Sample Scoring system for C&CS/KOTC Convention Games

[miller6]

Glad to hear you're running C&C games at a convention! We need more people doing that. Thanks for telling me since I'm compiling a list of conventions C&CS/KOTC members attend to create a national database of C&C events at hobby shops and conventions (in the works).

How are you scoring/determining who gets prizes for your games? How many prizes do you award? I'm working on a standardized scoring system for different types of C&C games which I'll upload to KOTC when it's complete. Here's an example you could use.

For a single game, a prize is awarded to the best overall player when considering 1) role-playing, 2) strategy and 3) team play as factors. To score, players rank each other (not themself) from worst to best in each of the 3 categories. The range of points awarded per category is one less than the total number of players. So for a table of 6 players points range from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
So for a table of 6 players a single player's voting sheet might look like this. A total of 5 score sheets should be turned in:

player 1: Role Playing _1_, Strategy _3_, Team Play _3_
player 2: Role Playing _5_, Strategy _2_, Team Play _5_
player 3: Role Playing _2_, Strategy _4_, Team Play _1_
player 4: Role Playing _4_, Strategy _5_, Team Play _4_
player 5: Role Playing _3_, Strategy _1_, Team Play _2_

The CK on the other hand, ranks all of the players and consequently the CKs range for each category is equal to the number of players. i.e. 1-6 for a 6 player game. CK votes count for double so it's actually 2-12 points per player per category.

So for a table of 6 players the CK's score sheet might look like this:
player 1: Role Playing _2_, Strategy _12_, Team Play _6_
player 2: Role Playing _10_, Strategy _4_, Team Play _10_
player 3: Role Playing _4_, Strategy _8_, Team Play _12_
player 4: Role Playing _8_, Strategy _10_, Team Play _8_
player 5: Role Playing _6_, Strategy _2_, Team Play _4_
player 6: Role Playing _12_, Strategy _6_, Team Play _2_

All points then totaled for each player adding their points in all 3 categories from each player voting sheet and the CKs voting sheet. Most total points wins best overall player. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place can be determined using this method too. Tie-breakers are settled the old-school way by rolling 20 sides with the best role winning.


The number of and value of prizes is based on how many players were involved in the event. For each 6 players, 1 minor prize ($5 value). For 2 tables 2 prizes or 1 double value prize, etc.
To increase the value of prizes, run events with more players, more slots or more rounds.

A great minor prize is a C&C collectible coin ($5 value) with the option to keep it or exchange it with TLG for a 40% discount on their purchases at a TLG vendor booth at the con. Most people keep it as a keepsake representing their win in a gaming competition. If TLG doesn't have a vendor booth at the con, send a notification to Tim of your winner's names and events you ran and at what convention, and the winners can contact TLG online and mention that they won the coin in your C&C game and still get a winner's discount.

You can also get C&C characters sheets or modules for your events if you need them but they have to be requested well in advance so let me know if you need them.

Brian Miller

[ArgoForg]

That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, and I really do like the idea of awarding good role play and teamwork as well as simple strategy. There's a part of me me that almost thinks we should offer the players a chance to rate the CK so that he or she might realize areas for improvement, too, but that might be a lot of paperwork after a gaming session for some.

A quick question, too. Is there any differentiation between a C&CS event and just running a C&C game at a Con, or is every C&C session at a con by definition a C&CS event? (I've never been a part of the RPGA or anything, so I wasn't sure if the Society was a little more informal or not).

[alcyone]

I'd hate to go to an event, and have someone at the table say I was the worst at something, even if I was. It sort of reminds me of those "360" reviews they do at some companies, which usually end up with a lot of hurt feelings. My suggestion would be to call out the outstanding things, plus points for goals attained, which of course are different in every adventure, but most tournament modules should have a few things like that, plus bonuses like hidden things.

[miller6]

I'd hate to go to an event, and have someone at the table say I was the worst at something, even if I was. It sort of reminds me of those "360" reviews they do at some companies, which usually end up with a lot of hurt feelings. My suggestion would be to call out the outstanding things, plus points for goals attained, which of course are different in every adventure, but most tournament modules should have a few things like that, plus bonuses like hidden things.

The sample scoring system I posted is for "Individual Scoring Events". In that type of event the goal is to determine who at the table advanced to the next round or won a prize. A classic example of a major tournament that used team scoring was Gen Con's AD&D Masters Tournament. I use a similar method for Gary Con's C&C Tourney.

The method you mentioned is for "Team Scoring Events". In that type of event the goal is to determine which team of players advances to the next round or won a prize as a group. A classic example of a major tournament that used team scoring was Gen Con's AD&D Open. Luke Gygax uses this method for the GaryCon AD&D Open.

I'll create a sample scoring system for team scoring events and post that too, but for now, here's a preview.
With team scoring , it's actually not necessary to include specific adventure details. Points are awarded or deducted by the CK for general categories such as "avoided a trap, or "avoided unnecessary combat", "found secret door", "solved puzzle", "deciphered runes", "total hit points remaining", "total number of spells remaining, "number of magic items recovered", "value of non-magical treasure recovered", "number of encounters completed", "time required to complete adventure", etc. These are some examples but not all categories that can be used for team scoring.

