Author Topic: 2017-18 FPG RULES  (Read 3630 times)

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Offline whammy007

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2017-18 FPG RULES
« on: October 15, 2016, 10:48:10 PM »
Rules which are new in 2016-17 are highlighted in green. Any rules which changed from 2015-16 are highlighted in blue. The host reserves the right to add to, delete from, or change the rules at any time, including mid-season, but shall not do so without written notice.

FRIDAY PREDICTION GAME: 2017-18 OFFICIAL RULES

SECTION I. PLAYING THE GAME

A. How to Play

The Friday Prediction Game (FPG) is a game in which players predict the six pricing games (PGs) that will be played on the final (generally, but not always, fifth) episode that airs from each non-rerun production week. Special FPGs (official or scrimmage) may be held at the host's discretion during short production weeks (such as those due to holidays or special events) or for primetime episodes. With this rule, it is possible for a calendar week to have more than one FPG or no FPG at all.

Players should start by numbering their picked PGs from 1 to 6 by playing order, with 1 being the first game played (1st slot) and 6 being the last game played (6th slot). Players will also need to predict whether each PG will be won (W) or lost (L). Finally, players must assign a confidence ranking for each PG from 6 to 1, with 6 being the PG they judge most likely to be played and 1 being the least likely.  Each confidence ranking should be used once and once only.

A completed FPG card should look something like this:

1. Triple Play - L - 6
2. 1/2 Off - L - 4
3. Eazy az 1-2-3 - W - 3
4. Double Prices - W - 2
5. One Away - L - 5
6. Bullseye - W - 1

Pricing game nicknames or abbreviations should ONLY be used if they are unambiguous about the game to which they refer. For example, "L7" is easily understood to be Lucky $even, but "Double" could be either Double Prices or Double Cross, so abbreviate with caution.

B. Card Submission - Deadlines and Corrections

This thread contains the FPG schedule, including tentative dates for all upcoming games. The host will post an announcement thread in the FPG section reminding players that a game is imminent - this will generally go up approximately 37 hours before the appropriate episode airs. Picks submitted before this announcement will be accepted, but it is not encouraged, as the announcement thread may contain important information regarding the game.

All FPG cards should be sent by Golden-Road private message to your host, Punchboard91, NO LATER than 9 AM ET on game day. Since the host works during the daytime, is it to the player's advantage to submit earlier than that, so that potential errors can be identified and corrected before the deadline. All picks will be considered LOCKED at the deadline, with no further corrections allowed after that time - NO EXCEPTIONS.

If FPG is played in primetime, the deadline will be two hours before the start time for the episode in question.

The host may also play FPG, and if they do, they shall send their picks to Golden-Road Forum Director therealcu2010 for independent verification.

Once picks are submitted, the only permissible changes are the following:

> Clarifying the name of any PG selections which are not immediately clear,
> Adding win/loss predictions and/or confidence rankings that were previously omitted,
> Adding a Play-Along selection where one was previously omitted (more on Play-Along below), or
> Adjusting confidence rankings in the event of PGs being spoiled (more on spoilers below).

No changes to PG selection or slotting will be allowed for any reason (other than the aforementioned name clarification).

If the host is able to detect an error with a player's picks before the deadline, he will contact that player via forum PM as soon as possible to prompt a correction or clarification, but it is every player's responsibility to proofread their picks before submission. Corrections will only be accepted if they are (1) in keeping with the guidelines listed above and (2) submitted to the host with a timestamp prior to the submission deadline.

Any uncorrected errors will be handled as follows:

> Ambiguous PG Name: That PG alone will not be scored.
> Omitted Win/Loss Prediction: That PG will be automatically assigned a W.
> Omitted Confidence Ranking: That PG will be automatically ranked 1.
> Duplicated Confidence Ranking: ALL games with duplicated rankings will be automatically ranked 1.
> Any other errors will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

C. Scoring Your Card

There are two types of scoring during an FPG game: Match Points (MP) and Confidence Points (CP). MP are awarded as follows:

> 4 MP for each matched PG with BOTH a correct slot and result,
> 2 MP for each matched PG with EITHER a correct slot or result,
> 1 MP for each matched PG with NEITHER a correct slot or result.

