The DieCon X Puffing Billy®, Tournament's aim is to discover, through a number of competitions, the best overall train game player at the con. We do this by introducing you to a wide range of train games through a competition setting in a system that encourages you to try many different types of train games.

First, we use a scoring system that takes any score that you can attain in a train game, (be it an 18xx game, an Empire Builder system game, a card game or any other type of train game) and converts that score into a Puffing Billy score. We also built into the system bonuses for close games in the initial rounds of play to encourage players to compete against gamers of like skills. This system gives the inexperienced player and the advanced competitor equal chances for enjoyable play.

Then, we took every train game that we knew about and sorted them into one of ten categories and required that you play in a set number of categories in order to qualify for the tournament. At DieCon X, you will be required to play in at least three different categories--although you may play as many times in those categories as you wish, and you can play in more than three categories if you like. We then take your best score from each of the categories you played in and use them as your cumulative Puffing Billy score. The top cumulative score wins the tournament. This system supports our goal of fostering the play of many different types of train games.