» What is it?

Ever feel lost in the crowd playing in a public server? Like your actions can’t affect the push and shove of the battle? Smaller battles of 6 players a team offer the opportunity to more greatly impact your team’s success, and therefore put greater pressure on a team to act cohesively! This system is designed to allow players to easily arrange these matches without the hassle of traditional methods. If you're new to this form of gameplay or wan to brush up on some of its conventions, you can check out A Beginner's Guide to Competitive TF2. Enjoy!

» How do I get started?

To use this site, you'll need to create an account through the simple Sign Up form accessible from the lobby listing. The account you create is linked to your SteamID by typing or pasting the tf2lobby: code anywhere into your Steam Profile. You'll also need to provide a link to your Steam Profile or type your SteamID into the SteamID field. You can easily find this link in Steam, as shown.

Once you've signed up and logged in, you can proceed to join a lobby or create a lobby of your own. To create a lobby, you'll need to give your lobby a name and specify a map you want to play. You have the option of making your lobby private with a password of your choice. You can choose to play on a server that has partnered with us, if available, or you can specify your own server. In the latter case, you will need to provide a server address and its RCON password.

You can only enter one lobby at a time. If the lobby leader leaves, the whole lobby is closed.

» What do the Match Settings mean?

Match Options can be set by the Lobby Leader and control what kind of game you'll be playing. Select an option on the left to see an explanation.
Fair Fight is a good option for matches of decent lengths on any map where the sides are symmetrical, except for CTF matches. The win limit is 5 rounds and the time limit 30 minutes.
Stopwatch is always used on any map where one team attacks and another defends; good examples include pl_badwater or cp_gravelpit. In this mode, teams switch off after a win and compete for the best point total or, in case of a tie, the best time.
Short Fight serves as an alternative to Fair Fight when you’re playing a longer map or want to keep the skirmish from being protracted. The win limit is 3 rounds and time limit 20 minutes.
CTF is for symmetrical CTF maps; teams compete for the best point total over the span of 20 minutes. Unlimited captures!
Short CTF is also for symmetrical CTF maps, but for those maps where captures are few and far between. First to 5 caps wins, or the most caps after the 20 minute timelimit runs out.
Class limits help promote balanced gameplay with a smaller number of players. The numbers below represent the limits that apply to each team individually.
Standard +Utilities 2 Scouts, 2 Soldiers, 2 Pyros, 1 Demoman, 2 Heavies, 2 Engineers, 1 Medic, 2 Snipers, 2 Spies
Standard -Utilities 2 Scouts, 2 Soldiers, 0 Pyros, 1 Demoman, 1 Heavies, 0 Engineers, 1 Medic, 0 Snipers, 0 Spies
Standard +Sniper 2 Scouts, 2 Soldiers, 0 Pyros, 1 Demoman, 1 Heavies, 0 Engineers, 1 Medic, 2 Snipers, 0 Spies
Highlander There can be only one! (Of every class)
No Limits Up to 6 of any class
This system relies on ingame voice due to its ease of use over external voice chat programs. Communication is important, so Gravetalk is recommended!
Gravetalk Players will hear both dead and alive teammates.
Teamtalk Players will only hear alive players on their team. Useful to buff spies and promote sneaky gameplay, this mode will only be useful when both teams agree not to speak through other venues.
Alltalk If playtesting a map or casually messing around, turn this on so that players will hear everyone on the server at all times.
None If you have agreed to use an outside voice program, this is a good option for avoiding rebinding keys within TF2.
Feel like playing with chance, or do you want skill to be the only factor?
No Crits/Spread turns off random critical hits and tightens the upper and lower bounds of a hit’s random damage.
Crits/Spread represents TF2’s standard options and allows for both random critical and less predictable damage.

» When the Match Begins

Once in game, each player should join their previously arranged team. It's customary for the team medics to press F4 once everyone on their team has loaded and is present. Once both teams are ready, the match will begin according to the rules set in the lobby. When the winning conditions are met, tournament mode will restart. Feel free to play again or leave to let another lobby use the server!

» Who made this / How can I contribute?

FLOOR_MASTER designed and developed the implementation of the system in its entirety and continues to maintain and improve it. Mangy Carface designed the configuration options, provided the comprehensive collection of map thumbnails, helped with many interface design issues, and coordinated external testing efforts. Flame recognized the need for a system like this and created the original mockups of how the lobby interface looks. Nineaxis converted the concept work into an initial web page and helped tame various CSS issues that came up.

Our server pool has been generously populated by Valve, 2fort2furious, and other communities. If you would like to throw a server into the server pool, contact servers@[this domain]. Servers are automatically checked for players and the presence of the lobby's map to ensure that existing games aren't interrupted.

Please direct any feedback or bug reports to feedback@[this domain] and support@[this domain], respectively.