Contest Rules

[Updated on 12/02/2015]

• Contest opens for entries on Midnight Eastern Time, December 1st, 2015. Entries will be accepted until Midnight Eastern Time, January 1st, 2016. The date and time stamped on the e-mail or forum post will be used as the official entry time.
• All entries must be accompanied by proof of score, which may consist of either a photograph taken with a camera, or a screen-shot taken electronically in a personal computer. Either one must show the entire game screen, with the score clearly legible.
• Accepted entries will be published on the official leaderboard, along with a name or nickname submitted by the contestant. If no name is specified, the e-mail sender or forum post username will be used.
• Entries will be posted to the official contest leaderboard page twice weekly, on Sunday and Thursday, by 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
• The contest is open to anybody, with no purchase or registration necessary, except for the following exceptions: Employees of Left Turn Only, LLC., the Carol vs. The World! Championship judges, organizers, their immediate family, and direct affiliates; are all not eligible to participate in the competition.
• The organizers of the Carol vs. The World! Championship reserve the right to immediately disqualify any person attempting to disrupt the competition, or abuse the entry submission system in any way.
• All entries are subject to examination by the contest judges for validity, and may be rejected at the judges discretion.
• The game must be played as originally distributed, in its normal form. No cheats or hacks are allowed, including but not limited to, custom modifications to increase points or game lives. Any entry suspected of being achieved through such means will be rejected, and the contestant immediately disqualified.
• Winners will be announced at the end of the competition, no later than Monday, January 6, 2016, by 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
• The Grand Prize will be awarded to the contestant with the overall top ranking entry received by the deadline. The winner will get a one-hour design conversation with the game programmer, arranged at the convenience of both, in which they may discuss the desired marquee design. All suggestions and user artwork, within reason, will be considered. The game programmer reserves the right to reject any request.
• Final delivery of the Grand Prize is subject to design and manufacturing constraints, but should be 4 to 8 weeks after design conversation between winner and game programmer.
• Contestants who have played in a previous competition shall not be eligible for awards of rankings lower than their previous highest score.
• Veteran contestants, i.e., those who have won awards on previous competitions, or those that have posted scores higher than 2,000 points on previous competitions, shall only be eligible for the special "Elite Knight" prizes.
• All contestants shall be eligible for the Grand Prize, except those who have won a Grand Prize in a previous competition.
• Commemorative personalized hot-cocoa mugs (Top Rank Prize) will be awarded to the top scoring non-veteran contestants on each game rank, following the Grand Prize winner entry. The mugs will be posted by US Priority Mail, from 2 to 6 weeks after the contest closes.
• Commemorative patches will be awarded to the top five (5) scoring non-veteran contestants on each game rank, following the Top Rank Prize winner entry. The patches will be posted by USPS mail within a week after the contest closes.
• Commemorative personalized hot-cocoa mugs (Elite Knight Prize) will be awarded to the top scoring veteran contestants on the following ranks: Master, Ranger, Helper. The mugs will be posted by US Priority Mail, from 2 to 6 weeks after the contest closes.
• Commemorative magnets will be awarded to the top scoring veteran contestants on the Novice rank. The patches will be posted by USPS mail within a week after the contest closes.
• Contestants applying for the Christmas Carol World Record are required to submit video proof of their achievement for review. The organizes of the Carol vs. The World! Championship reserve the right to reject or disqualify any world record submission.
• The Christmas Carol vs. The Ghost Of Christmas Presents game ROM is made available free of charge to anybody, for non-commercial use only. You are free to share it with friends, family, and colleagues. If you're interested in a commercial distribution license, you may contact us via e-mail at [info@CarolVsGhost.com]