CP are calculated for each game by taking the MP earned for that game times the confidence ranking assigned to the game. For example, using the sample card above, if 1/2 Off was played second and lost (4 MP/16 CP), Double Prices fifth and won (2 MP/4 CP), and One Away sixth and won (1 MP/5 CP), a total of 7 MP and 25 CP would be scored for the game.

For the purposes of FPG, a pricing game is "won" when:

> Plinko: One chip lands in the center slot,
> Cash Game (Non-Plinko): The top cash prize is won,
> Car Game: The car is won,
> All Other Games: All primary prizes are won.

Any game which is "bailed out" will always be considered a loss.

D. Posts by the Host During an FPG Game

During the course of the evening before the game takes place, the host will post a thread containing the names of all players for whom cards have been received. The host will attempt to actively update this post until approximately midnight ET prior to the FPG game. It is the player's responsibility to check this thread and ensure that their card was received, especially if they submitted prior to the initial post of the thread.

At approximately midnight ET, the host will submit a list of all FPG cards received at that time to another member of the Golden-Road staff (most likely Forum Director Prizes). This individual will then post that listing after the deadline has passed but (if possible) prior to the airing of the episode. If this individual wishes to take part in FPG, they must submit their picks to the host before receiving the list, or their selections will not be counted for that game.

A full listing of FPG cards received, including those received after the first list was posted, will be posted by the host at their earliest opportunity. The host will also be responsible for posting the frequencies at which each PG was picked, for use in identifying "key games" chosen by less than five players (more on this later).

Scores for each submitted card will be posted in a separate thread after the episode has aired and all cards have been revealed. Players in the Golden-Road chatroom may reveal their cards and self-calculated scores in that venue, but only the scores published by the host will be considered the official results. In the event of the host being absent for any reason, they reserve the right to name a substitute, whose results may be considered official for the duration of the host's absence.

Results from each game will be assembled into a season-long leaderboard and posted periodically by the host. Generally, the leaderboard will be posted approximately once a month, but may be posted more or less frequently depending on the relative frequency of FPG games.

E. Episode Pre-Emptions

If one or more episodes from a production week are pre-empted or otherwise rescheduled, then the FPG for that production week will be rescheduled to whichever date will feature the fifth and final unaired episode from said production week (unless that episode is rescheduled to a date that occurs after the FPG playoffs have concluded, in which case that FPG will be canceled). An FPG will take place on the fourth episode of a production week if the production staff cancels one episode from a production week for any reason. For any production week that includes only three episodes (generally during holidays or other special events), an FPG will take place on the third episode only at the host's discretion.  FPGs will never occur on any production week with fewer than three episodes.

If the fifth episode of a production week is pre-empted or canceled (either by CBS or by TPIR production) for any reason and the full episode cannot be reconstructed using information available from any available airings (including Web video), then that week's FPG will be canceled.  Any picks sent in for that FPG are void and must be re-submitted should the episode re-air before the FPG playoffs.

F. Spoilers - In Studio

Players who have visited Television City during the taping of an episode for which FPG will be played must disqualify themselves from the associated FPG match. Likewise, any player who receives information about an episode for which FPG will be played from an inside source must also disqualify themselves from that game.

Players who have taping knowledge of other episodes may participate in any other sanctioned FPG, including those where they have attended non-FPG shows of the same week or of adjoining weeks. Any information gained by attending a taping is free and clear to use in composing FPG picks. However, such information must either not be shared with anyone or placed where it can be equally accessed by all FPG players.

Players who attended a taping for which FPG will be played may receive 100 FPG points and $200,000 cash if they are able to provide proof of their attendance. Such proof should take the form of a PM to Golden-Road Forum Director therealcu2010 with the title "SPOILED [day of week] - OPEN ONLY AFTER [date of show]" and a body listing all six PGs in proper order. If that listing matches the order of PGs actually aired, that player will receive the in-studio bonus.

