You need to have patience when running a DDR tournament.
Let's break it down.
Suppose you have a 32 person double
elimination tournament. A total of 62 games minimum will be played.
This assumes that you only have to play 1 game in the finals.
You
will need:
31 games to play in the Winner's Bracket
30
games to play in the Loser's Bracket
1 game to play in the
finals
This gives you a total of 62 games. So far so
good?
Next we calculate the amount of time needed to play
each match.
A song is usually 1 1/2 minutes, or 1:30. (Yes
I know songs can vary slightly, but that is just an estimate.
You
also need to consider the time needed to pick songs and options.
Let's say, 30 seconds just to estimate.
Matches usually last 3
songs, however some last 2 songs if you do fighting style.
Here
is the calculation:
2 minutes per song * 3 songs = Match will last
6 minutes.
You need at least 62 games to do a 32 person double
elimination bracket, so:
6 minutes per game * 62 = 372 minutes = 6
hours 12 minutes.
So you say, that's how long tourneys run,
right?
WRONG.
While the total time of tourney matches
can last 6 hours, 12 minutes, you did not take into consideration
time between games or any other unforseen circumstances, such as if a
machine's pads need to be repaired, power outages, etc.
My
guess is that you will need around 8-9 hours to run a 32 person
double elimination bracket, from my experience.
Note : In
fighting style games, a number of games last 2 songs, so that should
reduce the amount of time in a tournament.
Ok now, let's
take a 16 person elimination bracket.
15 games to play in
the winner's bracket
14 games to play in the loser's bracket
1
game to play in the finals
6 minutes per game * 30 games = 180
min. or 3 hours.
From my experience, tourneys usually take
around 4 1/2-5 hours or so.
Short Tourney
Ok. So you don't have that amount of time to run a tourney.
You want to run something real quick.
Well, try this
format.
16 person single elimination rounds.
15 games
in the tournament.
6 minutes * 15 games = 90 min. or 1 1/2
hours.
Add around an hour or so, max time would be 2 1/2
hours.
Note: You can make it even shorter with fighting style
tourney rules. If you want to determine 3rd place, have the two
semi-final losers play against each other. Winner gets 3rd place,
loser gets 4th place.
One Last Thing
To minimize time of a tourney,
please make sure the participants are around when it is almost time
for their match. If they are not, either skip their turn, or
disqualify them. DON'T WASTE TIME! If possible, PUT EVENT MODE ON!
I promise you, it will save you a ton of hassles!
Good
Luck!
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