Judge Tokens (Magic Judges Feedback Form)

Look at these sweet custom art "Warrior" and "Zombie" Magic Judge tokens for Amonkhet illustrated by our by Zie Aun (@eloneth). Support his works if you like the art!

So, why do we start having these sweet custom tokens? These tokens serve well for our limited and constructed events "Purrrrrfect".

The main idea of these tokens is actually to advertise the Magic Judge Feedback Form.We thank the Judge Token project members (Milan Majerčík, Todd Rix & Zie Aun Tan)

What is the Feedback Form about, and why do we have that?
Magic Judges are members of Judge Programme within the Magic community, who are perhaps best known as neutral arbiters and enforcers of policy and rules. They are also passionate about the game. That is why they have become a Judge to give back to the community by ensuring events that are fair and welcoming to players. They also educate players of the policy and rules and try their best to promote great play experiences for the community.

Being human also means that they can make both good judgments and not so good judgements. Through mistakes, Judges learn. Through hard work, Judges are also appreciated by other members of the community, such as Players, Tournament Organisers, and also other Judges.

All these are made possible because there is feedback from another party. Of course, a face to face feedback session is preferred as it would allow both parties to discuss their point of views, and get a better understanding of where the other party is coming from. However, there are also times whereby a face to face feedback session cannot be done, due to constraint of time, heightened emotions, unfamiliarity or other factors.

Thus, the feedback form can also act as a tool for the community members to be in a comfortable setting and reach out to communicate, provide constructive feedback to the parties involved and the Magic Judge community.

The idea of judge tokens is then born. Tokens, which are also commonly used by players in gameplay, serve as a aid for the game state. Likewise, these Judge tokens also serve as a aid to remind players to constantly provide feedback for learning and also to show appreciation (be it good or bad) to these Judges (especially important in our SEA culture).

On the flip side of the tokens, it contains information of the Magic Judge Feedback Form!

If you would like to get some copies of these tokens, do drop us an email to request for them.
These tokens will also be distributed at various events.

Lastly, remember that effective and constructive feedback are critical components to a successful community!

~Sign off
SGJudges(Dennis Xiao)

Hmm, what's our role ... ... (Part 2 of 2)

in any tournament setting. ^_^ This is part 2 of 2 series, where we will cover the roles of Players and Spectators. They are expected to follow all instruction given by the Tournament Officials. For more details on the roles of Tournament Officials, click here for part 1 of this series.

Let's get to the point! Everyone has been a Player or Spectator before, but do you really know your own roles? Write down what you think your roles are, before you scroll down, and compare between what you have written down against what is written here.

The original MTR can be found here.

Let us take a look at the roles of Players and Spectators:-

1.      Player      

The person in the Magic community, who enjoy games of Magic (of any sexes, ages, from just being introduced to the game to the pro players), that is playing in the particular tournament. Responsibility includes:-

1.1.   behave in a respectful manner towards everyone, inclusive of Tournament Organiser, other tournament participants and Spectators

Good Practice👍: Be respectful to others. Look and smell decent. Be sensitive to others. Don’t be a jerk, nobody likes a jerk. You are an ambassador for people who are looking to play and enjoy the game.

1.2.   refrain from unsporting conduct at all times

Good Practice👍: Refrain from activities that affect the safety, competitiveness, enjoyment or integrity of a tournament in a significantly negative fashion (Unsporting is not the same as lack of sporting behavior). For more information of what constitutes as unsporting conduct, please refer to section 5.4 of the MTR. Everyone shares the enjoyable atmosphere of the tournament, and being unsporting spoils the moment for others.

1.3.   maintain a clear and legal game state

Good Practice👍: Use pen and paper to record and confirm any life total changes with opponents.

Good Practice👍: Communicate to your opponent clearly of your intentions, clarify with your opponent to resolve any ambiguity in game state and keep different piles of cards distinct from each other.

Good Practice👍: Call for Judges if assistance is required. Judges are here to assist you. Although games can sometimes be complex, frustrating and/or stressful, it is not an excuse for Judges not to intervene and/or penalize when Players are playing unclearly.

1.4.   comply with announced start times and time limits

Good Practice👍: Plan and arrive slightly earlier before the announced stipulated times to account for any unforeseeable delays. Tournaments can be delayed as a whole when people are late or do not complete the tasks on time. It is unfair to people who are on time. Tardiness penalty may apply, if the timings are not complied.

Good Practice👍: Familiarise with your deck, and play at a reasonable pace. It is not an excuse to play at a slower pace if you are not familiar with the deck.

Good Practice👍: Analyse and think ahead of what you will do for your turn during your opponent’s turn. The current game state is an accumulation of past turns game state.

Good Practice👍: Inform the Tournament Officials if you are leaving the tournament area (toilet break, smoke break, getting supplies, dropping from the tournament).

