What are the best practices and tips for judging a Riftbound skirmish event?

Ruling: Judges should be confident and firm with rulings, maintain consistency across all players, know when to intervene in games for violations, and not be afraid to consult rulebooks. Make announcements at the start, keep to time, enforce paper scoring at higher OPL events, and practice deck checks beforehand.

Sequence:

• Do an opening announcement with everyone's attention
• Walk around observing play speed to establish baselines
• Perform deck checks (aim for 5 minutes or less, 10% of matches)
• Intervene when violations occur (not for missed triggers, but for other gameplay errors)
• Issue remedies and penalties according to enforcement documents
• Maintain calm, level voice even when players get heated

Nuances:

• Slow play is situational and the hardest thing to judge correctly - use the "2x rule" (if a player takes twice as long as you would to find a line, give a nudge without warning)
• Judges should intervene for gameplay errors they observe (like forgotten hold scoring, incorrect channeling) but NOT for missed triggered abilities
• If a hold/conquest point is forgotten, judges must intervene immediately as it's a violation of maintaining proper game state, unless a full round cycle has passed
• Be consistent with rule enforcement even with friends - all players deserve equal treatment
• For cheating determinations, evaluate risk vs reward and look for intent through investigation, not just the action itself
• Recommended judge-to-player ratio is 1:25-30 for experienced judges, 1:20 for newer judges
• Have comprehensive rules and penalty documents open on your phone for reference