【Special Article】Welcome to the floor rules! (Vol.2)
Welcome back to the second part of the article on floor rules!
What exactly are floor rules? Well, they are the regulations which a fighter/player agrees to whenever they take part in an official tournament!
This article references the floor rules dated August 1st, 2017. We will be covering the more complex parts in a simpler, easier to understand manner, so sit back, relax, and absorb as much as you can in order to prepare for your next big tournament!
★Time
In a normal fight, there are no rules which state that a game must end in 30 minutes.
However, when taking part in a tournament, fights must conclude within the time frame given. E.g. “Time for each match is XX minutes”
Why, you may ask, do we need a time limit in a tournament?
The main reason is to end the tournament at a pre-determined time.
For example, a shop tournament starts at 5pm, and 4 matches have to be played.
Even if most of the matches last 30 minutes, with just one pairing that drags on for an hour, the next match cannot begin until everyone has finished up, and many fighters will be next hanging until the next match finally begins…
In a worse scenario, let’s imagine each match taking up 1 hour each. This means that the tournament will only end at 9pm. This could potentially mean that some fighters may not make it home in time, or that the store will have to remain open past its operational hours. Therefore, the most logical conclusion is to have the tournament start earlier, or finish each match in a shorter period of time.
To prevent this from happening, the tournament schedule must be planned accordingly beforehand. If a fixed amount of time is set for each match, it will make it easier to predict how much time will be required for the tournament just by counting the number of matches required!
Now, let us take a look at the section regarding match time.
Time（Excerpt）
The following are the recommended time for each game:
| 「Luck & Logic」 | 30 ～ 40 minutes |
| 「Future Card Buddyfight」 | 20 minutes (BO1) 40 minutes (BO3) |
| 「Cardfight!! Vanguard」 | 25 minutes |
| 「Weiss Schwarz」 | 30 minutes |
| 「Dragoborne –Rise to Supremacy-」 | 25 minutes (BO1) 50 minutes (BO3) |
If a time is set for the match, fighters must strive to complete the game during the time allocated. Furthermore, in order to ensure that fighters complete the game within the allocated time, staff and judges may urge the fighters to play faster when necessary.
According to the organizer’s judgment, under acceptable ranges, the time can be set to a different time for a match, but this information must be announced clearly!
E.g.
“As this is a beginners’ tournament, the time for each match will be extended by 10 minutes.”
“As the final round shall determine the champion, no match time will be set and the fighters may play till the end of their game.”
Before the game starts officially, each fighter must follow the flow of game preparation for their respective card games, and prepare themselves for the game.
※Contents may change during version updates.
“How much time is required for most of the fights to reach a conclusion?” With this in mind, the situation for large tournaments in each area, as well as the situations in TCG shops were gathered. The end results determined the recommended time of 30 ～ 40 minutes for “Luck & Logic” and 25 minutes for “Cardfight!! Vanguard.”
Furthermore, “must strive to complete the game during the time allocated” has been indicated clearly so that fighters, staff and judges may take note to do so during the tournament.
As the duration provided in the rules is just a recommendation, the organizers are free to adjust accordingly in situations such as“there’s plenty of time today for the tournaments, so we will increase the duration of each match” or “let’s change the schedule for the preliminaries and finals”! If such changes were to be implemented, do take note to notify all attending accordingly!
Let’s take this opportunity to elaborate more on a topic for Weiss Schwarz. We hope that the following process will make it easier to understand the steps at the beginning of a tournament.
First, decide who is going to be the first turn player, and finish up the mulligan. Once the officials declare that the match has started, the first turn player will start with a “Stand, and draw!”
With the implementation of this process, it makes it a lot easier to start the games on time. On top of that, deciding who is the first turn player and completing the mulligan before the match starts frees up precious time required for the match itself. Now, some of you may think that “it just saves a mere 30 seconds.” In some matches, that’s all it takes to decide the final outcome!
Since it is related to time, let’s take a look into the extra turns section as well.
There are no changes to the section in general, and it remains unchanged that Bushiroad tournaments will not set extra turns as much as possible. For tournament organizers who wish to do so, it is stated clearly that the information should be announced clearly and in a simple manner beforehand.
