(Net) Running a League - Step Three: Running Things

Hello and welcome back. By now, you hopefully have a location (and day/time) for your League AND you've found yourself at least a handful of interested players. You're excited, getting decks ready, sleeving cards, what have you. You can't forget, however, that someone needs to actually *run* the League and, for better or worse, that's you, buck-o.

That doesn't mean that you don't get to play. Far from it, in fact – you should try to be playing against everyone in the League at least once, building up a relationship with the players. It *does* mean that you have to plan out how everything is going to work.

Now, being the nice guy that I am, I'm going to share with you exactly how I run the Android: Netrunner League at Cat & Mouse Games here in Chicago. We currently have 32 active players that meet every other week (depending on the store's event schedule, of course) from 1pm-5pm (although a lot of folks have started showing up at noon, which we've okayed with store management, of course). Each of our game days averages a total of 30 matches played (that's 60 games). So things have been pretty successful.

Step Three - Running Things
Joining the League is free (but we are sponsored and housed by our FLGS; if you are renting space, you should feel free to charge a small fee or take up a collection to pay for the space). I do keep a Sign-Up sheet at the front counter and make sure that new players give me their full name AND email address, since I use email to communicate (as well as postings on our Facebook page). Returning players don't need to sign in.

On a League Game Day, players set up their own matches, usually just asking around for an opponent. Players play full matches, meaning one game as Corp, one as Runner against the same opponent. The results of each match are recorded on a Match slip. I also ask for the Runner and Corp that each player used. Standard FFG Tournament scoring is used (10 Match Points for a win, loser gets Match Points equal to Agenda Points scored/stolen, most Match Points after two games wins the match; 2 Prestige Points awarded for winning a game, 2 additional Prestige Points for winning the Match; a split Match gives each player 3 Prestige).

Players are allowed to switch decks between matches, which is why I need the Runner and Corp indicated on a by-Match basis. I like to try to keep stats on faction win/loss percentages and such. The players find that stuff fascinating and fun, which gives me something to post on our Facebook page to keep everyone engaged on off-weeks.

All released cards are usable during Game Days. We don't check decks for legality – if someone makes a mistake because they are a noob, we usually correct it on the fly as best we can; if someone is trying to cheat, their opponent wins both games and the match, regardless.

Standings are done in order of Average Prestige Points per Game, ties broken by TOTAL Match Points (which naturally biases toward players with more matches) and then by total number of matches. If there is still a tie, the players are ranked equally and the next player is ranked two spots below.

We have a Top Eight Championship at the end of the season. I try to make a Season last six Game Days. Only players who have played AT LEAST 5 Matches throughout the 5-7 weeks of the season (this number will vary due to scheduling at the store) are eligible (I will probably up this to a minimum of 10 matches starting next season). If a Data Pack has released since the last Game Day, we usually ask the Top Eight to NOT use cards from it in the Tournament to keep the playing field level – not everyone gets to play outside Game Days and those that do tend to make up at least part of the Top Eight, so they might have an "unfair advantage."

We also have an Achievement system. I came up with 15 Runner and 15 Corp Achievements, things like playing as each faction, winning as each faction, making a successful run through 3+ pieces of ICE, etc. I don't police them, people are on the honor system to keep track without lying. Each Achievement can be "cashed in" at a future point for a 1% discount on the purchase of a Data Pack (this was, again, cleared with the store prior to implementation), which encourages players to try to collect as many as possible, which drives diversity within the League, since there is an incentive to not just keep playing the same decks. I had an artist friend create icons for each Achievement and printed out stickers which players can affix to their Achievement sheet as they collect them; it seems childish but the reaction has been pretty positive. Even if your League isn't affiliated with a store, you can use the Achievement system to add some incentive for your players to try new things. I would definitely invest in some sort of sticker or other indicator of success, in that case, though.

I send out new standings within a couple of days after a Game Day.

Please note that this is hardly the only way to run a League. It's just the one that I've already done a lot of the work for you on. Many people opt to basically run a tournament at every League meeting. While that is perfectly doable, I find that it has a couple of weaknesses as compared to the wide open format I use:

-- People have to show up at a certain time for a tournament, they can't drop-in/drop-out freely. Giving people more freedom as to their level of commitment on Game Days is going to bring more people in.

-- Tournaments foster a very competitive atmosphere. The open system we use lets players of differing skill levels and dedication have fun while still providing the kind of competition that "real" players look for.

-- You need to have prizes at a Tournament, so you need to have prizes every Game Day. That can get a bit difficult/pricey/annoying.

So there you have it, the full view of how I run the Android: Netrunner League at Cat & Mouse Games. It isn't really that hard. I get to play 4-6 matches each Game Day (I always make sure my opponent understands that we *might* get briefly interrupted here and there with rules questions and/or other league business) and I only have to spend about two hours on stats and communications. See, running things isn't that hard. Now that you have your location and your players, set up your first Game Day and have at it!