Roles

Roles for tournament settings that will be discussed include the Tournament Organizer (TO), Head and/or Floor Judge, Event Recorder, Player, and Spectator. The roles officiating an event are the TO, Judges, and Event Recorder. Some events may allow a judge to be appointed as the Event Recorder.

Tournament Organizer

Also commonly abbreviated as a TO, tournament organizers are responsible for organizing the event, including providing a venue, providing tournament staffing for officiating, announcing tournament schedules or dates, advertising or disseminating tournament information, and providing materials required for tournament play. If the tournament is a Limited format, the TO must provide products to players. Tournament Organizers should apply for an Omnidex account that allows them to create tournaments and manage tournaments through the Omnidex software.

Judge

Judges who officiate tournaments typically have sufficient knowledge and familiarity with the rules of Grand Archive and of the rules and guidelines established in this document. Judges typically resolve tournament disputes, are allowed to interpret rules, answer rules questions, and make other decisions regarding an event. If there are multiple levels of judges at an event, appeals for decisions must go through the highest-tier judge or appointed head judge of the event. Decisions made in the context of appeals in this manner are considered final.

Judges must take all steps necessary to deal with game rules, regulations, or policy violations. Judges serve as a resource available to all players and spectators as needed to answer questions, investigate and resolve illegal plays, or assist in reasonable manners as tournament officials.

Valid questions that may be answered can be regarding general rules, card interactions, and providing information on cards using the Index. Players may request that questions be answered away from the table but may not ask specific individuals to answer their questions. Judges can’t interfere with a game unless a rules infraction has occurred or if it is done in anticipation of an imminent infraction. Judges may not take any actions for a player unless this is done to provide reasonable assistance (i.e. assisting with completing an intended action if the player is having difficulty doing it). Judges cannot answer hypothetical questions in a game of Grand Archive; players should not ask Judges hypothetical questions during their games.

Event Recorder

The event recorder is designated as the person that can enter round scores for players, generate tournament pairings, generate and list standings, solve any problems related to the score reporting by working with the TO or judges, as needed, and ensure that player information matches the tournament registry. Event recorders may answer player questions about tournament scores, standing, or other relevant information. Players may appeal the incorrect entry of their information or round scores to a leading judge for remediation.

Players

Players registered in a tournament are considered to have agreed to adhere to any rules in a tournament, any rules established by the TO, and/or rules of the venue/venue management. Players must be respectful to all persons involved in the tournament including tournament officials, other players, spectators, or other auxiliary staff. Players must uphold sportsmanship at all times and must always play in matches upholding the spirit of the game. Players must be physically present for a tournament in which they are registered. Players should be familiar with both Comprehensive Rules and rules/regulations described in this document.

During a game, players must be clear about their board, may not deliberately confuse or misinform their opponent or other players, and must provide any public information correctly to their opponent and judges at any point in time. Players have a shared responsibility to ensure that their games avoid rules infractions and if an infraction or impending infraction is noticed, this should be brought to the attention of a judge for remediation. Players must be aware of and compliant with round timings. Players hold a shared responsibility to communicate with their opponents and the Event Recorder to ensure that proper match results are submitted and entered and that any issues are identified before the start of the next round.

Players are responsible for providing material conducive to recording, representing, and maintaining proper and correct game information during an event, as well as providing any necessary supplemental cards/tokens, pen/paper, dice, coins, etc. Depending on the format of an event, players may be required to bring their assembled decks (main, material, and sideboard), decklists, or any other material as required by the TO. If dice are used, their faces must be clearly and easily distinguishable and, if using numerals for the face values, must be easily legible.

Players are encouraged to register for an Omnidex account with which they can sign up for events.

Spectators

Any person present at the venue or physical place where a tournament takes place that is not a player or a tournament official is considered a spectator. Spectators must provide a safe and respectful environment for all players and officials in a tournament. They may observe for and report suspected policy or rule infractions to tournament officials. Players reserve the right to ask spectators to respect their space and not spectate them; spectators must respect these requests. Spectators may not offer any assistance to players in the game.