[Official 2008 Game Design] Radical Tournament Ideas

[Ryan Foley]

1) switch from "best two out of three" elimination format, to double elimination style. It makes a much more interesting play set up, and forces teams to keep on their toes and be ready to go again.

2) bring back the "end -early" bonus from 2001. Having opponents makes it all the more fun; do you shut down robots early for bnus points and risk your opponents taking control of the field elements, for fight it out the whole match.

3) do a tag team scenario, change the alliances to 4vs 4, with only 3 robots active at a time. If the one of the starting three doesnt disable itself before the halfway mark, a random robot on that alliance will be disabled so the 4th robot can go active. This would requires a lot of communication and teamwork, making it all the more fun.

4) let alliances orient their opponent's robots before the start of the match, rather than their own (within a certain starting zone)

5) Only give teams a list of which matches they are in, don't include who they are allied with and playing against. This lack of information would make scouting and on-the-spot strategy key elements of the game. Teams can talk strategy for the few minutes that they are "on deck".

I'll think up more later