Poker Puzzlers

Main Match 3: Poker Puzzlers

Summary:

Teams of three will battle over playing cards in order to form poker hands. Each team member will be sent to a card location where they will have to battle with other players at that location in puzzles, where completion time determines which player takes a card home to their team.

Team Drafting:

The three players who won in Main Match 2.5 will automatically be team captains. Upon rules release, Day 0 will begin in which team captains should select their teammates. Each captain will submit a list of the remaining six players in a ranked order indicating the players they would like to work with.

The team captain with the most garnets will have priority on their first team member, but will have lowest priority on their second team member.

The team captain with the second most garnets will have middlemost priority on both their first team member and their second team member.

The team captain with the fewest garnets will have the lowest priority on their first team member, but will have highest priority on their second team member.

Gameplay:

This game will be played across 8 rounds, wherein players will select which cards they will be competing for and players will compete for fastest puzzle completion time to claim cards. These rounds will overlap as such:

Day 1: Select Round 1 Cards, No Puzzles

Day 2: Select Round 2 Cards, Complete Round 1 Puzzles

...

Day 9: No Card Selection, Complete Round 8 Puzzles

Each round, a new set of cards will be revealed and will be available for each team to send their members to go to attempt to collect. These cards will be associated with a particular puzzle type. During the selection phase of each round, teams should coordinate to decide which members are going to be sent to each card location. Teams may not send more than one player to a card location.

All puzzles used in this main match will be among the types featured on https://www.puzzle-loop.com/ . Feel free to use this website for learning and practicing the types that you are not familiar with.

During the puzzle completion portion of the round, you should ping an available host when you are ready to begin your puzzle. You will be timed on your completion. You may submit using any format comfortable to you as long as your answer can be easily understood and evaluated. An incorrect answer for the puzzle will result in not being able to earn the card. In order to earn the card, you must complete the puzzle, even if you are the only player to have gone to that location. The results of each puzzle or their completion time will not be announced publicly, but the team that receives the card will be announced.

At any time during puzzle completion, you may bid at least 4 garnets to rig the puzzle and take the card without competing. If you are the highest bidding player at the location, you will earn the card regardless of yours or the other player’s completion times. This will not be announced publicly, the results will appear as though you have completed the puzzle in the shortest amount of time. If two players bid the same highest number of garnets, then it will default back to being awarded to the player who solves the puzzle fastest

Results:

The team with the highest ranking hand at the end of Day 9 will obtain a Token of Life for each of their members. The tiebreak for two equally high ranking hands is high card. If the high card is the same, then spades > hearts > diamonds > clubs will tiebreak the high card. The winning team should also choose two players from the team with the lowest ranking hand to be ECs, as well as ranking their pick order of either 1st or 2nd.

A team that achieves a high card or a pair will obtain 2 garnets each

A team that achieves a 2 pair or a 3 of a kind will obtain 3 garnets each

A team that achieves a straight or a flush will obtain 5 garnets each

A team that achieves a full house or a 4 of a kind will obtain 8 garnets each

A team that achieves a straight flush or a royal flush will obtain 13 garnets each

Example Submission:

Any form of understandable submission will be accepted. For submitting puzzles, consider using image editing software. If image editing is not accessible, then an easily understandable text submission can be accepted as well.

Clarification: The puzzle type for each card will be announced. The puzzle that is used for that card will be the same for each player attempting to earn that card

Addendum: You will not lose your garnets if you lose a bid. If you tie with another team for rigging, then you will both not lose your garnets

Correction: If two teams bid the same to rig a puzzle, then it will default back to being awarded to the player who solves the puzzle fastest

Clarification: The 52 cards will be split relatively evenly over 8 rounds. Each round will alternate between 6 and 7 cards being available, starting with 6

Clarification: Regarding the difficulty of the puzzles, each puzzle will be generated using the same website that is available for you to practice. The puzzles used will be either the easiest difficulty available, or the second easiest difficulty.

Clarification: All of the puzzles from the practice resource have a chance of appearing, except for 'Word search games' because Boggle is not a real puzzle

Clarification: First valid submission is not necessarily the one that has to be accepted. You can submit more than once on your puzzle completion if you realize that you got an incorrect solution. If you do, then the amount of time taken to amend your puzzle will still be added on to your finish time.

Addendum: Players will know how many other players have selected the same card as them, but not how many players (if any) are on any other cards.

Addendum: You may not disclose or give hints to the answers or IDs for the current round's puzzles.

Clarification: Sorry for the late clarification. This was asked a few days ago, and was answered privately. I have decided it warrants public answer, though.

If the winning team does not successfully make a unanimous decision when deciding ECs, they will be presented with a tiebreak situation that is not publicly announced at this time. It is intended that this emergency tiebreak is only unveiled at the time that it is necessary.

Correction: While you may finish the puzzle in any amount of time if you are the lone player on that puzzle, you are still being timed and your time is being shared with the spectators. You should only ask to receive your puzzle ID when you are ready to be timed