questions

is there an explanation anywhere that shows how they work / what you have to do? sorry tried to search it up but didn't see anything

paid the fee to join in but didn't see any change to the game so i assume i took part some how but no idea what i did / didn't do

is it just number of bots that log in = who wins?

Theres a message on the homepage after the tournament finishes, you can see the results here

I can't see you in the 81-90 bracket, so I'm guessing you didn't sign up properly somehow

Ah, you were level 67 at the point of the previous tourney, you can see here

I'm afraid to say you came dead last without a single win...

Though honestly that's expected, the bots in tournaments are generally very very strong and you won't have a chance with a first bots levelling build

ah well this confirms i did something wrong/right/i have no idea what i was doing lol

is there a "rules" book or guide i can read anywhere that explains how they actually work so i can hopefully do better than dead last next time :)

ta

The tournament mechanics are pretty straightforward. You fight every other bot in your category once. Results are based on number of wins (average remaining HP is used as a tiebreaker if needed).

As for getting stronger, you can test your build against other bots in regular fights. There's also a bunch of build tips scattered about the forums.