Stately Play Decathlon 2022!

[Codington]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.

In terms of a next Decathlon, my personal feeling is that it might be time for a bit of a format change… I proposed a potential ladder format a couple of months ago (you know, since we were almost finished the Decathlon )

Stately Play Multi-game Ladder

1. “Perpetual” standings - newcomers are “grandfathered” into the middle, but standings and table groups generally are the same as the Decathlon (meaning there will be movement up and down the ranks based on game results); no annual reset
2. Several games are chosen in a periodic “voting event” from a running list so we know what the next few games will be - those games don’t get voted on for the next voting event but stay on the list
3. “Tables” are formed based on ladder standings and “opt in” for the current game in the rotation
   (everyone plays the same game at the same time but players can choose to sit one out and the tables just get adjusted accordingly)
4. Probably some provision for new games - automatic inclusion in the next group seems like it would work.

The idea being that this hits the positives of the Decathlon

• ranked play
• variety of opponents
• long-running
• multiple games to play
• opportunity to play new games

without the negatives

• “pressure” to complete all games in a limited time period
• protracted voting/decision-making
• complicated ranking and tie-breaking
• requirement to buy/play every game so you don’t mess it all up for others

I believe it also leaves space for other long-running leagues like Gaia and tournaments like KotH to exist without competing for time.

I would be happy to organize such a ladder, but am less interested in continuing to manage an “annual” event that always seems to get more complicated and take more time than one would hope.

So, as always, we put it to a vote:

Long-running Multi-game Ranked Gaming Format

• Decathlon
• Ladder

Regardless of what’s next, I will say again that overall it has been fun to participate in and organize these Decathlons and kudos to @Snotty128 who kicked the whole thing off 5 years ago! (!!!)

[feederofgoats]

Ladder format sounds fun - definitely keen to give this a try…

[Codington]

Tagging folks for the vote (see above.)

@doublebullout
@Schlotzky
@irishdomer08
@Notsew12345
@SpiceTheCat
@Caradog
@HostileApostle
@Mirefox
@whovian223
@JHTaube
@jason1002
@johnl
@JammaTal

[Mirefox]

I think I’ll abstain because it doesn’t matter to me in the least, unless someone wants to bribe me to vote for what they want

[Codington]

Ok, almost everyone has voted and there’s a good 2/3 majority in favour of trying the long-running ladder format.

I’m happy to hear the concerns of those who preferred the Decathlon format in case there’s anything I can adjust to alleviate those concerns and bring more people along for the ride.

Otherwise, I’ll start a new thread on the weekend and we can gather any more members and start picking the first few games. I’m looking forward to more great games and competition!

[Codington]

In case anyone missed it or has changed their mind from Decathlon to Ladder, here’s the thread:

Stately Play Perpetual Multi-game Ladder

Hello all you SPers! For those that aren’t aware, I’ve decided to stop hosting the Stately Play Decathlon in favour of a more flexible perpetual format. Here are the details… Game selection Five (5) games (cross-platform async or iOS async) are chosen from a running list in a “voting event” - which occurs during the last game of the previous “season” - so everyone knows what the next few games will be Games cannot be chosen for consecutive seasons, but will remain on the list for future …

[geigerm]

Realized I never voiced my “objection” to the ladder, which is primarily this: I don’t like the perpetual standings, which I think might make the ladder ultimately unfriendly to those who drift to the bottom. I like the restart the Decathlon provided each year.

With that said, I’m doing this for fun, like we all are. Of course it’s cool to win and finish higher up, but that doesn’t really matter. I’m joining the ladder regardless.

[Codington]

I appreciate that, @geigerm, and of course you’re right to point out that the top and the bottom of the ladder could get stagnant.

However, looking back at the last Decathlon at least, there was still some movement at the bottom table and the top by nature of the fact that someone still wins and loses at every table.

The idea of a ladder, or the Decathlon scoring system, was that over time people ended up playing against relative equal strength of opponents - but I will definitely keep an eye out for repetitive tables and could easily do a little mixup after each season to keep things “fresh”.

Happy to hear you are joining the ladder!

[kennfusion]

About the only additional balancer I can think of to help those who are stuck toward the bottom, is weight the votes. All votes count as a single vote, except the bottom 6 get two votes? Or maybe the bottom six get a +vote and a -vote each round. It might create more favorable game rounds for those near the bottom?

[Mirefox]

I’m perpetually near the bottom and don’t care, for what it’s worth. I get “scheduled” games out of the tourney and if I manage to claw my way up ever, good for me. I certainly don’t speak for anyone but myself, though.

[Codington]

@Mirefox - hey you made it out of the Bottom 5 this time around!

[Mirefox]

I know! I almost fell over when I saw the standings!