Rocketmakers First Summer Smackdown Tournament is a Great Success
Due to doubling in size during the pandemic, we outgrew our old office based in central Bath. This prompted us to go up in the world, literally two floors up! Our new office, on the third floor of 20 Manvers Street is around double the size of our previous first floor home and features a state of the art auditorium, complete with big screens perfect for gaming, as well as for serious work matters, of course.
Keen to test out our new equipment, Harry Hartley-Saunders organised Rocketmakers’ first Summer Smackdown tournament featuring Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Chess, the classic board game and team favourite.
With the pizza delivered and drinks flowing, battle commenced.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a fighting video game featuring classic Nintendo characters, such as Mario, Luigi, and Peach, alongside fan favourites including Sonic, Sora, and Steve from Minecraft. In the game, players attempt to land hits and special moves to rack up damage, with the goal of knocking their opponents out of the arena. There were 16 Rocketmakers participants in the competition, with a large portion of the game’s cast represented. Each person had three stocks (lives) per game and each match was the best of three games. Those who lost two matches were eliminated.
Danny, Emily, Frank and Phil became the first four players to be eliminated while Marcus, Vince, Adam W, Harry, Adam C, Greg, Alex and Lottie progressed to the next round. After round three everyone had been eliminated except for Lottie and Harry, who prepared themselves for one final battle. The final game proved to be the most controversial yet, when Harry used the “sacrificial ko” rule to win the first game. The sacrificial ko is when a player eliminates themselves and their opponent at the same time using a special move, in Harry’s case using King Dedede’s ability to eat an opponent, then jumping off the edge of the arena. Tournament rules would say that Harry won because he initiated the move whereas Nintendo had programmed the game to say that Lottie was the real winner. After much deliberation it was decided that the game should be replayed, since Lottie wasn’t aware of the rule. In the end it didn’t matter, because Harry won the match and was crowned champion. He was presented with a bespoke trophy, made by Matt H and his 3D printing machine.
Chess
Chess has gradually become part of daily life at Rocketmakers since Shea first brought in an unused chess set from home. The core group of chess fans who play most lunchtimes was joined by a clutch of new and enthusiastic players for the evening.
The chess tournament had seven participants and each game was limited to a brutal and intense five minutes (per player). Six games were played by each player and the tournament was conducted in the round robin format.
Nick established himself as the one to beat with some early wins. Shea and Danny’s match ended in a draw when both clocks ran out of time and with an illegal move being played at the most crucial of moments. One game finished in checkmate after just 13 seconds (names have been redacted to protect any fragile egos).
The evening was such a huge success that there is talk of rolling it out and inviting other technology agencies in the South-West. Get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to hear more.