Prisoner's Cycle

TBD

Designer(s): elara Match Type: MM (for 16 players)
Featured in: The Genius Puzzler

Main Match 1: Prisoner's Cycle

In Prisoner's Cycle, players play each other in simple Prisoner's Dilemma-style games to earn points. There is a cycle of all players generated before the game starts, and anybody who scores higher than the next player in the cycle wins the Main Match.


RULES

Before the game, a cycle of all 16 players is randomly generated. Each player has one player after them in the cycle. They will be told who that player is.


During the game, players may choose to duel other players. If both players accept the duel, the duel happens. Then, both players submit either Cooperate or Betray privately. You may duel every other player at most once each.

When dueling, players receive points as according to the following matrix:



You also have one additional option: You may choose to Cooperate with Insurance. This costs 1 Garnet. It will be counted as a Cooperate unless your opponent decides to Betray, in which case it will count as a Betray.

You will not be told the result of a duel immediately after the duel occurs. However, after you have completed 4, 8, 12, and 15 duels, you will be told your current running score.


After all players have completed 15 duels, or after 96 hours (4 days) have passed since the start of the game, the Main Match ends. At this time, the cycle, as well as the scores of all players, is publicly revealed.

Players earn 1 Garnet for every 5 points they have (rounded down). If a player's score is negative, they earn 0 garnets instead of negative garnets.

Any player whose score is strictly higher than the player after them in the cycle wins a Token of Life.

The Elimination Candidate is the player with the lowest score (who is guaranteed to not have won a Token of Life). In the case that multiple players are tied for the lowest score, the tie is broken as follows: First, the winners (all players with a ToL) must each vote exactly one of the losers. Then, the loser with the most votes becomes the EC. If there are multiple players with the most votes, one of them is randomly selected. This voting process is not revealed publicly; only the final result.


ADMINISTRATION

Timing

The game lasts for 96 hours, or until all duels have finished, whichever happens first.


Submissions

In order to duel, both players must agree on doing so in their pair chat. When both players wish to duel, they must send in their submissions channel whether they wish to cooperate or betray (or cooperate with insurance). You can send in this decision prior to both players accepting the duel, but make it clear which submission corresponds to which duel.

When both players have submitted, the duel happens immediately (even if no host is online to process it). Allow a few hours of delay between a duel ending and having it be processed (including learning your current score, if applicable), as it is possible that no hosts are active during that time.


Information

This game has the following pieces of information, along with how and when they are revealed to the players, if at all. If a piece of information is not in this list, it is likely not known to anyone, but feel free to clarify.

Told to you, at the start of the game:

  • The player directly after you in the cycle

Told to you, after you have played certain numbers of duels:

  • Your current score

Publicly announced, at the end of the game:

  • The entire cycle
  • Each player's final score
  • The winner(s) and loser(s)

Not explicitly known to anyone

  • What the other player submitted in the duel

Garnets

Garnets may be used in the following way:

While submitting a choice, you may spend 1 Garnet to Cooperate with Insurance. If your opponent chooses to Betray, your submission will be treated as Betray as well, rather than Cooperate.


Garnets may be earned in the following way:

At the end of the game, you receive one garnet for every 5 points you have (rounded down). If your score is negative, you receive 0 Garnets.

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