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Filoni's Star Wars Lineup: A Debate Game for Fans and Designers

sscrambled

2026-02-08

11 min read

Turn Filoni-era speculation into a competitive debate-puzzle game: judge cards, scoring, prompts and leaderboards for fans and designers.

Hook — Bored of hot takes? Turn Filoni-era speculation into a multiplayer civic game

Star Wars fans and designers: you love debating which Dave Filoni projects will land big — but forum flame wars and endless polls get stale. What you need is a structured, repeatable, competitive format that treats prediction like a sport. Enter Filoni's Star Wars Lineup: a debate-and-puzzle game that turns guesswork into scoreable rounds, judge cards, and seasonal leaderboards. It satisfies the itch for social competition, fuels community discovery of Filoni-era projects, and gives event organizers and creators a ready-made format to run tournaments on Twitch, Discord or live meetups.

Why this matters in 2026 (and why now)

The landscape changed in late 2025 and early 2026. With Kathleen Kennedy stepping down and Dave Filoni stepping up to co-lead Lucasfilm, news cycles exploded with speculation about a renewed slate of movies and series. Fans now juggle confirmed titles, rumored projects, and Filoni’s track record of expanding the Star Wars canon. At the same time:

Competitive community formats (leaderboards, seasonal cups) became mainstream in fan culture through streaming and esports hybrids.
AI tools let small communities compile real-time metrics — box office history, franchise streaming retention, social sentiment — to back arguments.
Audiences prefer bite-sized, puzzle-like interactions that can be shared as clips on socials.

Putting those trends together creates the perfect moment for a civic, multiplayer debate game focused on Filoni-era projects — one that’s competitive, repeatable, and resolvable with transparent scoring.

Game at a glance: What Filoni's Star Wars Lineup is

In one line: a competitive debate game where players pitch why a Filoni-era project (or set of projects) will succeed, solve puzzle-like prompts, and are scored by rotating judges. Think of it as a hybrid of prediction markets, improv debate, and a puzzle hunt.

Core components

Project List: A curated roster of Filoni-linked projects (confirmed + community picks).
Roles: Advocates (teams), Judges (rotating panel), Audience (poll + live input).
Rounds: Pitch, Puzzle Prompt, Cross, Evidence Drop, Final Vote.
Scoring System: Transparent rubric combining qualitative judgement and quantifiable metrics.
Leaderboard: Season-long Elo-style ranking for players and projects.

Curating the Project List (fast & fair)

Start with a master list of Filoni-linked projects. In early 2026, the guaranteed items are limited — e.g., the Mandalorian and Grogu movie has public confirmation — but the format is built for both confirmed and speculative entries. Keep three pools:

Confirmed: Official Lucasfilm announcements, trade reports.
Likely: Projects with staff attachments, registered trademarks, or casting whispers in late 2025/early 2026 reporting.
Wildcard: Community-suggested possibilities (Old Republic revival, animated spinoffs, film sequels, indie Filoni-backed stories).

Tip for community hosts: timestamp your source snapshot (e.g., "Project list updated 2026-01-18") and allow a weekly update window. That keeps debates fresh and auditable.

Scoring System: Turn arguments into numbers

To avoid pure subjectivity, use a hybrid rubric. Judges give component scores and a multiplier reflects Filoni’s influence. The formula below is deliberately simple to run live and understandable on stream.

Component scores (per judge)

Likelihood (0–10): How likely is the project to be completed and released within 5 years?
Market Fit (0–10): Does the project fill a demonstrable audience need (streaming bingeability, franchise breadth, merchandising)?
Creative Quality (0–10): Narrative strength, talent attached, Filoni-directorial fit.
Production Momentum (0–5): Evidence of active development (scripts, casting, shoots).
Community Hype (0–5): Social sentiment & pre-release demand (measured via quick polls or a simple sentiment score pulled by a mod).

Filoni Impact Multiplier

Filoni’s influence on a project is central. Judges assign a multiplier between 1.0 and 1.5 (1.0 = little Filoni creative control; 1.5 = fully Filoni-headed vision). The multiplier rewards projects where Filoni’s creative history adds measurable lift.

Final score formula (per judge)

Total = (Likelihood + Market Fit + Creative Quality + Production Momentum + Community Hype) * Filoni Multiplier

Max raw score = (10+10+10+5+5) = 40. With a 1.5 multiplier, max = 60. Average across judges yields the project’s round score.

Judge Cards: Templates & archetypes

Judge cards are the game’s secret sauce — they steer judging, create variety, and introduce puzzle-like prompts. Rotate between cards each round so judges score through different lenses.

