Judge Apprentice - Lesson 1

The Star Wars™: Unlimited Judge Program - Introduction and Overview

Also available are archives of live broadcasts, where the Program Director goes over the lesson, answers any questions that folks may have and sometimes goes on tangets about other elements of judging. You can find the playlist of broadcasts on youtube.
Click for Translation While proper translation and localization are among our long-term goals, we are currently offering Google Translate on the page. Please keep in mind that the translation is automatic, which means that specific game terms, names of cards or mechanics, or technical language used to describe the game may not translate well. As with the documents for the game itself, the English page is the authoritative document in case of any confusion or discrepancy.
Below is the full script of the lesson, if you learn or process material better through the written word!

Join the discussion in our Discord and talk with other judges about what you learned, and ask any questions you may have!
Hello there!

Welcome to the Judge Program for Star Wars: Unlimited!

I’m Jonah - and I am the director of the Judge Program here at Cascade Games. We are working in concert with the designers and developers of Star Wars: Unlimited at Fantasy Flight Games to create a certification program that lines up with the needs of competitive Organized Play, as well as casual-tier play at local game stores across the world.

This is the first in a series of lessons to help you earn your certification as an official judge for Star Wars: Unlimited. These first six lessons are part of the educational modules for the Judge Apprentice certification, which will help you develop core rules knowledge and better understand the game, but it is not a required certification for any events and is not a prerequisite for level one certification.

For this lesson in particular, we’re going to focus on answering a few key questions - What is a judge and what do they offer? Who can be a judge? Why might you want to become a judge? And, maybe the most exciting one - how do you become a judge? We’ll also touch briefly on the structure of the Judge Program, but you’ll be able to find more in-depth articles here on Cascade Games.

So let’s dive in!

What is a Judge?

First up, what is a judge? Judges are a lot of things! First and foremost, they’re members of the community - they’re people who enjoy the game and want to give back to the community in some way. They’re rules experts, who know the comprehensive rules and understand the quirks of what can be a complex game. They understand tournament policy, which is the philosophy and documentation that tells us how to fix errors in gameplay, how to resolve disputes, and generally how to ensure that the game remains fun and fair, even when playing for big prizes. Judges also are trained in tournament logistics - to make sure your time isn’t wasted and your play experience is smooth and enjoyable.

While judges are ambassadors of the game, and can often be found running demos or helping new players learn the ropes, they are not employees of Fantasy Flight Games or Cascade Games. While they can lend an empathetic ear to your concerns, they do not have a direct relationship with the publisher, and cannot change the rules or policies.

What do Judges Offer?

Beyond those skills, judges exist to help facilitate fun, fair, and engaging games of Star Wars: Unlimited. While the idea of judging can attract those who are pedantically inclined (and I should know, I’m one of them), it is not the responsibility of judges to interfere if there is sloppy communication or play that results in a still legal and accurate game state.

Part of what judges offer is a consistent tournament experience. It means that no matter where you’re playing, you can expect the same high-quality standard. Whether you’re playing in the Planetary Qualifier at your local game store, a Store Showdown that happens to coincide with a vacation to the other side of the world, or at the highest level of play at the Galactic Championship, the rules will be enforced in the same way, errors in gameplay will be treated with the same remedies and tournament operations will proceed in a way you’re familiar with.

Who is a Judge?

The follow-up to “What is a judge?” is “Who is a judge?” The answer to this is even more wide-ranging than our previous question. A judge can be pretty much anyone! As long as you aren’t suspended from playing in Star Wars: Unlimited events and are over the age of eighteen, you can become a certified judge! Judges come from all walks of life - while many come from backgrounds like teaching and programming, there are all sorts of paths you can take to become a judge. Maybe you have experience with another card game and want to share that knowledge with a new community or perhaps you’ve been involved in organizing a local casual sports league, and want to try out your skill set in a slightly different environment. Maybe you’re a competitive player who wants every edge you can find, and a deeper understanding of the rules can help you get there, or maybe you’re a casual fan who just wants to make sure that everyone is having fun at the tournaments they’re playing in. All of these, and more, are valid backstories for judges.

