Captain's guide

This guide takes a team captain from signing up to the last round of a tournament, in the order you'll do things. Each section is a short set of steps. Your players have far less to do: they join from your link and score their matchups (see the user guide).

The journey at a glance:

1. Get approved: request beta access and register your team.
2. Build your team: invite players and set roles.
3. Set up the event: dates, format, rounds and who's playing.
4. Add the field: the opposing teams and their armies.
5. Get the scores in: players score; you chase the gaps.
6. Check the numbers: review flagged scores.
7. Practise: run mock pairings against likely opponents.
8. Run each round: record the pairing step by step.
9. Follow the games: live projections and final scores.
10. Review: compare expected and actual, and replay rounds.

PairForge never recommends a pairing. It shows facts and totals so you can decide.

1. Get your team approved

PairForge is an approval-only beta: you register the team, and it opens once it's approved.

1. On the PairForge front page, tap Request beta access.
2. Sign in with your Google account. You come straight back to Register your team.
3. Enter the team name your players will recognise, and pick your usual team size (3, 5, 6 or 8). You can set a different size for each event later.
4. Tap Submit for approval. You're now the team's captain.
5. Wait for the email. The Waiting for approval page shows where things are up to.

While you wait, the team name is the only thing you can change. If the team isn't approved, reply to the email you receive.

2. Build your team

Once approved, open your team page and get everyone in. Players don't need to register or be approved.

1. Tap Invite & manage players (or + on the roster).
2. Choose how to invite:
   • Share link: copy the team link into your team chat or Discord. Anyone with it can join as a player after signing in with Google.
   • By email: paste addresses, separated by commas or new lines. Each person gets a personal link that works once and lasts 7 days.
3. Watch Waiting to join for email invites not yet accepted. Cancel any sent to the wrong address.
4. Set roles by tapping a player on the roster:

5. Check your Archetypes: the army types your players score against. Add, rename, reorder or split them by Force Disposition (for example, Imperial Knights – Disruption). Those scores pre-fill matchups later.

If the team link leaks, use Make a new link…. The old link stops working; people already in the team stay in.

3. Set up an event

Create one event per tournament, from your team page: Set up a new event. You (or your vice-captain) can change it later with Edit setup.

1. Event details: name, first and last day.
2. Team size: players per side for this event (3, 5, 6 or 8).
3. Rounds: how many, with − and +.
4. Round layouts: the layout (A, B or C) for each round, from the player pack. It's used for refused attackers' and Champion games; defenders still choose for their own games.
5. Faction rules: each faction once per team, and only one Space Marines player. Tick Allow a second Space Marines player if your event allows a divergent chapter.
6. Archetype mode: Simple (score each faction once) or Advanced (score each faction against each Force Disposition). Use the event's Archetypes page to make only some factions advanced.
7. Archetypes to score: all of the team's archetypes, or only those in this event's field.
8. Who's playing: tick the players going. Unticking someone keeps their army and scores.
9. In-game updates: let players update from their phones, or limit it to captain, vice-captain and coaches if the event restricts phones during games.

After saving, each player taps their name under Our armies to enter their faction, Force Disposition, detachment and list. You can fill in or fix any of them.

4. Add the field

The field is every opposing team at the event and their armies. Add it as soon as lists are published, so players can start scoring.

1. On the event, open Opposing teams.
2. Tap Paste whole field and paste one line per player: team, player, faction, Force Disposition. Copy straight from a spreadsheet, or type with commas. Short names like Tau, Sisters, AdMech or Recon are fine.
3. Tap Check it, fix anything shown in orange, and untick lines to leave out. Nothing is saved until you add them.
4. Or add teams one at a time with +.
5. Set each team's priority (High, Medium or Low). Reminders and headline counts focus on High and Medium.
6. Optionally mark each team's captain and paste detachments and lists.
7. Check every army has an archetype. Most are tagged automatically; tag any left over.

The Prep dashboard has a checklist that tells you when the field is complete: every team has its players, every army has a faction, Force Disposition and archetype, and every captain is recorded.

5. Get the scores in

Every player scores how they expect to do against each opposing army, from 0 to 20 (10 is even). Your job is to get everyone finished.

1. Tell players to open the event and tap My scores. They score archetypes first, then each opposing team.
2. Many scores arrive pre-filled from archetype scores or their last event. Players confirm or adjust each one; pre-filled scores stay marked Check until confirmed.
3. Watch the Prep dashboard: each player's archetypes scored, scores confirmed, pre-filled to check and not scored.
4. Chase the gaps with Email reminders on the field matrix. Each player gets an email (and a phone notification, if they've turned them on) with what's left on High and Medium teams and a link to their scores. You can send reminders once every 15 minutes.
5. Fill in or fix a score yourself: tap a player on the Prep dashboard, or tap a cell on the matrix. Your changes are marked as changed by captain.
6. Open the Field matrix to see the whole team against each opposing team. Use Show to filter to High priority or teams with gaps. Export CSV gives you a spreadsheet copy.

