General Tournament FAQs

The TG tournament format is always the same. Based upon a competition format developed by Jack Pearson and originally used to allow competition for arcade console games, the method has proved efficient for online player vs. player competitions since it's inception in 1997.

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How do the tournaments work?

What do the tournament details mean?

What are Limited Entry, Sprint, & Timed Tournaments?

Why am I not playing at the same time as my opponent?

What are skill rank levels?

How do I find out details on specific games and their features?

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How do the tournaments work?

All of the tournaments work on the same basic system:

A specific target will end the tournament. Whether it is a specific number of entries, hours, or a target score or level to reach, when that target is met that tournament is over.

The highest score wins. When the target is reached and the tournament closes, the player with the highest score of all the entries is declared the winner.

Prizes are awarded automatically. When the winner is declared, the prize amount is automatically added to the winners account balance.

A new tournament automatically begins. When one tournament ends, another automatically begins and replaces the closed tournament. The new tournament may be different in the aspect that the game aspects, such as graphics, target, entry cost, & prize are randomized.

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What do the tournament details mean?

Game Type - Either Limited Entry, Sprint, or Timed.

Entry Fee & Prize - The entry fee is how much is costs to enter a tournament one time, and the prize is the amount that will be awarded to the winner. On a free tournament these items will be replaced by the word Free.

Max Entries or Game Slots - In a Limited Entry tournament, the max entries or game slots are the amount of entries that are available in a tournament before the tournament closes and a new one begins.

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What are Limited Entry, Sprint, & Timed Tournaments?

Tournament Types

Timed - Tournaments where the target goal is a specific amount of time. When time is up the tournament is over.
Limited Entry - Tournaments where the target is a specific number of entries. When all the entries are completed the tournament is over. (All tournaments on Android, In-Browser, and Facebook are Limited Entry tournaments.)
Sprint to Score - Tournaments where the target goal is a specific score. When a player reaches the target score, the tournament is over and they are the winner.
Sprint to Level - Tournaments where the target goal is a specific level. When a player reaches the target level, the tournament is over and they are the winner.

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Why am I not playing at the same time as my opponent?

All our tournaments are competitions of a player's speed, strategy, and skill while playing the game. This is reflected in the game score, which is based upon how quickly moves are made and the effectiveness of each move. Therefore, it is not necessary for our players to need to endure any time waiting online for an opponent to face. Players can play whenever they would like and still be competing against people from all over the world. This saves time that would be spent waiting in cue, and allows for more actual time playing and enjoying time online.

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What are skill rank levels?

Skill Rank Calculation
Skill ranks are established separately for each game you compete in. When you first start playing a game, your skill rank is 100. It will remain at 100 until you have won at least 250 game credits. Once you have won this amount, we start calculating your skill rank. The first step is to establish your win ratio. This is done by dividing your total winnings by the total amount spent on entry fees. Next we sort all currently active players in order based on their win ratio. The skill rank is then determined by evenly distributing these players into 99 skill ranks with 1 being the highest and 99 the lowest. The top 1% of the players will have skill rank of 1, the next 1% are 2's, etc. The skill ranks are recalculated every 5 minutes so that they may often change several times while you are playing.

The Purpose of the Skill Ranks
The skill groups provide a way of matching you against other players that have similar ability. They are designed so that new players are not forced to compete with more advanced players. As you compete, your skill rank is continually adjusted based on your ability. As your skill rank changes you may move from one skill group to another until eventually settle into the one that best matches your ability. We currently have 4 skill groups: 1-29, 30-59, 60-99, and 100.

Ranking Changes Explained
A new players skill rank may change dramatically at first. As mentioned above, the win ratio is determined by the total amount won divided by total amount spent. Let's say you enter a tournament three times and spend 75 game credits. If you then end up winning the tournament and the game credit prize is 500. That would give you a win ratio of 6.666 which would be more than enough to put you into skill rank 1. If you played in another 5 games at 25 game credits each and didn't win, then your ratio would drop to 1.666 which might change your skill rank to something like 30. When you first start playing, the number of values being compared is small, so any one event (win or loss) can affect your skill rank significantly. After you have won more and played more, then a single win or single loss has very little affect on your rank. Skill rank is an indication of where you stand compared to others playing the same game. Even when you are not playing other players are. Players above you may move down, players below you may move up.

Ranking Correlation with Wins & Loses
For example, you can play a tournament today and have the high score. The tournament may close a week later and that win will be considered at that time in the skill rank calculation. So you may have lost 10 - 10 game credit tournaments today, and then a 1000 game credit tournament from a week ago closes that you won. So your skill rank is decreasing during the 10 game credit game losses then all of sudden goes up when the 1000 credit game competition win closes.