Watch a Regional for long enough and you will see something that looks odd: two players shake hands and agree to a tie without finishing the game. Players call it an ID, short for Intentional Draw.
It is not cheating, and it is not giving up. It is a normal, allowed part of how big tournaments are run. Here is what is going on, so it makes sense the first time your child meets it.
First, how a tournament day is shaped
A tournament runs in two parts. The first part is called Swiss. Everyone plays a set number of rounds against players on a similar record, and nobody is knocked out. You earn match points: 3 for a win, 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss.
After Swiss, the players with the best records move into the Top Cut, a knockout bracket where one loss sends you home. So the whole goal of the Swiss rounds is to finish with a good enough record to make that cut.
What an Intentional Draw actually is
An Intentional Draw is when both players agree to record their match as a tie instead of playing it out. Each player takes 1 match point, the same as any other draw.
It almost always happens in the last round or two of Swiss. By then, players can work out their standing. If a tie is enough to put both of them into the Top Cut, they may both prefer a guaranteed draw over a real game where one of them would lose and might miss the cut.
Why a deliberate tie can be the clever move
Think of it from both players' side of the table. They have each had a strong day. If they play it out, one wins and moves on, and the other loses and could drop out of the Top Cut entirely.
A draw takes that risk away for both of them. Each keeps a record good enough to advance, and neither hands the other an easy way to knock them out. When the maths works for both players, an ID is simply the safest path into the next stage.
The rules around it
Intentional Draws are allowed during the Swiss rounds. They are a recognised part of competitive play, and a judge will not stop two players agreeing to one.
They are not allowed in the Top Cut. Knockout rounds must produce a winner, so if time runs out there is a set procedure of extra turns to decide the game.
One firm rule sits around all of this: no bribery. A player may never offer money, cards, prizes or anything of value to influence a result, and may not be paid to draw or concede. A straight agreement to tie, with nothing offered either way, is fine. Anything with an inducement attached is against the rules.
It is also completely fine to say no. An ID needs both players to agree. If your child would rather play the game, they just play, and that is a perfectly good choice.
For younger players, and for parents
Working out whether a draw is enough to make the cut takes a bit of standings maths, which a Junior may not follow yet. That is normal. A younger player is welcome to simply play their games out, and many do.
If your child is offered an ID and is unsure, it is fine for them to ask a judge to explain what it would mean for their standing. Checking the standings and thinking it through is allowed. Being told what to do by someone outside the match is not, so the decision stays with your child.
The thing to pass on is calm and simple: an ID is a normal, fair option in the last Swiss rounds, it is never something to feel pressured into, and there is no shame in either taking one or turning it down to play.
The short version
An Intentional Draw is a mutually agreed tie in the Swiss rounds, worth 1 point to each player, used when a draw gets both of them into the Top Cut.
It is allowed in Swiss, not in the knockout rounds, never involves any payment or prize, and always needs both players to agree. If your child sees one happen, now you can explain exactly what it is.
Decks mentioned