Dealing with Tournament Penalties

[JesusofChaos™]

In this issue I am going to deal with tournament penalties. It I useful to know when and how much you are going to be punished when you commit a rule infraction.

 

To start off lets look at the punishments a judge can dish out:

 

Warning- A warning can be issued be a judge when only a minor infraction. This should be followed by why the warning has been issued and what further repeat offences can incur.

 

Game Loss- This means the player must immediately concede the present game. This is issued when a rule infraction that has caused some damage on the game has occurred. It should be followed by an explanation and what repeat infractions can incur.

 

Match Loss- This is similar to the above but instead the match must be forfeited.

 

Disqualification- This should only be used in the most extreme circumstances. A statement should be collected from all parties involved and submitted to UDE. A player can be disqualified with or without prizes it is up to the judge to decide.

 

Now we have to look at the 5 sections of rule infractions-

 

Procedural- A procedural error is one in which a player has commited an error during a game

 

Procedural Error- Minor (Warning)- This is an unintentional error caused by the player but can easily repaired and with only a small amount of disruption to the game.

 

Example: A player in a Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament forgets to place his/her Fusion deck in the appropriate area and keeps it with his/her side deck.

 

 

Procedural Error- Major (Game Lost)- This occurs when an unintentional error caused by the player causes the game to be in a irreparable state.

 

Example: A player shuffles his hand and graveyard into his deck as part of resolving the effects of Fiber Jar in a Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG game while his opponent has Necrovalley in play, which negates Fiber Jar’s effects.

 

Procedural Error: Severe (Match Loss)- This is applied when an unintentional infraction causes the player to be unable to finish the match

 

Example: A player spills water on a significant portion of her deck, ruining the cards and making her unable to finish the remainder of the match.

 

Procedural Error- Tardiness (Game Loss/ Match Loss)- This is applied when a player has not taken their seat in time to start the match. If 3 mins pass and they get there then it is a game loss. If 10 mins pass a match loss is issued.

 

Procedural Error- Playing Wrong Opponent (Match Loss)- This is appropriate when the player identifies the wrong player and it is not corrected until late in the round. This may be downgraded to a game loss if it is caught 10 mins into the round.

 

Procedural Error- Slow Play (Warning)- This is issued when a player unintentionally slows down the flow of the game.

 

Example: A player takes more than the three allowed minutes to access his side deck in a Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG match.

 

 

Deck Errors- This is a group of penalties associated with registering an incorrect deck. However if this is caught before the beginning of the first round then it may be corrected without penalty being issued.

 

Deck Error- Illegal Decklist (Game Lost)- This is when the deck list is illegal but your deck is actually legal.

 

Example: A player registers 38 cards in his deck in a Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament. His actual deck contains 40 cards. The judge issues a Game Loss penalty and adds the two missing cards from the deck to the deck registration sheet.

 

Deck Error- Illegal Deck ( Game Lost)- This is when the decklist shows a legal deck but the deck is not actually legal.

 

Example: A player registers 40 cards on her Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG deck registration sheet but presents a 39-card deck. The judge issues a Game Loss penalty, and the player must make her deck match her legal deck registration sheet

 

Deck Error- Failure to De-side deck (Game Lost)- This is issued when the player fails to return his deck back to the listed deck on the deck list between matches.

 

Drawing Cards Errors- This deal with errors specifically to do with drawing cards.

 

Drawing Cards Error- Looking at Extra Cards (Warning)- This applies to when a player reveals either accidentally or due to game effect.

 

Example: A player accidentally drops a card on the table revealing it to the opponent.

 

Drawing Cards Error- Drawing Extra Cards (Game Loss)- A player is considered to have drawn a card once that card is combined with the rest of his or her hand. Drawing extra cards damages the game state beyond repair, and as such, carries a severe penalty. However if the judge can logically determine which card was drawn then this may be downgraded to a warning.

 

Example: A player activates Reckless Greed and draws 3 cards, adding them to their hand.

 

Marked Cards- This is a group of errors in association with marked cards and sleeves. A card is considered to be marked if it is distinguishable from the other cards in their deck.

 

Marked Cards- Minor (Warning)- Player has one or very few unintentionally marked cards. The judge will ask the cards in question to be resleeved or replace the marked cards.

