Best Practices

This guide covers recommended practices for creating successful tournaments on Budokan. Following these guidelines will help protect your prize pools, attract genuine participants, and ensure a smooth experience for everyone.

Sybil Resistance

Always Charge Entry Fees for Open Tournaments

If your tournament is open to everyone and has no entry requirements (token gating, qualification, or whitelist), always charge a small entry fee. This is critical for protecting your prize pool.

Why this matters:

Without barriers to entry, bots and farmers can create unlimited wallets and play an infinite number of games to exploit prize distributions
Even a small fee (e.g., $0.10–$1.00) creates enough friction to make mass exploitation unprofitable
The fee doesn't need to be large—just enough to make the cost of running many accounts exceed potential rewards

Recommended approaches:

Tournament Type	Recommendation
Open + Prize Pool	Charge entry fee (required)
Open + No Prizes	Entry fee optional
Token Gated	Entry fee optional (token requirement provides protection)
Qualification Required	Entry fee optional (prior tournament provides protection)
Whitelisted	Entry fee optional (address restriction provides protection)

Rule of thumb: If anyone can join and there's money to win, require an entry fee.

Combine Multiple Protections

For high-value prize pools, consider layering protections:

Entry fee + token gating
Entry fee + qualification from a previous tournament
Token gating + whitelist for invite-only events

Submission Period

Set Realistic Deadlines

The submission period determines how long players have to submit their final scores after the tournament ends. If no scores are submitted before the deadline, the prize pool will go to the tournament creator.

Recommendations:

Set submission periods of at least 24–48 hours for casual tournaments
For competitive events, 1–7 days gives players flexibility across time zones
Monitor your tournament as the deadline approaches

Use Auto-Submit Infrastructure

Budokan provides infrastructure to help monitor and auto-submit scores. Take advantage of this:

Bookmark your tournament page
Set calendar reminders for the submission deadline
Consider enabling auto-submission if available

Prize Distribution

Plan Your Winner Distribution

Before creating a tournament, decide how you want to distribute prizes:

Top-heavy: Rewards the best players heavily (e.g., 70/20/10 split)
Flat: Spreads rewards more evenly across winners
Participation-focused: Smaller prizes for more positions

Consider your goals:

Competitive prestige → top-heavy
Community engagement → flatter distribution
Encouraging new players → participation rewards

Timing and Scheduling

Avoid Overlapping with Major Events

Check for other tournaments, game updates, or community events that might compete for attention. Timing your tournament well can significantly impact participation.

Consider Time Zones

If your community is global, consider:

Longer tournament durations (days rather than hours)
Start times that work for multiple regions
Extended submission periods

Communication

Write Clear Descriptions

Use the tournament description to communicate:

Any special rules or expectations
The theme or purpose of the tournament
Links to community channels for questions

Announce Your Tournament

After creation, share your tournament:

In relevant Discord channels
On social media
Through community newsletters

Pre-Launch Checklist

Before confirming your tournament, verify:

Entry requirements match your intended audience
Entry fee is set (if tournament is open with prizes)
Prize distribution percentages total 100%
Start and end times are correct
Submission period gives players enough time
Game settings are configured correctly
Description clearly explains the tournament

Remember: Once created, some tournament settings cannot be changed. Double-check everything before confirming.

Related Guides

If you have questions or need help, check the FAQ or contact support through the app.