Fantasy Flight Games is making changes to its Organized Play (OP) structure in 2019.

The Organized Play Season Kits historically used to run tournament play will now also focus on supporting casual play and regular play as well.  Traditional Seasonal Kits provided stores materials for tournament play and included prizes based on performance.  Retailers do have the option of continuing to use the kits to run tournaments if they prefer.

Now the kits will support Open Play Nights with prizes for participation, and the kits will support eight players for three months of weekly play.  The prize cards within the Seasonal Kits will change each month, and offer participants a chance to earn multiple copies of most cards.  FFG states that the pricing and distribution of the Seasonal Kits will be changed to make it easier for retailers to obtain them and release on schedule.  

Seasonal Premium Kits will be added to some games in addition to regular Seasonal Kits.  Retailers can use these Premium Kits to offer additional gaming experiences, casual or competitive.  These kits will include competitive prizes that are a step up from the standard Seasonal Kit prizes.

Championship Events will also include a streamlined naming structure for events that is consistent across all of the company’s games.

  • Store Championships are competitive local tournaments held at game stores twice per year (per game).
  • Prime Championships (formerly called Regional Championships) are high-level tournaments run at select retailers that draw players from across a wider geographic region.
  • Grand Championships (formerly National Championships) are high-level events that take place once per year per nation/territory.  Winners qualify for their game’s next World Championship.
  • Continental Championships are international events open to anyone who wishes to attend. Winners qualify for their game’s World Championship.
  • World Championships are the pinnacle of any game’s competitive OP program. In 2019, X-Wing and Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game World Championships will be invitation-only.  In 2020, the rest of FFG’s Organized Play World Championships will shift to invitation-only as well.

Various games, including X-Wing, L5R: TCG, Star Wars: Destiny, and KeyForge will continue to host Open Events, which can earn players invitations to the World Championships.  These events will run alongside the standard OP structure, and may or may not interact with Championship Events.  Open Events are held at major gaming conventions around the world.

FFG has also developed a new tournament software platform, the Global Event Manager (GEM), to support OP for KeyForge (see “'KeyForge' Organized Play Enters New Age”).