Historical note:
Individual scoring events were dominant at conventions in RPGA tournaments in the 80's and early 90's until Living City replaced them. Haven't seen one in over 20 years so I used one for the C&C tournament at Gary Con. Feedback was positive. New players liked the scoring system and older players said it reminded them of the "glory days" of gaming. Both said they'd like to see more events like that. Basically, the old has become the new and is ripe for a comeback so I provided a sample for event coordinators who wish to use individual scoring. It will be available as a download on the KOTC site once it gets a final edit and completes submission review.

I'm glad you brought up your concern. In the final edit, I will clarify that scoring for events is always a silent voting system. Players are never informed of anyone's initial or final scores, nor are scores discussed aside from explaining how the scoring system works. Players simply fill out the scoring sheets at the end of the event and turn them in to the CK. The CK turns them into the event coordinator to be totaled up to determine who won prizes. Only the CK and coordinator see the completed scoring sheets and they are instructed not to reveal scores. Only the results of who won prizes are announced, not their scores. Players do put their names on the scoring sheet and list the names of each player for tracking purposes. example: Player 1: Bob Johnson, Player 2, Jan Adams, etc. otherwise anonymity is maintained.

An event draws extra attention if prizes are handed out during an award ceremony where everyone is thanked for making it a successful event (round of applause), then CKs and coordinators are thanked (round of applause), then players who won prizes are congratulated (round of applause), followed by a pizza party, etc. Do that for an event and you'll draw more players the next time.

Another reason I like the individual scoring system is that prizes can also be awarded for highest score for Role Playing or for Strategy or for Team Play per round and/or overall totals, aside from awarding prizes for overall 1st, 2nd, 3rd place scores. That allows for recognition of excellence in a specific category. I added that for the C&C tournament. Another option is to just award prizes for each category and not for overall scores.

For multi-round events:
Individual scoring can be used to reduce the number of players/slots in multi-round events or everyone can advance maintaining the same amount of slots each round. It's also possible to combine those options, advancing all players one round, then reducing the next round. Which method is used is up to the event coordinator in determining how many slots the event will have. More slots, more prizes, more rounds, more slots. Less slots per round, less prizes. The same goes for team events. All teams can be advanced or the number of slots can be reduced each round.

Regarding the use of the terms best/worst in determining scores:
Specific terminology when explaining to players how a scoring system works is up to the CK. You can easily replace best and worst with whatever terms you wish that clearly convey what the numbers mean. The most common mistake people make when scoring is reversing the numbers, i.e. giving someone a 1 thinking 1st place, when it should've been 5 points for achieving the highest level of play in a category. I've seen coordinators use 1-5 to represent 1st-5th place to avoid that confusion, but that added an extra step of having to reverse the ranks to figure out points. Otherwise prizes would be awarded by lowest total instead of highest.

The event description players read when signing up should indicate that the event is an individual scoring event. Players who don't wish to be individually ranked, should sign up for team scoring or non-scoring events. We want as much variety as possible.

Brian Miller

[miller6]

That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea at all, and I really do like the idea of awarding good role play and teamwork as well as simple strategy. There's a part of me me that almost thinks we should offer the players a chance to rate the CK so that he or she might realize areas for improvement, too, but that might be a lot of paperwork after a gaming session for some.

A quick question, too. Is there any differentiation between a C&CS event and just running a C&C game at a Con, or is every C&C session at a con by definition a C&CS event? (I've never been a part of the RPGA or anything, so I wasn't sure if the Society was a little more informal or not).

Good point! If you're looking for a method for scoring CKs, try one similar to individual scoring with the exception that the 3 categories become "role-playing", "knowledge/use of game mechanics", and "maintaining initiatives". Use score ranges from 1 to 3, with 1 meaning "room for improvement", 2 "skilled", and 3 "highly adept".
The AD&D Open used to use a method similar to that to determine the top GMs out of 30 GMs running 5 slots each.
I'll write up a sample and post it and submit it as a KOTC download. And yes, scoring does involve extra work which is why it's nice to have an event coordinator so the CKs can focus on running games. Technology has provided the means to eliminate a lot of the paperwork involved in running a tournament or scored event. For example, an excel spreadsheet can be made to total scores, reducing the work to data entry while eliminating the possibility of mathematical errors. That's what we used for the C&C tourney for Gary Con. Eventually we'll have a database to do that even more efficiently.

To answer your second question, if C&C and other convention events become C&CS/KOTC events, like RPGA did with their convention events, membership can be required which generates revenue to be able to sponsor events and even conventions as well as providing swag and gaming publications. At first membership doesn't have to and currently doesn't cost money but as we get better organized it should.

We shouldn't look to TLG to foot the bill for benefits for membership and convention activities. They'd like to but it's just not feasible. They've got enough expenses producing TLG merchandise and attending conventions. If C&CS/KOTC is to be successful, a revenue stream is necessary otherwise the burden of convention costs and other gaming network activities falls on the volunteers. I recommend that anyone running a C&C or TLG event at a convention, make it a C&CS/KOTC event. If you do, we can help you get the word out and before long will have a event registration database you can use to list your events and enroll CKs and players. We will also be posting a membership registration form soon that you can hand out at events, then send a copy to arcanechimera who will add those members to the KOTC members database. We'll also be coming up with membership cards people can use to register in C&CS/KOTC events. Good things in the works.

Brian Miller