Plunder Tourney

A fighting tourney

What is a Plunder Tourney?

A plunder tourney was a type of fighting competition held in the Emerald Hills, the Golden Plains, and possibly in other places, in the late 1980's.

As an entrance fee, each participant was required to bring an item of "plunder"-- a bit of garb, costume jewelry, or functional equipment, which they had purchased for very little money at a thrift store or garage sale. The tourney's organizer usually set absolute limits on how much could be spent on a single item of plunder-- usually in the $5-10 range-- and part of the fun was looking for a worthwhile bit of treasure that still fell within this limit.

How It Worked

The tourney itself was usually a single-elimination event which was fought in brackets, with winners from one round going on to face other winners in the next round (and so on). At some point in the competition, a second set of brackets would usually be arranged to settle who won third place, fourth place, etc.

At the tourney's conclusion, the first-place winner would have the honor of being allowed to inspect the available plunder items and select his or her item first. Then the second-place winner would have second choice, and so on, until each participant had received an item that somebody else had contributed.

Why It Faded In Popularity

There are probably several main reasons why plunder tourneys aren't held any more:

• Plunder tourneys were often derided as 'belt tourneys,' because belts were often the easiest thrift store item to find for a few dollars; at some tourneys, as much as a third of the available plunder came in the form of belts. One Knight was heard to mutter, "Oh, well, off to win another belt," when the plunder tourney at Reinholt's midreign was announced.

• People would often travel great distances to attent some faraway Amtgard event, only to arrive at a remote campsite and find that they couldn't take part in the tourney unless they had an item of plunder to contribute.

• Amtgard members come in a variety of shapes and sizes. More than once there was a really spectacular plunder item that everybody wanted... and it didn't fit the person who actually won the tourney.

• Some members felt that plunder tourneys excluded people, since money had to be spent in order to take part, and that it violated the principle that Amtgard events should be open to the public.

Despite all this, in its day the plunder tourney was a truly unique Amtgard experience. More than one new player received his or her very first item of garb by doing well in such a competition.