I will soon post the teams and the first challenge, but here's some rules/guidelines that will apply throughout the game.
CommunicationAll official communications need to be sent to
cfmbsurvivor@email.com. PMs through the site can be sent for unofficial reasons (rule clarifications, complaining about stuff, etc.) but all contest entries and votes need to go through the
cfmbsurvivor@email.com address. This is so there is no chance of any tampering with results, and everything is timestamped through the email site. All deadlines will be enforced... if a contest says votes need to be in by Tuesday at 4:30PM Central, anything after that will be disregarded. On your first email, please give me your board name so I can tie the two together. And don't worry, I'm not selling your email addresses to the Russians as a side hustle.
TeamsDuring the first phase of the game, we will be participating in groups of two teams. As part of the first challenge, your team should get together and determine what your team name will be, and include with your entry to the contest email address. It is possible that team members will switch teams during the contest, and at some point, the contest will transition into an individual only mode. I will post further individual instructions at that time.
Team Captain RulesEach team will have a team captain that has been determined randomly (the methodology will be explained when teams are revealed.) Each captain will remain the team captain until they are eliminated from the game or transfer their captainship. Transfers can only occur when a vote is not underway, and are completed by the captain posting in the Survivor thread indicating who they are transfering their captainship to. The captain-to-be must respond in the thread accepting the captainship to complete the transfer. If a captain is voted off during a voting session, the player who cast the first vote against the captain will become the new captain. If a captain is otherwise removed (DQ'd from the game), I will use random.org to pick a new captain.
Team ChallengesRoughly twice a week we will be holding a challenge (there will be time off during holidays.) The challenge will be related to the sporting world in some way, and will be touch a variety of sports that are going on at the time. During the team challenge round, the captain will be required to submit an entry which answers the questions asked within the challenge. Team members are encouraged to confer prior to the captain submitting the entry, but the first entry submitted by the captain to the contest email address will be the one that is used. Note: If you accidentally leave a question unanswered, you can submit another email to address those blanks, but you will not be allowed to change previous entries. If the captain does not submit an entry before the entry deadline, the team will score no points for the round, and the captain will get a strike (more on that later.) The team that wins the challenge will be safe for that voting period. The team that loses the challenge will have to vote someone off the team. In some team challenges, there may points awarded by individuals responding to something, so even if you are not the captain, you need to be on your toes.
Challenge BonusesIf your team wins a challenge (also applies to individual mode when we reach it), the winning team will have a choice between three bonuses in the next challenge. The bonus is going to be a 5%-15% type of bonus point, but in some cases, you may have to declare your bonus option before the challenge happens (for example, you may have the rights to an exclusive claim on a player or team.) If the deadline passes for one of the bonus options, the team (or individual later on) can choose one of the other eligible bonus options.
Brian Scalabrine Challenge RuleAs with all previous versions of this contest, any points earned by choosing Brian Scalabrine count double.
Hidden Immunity IdolsPeriodically throughout the game, I will hide immunity idols in the thread. The immunity idols will consist of "Hidden Idol Keyword XXXX" where the XXXX will be a secret word. To claim an immunity idol, send an email to the contest email address with a subject "Hidden Idol Keyword XXXX" and then feel free to write any notes you want in the body. If you are correct, you will receive a reply indicating as such. If not, you will not have a reply. You may transfer an immunity idol to another player by writing the email address and indicating who you wish to transfer it to. I will inform the player that they have inherited an immunity idol, but will not give any further information. All hidden immunity idols are invalid after the game gets down to 5 players or less. To play the idol during a vote, just include that fact in your vote email (more info below.) As of now, there are no hidden idols available. I will not announce when one is made available, but I may mention when there is one or more unclaimed one at my discretion.
Vote OutThe team that loses will hold a vote to eliminate a player from the game. Each member of the team will need to email the player they would like to vote out to the contest email address. Only the first vote received will count. You must vote if you are on the losing team. Failure to vote earns a strike, and this overrides any immunity. If you have played an immunity idol (or have individual challenge immunity) any votes against you will not count. The player with the most votes against them will be out of the game. If there is a tie in voting, whomever had the first vote cast amongst the players involved in the tie will be eliminated. EDIT: The tie situation will change once we go to individual immunity (as I've just now read my notes from the 2011 edition.)
StrikesThis game is a three strikes and you are out. This rule overrides any other rule listed. Each player left in the game will be shown on the first post, and any strikes they have accumulated will show next to their name.
Prize Jury and Winning The GameOnce we are down to the final twelve players, those that are voted out will retain a spot on the jury. We continue this game until there are only three players left. At that point, there will be nine members of the jury and three contestants fighting for the championship. The thread will be open for three days for jurors to ask questions, contestants repsond and make statements, and for the jurors to make up their mind who to vote for. There will then be a 24 hour window where jurors can send their vote of who they want to win to the contest email address. The winner will be the contestant that gets the most votes... if there is a tie, we will eliminate the vote of the first member to join the jury, then the second, etc. until the tie is broken.
Other StuffFeel free to ask questions -- a lot of this will make more sense as you start to play. I think the majority have played this before several years ago, so help out your teammates.
Teams and captains coming in a few more minutes....