Judging with Phil

Soon I will be working with a LOT of judges at DLC Richmond and one of my main goals is to get them into areas or teams that they want to learn or can grow from. My goal in this post is to discuss some of the teams and strategies we use with them.

From what I have seen, there are a few key teams that are generally incorporated for large events:

• Deck Checks
• Coverage/Features
• Floor
• Logistics
• Paper
• End of Round
• Stage
• Scheduled Side Events
• On Demand Events

Deck Checks
Self explanatory, but this team’s main goal is to verify that deck lists have been submitted correctly. They also do checks through out the event to ensure that players have the correct decks with them and also that none of their cards/sleeves have become marked during play. They strategically swoop in for mid round checks but ensure swiftness on their checks so that the event doesn’t have long turn over times.

Coverage/Features
This team works directly with the production team and has to balance in a different world that exists within the main event. They watch the games closely and ensure the players are following the needs of the production. This team is critical as they are the team that must catch errors and correct them before the thousands of viewers start chatting about it on Twitch.

Floor
Floor team is the bread and butter of the event space. This team works with different leads and has to be flexible as the event moves around. They are responsible to ensure that there is enough coverage in every zone so that players feel that there are judges around to help and that judge calls can be answered swiftly.

Logistics
Logistics team is just that. They help with the logistics of certain aspects of the event. Be it handling strategies for passing out promos or fixing pairings to helping other teams find times to take breaks through the day. While the floor team covers the area for the players, this team covers the area for the judges.

Paper
Ravensburger Playhub will be the most utilized tool for players over the weekend but players don’t have access to it all the time, they’re trying to conserve battery life on their phones, or their friends need to find their friends. Paper team ensures that paper pairings are posted swiftly and also taken down accordingly. They help get the round started.

End of Round
Let’s face it, a lot of players complain about just how long the turn over time is from when we announce “Players! That is time in the round!” to “Pairings for the next round have been posted!” The end of round team is critical to keeping that time low. They assign judges to watch matches that are at the time limit and remind players that just because the play time is over, it doesn’t mean you have infinite amount of time in the 5 remaining turns. They also hunt for missing match records and get that info to the score keepers so that those players can report their match!

Stage
Stage team is a customer service facing team that helps cut down the amount of traffic our scorekeepers receive. Scorekeepers are constantly working on the next issue to ensure the event runs smoothly and stage helps filter out the critical things to allow scorekeepers to do their work. They answer questions or find answers for players so that players feel heard and can get back to playing as soon as possible.

Scheduled Side Events
The main or large events are just one part of the Disney Lorcana Challenge experience. Attendees or players that opt out of the main event will have tons of various side events they can play to earn more promos or cool playmats or swag. Scheduled Side events are the offerings that players can schedule around or build towards and there is always something running or coming up through the event. Judges here are wearing many hats to ensure their events run smooth and staffed.

On Demand Events
Sometimes players want bite sized chunks or an activity that they can just hop into. On Demand Events are just that and it is a constant rotation of helping players and working around the event space. This area is for managing chaos and thriving in logistics.

If you are reading this as I am working towards assigning judges in roles at Richmond, whatever team you end up on, I hope you enjoy or learn from. Every team is key to the success of the event. And if you want to have a small say in where you might be, please check the Pastimes discord for Richmond and fill out the preference form I made 🙂

Not every team will be listed here or even created for Richmond. Other events have other needs or combine or rename things but the general notion of those teams exist in every event you will be at. I hope this preview into the ethos of judging at large events helps!