Extra Turns
At the end of a match, there may be cases where an additional turn is awarded. This is known as an extra turn.
Only in the event that extra turns are set in a tournament, can a defined number of extra turns be carried out during the said tournament.
For example, if there is 1 extra turn set, the turn once the time is up is known as the base turn(turn 0), and the game will continue until the following turn(turn 1, the opponent fighter’s next turn). Similarly, if 3 extra turns are set, the game will continue until the end of turn 3. If for any reason a player takes another turn directly following his or her turn, that does not count as part of the 3 turns.
However, in the case that there are further specifications or guidelines for a particular tournament, please follow the contents of those guidelines.
※Contents may change during version updates.
Extra turns are additional turns used to determine the outcome of a match when time runs out during a fight. It is normally implemented for ranked tournaments where a definite win or loss must be determined.
With this in mind, make simple announcements like “there will not be any extra turns”, or “1 extra turn will be set for this tournament”, and refer to this section in the event of any further troubles.
Furthermore, it does not mean that the handling of similar cases will change from this point on, but the phrasing of certain penalties have been adjusted.
Slow Play
All fighters are to play at a proper pace and have the responsibility to finish the game within the allocated time. Regardless of accidental or intentional, if a slow play is determined, penalty with regards to the situation will be meted out to the fighter.
3.20.1. Minor Cases
| 〓Default penalties〓 | |
| Level 1 | Caution |
| Level 2 and above | Caution ～ Warning |
e.g. Thinking for too long and stopping the progress of the game.
e.g. Worrying about the choice of card to play and taking too much time.
These penalties are applied if determined to be unintentional slow play.
3.20.2. Moderate Cases
| 〓Default penalties〓 | |
| Level 1 | Caution ～ Warning |
| Level 2 and above | Warning ～ Loss of Match |
e.g. Checking the drop zone multiple times even when there are no changes in the situation.
e.g. Taking too much time than normally required to shuffle or choose a card.
e.g. Leaving the table without notifying judges or officials.
e.g. Not playing at a proper speed even if the fighter knows how much time is left in the game.
e.g. Adjusting the speed of playing with regards to the amount of time left to gain an advantage.
These penalties are applied when it is determined that a fighter performs actions irrelevant to the game, or shows no intention to complete the game within the time allocated.
3.20.3. Severe Cases
| 〓Default penalties〓 | |
| Level 1 | Loss of Match ～ Disqualification |
| Level 2 and above | Loss of Match ～ Disqualification |
These penalties are applied when it is determined that a fighter is intentionally playing slowly, despite multiple instructions from a judge to play at the proper speed.
※Contents may change during version updates.
This adjustment involves listing each possible scenario separately, and this makes it easier for fighters taking part in tournaments to understand them. On top of that, it also serves as a more accurate guideline to assist the officials in judging.
The match time is something shared among all fighters. In order to finish the match within the allocated time, take note not to have scenarios where “one fighter is taking up most of the time,” “both fighters are taking up too much time” or even “the fight is not progressing at an adequate pace.”
For example, in a 30-minute fight, there should be a progress of 50% just after the 15-minute mark. Quickly assess the situation and determine if the pace is adequate. If at any point the thought does cross your mind, the time could run out for that match if you are not careful.
With that in mind, fighters should aim to finish a 30-minute match around the 25-minute mark. Staff and judges should keep a close watch on the time, and push the fighters to up their pace to end the match on time.
If any of the points above is practiced during a match, it is possible to finish the fight in the time allocated. Naturally, the development team will also bear in mind to reduce “decks which take up time when used,” and “combinations of cards which cause slow gameplay.” These points will definitely be noted in future developments and sets.
★Team Battle
Team Battles such as Tag Fights(2 vs. 2) and Trio Fights(3 vs. 3) have gotten popular over the recent years, and the need for better regulations on this topic has increased. As such, the basic information for taking part and organizing team battles have been consolidated.
Team Fights
This section contains the details of team battles. If there are specific guidelines for that particular tournament, those guidelines take precedence.
5.1. Types of Team Fights
5.1.1. Tag Fight
A team of two fighters is formed, and the fights take place between these teams of two fighters. This is known as a tag fight.
