Cactus Game Design Message Boards

To be clear as to what we're talking about, in 2-player booster draft you still draft at a 4 player table, then break up into pairs and play 2-player games with the deck you drafted.

If that's the format we're talking about it's much more desirable than MP booster draft and changes draft strategies quite a bit (for the better)!

I'm absolutely for a two-player booster draft vs. multi.  In fact, I think tournament hosts should be given the option to do 2 player or multi based upon the players' choice.  The problem with this idea is the RNRS.  There must be consistency with the ranking system with one type or the other.   So if there we are given the option of one over the other I would totally do 2 player.

Travis - At your tournaments with you doing 2 player booster, were those official games or just side-bar games?

Quote from: tripleplayNa1 on May 06, 2018, 09:52:15 AM

So is this considered an official category or modification to booster draft? The host guide only gives an option for multi-player booster draft.

At this point it's simply a discussion. The conversation about what is "official" has been started as well and all official documents will be updated if a change is implemented.

I'm asking because I would like to know if we could do the 2p booster draft as an official category or if we would need to do an unofficial draft in the 2p format.

2 player booster is great.

Been my favorite since the first tournament I went to where you hosted and we played 2 player booster. Always thought it was way better and far more strategic.

Not really sure why booster has been seemingly locked into multiplayer amid multiple seasons and nationals where I hear literally everyone saying they would rather play 2p booster.

So... if you're droughted for a few turns, or if your opponent managed to draft something ridiculous you might not have an answer to, it's basically gg, since there's no option to attack any other player? Great.

I intensely dislike MP categories outside of booster mainly because of all the Dominants and the greater potential for 'ganging up on the leader'. Booster doesn't really have to worry about that. However, what it does have is arguably as bad or worse (RLKs and misplays by opponents that don't really know how best to play), so making it two player somewhat mitigates that.

But, since I don't play MP categories at any tournament outside of booster, I would probably be saddened slightly if booster turned into just "another two player category". Another part of booster I really enjoy is playing with a wide variety of people all at once; a lot of whom I usually don't get to play with. That is a double-sided coin too, as you could get lucky and be placed at a table with a bunch of people you really enjoy playing with, or you could be at a table with people that may not know what they're doing (RLKs, parents entering a tournament to get more cards for kids, etc). If you do have a bad draft, you're more likely to have fun playing against multiple opponents rather than just one.

There are pros and cons of this and I definitely wouldn't want to rush into it without some testing. But, I will say the best part of booster by far is actually drafting the cards. You play to see all the other cool interactions with cards you'd usually never play, but playing the game is secondary, really. Personally, I feel like I get enough of 2P at a tournament already.

Steps to use the Berkenpas Excel Scorekeeper for 2P Booster Draft:

a. Use Multiplayer Tab. Set to Type 1. Enter all player names as usual.
b. Shuffle 2-3 times by clicking "Start". Assign tables based on groupings. Start draft.
c. Copy and paste name selection on Notepad to remove any Excel formatting.
d. Use a new 2-Player tab. Set to Type 1. Copy and paste name selection from Notepad into name column. Shuffle 2-3 times by clicking 'Start'.
e. Assign pairings made by Excel. Begin play.

SAFETY TIP: Save Excel after each operation ie. ones above, per score entry, etc. --- Use Obiwan DOS-style 'Save' command Ctrl + S as desired.

The Elders have conferred, and Rob has spoken:

Effective immediately, Two-Player booster is a host option for Booster draft. Drafting will still be done in a multiplayer setting and then pairings will be made. This will be the method of booster play at Nationals this year.

The host guide will be updated accordingly.

After you draft in your table of four, how is the first round of pairings performed?  Are you automatically paired against someone you drafted against or are you randomly assigned an opponent from all players playing booster?

I've only done this once or twice.  But every time I've done it the players pair with the person across from them.

Quote from: EmJayBee83 on May 07, 2018, 05:04:04 AM

After you draft in your table of four, how is the first round of pairings performed?  Are you automatically paired against someone you drafted against or are you randomly assigned an opponent from all players playing booster?

My understanding is that pairings would be randomly assigned once drafting is complete (presumably done while people are deck building).

-and-

Quote from: Crashfach2002 on May 07, 2018, 10:32:12 AM

I've only done this once or twice.  But every time I've done it the players pair with the person across from them.

That’s much more difficult with the spreadsheet but easier if you run things manually. I prefer random pairings. Players are less inclined to “hate draft” and more likely to focus on building their own deck.

You could always generate the pairings first and then assign tables of four from that.  Adding "hate drafting" into the mix will considerably up the degree of strategy into the deck-construction process.

In any event (ha!)...  Will there be official Cactus rules for 2P booster coming out sometime before it becomes an official event?

Quote from: Crashfach2002 on May 07, 2018, 10:32:12 AM

I've only done this once or twice.  But every time I've done it the players pair with the person across from them.

That’s much more difficult with the spreadsheet but easier if you run things manually. I prefer random pairings. Players are less inclined to “hate draft” and more likely to focus on building their own deck.

Just in case others may not have seen my post, we had used the Berkenpas Excel format to run the event at TX States. Suggested way to use it for 2P Booster, below:
http://www.cactusforums.com/redemption-tournaments/2-player-booster-draft-40237/msg583871/#msg583871

8 person draft pods sounds really cool! It might be hard to implement at smaller tournaments but could be fun to try at Nationals.

Big fan of this, I've absolutely loved the 2P drafts I've been part of.

I'd advocate for larger table sizes when drafting.  The TLG drafts I participated in were 8 person tables, which works really well for letting players develop different drafting strategies as well as helping to mitigate the impact of poor packs (because more are opened per table).  As you're developing both offense and defense, seeing more cards helps people build more cohesive decks.  This also doesn't really affect the amount of time that drafting takes, and seating for the tables can be generated in a similar manner as Roy documented with the spreadsheet.

Interesting... In the tournament I hosted last weekend we had 6 people for Booster and I thought it would be better to draft in two pods of 3 instead of drafting all together so that it was less likely people would end up drafting the same brigades. IMO it's easier to recognize when someone else is taking the same brigades you are when there's 3 or 4 people as opposed to 5 or 6. If you do recognize that, it's sometimes possible to move into new brigades that aren't being drafted.