A Swiss Pairs or Swiss Teams event can be a fun alternative to regular duplicate. It can also be a good opportunity to attract more players and play with a larger field.
Format
Pairs or Teams? How many boards per match and how many boards overall? Master Point awards for each match won can be popular because everyone can earn some Master Points. In order to have match won awards the event needs to be at least 36 boards with at least 6 boards per match.
Blue Points
Each club is allowed to hold at least two blue point events per year (licence required). A Swiss Pairs or Swiss Teams event can be a good opportunity to have one of those blue point events.
Board Dealing
A Swiss Pairs or Swiss Teams event does need more boards because everyone is playing the same boards at the same time. For example if you are playing 6 board matches and have 10 tables then you will need at least 4 sets of boards so each table can have 2 boards.
Triangle
If you have an odd number of Pairs in Swiss Pairs then a triangular match can be played so two pairs sit out for half a match rather than one pair sitting out for a whole match. A better option if it can be arranged is to have a standby pair. If you have an odd number of Teams in Swiss Teams then a triangular match can be played to avoid any sitting out.