15 replies to this topic

[CaptainSlug]

There are many issues with larger wars, but the biggest issue we have had in the past is the amount of time it can take to get a round going.
We need a simple and cheap way of dividing whatever group we have into however many teams we need to get a round underway.

Step 1. Give all of the attendees a unique number (from 1 to 100) written on a strung tag.
You can buy them in packages of 1,000 and various sizes for $5.

Step 2. Take a deck of number flash cards and reduce it down to your number of attendees.
When you need to organize teams quickly you can simply shuffle and deal out the deck of number flash cards into however many teams you are trying to organize.

You can then balance the teams for fairness if needed.

I'm going to test this out at SuperNova since it will be attended by many people whose names I don't know.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 01 June 2009 - 12:27 PM.

[flyingchicken]

Good idea. So it's basically just forming teams at random?

[CaptainSlug]

Good idea. So it's basically just forming teams at random?

Yes.
When you have more than 12 attendees, getting teams made can eat up too much time.

[CaptainSlug]

The tags and flashcards are cool because they go even higher, but they are somewhat harder to obtain.

I'm sure I could find them at Target, Wal-Mart, or Toys R' Us. But I was feeling lazy and just ordered two decks from Amazon for $1.50 each.

[PointBlank]

So simple, yet so creative! This will definitely be a part of any wars I hold in the future. Thanks for the idea.

[Falcon]

I like the idea. I'm sure it would help speed things up.

However, I find that at larger wars where you don't know everyone, picking teams the "old-fashioned way" is the BEST means for learning names quickly. To add to that, I've never met anyone who didn't feel welcomed at their first war when called by name long before the day was over. I relish getting to know people on a first-name basis, even though I'm absolutely terrible with names, because I want people to come back, and, hopefully, become a part of the regulars who feel welcome and wanted.

In addition, making teams balanced is a lot easier when everyone knows the capabilities of those on the field. Randomly picked teams tend to be less balanced. It is extremely common to find teams with clumps of experienced players rather than an even distribution, a problem which is remedied by picking by hand. When you know the people playing and are picking in turn, despite the obvious picking of experienced players first, the teams typically wind up fairly even, which makes the game a LOT more fun. New players getting owned continuously throughout the day due to random team picking tend to not come back. Getting put on a team that can hold its own and play a good game, even a losing one, keeps people coming back for more. I know you stated that balancing teams for fairness can be done later on, but I think the extra step really isn't necessary.

This may speed things up, but the personal interaction between players in the team picking process is a fair part of what keeps the hobby growing. At least, it does out here. Get to know people's names, and they'll come back. You'll learn their name a LOT faster if you don't assign them a number and tag them with it like they're being processed into a POW camp. Just seems a bit less, umm...impersonal. Just my two cents.

[minsc]

Another option for both randomness and learning names is to separate teams based on names, elementary school style. Such as, A-M on team 1, N-Z on team 2, etc. Also, even vs. odd ages, or blond haired and blue eyed vs. everyone else (not really).

I also must say the image of the numbers flash cards is quite amusing. They even show pictures of Real Live Numbers to prove its a legit deal.

[Langley]

Re:Falcon

At least, it does out here. Get to know people's names, and they'll come back.

OUT HERE IN THE EAST YOUR NAME EARNS YOU NOTHING. NOTHING RARRRGGGGG.

Seriously though, When you've got over 15 or 20 people you've never met before, on top of the 15 or 20 you do know, it's impossible to make a decision about who to pick for your team whether you know everyone's name or not. I think this method of team picking is great because it leaves more time for nerfing and socializing in between rounds, which are the times when you really get to know people. Learning people's names during team selection is an okay way to break the ice, but putting together your strategy on the field with your team, or asking people questions about their mods are much faster ways of getting to know everyone. And while people may like to get chosen by name by the end of the day, I've found it's the nerfers that earn a nickname that end up coming back for more.

[CaptainSlug]

This worked really well, although the number flash cards are pretty flimsy as well as large. They didn't handle being shuffled so frequently.
They also only go up to 50 on one side. Numbers 51-100 are on the backside of them. That is lame.

I will be switching to a regular deck of playing cards from now on. Also I'll probably just write a number on each player's hand rather than bothering to make tags for everyone.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 20 June 2009 - 06:05 PM.

[nerkum]

Add colored beads to a bag, everyone draw from the bag. You team is the color the bead you drew. Beads are cheap and easy to modify the numbers in the bag, plus they are super durable.

[CaptainSlug]

Add colored beads to a bag, everyone draw from the bag. You team is the color the bead you drew. Beads are cheap and easy to modify the numbers in the bag, plus they are super durable.

But that would take a very long time to do with more than 10 people.
Where as just shuffling cards then calling out the numbers to form the teams is was very fast and easy.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 20 June 2009 - 07:08 PM.

[death by cheez]

This is actually a good idea. I'll test the card thing out on wednesday.

[nerkum]

I'm not sure how the bead method would take forever with over 10 people. Having each person grab a bead would take just as long as handing everyone a numbered tag. I guess counting the beads might take a little bit, but you would have to count the cards as well. Plus I thinking calling out numbers would be a nightmare simply because you will have to keep the chatter down from all the people on the field so they could hear their number called.

I say line them up draw from bag, turn bead in for team band... start game.

I'm sure there are a dozen ways to speed it up, thanks for posting your idea.

[CaptainSlug]

I like the idea. I'm sure it would help speed things up.

However, I find that at larger wars where you don't know everyone, picking teams the "old-fashioned way" is the BEST means for learning names quickly.

Now that I think about it, you could simply have everyone write their first name and username onto a 3x5 card, then those could be shuffled and dealt before each round to make teams. That way you can accomplish both without wasting as much time.

I'm not sure how the bead method would take forever with over 10 people. Having each person grab a bead would take just as long as handing everyone a numbered tag. I guess counting the beads might take a little bit, but you would have to count the cards as well. Plus I thinking calling out numbers would be a nightmare simply because you will have to keep the chatter down from all the people on the field so they could hear their number called.

I say line them up draw from bag, turn bead in for team band... start game.

I'm sure there are a dozen ways to speed it up, thanks for posting your idea.

They only have to receive a tag or have the number written on their hand once.
Beads would require everyone to draw before every round, which would be far more time consuming than just calling out half of the numbers.

If you want them to hear, just speak up.
Do whatever you want. I'm sticking with cards.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 21 June 2009 - 11:23 AM.

[VACC]

I find that at larger wars where you don't know everyone, picking teams the "old-fashioned way" is the BEST means for learning names quickly.......................

You know, I missed Supernova because I was at a bachelor party this weekend. Now, it was my sister's fiance's bachelor party so I didn't know anyone. At one point in time I found myself, inebriated of course, in a bowling alley of some sort. With everyone's name on the electronic scoreboard, and each person stepping up to bowl as their names were selected, I found it easy to quickly learn who everyone was. So I guess we could go bowling before each and every nerf war to learn everyone's names.....or we could stop holding hands and fucking nerf.

VACC

[Carbon]

Thought I would share the method that Snake used at Chicago Showdown last weekend, the "pick a dart" method. Since every war has the dumping area where found darts go, we used dart styles equal to the number of teams we wanted, and then a number of each of those darts equal to the number of players on each team. Toss them into a hat/box/whatever, and everyone picks a dart. People team up according to the style of dart they got.

It of course depends upon the particular kinds of darts that everyone has, and wouldn't work as well for really large wars, but it was fast and easy, and used a resource that we already had.