Essay:How to Set Up a Game using Niffle Grounds
Niffle Grounds is a bot-driven matchmaking Discord server for use with The Crucible Online (TCO). It's currently very much in the testing phase. If you would like an invite to join please send a DM to @blinkingline#0001 on Discord.
Why does this exist?
TCO is a great platform for playing KeyForge, but it lacks good matchmaking capabilities, leaderboards and rankings, and user moderation. Niffle Grounds attempts to address the first two issues through leveraging bots developed by Tournament Kings.
So how does it work?
Niffle Grounds has an area for Open Scrims (scrimmages) as well as categories that are based on the current ranks of players. As players play more and do better, they will advance in rank and play better and better players. For those people who don't want to use this feature, the Open category will allow any two players to get matched up.
Creating a Scrim
When you are ready to play in a scrim, you have two options, you can either create a scrim or join an existing scrim.
To create a scrim, go to the #create-scrim channel and click the "Call Me" reaction beneath the message there.
This will trigger the bot, and you will get a direct message prompting you for information about the scrim you are creating. The bot will work with you via direct messages to set up the game.
Enter the necessary information to create the scrim. When you get to the final question, "Anything else people should know about this scrim?" paste in anything about your game that you want people to know. You can post a link to the deck you're playing, what you're hoping to face, etc.
Once you've entered the details you'll see a confirmation message. If everything looks right, click the green check mark. The bot will then ask if you want to join the scrimmage yourself, so click the green check mark there to join it.
The bot will create the scrim and then put you into a private chat room for that scrim. When someone wants to join it, you have the option to accept or refuse to allow them to join your game.
Joining a Scrim
Joining a scrim is much simpler. Once you find a scrim you would like to join, just react to the message by clicking the crossed swords reaction beneath the message.
Play the Game and Report the Score
After both players have joined, the bot will ask each player to ready up by clicking a reaction. After that, players should play as normal in TCO. Once the game is complete, return to your scrims channel and type "//scrims score". The bot will walk you through the scoring process. Once both players agree to the scoring, the results will get posted in the relevant #results channel and ranks of the players will get updated. (The scrims chat itself will be deleted 10 minutes after score reporting is complete.)