 

Marked Cards- Major (Match Loss)- The following penalty applies when a player has a significant number of cards marked and it appears that there is an unintentional but noticeable pattern among them. Although this infraction assumes accidental marking, having significant markings can give players an advantage in tournaments and therefore requires a relatively strict penalty

 

Unsporting Conduct- This group of penalties deals with inappropriate behavior that a player may exhibit during a tournament. This group of penalties covers intentional infractions. It’s important to allow players to have fun and enjoy themselves, but that must be balanced with the need to protect others against truly offensive behavior that will jeopardize their tournament activity. This is an area where judges must use their common sense to determine when to allow natural behavior to occur and when to step in and moderate a situation.

 

Unsporting Conduct- Minor (Warning)- Players are expected to act in a sporting and professional manner when at tournaments towards judges and other players. If swearing is the infraction this should be looked at with respect to the players playing in the tournament. If the players are young then penalty should enforced, but if all the players are older then the judge can allow it.

Examples include:

A player leaves scraps of paper or food on his table after a match.

A player swears during a tournament in the tournament area.

A player uses inappropriate or offensive gestures.

A player insults her opponent.

A player does not follow a tournament official’s instructions.

 

Unsporting Conduct- Major (Match Loss)- Similar to above but in more extreme circumstances.

Examples Include:

A player uses profanity to argue with the head judge about a ruling.

A player throws his deck in frustration after losing a match.

A player refuses to sign or rips up a match result slip.

 

Unsporting Conduct: Severe (Disqualification without prize)- This should only be used in the worse cases. A statement should be collected from all parties and sent to UDE and the player may be banned from future tournaments.

Examples Include:

A player writes on tablecloths or defaces the tournament area.

A player physically assaults another player.

A player verbally threatens a judge.

A player steals while at a tournament site.

A player intentionally causes damage to the tournament site or someone else’s belongings.

 

Unsporting Conduct- Cheating (Disqualification without Prize)- Cheating is the highest display of unsporting conduct a player can exhibit during a tournament. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, intentionally misrepresenting the game state, rules, or policies; reporting inaccurate information to tournament officials; and bribery.

Examples Include:

A player offers booster packs to her opponent in exchange for conceding the final round.

A player purposely draws an extra card and attempts to conceal it.

A player intentionally reports to a tournament official that he won a round after losing the round.

A player lies to tournament officials.

A player who won the first game of the match purposely plays slowly in order to stall for time and wait for the round to end.

A player in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG pre-sets his deck while side decking and does not sufficiently randomize his deck before presenting it to his opponent.

 

Thank you for reading

[pizzaman]

Procedural Error- Playing Wrong Opponent (Match Loss)- This is appropriate when the player identifies the wrong player and it is not corrected until late in the round. This may be downgraded to a game loss if it is caught 10 mins into the round.

Small question regarding this.

This affects 4 people minimum if it ever occurs, right?

[JesusofChaos™]

Yes correct, however, it could affect 2 becaue they other two players find out that they are not suppose to play each other and they are the only 2 left, they can report it to judge and they will not be penalisied

[pizzaman]

Yes correct' date=' however, it could affect 2 becaue they other two players find out that they are not suppose to play each other and they are the only 2 left, they can report it to judge and they will not be penalisied

[/quote']

Ah ok. So unless its past 10mins, no penalty what so ever.

 

But damn, you need to be pretty careless to go to the wrong table though... or sloppy organizers who don't make it clear enough.

[JesusofChaos™]

If it is picked up quickly both players will recieve a game loss, thus they will play the right player as though they were 1-0 down

[~ P O L A R I S ~]

Thanks JoC, this was quite helpful. Where did you find this info? Judge papers?

[JesusofChaos™]

Yes most of my info comes from official UDE documents. And some from questions i ask in UDE forums if I am unsure

[Purple Dinosaur]

Speaking of Drawing Extra Cards, one of my opponent's I had at a Sneak Preview did have 7 cards in his starting hand, but I didn't feel like telling a Judge since this guy was HUGE!

 

EDIT: Thanks for posting these JoC.

[FoolMeNever]

ha, i've done a few of these things without so much as warning, XD.

 

I've never de-side decked (I was new to side-decking >_>)

 

And swearing is a fairly common thing at my league (of course, I never hear anything worse than s***)

[Axiom_Nor]

 

Unsporting Conduct: Severe (Disqualification without prize)- This should only be used in the worse cases. A statement should be collected from all parties and sent to UDE and the player may be banned from future tournaments.

Examples Include:

A player writes on tablecloths or defaces the tournament area.

 

 

o.o

 

uh.....

 

do those crappy paper tablecloths count?

 

'cause at the pack previews, i always make sure that my pen works on those things...

 

you know, scribble on paper to make sure the pen's not dead...

