Docs/Getting Started/Quick Start

Quick Start Guide

5 minute read

This guide will help you create your first tournament in Derby and generate a match schedule. By the end, you'll understand the basic workflow that powers every Derby event.

Demo Mode

Derby includes a 3-day free trial with all Basic features. No credit card required.

What You'll Learn

  • Create a new tournament
  • Add players (team owners)
  • Register teams with cards
  • Generate a match schedule
  • View your fights

Step-by-Step

Download and Install Derby

Download Derby for your platform from the download page. Run the installer and launch the application.

Create a New Tournament

Click File > New Tournament or press Ctrl+N. Enter a name for your tournament (e.g., "My First Derby") and optionally add a location. Click Create.

Add Players

Go to the Players tab. Click the + button to add a player. Enter the player's name (this is the team owner). Add at least 5 players for this tutorial.

Why Players Matter

Players own teams. Entries from the same player (same owner) will never fight each other, preventing conflicts of interest.

Register Teams

Go to the Teams tab. Click + to add a team. Select the owner (player), enter a team name, and add 4 cards with weights in grams (e.g., 2000, 2050, 2100, 2150).

Add at least 5 teams, each with 4 cards. This gives you 20 cards to match.

Generate a Schedule

Go to the Matching tab. Click Generate or press Ctrl+G. Derby will analyze all cards and create optimal pairings based on weight.

You'll see multiple schedule options ranked by quality. Click on one to preview it, then click Select to use it.

View Your Fights

The schedule shows all fights organized by round. Each fight displays the two competing teams, their card weights, and the weight difference (delta).

Congratulations! You've created your first Derby tournament.

Next Steps

Generate Demo Data

Want to see Derby with more data? Go to Generate > Generate Derby to create sample players, teams, and cards automatically.