by Rick DeMille (aka Darklighter)

WWG announced that it has added in-app tournaments to the Star Realms app. Most tournaments will require an entry free (paid in credits…the same credits you can earn and spend in the Arena), though WWG has stated that there will also be some free tournaments.

WWG’s current tournament schedule is as follows:

I won’t repeat the information WWG provided in the article linked above, which explains how to view the existing tournaments, how to be notified of new tournaments, and other details; so check out that link.

However, below I wanted to highlight some FAQ’s regarding the new in-app tournaments. Most of these were posted by Rob (WWG CEO) to the Facebook group.

FAQ

1AM GMT?!? Will you have any times that are good for Europe?

Yes. The Weekly Championship this week is at 5PM GMT (1 PM Easter). Most of our players are in the US and EU time zones, so we are currently looking at 1PM, 6PM, and 9PM Eastern for tournaments. That is 10AM, 3PM and 6PM Pacific or 5PM, 10PM and 1AM GMT.

Are all in-app tournaments going to be real time?

Yes (at least for now). A tournament with 48 hour turns could last a VERY long time, and possibly cross updates which could be a problem.

How long will it take to play a tournament?

In our beta testing most rounds were done in about 20 minutes. So most tournaments will likely be completed 2-4 hours after they start.

Will there be any free tournaments?

Most tournaments will have an entry fee in credits, but we may run occasional free tournaments. The Thursday and Friday Casual tournaments this week are free.

With these big player numbers, will you increase prizes?

Once things settle down and we figure out how many players we get on a regular basis, we will take another look at what size to make tournaments and what prizes each event should give out.

Can prizes be transferred to another player or account?

No. If you win a foil, avatar, alt art card or the like that you have already unlocked, that part of the prize doesn’t do anything for you. You still get any other parts of that prize (like credits).

Will alt art Scouts and Vipers still be special if a set is given away every weekly championship?

Yes. Winning a weekly championship is a big deal, and not easy to do. Star Realms has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times, so the VAST majority of players will not have the alt art Scouts and Vipers.

Do you need to own the expansions that will be used in a tournament? [this question wasn’t on Rob’s Facebook post; I asked this question to WWG separately on their discord channel]

No. Like the Arena, you can participate in a tournament even if that tournament uses an expansion that you don’t own.

Some Final Thoughts

I participated in the beta testing of these tournaments, and found them to run fairly smoothly. To be honest, my biggest challenges were remembering to register, and having a couple hours free to participate since they were real-time. But the tournaments themselves worked great. It’s another great addition to an already amazing app!