Eyewire Winter Games 2018: Speed Skating Marathon

eyewire, winter games, citizen-science, marathon, speed skating

Can you imagine an actual winter marathon? People do run them, but besides the usual challenges of running 26 miles nonstop, there’s that whole “subzero temperature” thing (Celsius or Fahrenheit, take your pick). Hard to say whether we’ll see such an event at the Winter Olympics in the future. Meanwhile, there’s certainly one highly watchable winter racing sport that might have been on your TV this month: speed skating!

Speed skating’s been an officially regulated sport since 1763, when the first such event was held in eastern England. How about a little race of our own? Starting at 8:00 AM EST on 2/21, you will have 24 hours to complete 1-2 cells and race to complete the most laps (er, cubes) in the process!

Swag (generously sponsored by @susi): 1 shirt, 1 mug, 1 poster, and 3 sticker sheets will be raffled among the top 25% of participating players!

Bonuses for Normal Play

Trace 20 cubes – 2,000 point bonus
Trace 50 cubes – 5,000 point bonus
Trace 150 cubes – 20,000 point bonus
Trace 300 cubes – 40,000 point bonus
For every 150 cubes above 300 cubes – 2,500 point bonus

Also, many of you will be eligible to rename the cell afterward, as follows:

  • Each player who traces at least 50 cubes will win the right to vote on a name for the marathon cell.
  • Each player who traces at least 200 cubes will win the right to nominate a name for that vote.

If the first cell finishes before the 24-hour mark, a second marathon cell will be launched to see if it can finish by that mark as well. Should the second cell indeed finish on time, it will earn the second-place name vote.

Special Guidelines for Scythes

Full info is here on the post for our first Scythe Marathon, but just to remind you of the current scheme:

Bonus: Instead of 5,000 points for SCing 100 cubes, for a marathon this reward doubles to 10,000! To maximize your possible bonus potential, we recommend that you first focus on tracing your fill and then starting your SC mission. That way the cell grows quickly and you hand yourself at least 30k or 50k total.

Naming: Admins will be counting every 3 SC votes as 1 cube added to your cube count for naming eligibility. So, for instance, you can trace 100 cubes, SC 300 cubes, and still earn nominating rights, or achieve the same result by tracing 150 cubes and SCing 150.

On your mark, get set, go!

Artwork by Daniela Gamba