 

uh...

 

whoops...

[JesusofChaos™]

 

Unsporting Conduct: Severe (Disqualification without prize)- This should only be used in the worse cases. A statement should be collected from all parties and sent to UDE and the player may be banned from future tournaments.

Examples Include:

A player writes on tablecloths or defaces the tournament area.

 

 

o.o

 

uh.....

 

do those crappy paper tablecloths count?

 

'cause at the pack previews' date=' i always make sure that my pen works on those things...

 

you know, scribble on paper to make sure the pen's not dead...

 

uh...

 

whoops...

[/quote']

 

On paper tablecloths will be ok because they will be chucked away, it means defacing the actual table itself

[lordares25]

well at nationals some people got permanantly banned from participating in any UDE tournament and were arrested for fighting aka physical fighting and so on. then 14 others suspended from ude tournaments aswell for stealing and more for selling without a vendors license.

[Aximil]

Wow. Thanks for posting the official rules two weeks before my first actual tournament. And you guys said I wasn't good at dueling. I beat some dude at a local tournament who was ranked 50 or something and he said I should enter the next big tournament. Anyways, thanks again for posting the rules. I have been to anxious to think straight. I doubt I would have looked up the rules.

[Father Wolf]

wow its sad that i have seen nearly all these violations at my hobby leauge turnoment. but a judge told me that my friends couldn't normally talk to me in a match but his friends where aloud to criticize my cards ect. ect. normally im not a "jew" but still... wtf wouldn't that be a match lost?

[lordares25]

wow its sad that i have seen nearly all these violations at my hobby leauge turnoment. but a judge told me that my friends couldn't normally talk to me in a match but his friends where aloud to criticize my cards ect. ect. normally im not a "jew" but still... wtf wouldn't that be a match lost?

 

you can file a complaint about that judge....because if i was the tournament organizer that was running that event id tell him to leave and not let him judge my event. judges are not allowed to change or bend the rules for their friends no matter what. maybe you should find out who the head judge is in the area and talk to them. and if you cant do any of the above.... talk to the store employee that is running the hobby league.

[FlareKR]

I got banned from tournaments cause most of my cards are forbbiden. WHO GIVES A **^%& bout "Witch of the Black Forest", I ain't using an Exodia deck. How can WITCH OF THE BLACK FOREST be banned.

This is why I just play friendly matches now.

[The Dark One]

Lol, you deserved it if you have that attitude Flare.

[「tea.leaf」]

Would these rules still be relevant now that UDE no longer sanctions events

[Lazer Yoshi]

Ha, this is awesome. XD

Although, mistakes CAN happen.

[Smeg]

Example: A player spills water on a significant portion of her deck' date=' ruining the cards and making her unable to finish the remainder of the match.

[b']That Happened to my friend :/[/b]

 

Procedural Error- Tardiness (Game Loss/ Match Loss)- This is applied when a player has not taken their seat in time to start the match. If 3 mins pass and they get there then it is a game loss. If 10 mins pass a match loss is issued.

 

That happened to me, a guy didn't come for 15 minutes and a game/match wasn't taken. :/

 

[Shadowstorm]

Unsporting Conduct- Major (Match Loss)- Similar to above but in more extreme circumstances.

Examples Include:

A player uses profanity to argue with the head judge about a ruling.

A player throws his deck in frustration after losing a match.

A player refuses to sign or rips up a match result slip.

 

Lol those make me laugh...You get a warning for a mistake?lol,i made 3 mistakes in one match during a hobby store duel.Does eating that table cloth give you a game loss penalty?

[~Emo~]

Swearing is bad? 99.9% of the people at the tournament were I live swear. Even the store owner.

[Mysty]

When in the presence of little kids, yes. Remember, this is a CHILDREN'S card game, it's just played by children, teenagers, and adults alike.

[~Emo~]

When in the presence of little kids' date=' yes. Remember, this is a CHILDREN'S card game, it's just played by children, teenagers, and adults alike.

[/quote']

 

If its a children's card game, why is it that everyone at the place I go to is 14+?

[Mysty]

When in the presence of little kids' date=' yes. Remember, this is a CHILDREN'S card game, [b']it's played by children, teenagers, and adults alike.[/b]

 

If its a children's card game, why is it that everyone at the place I go to is 14+?

 

Check the bolded.

As for the topic, I don't participate in tournaments, but it was certainly nice to make a whole list of all the penalties. Luckily, none of those things seem to be a problem at the Sneak Preview tournaments I go to.