|
Grand Format and Exhibition Tournaments
Grand Format and Exhibition Tournaments
By Johnny Tek
There have been many concerns and doubts about the viability of Grand Format for tournament play. This article is written to explain how Grand Format is used for tournament play.
First of all, it has been emphasized many times that Grand Format is currently not to be used for the open tournament system. Grand Format is to be used for exhibition game play. An exhibition duel or tournament is meant to be a show, casting special invited players in the lead roles.
(If programmed into a video game however, Grand Format could be used for open tournament play.)
The theory is that Grand Format matches are more interesting to watch than Advanced Format matches because they accurately recreate the unpredictability and high-level strategy game play as depicted in the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! fiction on which the card game is based. Therefore if a Grand Format match between champion level players is filmed and made available for public viewing (uploaded onto a web site for example), fans and players of the game would watch it and find it entertaining.
Here’s the general idea of exhibition game play in tournament form: Invite a small number of the best or well-known players and judges in the region or beyond to compete against each other. Have them construct Decks and Side Decks using Grand Format, and then proceed with a single judge presiding over each individual match. Since the number of players is small and each judge (or just the one judge if each match is handled one at a time) can focus all of his/her attention into a single match, it becomes possible to hold a fair competition using Grand Format outside of computerized play.
Grand Format creates a particular motivation for champion Yu-Gi-Oh! players to compete in exhibition game play: The format is so much harder to master that their skills will be pushed to their limits, especially if they’re having to construct strategies against fellow players of the same level. Add to that the fact that it is practically impossible to predict the strategies used by opponents due to the forced variation in card selection and you have the makings of some very tense competition.
Grand Format is also great for demonstration matches and casual game play. During testing, players often note that a lot more thinking is involved when considering one’s next move in a Grand Format match.
~I’d like to thank all the players who have taken an interest in Grand Format at least enough to try it out among friends. In coming weeks, the update for Force of the Breaker will be posted.
|
