Tournament

Running a tournament, where participants can play against each other and earn prize cards, can be a great way to make the program more interactive and social. Whether you choose to have scheduled a monthly chill get together or plan a party or large event for the Reading Dragons, a tournament can be a fun way to facilitate interaction.

Tournaments add structure to the rules you already know.

Each player will play a row of 5 cards face down in front of them. Keep your chosen cards secret!

The cards that are directly across from each other are competing. Next players will reveal each of their cards to determine how many points they earn. They will earn 1 point for each card they beat.

Fire (red) beats Leaf (green)

Leaf (green) beats Water (blue)

Water (blue) beats Fire (red)

If both cards have the same element those cards tie and are worth 0 points.

Here is an example of play.

Both players have revealed their first card. Player 1 has Fire(red) and player 2 has Water (blue).

Player 2 wins 1 point the first turn because Water beats Fire.

Next both players reveal their second card. This time both players have a green card. This is a tie, so neither player earns a point.

Let's skip ahead.

Can you determine which player won the game? Take a moment to figure it out.

The winner is Player 2 with 3 points. Player 1 earned 1 point, but lost this round.

Whoever earned the most points at the end of 5 card flips, wins the game. If both players have tied for points they will break the tie by playing another card. They will play cards until the tie is broken.

FAQ

Does it matter which card is played first?

No. The players can start from the right, the left or the middle. The only thing that matters is that both players flip over the cards that are across from each other as the arrows in the diagram show.

Practice Rounds

I recommend having kids play 2-3 practice rounds before you begin the competition so they understand the flow of play.

Score Card

The score card I have included in this folder has space for 5 rounds of play, so they can play against different players. Players will checkmark whether they won or lost the match and how many points they earned in each match. You are welcome to make your own scorecard and adjust the number of rounds to suit your time constraints.

How to determine the tournament champion?

After everyone has finished playing. Players (with the help of a parent if needed) will add up how many matches they won, and how many points they earned. The player who won the most matches wins.

If there are several players who have won the same number of matches, then determine the winner by whoever has earned the most points.

If more than one player has won the same number of matches and earned the same number of points these players will play a match to determine a winner. Or you can have them share first place.

What does the winner get?

You can reward participants and winners in whatever way you choose. 

I have included special cards for tournament rewards. The Tournament cards are for participants, Gold King cards are for the winner(s) and Silver King Cards are for 2nd place.

I made a red, blue, and green card version of each of these because I am planning to run a few tournaments through the school year. So for one tournament I will hand out red cards, the next tournament I will hand out blue cards and the one after will have green cards. That way even if the kids participate in multiple tournaments their prize card will be a bit different.

Card Links

Tournament Dragons

Silver Dragon

Gold Dragon