Skill and strategy take equal footing in a pyramid tournament. The chart above can be scaled up or down to meet the needs and number of teams. Every position need not be filled. Teams could compete for empty slots. The tournament plays like the game - "King of the Hill."

The first step is to assign each team a position on the pyramid. This can be done by random draw or by any measure of skill - such as a past win-lose record. You can place the best teams at the top or at the bottom. If the good teams start at the bottom they obviously have to work their way to the top.

The second step is to determine the number of rounds necessary to give each team a chance to reach the top or rise to their potential. Too many rounds will eliminate the need for strategy. Too few will eliminate the need for skill. The number of rounds become a way to handy cap the teams. The degree of handy capping is a decision for the tournament planners.

Individual games are created by teams challenging each other. A team cannot refuse a proper challenge. A proper challenge is based only on the challenging team's last game. A losing team can only challenge a team at the same or one level lower. A winning team may challenge a team one level lower, the same level, or one to two levels higher. A bye always count as a win. At the start of the tournament, a team must first challenge a team at the same level. The tournament planners may set the number of levels up or down that a team may challenge. Two levels up and one level down is recommended. Adjusting the levels a team can cross will affect the handy cap.

Each round begins by randomly assigning a draft position to each team. The first team in the draft will challenge the team of their choice. This removes the challenged team from the draft and the other teams move up. Example: If the first draft team challenges the second draft team then the third draft team is the next challenger. The draft continues until all the teams are paired. Unpaired teams receive a bye-win in the tournament.( The unpaired teams may play practice games that are not part of the tournament standings. ) The next round begins with a new random draft order.