G. Spoilers - Other

Any information that contains PG spoilers for an episode on which an FPG takes place is fair game for all players and will not constitute disqualification, provided that spoiled PGs are made available to all FPG players. In order for a spoiled PG to be a valid pick, that spoiler must be posted in the 2017-2018 FPG Spoilers thread at least 12 hours before the submission deadline of the FPG in question. If a PG has been spoiled and it has not been posted in the Spoilers thread, then any uses of that PG will be stricken and replaced with the PG that has been picked by the most people. If that most-popular game is already on a player's lineup, then the next-highest game not already chosen will take the place of the spoiled one. If there are multiple games tied for most popular, then the host may select the game least likely to conflict with others on that player's lineup (i.e. not adding a third car game, second casher, etc.).

All spoiled PGs must be assigned a confidence ranking of 1. Any other confidence ranking may be corrected per the procedures above, and if uncorrected such game will be automatically ranked 1 by the host. The host will also re-assign all other confidence rankings on the lineup such that it preserves a player's relative order of confidence on the non-spoiled games.

The following sources are acceptable spoiler information:

> "CBS Spoilers" - on-air promos, social media, CBS Press Express, or spoiler clips on on-stage televisions
> "Media Spoilers" - local television news, radio stations, newspapers, and their associated websites
> "Web Spoilers" - any other websites, including personal or private ones

To spoil a game, there must be unambiguous information pointing solely to the game in question, including:

> Explicit mention of name
> Any portion of the game's set (including props or turntable color)
> Staging, camera angles, or gameplay unique to the game (such as Lucky $even's car reveal)

If three or more PGs are spoiled, then FPG will be cancelled for that production week. If any spoiler information is questionable, then the game may be selected and ranked with confidence other than 1 on a tentative basis. If the spoiled PG is played on that episode, then the picks will be retroactively edited or the FPG cancelled if that makes three spoiled games for the show.

SECTION II. SCORING AND WINNING

A. How Winners are Determined

The criteria for rankings in any given game of FPG are as follows:

1. Total Match Points (MP) determine the primary rankings.
2. Total Confidence Points (CP) are the first tiebreaker between players with equal MP.
3. Correct Games Picked (CGP) is the second tiebreaker if tied players have the same CP.
4. Correct Half Picks (CHP) is the third and final tiebreaker. Games in slots 1-3 are considered the first half and slots 4-6 the second half.

If two or more players are tied after all four criteria are applied, the tie shall be considered unbreakable. All such players shall receive the highest of the tied positions (e.g. if there two players tie for 7th place, both rank 7th and the next player down will be in 9th) and all points and cash attached to that position.

B. Base Scoring

Each player earns FPG leaderboard points and cash based on their ranking. Points are a fixed amount, while cash is awarded as a percentage of the week's accumulated pot.

The cash pot for the week will be determined by adding up the total cash and prizes won on each episode in the production week. The totals used for each show will be taken from the Golden-Road threads if available and from QWIZX if not. Episode totals are subject to the following multipliers:

> The show with the highest production number (usually, but not always, Friday) will be doubled.
> "Perfect Shows" with all six PGs won will be doubled.
> Shows with a Double Showcase Winner (DSW) will be doubled.
> Multipliers may stack, making the maximum multiplier for a single show to be 8x.

If an FPG is cancelled for any reason, the cash pot will be carried forward to future games. A pot less than $400,000 will carry over to the next game in its entirety. Pots over $400,000 will be divided equally between the following two games, with the odd dollar (if applicable) going to the first of the games.

Base awards of points and cash are as follows:

> 1st place - 125 points, 100% of pot
> 2nd place - 119 points, 95% of pot
> 3rd place - 113 points, 90% of pot
> 4th place - 107 points, 85% of pot
> 5th place - 100 points, 80% of pot
> 6th place - 93 points, 75% of pot
> 7th place - 86 points, 70% of pot
> 8th place - 79 points, 60% of pot
> 9th place - 72 points, 55% of pot
> 10th place - 65 points, 50% of pot
> 11th place - 57 points, 40% of pot
> 12th place - 49 points, 30% of pot
> 13th place - 41 points, 20% of pot
> 14th place - 33 points, 15% of pot
> 15th place - 25 points, 10% of pot
> 16th or lower - 15 points, 5% of pot

Regardless of ranking or the size of the week's pot, all players are guaranteed a "house minimum" of $20,000 base cash.