A team consists of two fighters. A fighter may not belong to multiple teams in the same tournament. If one or more members in the same team cannot continue to participate in the tournament, the team will have to drop from that tournament.
Team members must decide on the order of fighters when taking part in a tournament. The order of a team consists of the “first” and the “second”. Your team’s first fighter fights your opponent team’s first fighter, and your team’s second fighter fights your opponent team’s second fighter. If not specified, the team member who is the second shall be the team’s representative.
5.1.2. Trio Fight
A team of three fighters is formed, and fight which take place between these teams of three fighters is known as a trio fight.
A team consists of three fighters. A fighter may not belong to multiple teams in the same tournament. If one or more members in the same team cannot continue to participate in the tournament, the team will have to drop from that tournament.
Team members must decide on the order of fighters when taking part in a tournament. The order of a team consists of the “first”, “second” and “third”. Your team’s first fights your opponent team’s first, your team’s second fights your opponent team’s second, and your team’s third fights your opponent team’s third. If not specified, the team member who is the third shall be the team’s representative.
5.2. General Rules of Team Fights
5.2.1. Using Team Names
With the organizer’s approval, teams may decide upon and use a team name. However, offensive words or words that lack morality cannot be used and may be penalized.
5.2.2. Communication Within the Team
Please follow the stipulated guidelines for that tournament regarding the forms of communication allowed during said tournaments. If it is not specifically stated, it will be regarded as “no communication is allowed” by default.
5.2.2.1. If Communications are Not Allowed
Without prior consent from a judge, and excluding simple forms of communication which does not contain any advice, members of a team may not communicate with teammates during a match.
5.2.2.2. If Communications are Allowed
Members of a team may communicate even during a game. However, no fighter may touch other team member’s cards, and fighters cannot play a match on another team member’s behalf by controlling their cards.
During a game, a member who has left the fight area may not communicate, which includes advising teammates during the said game, without prior consent from a judge, until end of that game.
5.2.2.3. Application of Penalties
If required, a judge may mete out penalties to a team. When a penalty is given to a team, it is also regarded that the same penalty applies to each member on the same team.
※Contents may change during version updates.
The types of team fights noted in the rules are those which have been held at past events. As some tournaments have different winning conditions, they are not recorded in the floor rules, and you will have to check the regulations for each team fight before taking part. For this article, we would just like to focus on the communications aspect.
Communication in this context refers to scenarios such as:
“How’s the situation over there?”
“It’s kinda tough, but I’ll manage!”
“Great! Hang in there!”
or even
“Which of these 2 cards, A or B, should I use in this situation… What do you think?”
“Hmm… I think A will be a better choice.”
It mostly refers to banter or even discussions between members during a fight.
For “If Communications are Not Allowed”, normal conversations nor advice will be allowed. It will be difficult to distinguish between simple forms of communication, but as always, random chatter which halts a fight is prohibited. On another note, random outbursts such as “I lost!” or “Are you serious?” and so on are allowed.
For “If Communications are Allowed”, do take note that although it is fine to advise other members on their game, moving the cards on other member’s behalf to proceed with the game is not permitted. Let’s have a great fight while keeping these rules in mind!
Even so, pausing your own fight more than necessary, and talking for long periods of time frequently can be regarded as slow play. Regardless of a time limit or not, try your best not to make your opponent wait for too long during a fight!
The team battle begins when both team members are accounted for. Playing in a tag fight or trio fight is quite different from normal fights, so why not gather some of your friends and have fun together!
――We hope that everyone has enjoyed reading this article.
In the last piece, we have covered the different types of shuffling. Some of you may already be very familiar with shuffling and feel that the article is a little short in some aspects. Honestly, the first draft had many calculations, but we wanted to focus on the readers who wanted to find out more due to pure curiosity, and thus the mathematical aspects were left out.
For those who know about the floor rules and those who do not, some of you may have the following reactions such as “I knew that will occur with XXX”, or “I’ve always thought that XXX was solved that way, turns out that I knew nothing about XXX at all”. This article seeks to address those points, and hopefully, shed some light on some of those topics.
In the next article/column, we will be taking a look at warnings, meting penalties, and common cases of rule infringement such as “conveying the wrong information”.
Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
Bushiroad International
Development Team
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