Hey everyone! Your friendly sides leads Tobi and [judge redacted] here. Welcome to scheduled sides at The Vancouver Riftbound Regional Qualifier, we are so excited to work with you! —------------------------------------------------------------------ Your call times are in the event and staff schedule: http://www.vyseri.com/images/Side Events RQ Vancouver.pdf Website for events https://uvsgames.com/rq-vancouver-schedule/ Judge Companion App for Riftbound https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.primefour.pocket_judge Individual Event Information Sheets http://www.vyseri.com/images/Riftbound Vancouver-Sides Info Sheets.pdf Venue Address Vancouver Convention Centre 1055 Canada Place Vancouver, BC V6C 0C3 —------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethos —------------------------------------------------------------------ The word for the weekend will be flexibility. The schedule shows that you are assigned to one or more events each day you are working with us on side events. Those will be your primary events. But you will be on shift outside of these times. When you’re on shift but your primary events haven’t started or have already ended, you will be helping the other teams with their events. This is especially true when launching events, when we will need extra judges to help. At any time during your shift, we may need to change the team you’re on or send you to help on-demand events (ODEs) or help the main event or other competitive events. Especially with competitive events, if we ask you to move to a different team and you feel that you are not prepared or comfortable with that, please tell us! We want you to have a good experience this weekend. Also, you’ll note that there are several team leads, and each of the floor judges is assigned to one of those leads each day. Your team lead is the person who will assign you tasks throughout the day. They’re your main point of contact on the floor. If you have a concern or question, your lead is your first stop. If for any reason during the weekend you’re not comfortable talking with your lead, please talk to either Tobi or [judge redacted]. Breaks —------------------------------------------------------------------ Your team lead will assign breaks to you. Each judge should get a 60-minute break and a 30-minute break. When you leave to go on break please check in with your team lead or a sides lead. This is both to ensure that someone knows you got your break and, in the event that something odd has happened we can inform you whether your break time is changing. Events are busy, and your scheduled breaks may change. Again, please be flexible. If you are in the middle of a task when your break time comes up, please tell your lead. If it’s a few minutes, they’ll probably be okay with you wrapping it up.Otherwise, they can pass off the task to someone else. It is important that you take your breaks when your lead tells you to. If you don’t, it can throw off the whole break schedule for the team. Head judges, when you go on break, you need to hand your event off to someone, who will be the head judge while you are away. When handing off to someone, ensure the incoming HJ knows where the event is and all of the details (round number, round end time, have tickets been distributed, have no-shows been sent to the scorekeeper, lengthy time extensions, etc.) Also ensure the team and your sides leads know who is covering you during your break. Before an Event —------------------------------------------------------------------ For events, a few things need to happen before the event begins. These tasks will be organized by your lead; look to them for specific assignments. - Head judges (team leads): Ensure you understand the structure of your event (constructed or limited, best-of-one or best-of-three, round length, etc.) and prizes (how many tickets per round and when they are distributed). - Tobi or [judge redacted] will give you a starting table number and tell you who the scorekeeper is for your event. Ensure that the starting table number is communicated to the scorekeeper. (Our side events will not start at table 1.) - Ensure that there is a pairings board with a cover sheet that indicates the name of the event and has spaces to write the round end times for each round of the event. Ensure that the pairings board is close enough to the event to be relevant, and ensure there are tape loops on the pairings board 15 minutes before the event begins. - Ensure that the appropriate flag is placed adjacent to the pairings board for upcoming events 15 minutes before the event begins. - For events where players are given product to construct pools out of, ensure that there are Runes available for use close to the area, or that the Runes are clearly marked. Tell the judges working this event where the Runes are; the players will ask. - Ensure that tables are clean, and that for events such as 2v2 or trios, the area has been renumbered appropriately. - Ensure that you have the appropriate permissions in Carde.io to assist players with issues. - Ensure that tickets and promos are prepared for the first round. - The head judge (team lead) should be at the stage when the scorekeeper pushes the seatings for deck build or pairings for the first round (as appropriate), about 5 minutes before the event begins. The scorekeeper will give the HJ paper pairings or seatings in order by player name. These should be posted on the pairings board immediately. - We have one 2v2 event on sides this weekend. Tobi and [judge redacted] will work with [judge redacted], the HJ for that event, on special tasks we’ll need to do to launch that event. If you are scheduled for [judge redacted]’s team, review the rules for 2v2 (CR 484; TR 603, 502.11, 703.9.e) Before a Limited Event —------------------------------------------------------------------ - Limited events are those where players receive product (booster packs or decks) to build their decks. We’ll