FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How long will each set of matchups last?
A: One week, but possibly less than that once the Final Four have been reached.
Q: Just a week? But there are so many of these games that I haven’t played!
A: I know – I haven’t played the majority of them, either! It’s expected that, participating by the rules and in good faith, many people will have to skip voting on certain matchups in early rounds.
Q: How many rounds will there be?
A: Six, but early rounds will take more than one week each. (See the question about the overall schedule below.)
Q: But why not give more time for each round?
A: There’s a practical limit to how much time can be granted for each segment. Here’s the deal:
- It’s 64 games in a single elimination tournament. That requires 63 individual matchups.
- The idea is to promote play and discussion, but also to keep things moving relatively quickly to keep up a “March Madness” feel.
Q: But I can’t finish all those games in one week!
A: This is why the rule is that voters should have tried each game in a matchup before voting on it. It’s not required that you complete the game or spend a minimum amount of time with it as with IF Comp. It is suggested that you focus first on games that you haven’t played which are matched against games that you have played.
Q: What exactly do you mean by “trying” a game?
A: I mean that you approach the game with an open mind, give it an honest shot to hook you, and explore it long enough to get a feel for how much you like it. It’s up to you to decide how long that takes. This is an honor system, so be honorable.
Q: What will the schedule be?
A: The plan is to run at most 8 matchups at a time in segments lasting 1 week each. That means the 32 matchups of round 1 (across the 4 divisions) will end on July 05. The next two weeks will also feature rounds of 8 matchups each, but these will combine two divisions at a time and end July 19. Next will be a single week of 8 matchups (2 from each division) ending Jul 26. At that point there will be a week for the divisional finals, i.e. one last matchup per division (4 matchups total) to produce a Final Four on Aug 02.
If, as I expect, most people will have had a chance to play all of the Final Four, then there will probably be two three-day rounds to finish out the tournament. It should be wrapped up by mid-August in any case.
Q: Am I supposed to vote just for the game that I like, or the one that I feel is objectively the better game?
A: You’re supposed to vote for the game that you think is the better of a pair, using whatever criteria you think apply – but the rules require that you have at least tried both games in any matchup for which you cast a vote. (See the question about trying games above.)
Q: I want to vote on Game X in a matchup and I’ve never played Game Y with which it is matched. How do I resolve this conundrum?
A: Start playing Game Y!
Q: That’s all I do? Just play and vote?
A: You are also encouraged to post the reasons why you made the decision that you did, or just to share your positive impressions of any work that you try. Lots of people won’t have played the games that you choose. Getting people to try new games is one of the main points, so show your appreciation and win new fans by “talking up” your selections. (See the ground rules on discussing games. The short version is: “Stick to the positive, and avoid fan brawls.”)
Q: One of my works is on this list, but I don’t think I want it to be. What can I do?
A: The fact that your work was chosen for the tournament means that it is among the top 1/2 of 1% of all games listed in IFDB in terms of registered ratings. That’s quite an honor! Also, this “competition” is entirely for fun. If you really wish to withdraw one or more of your games, let me know by post or DM, and I will honor your request by registering forfeit(s) in the relevant matchup(s).
Q: Can I vote in favor of my own work?
A: If you have tried your work’s opponent and honestly feel that yours is the better of the pair, then it is entirely in keeping with the rules to do so. Your opinion counts as much as anyone’s!
Q: I, um… I kind of got excited and registered some votes before I even read the rules. What can I do?
A: Fear not! There is still time to salvage your honor by trying the games that you haven’t played. (See the question about trying games above.) If you’ve given the opponent games a proper go and haven’t changed your mind, then you can rest easy that you have respected the rules and made the whole tournament better. If you have changed your mind, change your vote!
Q: I don’t understand the rule about avoiding criticism in posts about my match selections. Please explain.
A: Think about it this way: Anything you say is implicitly expressing an inequality between Game X and Game Y. As a matter of courtesy to other fans and in the spirits of community-building and friendly competition, it’s not too much to ask that you express things in terms of “greater than” instead of “less than.” A sporting match is much more fun when both sides are cheering than when both sides are booing.
If you have criticism to share with the world, you are encouraged to register at IFDB, add your ratings to the games there, and even post negative reviews. Extensive criticism is a valid and important part of the tradition of free IF; this just isn’t the venue for it.
Q: When will the voting close for each match period?
A: Voting will close sometime circa Saturday evening each week, per UTC time. The precise time will not be announced and is likely to vary significantly depending on my schedule on those days, but I will wait until at least noon UTC in any case. Late votes will not be accepted – when the whistle blows, the match is over!
Q: What if there is a tie between two games in a match?
A: Based on the early response, there should be enough votes that this is an unlikely outcome. However, should any tie occur, I will flip a coin to declare an arbitrary winner. Fans backing a particular game in a close contest are free to recruit others to play by the rules and in good faith before the match period is over. Remember: This is an honor system, so be honorable. This is only for fun!
Q: How were these games chosen for the tournament?
A: Contestant games were chosen based on the state of the IFDB Top 100 list according to its status on June 7, 2024. Any game that was not officially free to play as of that date was disqualified from the competition. Due to these eliminations, the lowest-ranked qualifying entry was in 78th place at the start of the tournament.
Q: How were assignments to divisions and matches decided for each game?
A: This was the total process:
- The top 64 free games were selected from the IFDB Top 100 list as it was June 7, 2024. Their Top 100 ranking order determined their seed order.
- All games were placed in a spreadsheet and assigned two columns of random numbers using the built-in spreadsheet function.
- All games were sorted by the two random columns.
- Divisions were assigned by each game’s placement in the first 16 rows (Division 1), second 16 rows (Division 2), etc. after the sort.
- Round 1 matches were assigned by top row vs. next (Match 01), third row vs. fourth (Match 02), etc. after the sort.
- All Round 2 and later matchups are based on the ladder structure for the tournament.
Q: Hey! I only just found out about this and missed the beginning!
A: I’m glad that you want to participate – your rules-abiding, good faith votes will help make the tournament better for everyone. This whole thing was pretty spur-of-the-moment, so there was no organized attempt at publicity in advance. The good news is that it will be going for some time, so you’ll get plenty of chance to play in future segments. (See the question about the schedule above.) There’s almost certainly time for you to try new games and get in a few votes before the end of the current segment.
that’s ok! This sounds fun!
