Author Games: Circle

Geometric Policy

1. Anonymity. First things first (since most of you will likely be skimming the rules anyways): these games will run on anonymity, meaning that none of the other writers will know who you are writing, and you will not know who any of them are writing. When reserving, you will PM us that you'd like to join, and from the moment you do this, you are not to tell anyone else of who you are writing for. If you break this rule, odds are we'll figure it out. This will be further touched upon during reservations.

2. Respect. This one goes without saying (but we have to say it anyways). Please respect your fellow competitors, hosts, and anyone else in association with the games. Breaking this rule will result in immediate removal of the competitor from the competition. In short, don't be mean.

3. Punctuality & Deadlines. By joining these games, you agree to make a commitment to handing in consistently for however long these may last. There will be eight tasks in total, so if you don't think you can handle sticking around for that long, reconsider taking part. For each task you should be given at least six days to write your entries. When PMing us your reservation, please mention your most preferred geometric shape. Additionally, you will be expected to hand in on time; failing to do so will result in a penalty. Not handing in once will automatically put you up to vote, and not handing in twice will result in elimination.

4. Voting. At the end of every task, there will be a session of voting in which anyone may vote to keep or remove those they think should or should not continue in the games. Now, we try to make these games as fair as possible, but when others begin to vote based on friendships as opposed to the actual quality of the entry, it defeats the purpose of competing. Not only that, it diminishes the fun.

-Biased voting is not permitted. Sometimes, friends vote for friends simply because they are friends: don't do that. It's disrespectful to those who put the time and effort into writing a piece that they know - and hope - will be judged and evaluated honestly. Hopefully, the anonymous nature of these games will help prevent this. We trust that you won't tell the others who you are writing so that we can keep these games mysterious and fun.

-Vote-begging - asking others to vote for you or someone you know who's up to vote - is also prohibited.

5. Scoring. Entries will be scored out of twelve, and in joining you agree to accept the scores that we give. We can assure you that we are unbiased in scoring, and will be going off of a rubric, which will be stated below. If you have any questions on why you got the score you did, feel free to check it or check in with us.

Scoring Rubric

0: You did not hand in an entry.

1-2: Why did you bother to hand this in?

3-4: You supplied the bare minimum.

5-6: You did alright, mixed well, but could use a lot of improvement. This usually means we thought you showed little interest, and thus incorporated little effort.

7-8: The entry was average; you likely did a good job, but could use a push for improvement.

9-10: You're on the right path. This entry was written fairly well-written, but could use plenty of polishing in a few areas.

11: There was likely only one or two small problems we noticed that kept you from hitting the top.

12: Go. Drive off a cliff or publish a book. Just leave before we throw something at you for how good this is and Shay starts crying.

6. Extensions. All competitors will receive one twenty-four hour, no questions asked, extension.

7. Where to send. All entries should be sent to the email spades3games@gmail.com , otherwise they will not be accepted. Make sure you include in the subject line the name of your character and the task number. 

8. Mature content is permitted. If you submit anything you believe to be overly mature or potentially triggering, please make sure you note somewhere in your email that this is so, and we'll mark your entry with this note when posting.

9. Ballots. Ballots in these games will not deduct, and will instead contribute to a ballot challenge system in which the highest balloted of that round will receive, you guessed it, a challenge. If you want to ballot others, please list their name(s) at the bottom of your email in a note.

10. Have Fun. No. They must suffer. Let it go, Ace. Anyways, just remember that these games are here to help you improve, compete, and overall have a good time. Don't put yourself under excess stress or anxiety, and if you don't think you can handle these games, once again, reconsider joining. We don't want anyone goin' all miserable on us.