Hako Setup

What's "hako"?

"Hako" just means "box" in Japanese.  It's the word we've come to use for diorama games, specifically mirror-balanced matches that are built for competition.  Come-as-whatever-you-want type diorama is good for some fun, but you usually get enough wildness from official games in Jugner, etc.    

Diorama reservations last for 2 hours.  Generally we try to look for members and be set up before the reservation time starts, and play the entire 2 hour block without making any job changes in order to maximize our play time.

General Rules

There are a series of rules that are applied to every game that the veteran players have agreed help the matches stay fun and balanced.  These rules have evolved over time, so you might see older videos with slightly different styles.  The important stuff:

No food  -  don't go hide somewhere and eat food and then enter Diorama - any experienced player will be able to tell by your numbers if you're cheating!

No outside items  -  enforced by the Herald - Pashhow style

Mirrored jobs  -  Same jobs on each team unless otherwise decided  

Map run limit  -  An agreed-upon limit to how far anyone can go.  This prevents infinite looping to run out the clock.  My MS Paint map:

 

 Hyper and Hako

 

Only one death is required to activate Hyper in 15~20min diorama games!  Huge for game planning.

 

Setting up the Herald as MC

The first person to trade their page to the Herald becomes the Master of Ceremonies (MC).  This person then has to set the match-specific rules to the game, and clear/balance entries at the end of each game.  Those match specific rules are almost always like this:

31:36 in this video

Use a game length of 15 minutes for a 3v3~4v4, and 20 minutes for 5v5~6v6.

The "called game" option is usually turned on at 20pt difference for 3v3, and 30pt difference for 4v4~6v6.  This means if one team is winning by that set amount, the game automatically ends. 

Setting the same camp position for both teams means nobody can complain about "rook games" where a team wins simply because the rook luckily pops by their spawn camp all game.

Herald Specifics

Even if you put the game on "auto-balance", you have to apply the auto-balance option after everyone has traded their page to the Herald and signed up.  At the end of a game, you have to clear entries, everyone has to trade pages to sign up again, apply auto-balance again, and then start the game.  If you don't use the clear entries option each time, the auto-balancing doesn't do anything and you get the same teams over and over.  It's weird, but that's just the way it is.

Step-by-step for those leading a hako reservation:

 

- apply game rules (as above)     

- begin entry period option

- everyone trades their pages to sign up

- auto-balance the entries option

- begin the match option

 - [ play the match, it ends ]

-  move to next game option

- clear all entries option

- begin entry period option

- everyone trades their pages to sign up

- auto-balance the entries option

- begin the match option

- and so on.. 

 

Next >>> Hako Jobs in 3v3