Tournaments

Battle Rounds is great for tournament style gameplay! Whether you want to set up a huge tournament at your local hobby store or just want to play with a few friends, try these rules below. Either way, reach out to us with what you’re planning and we’ll help with some prizes and more.

Official Tournament Rules

Players are placed into a single elimination bracket. Losing players/teams are eliminated. Winning players/teams move on to the next round. Depending on the number of players in the tournament, each game/round can can be played by 2, 3 or 4 players.

Trading cards should be provided by the tournament host for each round of the tournament. The specific cards used should not be revealed to the players. Trading cards drawn by the characters can be kept by their owning players, win or lose, when the tournament is finished. This is a nice bonus for all players who enter the tournament.

All characters begin the tournament with standard stat scores as noted in the official rules. Players using official Battle Rounds characters may begin with the adjusted stats allowed for their characters. Before the tournament begins, each player may adjust their characters stats a total of 3, 4 or 5 points (to be determined by the tournament host). No more that 2 points can be adjusted on any single character, and any adjustments must be justified to the tournament host. For example, Player One is able to adjust his character scores four points before the tournament. He adds 2 points to the Movement score of his muscle car character. In return he needs to reduce that character’s stats by two points so he reduces the muscle car’s Defense score by 1 point and his Heath score by 1 point. Player One also increases the Defense score of his tank character by 2 points and in return, reduces that character’s hit bonus by 1 and his health by 1. The tournament host must agree to these changes, ensuring that the bonuses are appropriate and make sense for that miniature/character. Stats are only adjusted before round one of the tournament and the changes carry over until the tournament concludes.

Use a Draft Start for each round as noted in the official rules. For example, each player in the tournament is allowed to bring a total of 6 characters for their team. Before each round, players may declare which of their team’s characters are available for that round of the tournament. Players must role a die to randomly determine which character from their team can enter the game. Players may use any surviving characters from their team to continue to the next round of the tournament. Any characters defeated in the tournament are out for the entire tournament. This adds to the strategy of the game… players may decide to keep one of their better characters out of the first round of battle, ensuring they will be available if they move on to the second round.

Determine a time limit for each round. Follow standard gameplay options in the official rulebook for every round of the tournament. The teams with the most characters standing at the end of each round’s time limit are the winners. If the teams are tied, the winner is determined by “sudden death” and the next player to have a character defeated loses the round. Winning players use only their surviving characters in the next round. Tournament hosts may allow player’s to revive their characters. In this case, revived characters begin at their starting stats values – all bonuses earned previously in the tournament are removed.

At the end of each round, all surviving characters retain all stats scores and any trading cards they are carrying. The only stat score to change at the beginning of the a new round is heath. Each character adjusts their Health score to their standard starting score as if they were healed. All other scores remain the same. To help keep track of each characters’ scores, take a picture of each character on their Battle Round disc/base to refer to before the next round.

Tournament Team & Character Awards

Battle Rounds might be the only tournament in the world where the Awards Ceremonies occur BEFORE the tournament starts!

Since part of the fun of Battle Rounds is putting together teams of characters, tournament hosts should award bonus stat rewards before the tournament starts. Each player presents their team of characters before the tournament starts. The tournament host and/or judges then determine winning characters and teams in any number of categories. Winners of these categories receive reward stats points and can add them to their characters before the tournament begins. For example, the judges decide that player 4 has the most cohesive looking team of all original characters. she is awarded 3 points to distribute to her characters in any way she sees fit. The second place player receives 2 points, and third place receives 1 point. Player 3 has a character on his team that is awarded Best Handpainted Character. Player 3 can give that character 3 bonus points. Please note that “team” award points can be given out however the awarded player see fit. Players winning awards for individual characters can only give the award points to that character.

Below are several suggested categories for awards. (Please note that tournament hosts need to balance the number of rewards with the number of tournament players. Too many stats rewards with too few players can unbalance gameplay). Before giving out awards, it’s important to remember that the characters on each team need to have some sort of cohesiveness. A team with a stuffed cow, a green plastic army man, the Mighty Thor, 2 Smurfs, and a California Raisin shouldn’t receive any bonus points since the team does not show any thought or planning behind it’s concept. On the other hand, a team with 3 futuristic military robot drones, 2 space marines, and a giant alien wearing similar gear as the marines can receive bonus points because their team of characters fit together well.

Possible Tournament Award Categories
Most Creative Team
Most Original Handmade Team
Best Original Sculpted Character
Best Hand Painted Character
Best “Triple Threat Character” (sculpted, 3D printed, and painted by the same same person)
Best Coordinated Hand Painted Team
Most Unique Character

Tournament hosts can create other additional awards. It’s important to announce what awards will be given out prior to the tournament so that players have a few weeks, if not months, to create their teams. Points awarded for first place, second place, and more can all be decided at the beginning of the tournament and based on the number of players. If there are a lot of tournament players, we suggest 3 points for first, 2 for second, and 1 for third. If the tournament is small, trying giving out a single point for first place, and don’t declare a second or third place. It might be fun for the tournament host to not announce the reward categories prior to the tournament.  This way, the awards can be a surprise and the host can adjust categories and reward stats based on the number of players that enter the tournament.

If you’re setting up a tournament at home with a few friends, please feel free to email us with pics of players with their characters. We’ll be happy to play the judge and award team and character bonuses. Let us know who wins and we’ll email the winner an official Battle Rounds Tournament Trophy for 3D printing and bragging rights!  And if all the players are members of our Patreon, we’ll even mail you some free trading cards to use in the tournament!