There are numerous tournament formats to be found in Star Realms. We’ll start covering these a bit more as their popularity has increased quite a bit in recent years. If you ever get bored with “basic” Star Realms, just know that there are a myriad of options available and today we’ll introduce Dodgeball.

Dodgeball was originally the brainchild of MarauderMo inspired by AceGeiger’s Zombie Tournament (Mo was also the author of the Endurance Challenge). After several pickup games and rules refinement, CrankyDay, with the support of SilentAl and several others, had built a framework which has led to seven seasons and counting of league play as well as numerous smaller events.

The first phase is the “race” where competitors play Star Realms games against each other to see who is in possession of the virtual Balls. It’s just like the original game with the bouncy rubber ball. Win the race, win the ball.

The second phase is where the true beauty of the format shows up. The players who are holding a ball may select any member of the opponent’s team that is still in play and “throw” the ball at them. The advantage the throwing player gets is that they are able to choose which mix of formats they want to play and challenge the target player. Players who normally avoid playing with Events, Promos, Gambit or Heroes may find themselves challenged in a format that contains one or ALL of the above.

It is the outcome of the challenge match that determines what happens next. It is not simply win/loss – but there are four possible outcomes.

If the Thrower wins, they can Hit or Miss.

A Hit occurs when the Thrower wins the match by more than 30 Authority. In this case, the hit player is eliminated and the Thrower retains control of the ball.

A Miss occurs when the Thrower wins, but by less than 30 Authority. In this case, they can throw again and the previous target is still in the game.

If the Target Wins, it gets really interesting. Targets can either Dodge or Catch.

A Dodge occurs when the Target wins the game, but by an Authority delta of 49 or less. In this case, the Target takes the ball and is now able to Throw at others.

A Catch occurs when the target wins the game by 50 or more Authority. In this case, the Target can revive someone off the bench who was eliminated earlier – or they can choose to eliminate the Thrower.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Here’s a quick matrix to explain the rules.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out the rules hosted here on Megahaulin.

To get involved – join up on the Dodgeball Star Realms Gymnasium Group and learn about events, team drafts and more!

Additionally, some wonderful folks host a regular Stream to talk about the weekly activities. SilentAl and Hypaspist host Thunderballs are Go and Episode 7 is their most recent posting.

While you’re at it, you can check out the Thunderballs Dodgeball Season 7 Awards given out on the show. This awesome page was designed by the most excellent Ardemus.

Just remember, if you can dodge a Brain World, You can dodge a Ball.