The Competitor's Bill of Rights

In these Games, you the competitor have the right to:

1. A fairly and dispassionately scored entry. It should be a given, but the idea is so important that I'm putting it here anyways. If you're ever concerned that I'm not scoring you fairly as possible please contact me so I can resolve the issue.

2. A minimum of five days for every entry submission, to ensure you all have some flexibility and time to write. In the event of a ballot challenge, this may be hampered by some means.

3. A minimum of 20 hours to vote, so schedules are less likely to hamper the mandate from the masses.

4. The right to vote for yourself, if ever you find yourself up for votes.

5. Freedom from minimum or maximum word limits.

6. One 24 hour extension, no questions asked. Don't tell me why you need it. Just use it wisely, as I become significantly harder to impress after it's been used.

The Host's Bill of Rights

In these Games, I maintain the following powers for myself:

1. I am the host. In this little corner of the Internet, I (benevolently) rule with an iron fist. My scores are final. My decisions are final. This right is absolute.

2. I will cheerfully ignore any entry or form which is not submitted to [email protected].

3. In the event of a tie in voting, I reserve the right to break said tie in whatever manner I choose.

4. I and I alone will determine how many points you get upon handing in late (if any).

5. Please bear in mind that I have a life, and passing my Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology class may take precedence over prompt scoring. In the event that this happens, rest assured I have not forgotten about you lovely kids. It'll just take me a bit to get caught up.

6. If you're considering being a dick to your fellow competitors (in any way besides the ones I explicitly give you, that is), don't. If you're considering being a dick to me, really, really don't. I will be a dick back to you, and I'm much better at it. Be polite.

With Regards to Tasks and Voting

This will be an eight-Task Games. Eliminations will occur after six of these tasks, and voting will take place after seven of them. Generally speaking, I accept any votes submitted via PM or via comment on the final page, save those taking place in the final round.

The following actions will be considered cheating and, if proven, will result in automatic elimination:

1. Creating a fake account to vote for yourself, or voting multiple times with different legitimate accounts.

2. Directing friends to a voting page in order for them to vote for you.

3. Pressuring individuals into changing their minds about how to vote.

With Regards to Scoring

Rankings in these Games will be based on cumulative scores, and the scores for each round will be determined with the following system (shamelessly appropriated from PanemEtCircuses):

There will be 6 categories in which you can earn points. These categories will be assigned a score from 1 ("This may or may not be English") to 10 ("Thank you for honoring me with this poetry"). Average score for an entry in any category save Completion is likely to be around 7. The total score from all six categories will be divided by four to yield a number between 0 and 15.

The categories are as follows:

Completion: Did you do what I told you to do in this task? Did I ask for a Bloodbath and receive a 15-page essay on the difference between frogs and toads?

Characterization: Does your tribute have clear and interesting motives, realistic dialogue, and a compelling arc?

Description: What's going on around your character? Is there any evidence your entry does not take place in a featureless white room?

Creativity: Is this entry interesting, developed, and original? Have I read 15 other entries that look exactly like it save for slight changes in the names?

Style: Does your work have a clear and distinctive voice? Does it flow well from event to event? Is it difficult to understand what's going on in the basic plot of the work?

GUMP; that is, Grammar/Usage/Mechanics/Punctuation: 'Nuff said. Also, put "The horror! The horror!" in the Other section of your form.

With Regards to Kills

There will be no kills in this Games! You'll have to resort to subtly undermining your competition via some other method. Have you considered a mild poison, just enough to disable them for a task or two?

With Regards to the Ending

In this Games, the future isn't set in stone: the last three tasks of the Games will depend on choices you make along the way! Each task I will give you a seemingly random decision ("Peanut butter or jelly?") that is nonetheless thematically connected to the "darkness" in the heart of the island. Each decision you make will favor one or more of the endings, and at the end you'll get to see what your blind choices have made!

For competitors, this choice is mandatory. If you fail to make a choice, you'll face a steadily increasing penalty in your score, starting with -1 and going as high as -5. Now, I'm not picky about how you make or even submit this decision: if you're worried you'll forget about it by the time you start the mad rush to write your entry last-minute, then you can even comment your decision on the task itself, or send it via PM! Just have it in before the deadline, 'kay?

For onlookers/eliminated competitors, don't worry, you can get in on the fun! If you feel like meddling in the fates of the tributes, just leave a comment with your selection on the comment page. I'll count those too, and you'll enjoy the satisfaction of altering the fate of a fictional character not your own.

With Regards to Your Competitors

How much you interact with them will be entirely up to you, since I am perfectly fine with you adding a generous serving of your own characters to the entry for interpersonal interactions. This ain't the Hunger Games, you have bigger problems to worry about than your fellow survivors. Probably.

Miscellaneous

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Sit under a Bodhi tree, and meditate upon the matter until you are enlightened. Alternately, you could comment below or shoot me a PM; I can clear up the issue immediately. Considering writing an operatic tribute in honor of my graciousness and accomplishments? Be sure to cast a baritone or bass-baritone: the tenors are a bit too used to getting all the good parts, in my opinion.