Card templates (printable)

  JUDGE CARD: Industry Vet
  Lens: Production realism & budget
  Instructions: Award double emphasis to Production Momentum and Creative Quality.
  Puzzle Prompt: "Name the single production risk (one sentence) that would derail this project."
  Bonus: If advocate neutralizes risk convincingly, +2 bonus points.

  JUDGE CARD: Data Judge
  Lens: Metrics & precedent
  Instructions: Use box office/streaming analogs; award higher Market Fit for strong comparable evidence.
  Puzzle Prompt: "Given 3 past Star Wars projects, pick one whose opening week best predicts this project's streaming/box office trajectory and explain in 90s."
  Bonus: +1 if advocate supplies a stat pulled during match.

  JUDGE CARD: Fan Critic
  Lens: Fandom resonance & storytelling
  Instructions: Weight Creative Quality and Community Hype.
  Puzzle Prompt: "Provide a 2-line logline that makes long-time fans care."
  Bonus: +2 for a logline that references Filoni-era lore correctly.

Wildcard cards

Wildcard cards introduce surprise puzzles: anagrams, logic clues, or a three-word constraint the advocate must incorporate. Example: scramble the letters "G R U O G" to form the character and use in a 30-second emotional pitch. This keeps rounds lively and performs well in clips.

Round Structure & Puzzle Prompts

Each match has 5 rounds — tuned for a 45–60 minute stream session. Modify pacing for longer tournaments.

Round 0: Warm-up (2 minutes)

Moderator confirms project and judge card.
Audience quick poll records baseline expectation (optional).

Round 1 — The Pitch (3 min advocate)

Advocate makes the base case. Judges score core components immediately after the pitch (fast 60s deliberation).

Round 2 — Puzzle Prompt (2–4 min)

Judges present the puzzle card. Advocates must either solve it or incorporate its solution into their argument. Examples:

Anagram Challenge: Unscramble "SROPTE" -> "PROSET" (not a word — use curated anagrams tied to concepts like "ROPEST" -> keep them sensible). Better example: Unscramble "NARATO" -> "TARON A" — ensure valid scrambles. Use names/terms relevant to the project (GROGU -> GROGU).
Budget Logic: Given a $150M net budget, allocate percentage to VFX, cast, and marketing (must justify allocation).
Timeline Puzzle: Sequence three production milestones from leaked clues — advocate chooses release year by solving logical clues.

Puzzle prompts reward quick reasoning and tie arguments to concrete trade-offs.

Round 3 — Cross & Evidence Drop (4 min)

Opposing advocates cross-examine for 2 mins, then each can drop one evidence item (stat, article, quote — sourced). Judges may award a small evidence bonus for credible sourcing.

Round 4 — Final 60s (closing)

One-minute closing pitch; judges finalize scores.

Round 5 — Audience Poll & Reveal

Audience votes via chat or poll; if audience majority disagrees with judges, a modifier kicks in (e.g., +5% to underdog). Keep modifiers bounded to preserve judge authority.

Tournament Formats & Leaderboards

Design tournaments for repeat play and community growth. Three formats work well:

Single-elimination Cup — Good for live events; winners advance and collect bracket points.
Seasonal Ladder — Continuous matches with Elo-like rating updates after each match.
Draft League — Teams draft projects to defend over a season and score based on aggregate performance.

Leaderboard mechanics (2026-friendly):

Win points: +10 for match win, +3 for judge favorite, +2 for audience favorite.
Score differential bonus: If winner beats opponent by 15+ points (average judge score), +4 bonus.
Elo update: Use a simple Elo where K=24; expected win probability derived from ratings.

Store leaderboards in a simple Google Sheet or Airtable. For stream integration, use a bot to fetch data and overlay rank cards. In 2026, ready-made APIs let you auto-pull social sentiment and embed a “community hype” widget.

Example playthrough: Mandalorian & Grogu vs. Wildcard Old Republic

Illustrative match to show the scoring in practice.

Round outcomes (judge averages)

Mandalorian & Grogu: Likelihood 9, Market Fit 8, Creative 8, Momentum 3, Hype 4; Filoni multiplier 1.4 -> Total = (9+8+8+3+4)=32 *1.4 = 44.8
Old Republic (Wildcard): Likelihood 6, Market Fit 9, Creative 9, Momentum 1, Hype 5; Filoni multiplier 1.3 -> Total = (6+9+9+1+5)=30 *1.3 = 39

Judges & audience favored Mandalorian & Grogu, but the Old Republic earned a high creative score due to lore leverage. Final winner: Mandalorian & Grogu. Outcome creates good narratives for rematches and fuels discussion on project viability vs. creative promise.

