Switcholio
Last updated
Last updated
Switcholio is a unique twist on blind draw tournaments, where players are paired with a new partner for every game and ranked individually. With Scoreholio’s software, everything is automatically managed, from creating matchups to tracking performance. The organizer can use the leaderboard to recognize top players or seed them into a single elimination playoff.
Top players love Switcholio because they’re not stuck with the same partner all night. Over the course of the event, their individual skills help them rise higher on the leaderboard.
For new players, Switcholio is less intimidating than a standard blind draw. They don’t have to worry about holding back an experienced partner, making it a more welcoming and enjoyable experience.
Organizers love Switcholio because they don’t have to worry about even numbers of players or finding a “walker” if there’s an odd number. Players can also join late, take a break, or leave early without causing issues. Scoreholio seamlessly adjusts, keeping the tournament running smoothly, no matter what!
Download the Scoreholio app or log in at https://app.scoreholio.com.
Click “Create New” to start your tournament setup.
Rank by: This option determines how your leaderboard is sorted during Round Robin play. Choose from the following options:
Total Points
Record then Points
Record then Differential
PPR (Points per Round)
DPR (Differential per Round)
Note: PPR and DPR are specific to Cornhole/Horseshoes and Axe Throwing. Points Differential is calculated as points scored minus points against.
# of Courts: Choose the number of courts based on the expected number of players, but be prepared to adjust. Since Switcholio focuses on random pairings, you will want some player NOT playing and in the coming up section. Ideally, keep at least 3 or more players in the queue. If the queue has fewer players, consider reducing the number of courts.
# of Rounds: We recommend running a multiple of 4 rounds.. This ensures that every player gets the same number of games, even if someone joins late. The system automatically "catches up" late players, so everyone gets the same amount of games.
This graph will help you know how many players and rounds you can run in a switcholio. If your combination is in the green everyone will finish with the same amount of rounds. If your combination of players and rounds are in the red that means some players will end up short a rounds. If the number is .25 then 1 player will be short a round, if .50 then 2 players, and if .75 3 players will be short a round.
As you can see, multiples of 4 are always a good combination in switcholio.
Adding Late Players
One of the nice things about Switcholio is that you can add players late, and the system will automatically “catch them up.” If you’re playing four games like I suggest they will get their four games in just like everybody else. If they’re too far behind, however, they will tend to hold things up toward the end, and they’ll be queued up back to back to back with no breaks. I like to let late-comers join the tournament as long as at least ONE player who started on time has only played a single game. As soon as everybody who was in the event from the start is at least playing their second game, I don’t allow new players.
Another advantage of Switcholio is that if somebody has to bail, they’re not leaving a partner (and you) in a lurch. Note that somebody leaving mid-tournament CAN cause an uneven number of games at the end, but there are easy ways to resolve that. More on that in a bit.
Sometimes players will not pay attention and submit the score of a game backwards. To fix this, go into the “Stats & Logs” tab, click the game with the incorrect score. There you can swap the score, update, or edit ScoreMagic rounds.
If one player, or a few players, end up short a game because somebody bailed or you ran anything other than four games, it’s fairly easy to fix. What you will have to do is go back to the Player tab in admin where you started the tournament from. Add fake players called “ghosts”. Add as many as you need. Example: if 2 players are left short a round add 2 ghosts. Then go back to the round robin tab, click on a players name and manually pair them with a ghost onto a court. Repeat with the other player short a round until the court is full. Have those players play singles and submit the match. Go back to the players tab and click on the ghosts you added and delete them. Now everyone will have even matches.
Some organizers use the leaderboard as the final ranking for their tournament, awarding prizes to the top players based on their total points. However, you can also add a playoff to your Switcholio round robin. To set up a bracket after the round robin, simply go to the "Bracket" tab in the admin section and click "Create Bracket" to get started.
Single or Double Elimination: After your round robin, you can decide to run either a single or double elimination playoff, depending on what works best for your group.
Pairing Method: This determines how teams will be paired for the playoffs. You have several options:
(Lets assume 10 players ranked 1-10)
Top with first of lower half: 1/6, 2/7, 3/8, 4/9, 5/10
Top with bottom: 1/10, 2/9, 3/8, 4/7, 5/6
The Cornelius: 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10
50/50: Randomly pairs someone from the top half with someone from the bottom half.
Singles: Opt to have players compete individually instead of in teams.
Bracket Size: You can set the playoff bracket size anywhere from 4 to 32 teams, or even up to 64 (128 players) with the Pro plan.
Note: If you have an odd number of players and want everyone to advance, you can add a ghost player to fill in the bracket. The ghost will automatically take the last place spot, but you can move them by clicking “Change Seeding” and dragging them to the desired position.
Additional Brackets: If you'd like to divide your players into multiple playoff brackets after Switcholio, you can use additional brackets to create separate competitions.
For more details on additional brackets, click here: Additional Brackets
Set Schedule Switcholio: If you would like to create a schedule for everyone to see who they are playing with and against for the entire tournament. OR you would like to setup a weekly league switcholio keeping running league stats. Click here: Set Schedule Switcholio
Split Switch: Looking to run more of a PRO AM or a Mixed Doubles type tournament? Where you can split your group up into 2 groups and have players ONLY play with players from the other group? Learn more: Split Switch
