Here is the first part of those notes, compiled by Charles Hartford.

There’s more to judging than magic.

A lot about being a judge is knowing the rules.

But it’s not everything.

How we work, both with the players and other judges, are just as important. All the knowledge in the world isn’t going to do you any good if no one dares to ask for your help, or if you aren’t in place to see your help is needed.

In writing this it is my wish to give some of you new judges somethings to keep in mind as you take on your first competitive tournaments. In addition, hopefully, the following tips will help you with the social side of our work, and allow both you and those around you to have a more enjoyable tournament experience.

How’s your posture?
How we present ourselves at a tournament can be extremely important to our effectiveness as judges. We want people to feel comfortable calling us to help, or approaching in between rounds to ask questions. One of the first things that will impress upon whether or not someone is comfortable with doing these things is your posture. As a visual cue to your personality, it is literally the first thing they will see. You want to convey a sense of openness with your posture. A couple things to avoid are:

• Crossing your arms (This can be an intimidating posture, especially for someone already unsure about themselves or their surroundings.) Keep your arms in pockets or clasped behind your back or in some other more relaxed position.
• Standing face to face with others you are chatting with. Avoid this by standing side by side instead. This keeps your conversation feeling open and not something someone will disturb by approaching you.

How are you when walking the floor?
Even the smallest tournament can feel like a massive event. And you might feel like you need to be everywhere at once to keep it all under control. This isn’t just unrealistic, it’s also counterproductive. If you are rushing around trying to see everything you will instead end up seeing nothing. A couple quick things to try to keep in mind while walking the floor are:

• When simply walking the floor, try to keep it to a slow wander. This will both help you observe the games and further resonating the relaxed air we were talking about earlier.
• Occasionally you should stop and watch a full turn of a game. This helps to both: a) give the players a chance to ask questions and b) reminds them that you are watching them so hopefully they will feel deterred from trying something they shouldn’t.
• When I first started judging, I always worried that my standing there watching in my judge uniform might be making people uncomfortable. If you are feeling this way just remember, we are there to watch the players. Now if while watching you are noticing a sense of discomfort coming from the players you are observing you might want to consider a couple things.
  Am I standing too close to the players?
• Remember, everyone has their own idea of personal space, and in the interest of keeping a comfortable gaming environment we should try to accommodate these differences as much as practicality allows.
• Another thing that might be making players worry could be facial expressions. Some people naturally take on what might appear to be a frown if the judge’s facial tendencies are not known to the players. Try to keep a neutral expression on your face so no one misinterprets your thoughts.
• And once again, mind those crossed arms! Here more than anywhere else, the crossed arms can give a sense of looming or disapproval.

Taking judge calls
Most would say the single most critical part of being a judge is making judge calls. Alas, there is a lot more to it than just knowing the rules. Here are some quick tips to making sure things go smoothly for both you and the players involved.

• The first thing you need to make sure you do when you take a judge call is to make sure you actually LISTEN to the question. It is easy to approach a game, see that the question involves a card that often causes confusion(Anafenza, the foremost… I’m looking at you!) and assume you know where this question is going. This sort of assumption can lead to a delay in coming to the correct answer, if not giving the wrong answer all together. Make sure to keep your mind open and listen to the question before you start trying to give an answer.
• Also, always make it a point to read the card. Sometimes things are overlooked, or misread by players. (Example: Does the card read “whenever a creature dies”, or does it read “whenever a nontoken creature dies”?)
• Posture, and how you physically approach judge calls, can be very important. When taking a call it is often good to lower yourself so you are closer to the player’s eye level. This can make it easier to communicate information, and should the need arise, you can raise yourself to full height, if you find yourself in a position where looking a bit more authoritative becomes necessary. Also, whenever possible, answer a judge call from the side of the table of the player who called you. That way, should they need to show you a card to complete their question, you can do so easily.
• Tests are not open book. Good news though, JUDGING IS!! There are lots of excellent resources out there to help you when you don’t know what the right call is. I don’t know if I would have the courage to walk out onto that floor without my mtg guide app. There is a very real urge sometimes to not look to external resources for help. After all, I’m a judge. I should know these things right?? I would be willing to bet, if you actually printed out the entire magic rules, including individual card’s gatherer rulings/oracle texts it would number thousands of pages.

  NO ONE CAN KNOW ALL OF THIS.

  It is far better to admit you need outside help and check an external source, or with a fellow judge if available, then make the wrong call. Don’t let your pride make you look like a fool.

• Something I wasn’t prepared for when I first started judging is what I have come to call the, “am I missing something feeling”. This feeling happens when a player asks a question that, to you, seems so obvious you can’t shake the feeling that you must be missing something. This can be an extremely disconcerting feeling to deal with. At least, it was for me. It took me a long time to accept that, due to my studies, I actually knew stuff. Maybe even things other people didn’t. Now, this in no way means the player is stupid. They probably simply have never encountered this particular rule before. So, if you run into this feeling, take a moment, clear your head, look over the board state to make sure you aren’t actually missing something, and then just be happy you got an easy call this time. Next time, it could involve Spellskite or Blood Moon!

Next week we will continue with the other half of Charles’ notes. See you then!