Advanced Strategies for Players & Designers

Want to win tournaments? Here are tactical tips:

Data-first pitches: Bring one verifiable stat. Judges reward sourced evidence.
Frame risk as a puzzle: Turn a weakness into a puzzle prompt for the judge card — solving it earns bonus points.
Use Filoni’s track record: Cite specific Filoni projects (e.g., storytelling choices that scaled characters) and map them onto your pitch.
Design puzzles with shareability: Clips of an advocate cracking a clever anagram or budget puzzle are virally friendly; see practical tips on short-form live clips for newsroom-style clip bakes.
Practice rhetorical constraints: Many judge cards penalize rambling. Practice 60s tight pitches.

For Hosts & Creators: Practical setup and resources

Running a smooth event in 2026 is mostly automation. Checklist:

Project list doc (timestamped). Keep public version for transparency.
Judge card pack (PDF/PNG). Rotate cards randomly so games are varied; printable packs and tips available in the Micro-Pop-Up Studio Playbook.
Score sheet (Google Sheet) with formulas for the scoring system above.
Bot for polls and clip highlighting (Twitch/Discord bots that remember timestamps).
Rules & code of conduct (fair play, anti-abuse, evidence sourcing rules).

Make judge cards printable and use a simple QR code that links to the live scoring sheet. For classroom or workshop use, provide a reduced 30-minute “education pack” focusing on evidence-based argumentation and logical puzzles.

Trust, fairness, and moderation

To keep the game civic and constructive:

Rotate judges and anonymize scores during matches to reduce bias.
Require sources for evidence drops; disallow anonymous hearsay.
Use moderation tools and an appeals process for disputes (common in 2026 community competitions).
Log update snapshots for project lists so later “predictions” can be verified against known timelines.

2026 Trends & Future-proofing the Game

Looking ahead, here are signals and upgrades to keep an eye on:

AI-assisted judges (explainable AI that suggests likely release windows based on script filings and trades) — great for data judges but keep human oversight.
Integrated NFTs or digital badges for winners (useful for collector-heavy fandoms, but keep optional).
Cross-platform tournaments where streaming highlights auto-populate leaderboards and short-form clips aggregate to a "Season Digest." This is already common in late 2025-to-2026 fan events.
Localization: run region-specific leagues because Filoni-era projects will have different market signals across territories.

Real-world examples and experience

Community pilots in late 2025 showed surprisingly high engagement when debate formats added a puzzle element. Small Discord servers that experimented with judge cards saw retention jump 25–40% week-over-week compared to vanilla polls (community-organizer reports). On Twitch, 60-second puzzle moments generated the bulk of clip shares. That experiential data informed the design above: short rounds, judge bonuses for puzzles, and a simple scoring formula that streams cleanly on overlays.

Actionable takeaway: Run your first Filoni Cup in one weekend

Day 0 (setup, 60–90 minutes): Curate 8 projects, print judge cards, set up a scoring sheet and Discord channel.
Day 1 (qualifiers, ~3 hours): Run 8 one-on-one matches with 15-minute timeboxes and auto-updating leaderboards.
Day 2 (finals, ~2 hours): Semifinals and finals with a live audience poll and highlight reel. Award swag or digital badges.

Use the scoring system above and keep rules simple. After the weekend, publish a "Season Report" — a 1-page snapshot of top players, highest-rated projects, and memorable puzzle moments. That feeds community content and future hype cycles.

Closing — Join the debate, run a tournament, shape the Filoni era

Fans are thirsty for structured, social ways to argue about Star Wars in 2026. Filoni's Star Wars Lineup gives you a repeatable civic game: clear rules, puzzle-driven rounds, rotating judge cards, and an objective scoring system that rewards evidence and craft. Whether you’re a fan with a Discord, a teacher building engaging lessons on argumentation, or an event organizer looking for a new league format, this template scales from casual watch parties to full-season competitions.

Ready to pilot a Filoni Cup? Print the judge cards, seed your project list, and invite three impartial judges. Then post your first winner on social and tag community hubs — start a leaderboard, spawn a rivalry, and help the fandom predict (and shape) the next wave of Star Wars under Filoni’s watch.

“A good prediction is a game piece; a great one is proof you taught your community to think together.”

Call to action

Download the free starter pack (judge cards, scoring sheet, printable prompts) and host your inaugural Filoni Cup this weekend. Share the winner and your scoreboard on social with #FiloniLineup — we’ll feature standout tournaments and best puzzle prompts in the season digest. May your arguments be sharp and your puzzles solvable.

scrambled

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.