1.5.   bring to Judge’s attention to any rules or policy infraction

Good Practice👍: As soon as any rules or policy infractions are noticed, call for Judges and keep hands raised so that Judges are able to identify your table. Failing to notice mistakes or intentionally ignoring mistakes may result in infractions.

1.6.   bring to Judge’s attention to any offers of bribery, wagering, improper game result determination, and any discrepancies in their tournament match record

Good Practice👍: Never commit the abovementioned offers, as they are serious infractions that violate the integrity of the game and tournament. It should not be performed and should be informed to a Judge immediately. Failing to do so may result in a severe penalty for both the Player offering and the Player who did not call attention to the illegal action.

Good Practice👍: Check that the results slips are filled with the correct scores. Discrepancies in tournament match should be informed to any Tournament Officials as soon as possible, as it affects subsequent pairing of matches. Intentionally taking advantage of the discrepancy is a serious infraction.

1.7.   report or file any appeals to the Wizards due to any discrepancies or anomalies in the overall match history, rankings, or Planeswalker Points

Good Practice👍: Periodically check the records on Planeswalker Point website and log a report via Wizards account if there are any discrepancies. Due to privacy concerns, reporting to Wizards directly is preferred as compared to reporting to Tournament Officials. Wizards is always looking forward to the feedback from the community.

1.8.   have a single DCI number. Individuals holding more than one number must contact Wizards to merge their numbers

Good Practice👍: Convert your existing DCI number to a Wizards account. If you have multiple DCI numbers, merge your existing DCI numbers via http://www.wizards.com/customerservice, so that all your play records and Planeswalker Points exist together. Some Premier events such as Nationals or Grand Prix takes into account your Planewalker Point for entry or byes eligibility.

1.9.   refrain from enrolling in tournaments you are not allowed by policy to participate in (e.g. People with invites to Pro Tour and/or invites to Regional Pro Tour Qualifiers of a particular season are barred from playing in further Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers of that season).

Good Practice👍: Keep personal records of tournament eligibility and contact Wizards if you need any assistance. Enrolling into tournaments without the eligibility may cause events to be invalidated.

Good Practice👍: If your DCI account has been suspended, you are not allowed to create another account to bypass the suspension.

1.10.   being familiar with the rules contained within this document

Good Practice👍: Understand and adhere to the MTR. If you have trouble understanding particular parts of the MTR, you can seek assistance by contacting either Wizards or Judges.

1.11.   being physically present for the tournament. Players are not permitted to register for a tournament solely to collect participation Planeswalker Points

Good Practice👍: Don’t commit tournament fraud by registering for an event without being present.

Players must bring the following items to a tournament in order to participate:-

a)      Valid DCI number registered in your name. New players may register for a DCI number to participate in the tournament.

b)      Items that allow physical, visible and reliable method of recording game information (eg. tokens, counters, pen and paper).

c)      Materials specifically required for a particular tournament format (eg. Deck and/or decklists for constructed tournaments).

Individual members of a team are considered Players, and are equally responsible for required tournament procedures, such as accurately filling out their match result slips. Players are only responsible for the games they play themselves and not separate games being played by their teammates, but are expected to point out rules violations they observe in their teammates’ matches.

Players retain their responsibilities even if Judges provides them with extra assistance.

Players who do not fulfill their responsibilities may be subject to penalties and review by the DCI. Wizards reserve the right to suspend or revoke a player's membership without prior notice for any reason they deem necessary.

2.      Spectator

Any person physically present at a tournament and not in any other categories are a Spectator. Responsibility includes:-

2.1.   remain silent and passive during matches and other official tournament sections in which Players are also required to be silent.

Good Practice👍: Maintain the venue as comfortable as possible to the Players during their matches, by preventing the Players from losing focus due to excessive noise.

Good Practice👍: Prevent the chances of committing outside assistance from comments by remaining silent.

2.2.   encouraged to alert Judges as soon as possible, if any rules or policy violations are observed

2.2.1.      [Regular and Competitive Rules Enforcement Level] permitted to ask Players to pause the match while the judge is being alerted.

2.2.2.      [Professional Rules Enforcement Level] not permitted to interfere with matches directly.

Good Practice👍: Judges are people, and sometimes errors or even suspicious activities are missed. Spectators can help Judges to maintain the integrity of the tournament by alerting Judges. On the other hand, Spectators may also mistakenly identify an action or board state as illegal (eg. missed trigger), and unwittingly give information to the Players during their matches. Thus, it is preferred that as soon as a Spectator observes any violation, to inform the Judges promptly of any errors of suspicious activities as soon as possible.

Players may request that a spectator not observe their matches. Such requests must be made through a judge. Judges will typically honor the request if it is reasonable. Judges also reserve the rights to refuse if the request is unreasonable.

Tournament Officials may also instruct a Spectator not observe a match or matches.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or email to us! Hope that you have take away something from this series of articles. We look forward another series of articles in the upcoming weeks.

~Sign off
SGJudges(Dennis Xiao)