have sealed, draft, and champion deck limited events this weekend. - If there is any product that needs to be distributed to the players, Tobi or [judge redacted] will ensure that it is brought to the area a few minutes before the event begins. It is very important that there is a member of staff whose sole task is to guard the product at all times until either it is fully distributed or the excess product is returned to the stage or back-of-house. - Ensure that the product is ready and available for the start of the event. - When launching the event, the scorekeeper will give the HJ a set of seatings ordered by table number along with the seatings by name. If they don’t, ask for it. - At the beginning of the event, a judge should use the paper pairings by table number to mark down every player who is not present (and therefore didn’t get product). Be careful that a player who did get product but then walked away (intending to drop) is NOT marked as a no-show. They got product; we don’t want them to claim they didn’t show up for the event and get more product later. - Keep the product for a little while so you can give it to late arrivals. Be sure to mark on the no-show list that they did show up. In general, late arrivals don’t receive a time extension for build. Don’t forget to guard the product. - Once you get to the point where you believe a late arrival doesn’t have enough time to build, take the remaining product to the stage and the no-show list to the scorekeeper, who will drop all the players who never showed up. During an Event —------------------------------------------------------------------ - If you are instructed to post pairings, your job is to wait by the scorekeeper until paper pairings come out at the beginning of the round, and then post them on the board. You are also responsible for taking down pairings from the previous round 20 minutes before that round ends. - If you are instructed to sit on a match at the end of the round, your job is to let the players know when their time extension is up (if applicable), assist them with end of round procedures, watch for slow play, and assist with rules questions that come up in a timely manner. It is extremely important that you do not leave the table until you have seen the players enter their match results into carde.io. - At the beginning of each round, prize tickets will be placed on the table, these are typically for the winner of the round. - Most of our events have a number of tickets given to each player as a participation prize. These tickets will be distributed during round 1. - When distributing tickets, ensure that the players know which tickets belong to each player and which tickets are for the winner of the round. Also, ensure the players acknowledge the tickets are for them. - Each round, there are likely to be some players who don’t show up. - If a player doesn’t have an opponent at the start of the round, tell them to wait and to call a judge if either the opponent arrives or we’re 10 minutes into the round. If the opponent arrives, they should get ready to start their match. At the 10-minute mark, go around to all the players without opponents, have the present player mark themselves winning the match in carde.io, and record the present player’s name. Give the list of present players to the scorekeeper, and be clear these are the players who are present. The scorekeeper will then drop the opponent who never showed up. - There may be some tables where both players didn’t arrive for their match. A judge will need to look for these at the beginning of the round. These double no-shows need to also be reported to the scorekeeper after the 10-minute mark, so both players can be dropped. - If you do not have a task please stay with the players and watch Riftbound! It can be fun to watch other people playing games. But when you do, you need to use your best poker face. Do not comment on matches or offer any kind of assistance unless it is to correct an in-game error or unless you are asked. - If a player is dissatisfied with a ruling, they have the right to appeal to the head judge. They do not need to say this explicitly, and if a player seems upset you can offer an appeal to the head judge. If you have an appeal, take the table number of the appealing table with you to find the head judge. This ensures you do not lose the table. - Whenever you take a call, take note of the time you started the call and ensure that you check again at the end of the call and issue an appropriate time extension either in carde.io, on a paper slip, or both. - If you have a question or are unsure of a rule or an infraction or anything during a judge call, find another judge to bounce ideas off of. If you think a remedy may involve a rewind or revealing cards or a game loss or a match loss or anything that would be difficult to undo, it is important that you check with your team lead to get a second opinion first. After an Event —------------------------------------------------------------------ - Ensure the table numbers are reset if it was a 2v2 event or trios event. - Clean up trash from the area. - Remove the cover sheet and any lingering pairings from the pairings boards. Finishing Thoughts —------------------------------------------------------------------ Again, be ready to change plans. Things happen, and we have people to be flexible. Otherwise, we could just program robots to run events for us. Follow the plan, but be ready to jump into some other tasks if your lead tells you to. Don't blindly follow instructions. If you don’t understand, please ask for clarification. If you need help, ask for it. If you need a bathroom break, ask someone around you to cover your floor. Help people around you, if they need a break. Drink water! Listen to yourself, don't overwork, and don't get dehydrated. Thanks for staying with us until the end of this email! We’re looking forward to working with you soon. -Tobi and [judge redacted]