Ticking Depends on layout on a score flags that matchup as table-pick dependent on the pairing screen.

6. Check the numbers

Flags to review lists scores worth a second look before you rely on them. Clear the High and Medium teams before the event.

There are two kinds of flag:

• Carried forward: a score copied from an earlier event against the same kind of army. Check the opponent's list is still similar.
• Inconsistent: one player's scores into the same faction and Force Disposition are far apart. You set how far apart counts (3 points by default).

To work through them:

1. Open Flags to review from the event.
2. Tap a score in the flag to change it, or ask the player to.
3. Add a note if useful, then tap Mark checked.

A checked flag reopens if any of its scores change. Open flags don't stop a round; they're shown so you can check them first.

7. Practise

Run mock pairings against likely opponents before the day, so the real thing feels routine.

1. On the event, open Practice pairings and tap Start a practice round.
2. Pick an opposing team. You get the same pairing dashboard and what-if previews as a real round.
3. Work through the steps (see section 8).
4. Share useful practice rounds with the team, or delete them.

Practice rounds are kept out of event history and don't count as drawing that team.

8. On the day: run the pairing

You record each step after the reveal; PairForge locks games, works out what's left and keeps the team's screens in sync.

1. When the draw is announced, go to Rounds on the event and tap Choose opponent. You can change it until the first step is recorded.
2. Tap View pairings to open the pairing dashboard. The Remaining matrix shows only the players and armies still unpaired.
3. For each step, after both teams reveal, record it:
   • Record defenders: one player per team.
   • Record attackers: two of ours against their defender, two of theirs against ours. When only two are left, it fills in automatically.
   • Record refusals: which attacker each defender plays. Those games lock; refused attackers go back or play each other.
   • Layouts: each defender picks A, B or C for their game. Defenders can choose from their phone and it comes to you to approve. Other games get the round's layout automatically.
4. Repeat for each stage your format uses:

5. Check Locked pairings: each game's layout, missions and expected score, and the round total so far.
6. Tap Confirm pairings to start the round.

While you go:

• What-if previews let you try choices and see the totals they lead to. Only you see them, and nothing is recorded.
• Undo last step reverses a mistake. If you confirmed too early, use Reopen pairings.
• Only one person records at a time. If you lose signal or your battery dies, your vice-captain taps Take over running this round.
• Steps recorded with no signal are saved on your phone and sent when you reconnect.
• Tap Save as picture to share the locked pairings in your team chat.

9. During the games

The Live round page shows how each game is going and a running team total. Open it from the pairing dashboard or Live round in the Rounds list.

1. Players tap Update my game to give their latest projected score, with an optional game turn and note. If your event restricts phones, you, the vice-captain or a coach enter updates instead.
2. Need a quick read on every table? Tap Ask everyone for an update. Players get a notice at the top of their screen, and a phone notification if they've turned them on.
3. When a game ends, the player (or you) enters the final score. That locks in the game's result.
4. The total counts final scores for finished games and the latest projection for the rest. Projections never change the pre-game matrix.

The round is finished once every game has a final score. A final score entered by mistake can be cleared.

10. After each round and the event

Review each round while it's fresh, then go back to section 8 for the next draw. The event dashboard keeps your won, lost and drawn record.

1. Open Review for the round from the Rounds list.
2. Compare each game's expected and actual score. Big gaps show where your matrix was off.
3. Add a short note to each game (for example, Screened his deep strike well).
4. Tap Replay pairing step by step to walk back through the decisions.
5. Use Save as picture to share the results with the team.

After the event, nothing is thrown away. Pairing history is kept, and next time players' confirmed scores can carry forward to similar matchups (flagged for you to check).

Quick reference

The week before

• Field added and the Prep dashboard checklist is all green
• Every player has entered their army
• Scores done on High and Medium teams (send reminders if not)
• Flags on High and Medium teams checked
• A practice round run against your most likely opponent
• Vice-captain set, in case you need someone to take over

On the day

• PairForge installed on your phone with notifications on, phone charged
• Players have installed it and turned notifications on (the PairForge on your phone card on the team page)
• Players know to watch the pairing live and to post updates during games

If something goes wrong

More questions? See the FAQ.