Tournament Rules

Below is a listing of up to date tournament rules that the ARFGN uses for its events. Tournament standards are essentially the same as used by organizations such as the Evolution Tournament Series, Smashboards, and MLG but may be slightly modified to suit our purposes.

Universal Rules

– All brackets are Double Elimination unless otherwise stated. Events with fewer people may be Round Robin.
– Double-Blind Select can always be chosen to begin a match.
– The winner of a game must stick with the same character used to win for the following game (except in Smash). Loser can always change characters.
– Player’s Choice: All rules are subject to be ignored if agreed upon by both parties, however due to time constraints, matches cannot be extended longer than their allotted time (i.e. cannot play best 3 out of 5 when supposed to play 2 out of 3, or cannot change timer limits to infinity)
– Players have six minutes to report to and begin their matches and will be disqualified if unable to do so.
– It is the player’s responsibility to notify a staffer of the results of his/her match or a dispute on rules.
– Unless explicitly stated, all DLC characters are allowed.
– Tournament rules are at the discretion of the Tournament Organizers and may be modified or edited at any time.

Controller Rules

– Please Bring Your Own Controller: While there will probably be many players willing to lend you a controller/stick, there is NO guarantee.
– Button mapping and converters ARE allowed while turbo is NOT.
– Wireless sticks/pads/remotes will be allowed. However, we require that you desync or otherwise inhibit your controller when you are not playing to avoid disrupting tournament matches. Failure to do so may result in a disqualification.
– Pausing or restarting the game/match for any reason, except with the consent of the opponent will result in a forfeit of that particular stock/game/round (whichever is smaller). This includes battery/controller problems.
– Every person is responsible for the functionality of their controller. A “button check” may (and should) be asked for prior to every match. If a controller is non-functional or is functioning incorrectly, the player must receive consent from his or her opponent before pausing the match.
– Any suspicions of cheating or any tool (physical or in-game) used to gain an unfair competitive advantage is subject to banning and disqualification.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

– We will be utilizing the Spa City Ultimate Rules located here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v8tiCDoDOuFAU2gKh2Z0MYwuHax9AKubGWyXFSQbmEM/
– Please note that these rules are subject to change at any time, so re-check before attending each event!

Super Smash Bros. Melee

– 4 stock, 8 minute time limit
– 2/3 Games until Winner’s, Loser’s, and Grand Finals then 3/5 games.
– Items off
– Universal Control Fix is ON.
– Team Attack: ON for Doubles.
– Games decided first by lives, then %. Ties are replayed in their entirety.
– Stage Striking initiation will be selected via Rock-Paper-Scissors or a coin flip. Winner strikes the first stage or selects a controller port. At the beginning of the first game, players alternate “slashing” starter stages (at a 1:2:1 ratio) until one stage is left.
– At the beginning of each game thereafter, the winner of the previous game will strike a stage. Then, the loser will pick the stage for the following game.
– The winning player of the preceding match may choose to change characters.
– The losing player of the preceding match may choose to change characters.
– The losing player of the preceding match may change their controller port.
– Modified DSR: You cannot go back to the last stage you won in a set, unless agreed upon by the other player.
– Advanced Slob Picks: Loser may choose the next stage or select to go random. The winner may then change their character, followed by the loser.
– Controller Mods, Glitches (IC Freeze Glitch, Mewtwo Soul Stunner, etc), and tactics used to stall a match (wall-bombing, rising pound) are BANNED.
– Wobbling is BANNED.
– Master Hand is BANNED.
– No Mid-Set Coaching.

Neutrals:
Final Destination
Battlefield
Yoshi’s Story
Dream Land 64
Fountain of Dreams (Singles Only)
Pokemon Stadium (Doubles Only)

Counters:
Pokemon Stadium (Singles Only)

Samurai Shodown

2/3 Games until Winner’s/Loser’s/Grand Finals then 3/5
Default Settings

Mortal Kombat 11

3/5 Games
Tournament Mode: ON

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

Default Settings
3/5 Games
Winner may change V-Triggers if the loser changes characters.
Skies of Honor, Flamenco Tavern, and Kanzuki Beach stage are BANNED.
Game breaking glitches (such as the Blanka time-freeze glitch) are BANNED.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Default Settings
2/3 Games until Winner’s/Loser’s/Grand Finals then 3/5
Winner must select the same team composition in the same order.
However, either player may change order before round start (by holding a button).
Game breaking glitches (such as the Videl or Jiren glitches) are BANNED.

Tekken 7

All Tekken World Tour Dojo Events will follow the TWT Official Rules here: https://tekkenworldtour.com/rules/
All monthly events are 2/3 games until Winner’s/Loser’s/Grand Finals.
All weekly events are 3/5 games.
3/5 Rounds, 60 Seconds
All customizations are BANNED.
Tournament Mode: Off

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

3/5 Games.
Default Settings.
The legality of any bug or glitch will be independently evaluated by the tournament organizers, but a vast majority will be legal unless they prevent the other player from playing the game.

Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st]

3/5 Games, Default Settings.

Jump Force

Default Settings.
2/3 Games
Character selections are Double Blind Select: Both players must decide on and reveal characters to their opponent simultaneously before actually selecting characters. This can be via a neutral third party or through various forms of communication.

Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator 2

Default Settings.
3/5 Games

Dead or Alive 6

3/5 Games, Default Settings
Phase 4 is BANNED

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

Default Settings.
3/5 Games
Auto Combo, Easy Hyper Combo, and Auto Super Jump are ALLOWED. Make sure your specific settings are enabled or disabled before you start your match.
The legality of any game-breaking glitches is at the discretion of the Tournament Organizer.

Injustice 2

Tournament Mode. 240 Seconds.
3/5 Games
No customizations/gear/etc
Tournament Mode

Soul Calibur VI

3/5 Rounds, 3/5 Games, Default Settings.
Random Stage Select.
No custom characters.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Auto Super Jump Off
3/5 Games

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

2/3 Games until Winner’s/Loser’s/Grand Finals, then 3/5
Random game every round. Loser may re-randomize games. No banned characters.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

3/5 Games

Mortal Kombat XL

3/5 Rounds, 3/5 Games
Winner must keep same Variation & Character

Fighting EX Layer

2/3 Games then 3/5 Games in Winner’s/Loser’s/Grand Finals.
No Bans.
Default Settings.

Super Smash Bros. for WiiU

– 2 Stock, 6 minute time limit for Singles. 3 Stock, 8 minute time limit for Doubles.
– 2/3 Games until Top 8, then 3/5 games.
– Team Attack: ON for Doubles.
– Items and Custom Fighters OFF
– Games decided first by lives, then %. Ties will be broken via a 3-minute 1-stock match.
– Mii Fighters are legal, but must use default guest Miis.
– Modified DSR: You cannot go back to the last stage you won in a set, unless agreed upon by the other player.
– Stage Striking initiation will be selected via Rock-Paper-Scissors or a coin flip. Winner strikes the first stage. At the beginning of the first game, players alternate “slashing” starter stages (at a 1:2:1 ratio) until one stage is left.
– At the beginning of each game thereafter, the winner of the previous game will strike a stage. Then, the loser will pick the stage for the following game.
– The WiiU GamePad is prohibited from usage as a controller.
– During Doubles, character colors must match team colors, if possible.

Neutrals:
Battlefield*
Final Destination**
Smashville
Lylat Cruise
Town & City

Counters:
Dream Land 64*
Omega Stages (Palutena’s Temple, Suzaku Castle, and Wily’s Castle)**

* Treated as the same stage for the purposes of striking and Modified DSR.
** Treated as the same stages for the purposes of striking and Modified DSR. All other Omega Stages are BANNED.

Big Jenga

Single Elimination.
5 Minute Time Limit Per Player Per Match.
Blocks on the THREE HIGHEST COMPLETED ROWS are not legal pieces to be moved or removed.
Only one hand may be touching the Jenga tower (or any of its pieces) at a time.
Pieces moved during the course of gameplay do NOT have to be moved back.
Pieces removed must be placed on top in a legal position (perpendicular to the last completed row) before passing the time back to the opposing player.
A player loses when either time runs out or any other piece(s) besides the piece that the player is removing falls from the tower.
Physical interference of any sort (directly or indirectly) is prohibited. Depending on the severity of the infraction, it may result in a match loss or warning.
Verbal communication between players is fine, except at an excessively high volume.

Rock-Paper-Scissors

$1 Tournament, Winner Take All, Single Elimination.
All matches 3/5.

Mystery Game Tournament

Must use provided controllers/arcade sticks.
All round/game settings will be provided on a per-game basis.
Single Elimination.

Additional Details

We encourage everybody to bring any and all equipment if possible. This will speed up tournaments and help everything run more smoothly.

We encourage all incoming equipment be labeled at Check-In to avoid theft and accusations thereof. We will have tape available to do so. Even so, we encourage all people to keep their sticks/controllers/battery packs on-hand at all times as we are not responsible for missing equipment.

Photography of the event and recording of matches is allowed and even encouraged. However, flash photography is not allowed during matches, due to obvious concerns of distraction. If you record videos or take pictures, please contact me and I will upload the videos to my YouTube account and pictures to my Imgur account, accessible to everybody on the results page (credit given to you, of course).

All tournaments will either be on CRTs or community-tested “lagless” monitors. As this is a community event with people bringing in equipment, we cannot vet every piece of equipment personally. However, it is your right as a player to request a different setup if you are concerned about the input lag of the monitor you are playing on.

We appreciate everybody that travels and we know that players are just looking for competition. If you inform us of your party, we will do our best to ensure that you do not play each other in the opening round of the bracket (location-based seeding).

Attendees are encouraged to participate in multiple tournaments. The brackets will skip you if you are currently in a match.

Results will be posted shortly following the event. Pictures, brackets, standings, and pay-out will all be posted accordingly.

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