Why Become a Judge?

As a judge, you’ll have unique opportunities to attend lots of events. After all, tournaments like the Galactic Championship, featuring the best players in the world, need the best judges in the world to make sure it runs smoothly! You’ll also have access to unique promos and exclusive merchandise! It’s also a great way to help shape your local community - you can help new players feel welcomed and ensure that games are played fairly for everyone.

Judging can also be beneficial to the individual. On a mechanical level, it teaches you how to explain complex ideas concisely and simply, without losing what is important. Becoming a judge can help you become more comfortable addressing larger audiences, managing contentious situations, developing attributes of a successful leader, or reacting to critical scenarios.

How Do I Become a Judge?

So far we’ve answered three questions - What is a Judge and what do they offer? Who is a Judge? Why become a Judge? There’s one more big one to answer - How do you become an officially certified judge?

The short version is to study online using these lessons, get some practical experience at events answering calls and running events, and then pass a test. You can find the full details for each level under Levels & Certifications.

The most accessible certification is the Judge Apprentice. With a total of six lessons (including this one) designed to help you gain the knowledge you need, all that’s required is passing a short quiz that covers the basics of being a judge, how to teach the game, and the core rules. Many experienced and enfranchised players may already have the knowledge and understanding expected of an Apprentice. A Judge Apprentice is an ideal candidate for running demos or helping answer questions that come up during casual play.

The aptly named level one is the first level of certified judges in the program. L1 Judges have a bit more training in rules knowledge than Apprentices, but crucially, they’re also trained in tournament policy and logistics, which means that they have the understanding required to run a Casual-tier event at a local game store. They’ll be able to answer the most common and straightforward rules question that comes up, as well as correct the most frequent errors in gameplay. To become a level one judge, in addition to having a more thorough set of educational modules, candidates are expected to get some practical experience judging and to earn an endorsement from a tournament organizer or L2+ judge.

Endorsements and recommendations are an important part of the advancement process because judging isn’t a purely mechanical skill. Being able to answer every rules question one hundred percent accurately doesn’t mean much if your answers come off as dismissive or rude. A crucial part of judging is providing quality customer service and making players feel comfortable, which is a skill that is exceptionally difficult to test on paper and requires in-person evaluations.

Level two judges are similar in many ways to level one judges, but with education on more complex, but still common, scenarios should be able to independently run a Competitive tier event of up to thirty-two players on their own. The highest level to achieve is level five, which is where a judge is capable of being the Head Judge of multi-day events with hundreds or thousands of players, including events like the Galactic Championship.

What Are Levels?

Before wrapping up, there are two important questions I’d like to address. First of all, why are we using levels? Secondly, what do these levels indicate?

To answer the first, levels are a great way to quickly communicate information to tournament organizers and other judges. Additionally, levels are an incredibly useful tool as an aspirational target. Being able to have advancements in your skills and understanding explicitly acknowledged is a powerful motivator, even if it doesn’t change anything else. However, as an answer to the second, levels only indicate the baseline of a judge. While a level two is expected to be able to run a small competitive tier event on their own, that doesn’t mean that a skilled level one couldn’t - just that it’s not an expectation of an L1.

What’s next?

This first batch of lessons, designed to help you gain the knowledge you need to become a Judge Apprentice, consists of six lessons, including this one. The other five are: The Judge Program, like Star Wars: Unlimited, is in its infancy, and there’s a lot of room to grow. Over the coming months and years, we’ll be regularly evaluating the processes and expectations for advancement and maintenance for each of the levels. We don’t anticipate making fundamental changes to the structure, but requirements may be adjusted to better suit the needs of Organized Play and how the program grows. We’ll be in steady communication with the folks at Fantasy Flight Games, as well as always open to feedback from the community about what can be done to help the judge program better facilitate deep and engaging games. Welcome to your journey toward becoming a certified Judge for Star Wars: Unlimited. Good luck, and have fun.
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