C. Bonuses - Points

There are four point bonuses available each week, labeled with the numbers 1-4 on the weekly results:

> "1" Bonus: Earn 4 MP for any single game (right slot & right result) - 5 points
> "2" Bonus: Score at least 6 MP total - 5 points
> "3" Bonus: Score at least 11 MP total - 10 points (in addition to those earned for the "2" bonus)
> "4" Bonus: Hold the lead in BOTH of MP and CP wire-to-wire, that is, starting at Game 1 and never losing either - 25 points

All bonuses combined equal a maximum bonus of 45 points for any given game of FPG.

D. Bonuses - Cash

Six Digits for Six Picks: Any player who correctly chooses all six pricing games receives a $200,000 cash bonus.

Key Games: Any game which is selected by at least one but less than five players is considered a "key game" (Mikedropper?). If these games appear on the show in questions, bonus cash is awarded to the players who picked them:

> Four players - $10,000 each
> Three players - $15,000 each
> Two players - $25,000 each
> Solo player - $50,000

While it is highly unlikely that a spoiler will be a key game, any spoiled game which does end up with less than five picks will not be entitled to bonus cash.

Play-Along: The Play-Along is transitioning to an every-game format this season, instead of being a special game once each fourth FPG. When submitting their FPG card, players should select one game to designate as their Play-Along game. If that game is a correct pick, then the player will earn cash equal to the total winnings of the contestant who played that pricing game times the MP scored for that game. That means a player may earn their contestant's winnings singly, doubled, quadrupled... or no bonus money at all, if their chosen game does not appear. Play-Along may NOT be used to select a game that is spoiled to be won - spoiled games with no obvious result may still be chosen.

Example: A player selects 1/2 Off as their Play-Along game. If 1/2 Off is not played, then no bonus cash is earned. If 1/2 Off does appear and exactly $10,000 is won, then the player will receive either $10,000, $20,000, or $40,000 depending on the accuracy of the slot and win/loss prediction they assigned to 1/2 Off.

Non-Car Game Played for a Car (NCFC): Up to three games per season, players may choose to mark a non-car pricing game in their lineup to be played for a car. If that game is played and does offer a car, the player will receive a $100,000 cash bonus. NCFC uses will be tracked on the leaderboard, and any attempt to use a fourth pick will be invalidated by the host.

Sleeper Six: Up to three times in a season, the host may declare a special "Sleeper Six" game of FPG. During a Sleeper Six game, each player may submit two sets of FPG picks. It is advised that the two sets of picks be in the same PM, but they will still be accepted if submitted separately.

A player's Sleeper Six lineups must contain twelve distinct games - no repeats are allowed between lineups. Any games repeated on both lineups and not corrected before the submission deadline will be disqualified from BOTH lineups and not scored on either. Players should select a Play-Along pick for both sets, and it may be a different slot on each lineup. Players may use NCFC picks during a Sleeper Six game - these picks will only count (INCLUDING against the player's three uses for the season) if the NCFC pick appears in the lineup which counts on the leaderboard.

The lineup which counts on the leaderboard shall be the one which scores highest, applying all tiebreaks as listed above. If both lineups score equally in all regards, then the lineup with the most bonus cash from key games/NCFC/Play-Along will be counted. If neither lineup offers more points or cash than the other, then the first lineup given will be considered official.

The host retains the right to add to, remove from, or otherwise modify point and cash totals. This includes adjustments made for spoilers or ineligible/dishonest players as well as any additional bonuses which may be instituted from time to time. No changes shall be made without appropriate posted notice.
« Last Edit: November 09, 2017, 02:19:26 AM by Punchboard91 »

Offline whammy007

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Re: 2016-17 FPG RULES
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2016, 09:05:02 PM »
ADDENDUM 11/2/16: Play-Along may NOT be used to select a game that is spoiled to be won - spoiled games with no obvious result may still be chosen.