GUARDIANS NATIONAL TOURNAMENT!

So we had our first ever Guardians of the City National Tournament, over two days, 18-19 November 2017.

The Tournament was run as part of the annual Campus Game Fest event held at the Institute of Technical Education, College Central.

64 teams from various secondary schools took part. Some schools sent more than one team, and a large proportion of the students were from uniformed groups.

The Ministry of Defence got together some really nice team trophies and individual medals for the winning teams.

Falling Piano Games sponsored some sets of our latest game, The Impregnable Fortress, as team prizes for every team that reached the quarterfinals and beyond.

A closeup of the Champion's medal, one each for individual team members.

Champion's medal for the Inaugural Inter-school Guardians of the City Tournament. #guardiansofthecity #totaldefence #cardgame #strategy #fallingpianogames #gaming #games http://www.fallingpianogames.com

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The broader Campus Game Fest event was supported by the Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Steering Committee.

For the first time ever, the new Guardians of the City Game Aid Pack was showcased, with a brand new game board and counters, which enhance the visual appeal, smoothen gameplay, and reduce errors in counting and scoring.

The tournament went well - students were clearly having fun learning about Total Defence.

The feedback about the new Game Aid Pack was very positive, and several people approached me asking how they could obtain a set for themselves (the Game Aid Pack was never made available to the schools before this Tournament). ​

One of the most gratifying things I saw over the weekend was how the students would be playing GOTC on the side just for the fun of it even though their team had already been knocked out of the competition. To me, it showed that at some level, the game was fun enough to captivate them.

Another group of students playing the game on their own time. This was during the finals, when the number of teams competing was reduced, and some spare Game Aid Packs became available. These RGS girls borrowed a spare board and started their own game on the side.

The finals of the Tournament were played on the main CGF stage, with a video link for the audience to watch the moves of the players.

One of the teams that made the quarter-finals, posing with their team prize of a trophy and a set of the Impregnable Fortress. What I was glad to see was that unlike the internal NCC tournament we ran in May, this National Tournament saw many girls sign up to compete. NCC, as a CCA, tends to be mostly guys, whereas the National Tournament involved students from all the schools, including CCAs like Girl Guides and NPCC.

The third-placed team, from Pei Hua Secondary.

The runners-up, from Commonwealth Secondary School (NCC).

And presenting the grand champions of the Inaugural Guardians of the City National Tournament - FUHUA SECONDARY SCHOOL! Congratulations!

I had a lot of fun at this event, and I do hope the students had too. Looking forward to next year's Tournament!