Now there are categories that have to be subjective that are there to separate those armies that are fully painted and those armies that are painted exceptionally well. So, what I am trying to say is that if you paint your army, you will be rewarded with points and who knows you could walk away with the title of Best Painted.

Chris Enfinger, Best Sportsman BFSR 2012

Third, we have our Best Sportsmanship. This is a category that can be debated till the end of times. Many people feel there shouldn’t be a “Best Sportsman” award but I’m not quite ready to throw it out yet. We use a ranking system to determine our best sportsman for the day. It’s fairly simple, at the end of the tournament, prior to turning in your score card, you look at the opponents you have played that day and simply put a 1 next to your favorite/best sporting opponent, then a 2 next to the player that was second best, then 3 and finally 4. We have a set number of points that we give for each 1/2/3/4 that you receive, giving us a total. We use this to determine our title.

Brian Crew, Overall Champion BFSR 2012

Last, we have our Overall Champion. This title is given to the player that best encompasses the Hobby as a whole. We simply add our three categories together. Battle points makes up approximately 50%, painting approximately 25% and sportsmanship approximately 25%. This gives us our formula to determine our overall winner. Note that all these categories are great feats in their own right and have equally outstanding trophies and prizes.

We are always glad to talk to anyone about our scoring and we are always looking for ways to innovate our system. If you have any comments or ideas, please let us know. We may not have time to implement any changes this year, but we are always looking forward to next year.