Hallow-Xmas: Quick Reference Edition!

Eyewire, citizen science, Hallow-Xmas, holiday, Halloween, Xmas

As announced on Monday, we’ve got a big end-of-year bracket VS competition coming up: Hallow-Xmas, a wild holiday blend sure to simultaneously chill your bones and warm your heart!

Each stage will last for a little while, though, and since Qualifiers start after this weekend, here’s a quick reference version of the participation rules. Feel free to save this link if you need to look at a shorter summary than our original announcement. For science!

Event Calendar

Here’s when everything’s happening!

Hallow-Xmas, Eyewire, citizen science, calendar, Nurro, Halloween, Xmas

Qualifier times are Eastern Daylight Time; then all other times are Eastern Standard Time.

During Hallow-Xmas, all other normal monthly/weekly competition events are on pause! Monthly promotions will still take place, however.

Special Scythe treats: any cells finished between bracket rounds will receive double Scythe Complete bonuses!

Bracket Round Breakdown

Here’s how each round works! Remember to check your notifications for joining a team and viewing the leaderboard round-by-round.

Qualifiers

This determines how teams are formed. Play for as many points as you can; the top 16 players will then become Team Captains for the subsequent rounds. Each Team Captain gets to choose their team’s name.

Bonuses (50 cube minimum required):

  • The top 16 players earn a bonus equal to 75% of their base score + 20,000 points.
  • All other players earn a bonus equal to 50% of their score.

Round of 16

16 teams face off; the bottom 8 are eliminated at the end of the round. If you are not a Team Captain, you will choose one of these teams to play on.

Bonuses (50 cube minimum required):

  • The Starting Lineup will consist of the 2 best players on each team.
  • The Starting Lineup on each team will earn a bonus equal to 100% of their base score.
  • All other players on each team will earn a bonus equal to 50% of their base score.
  • The MVP (top-scoring player) on each team will earn an additional 20,000 points.

Quarterfinals

The 8 remaining teams face off; the bottom 4 are eliminated at the end of the round. If your team did not make the Quarterfinals, you can join a new team; if your team did advance, you stay on the same team.

Bonuses (50 cube minimum required):

  • The Starting Lineup will consist of the 4 best players on each team.
  • The Starting Lineup on each team will earn a bonus equal to 125% of their base score.
  • All other players on each team will earn a bonus equal to 50% of their base score.
  • The MVP (top-scoring player) on each team will earn an additional 30,000 points.

Semifinals

The 4 remaining teams face off; the bottom 2 are eliminated at the end of the round. If your team did not make the Semifinals, you can join a new team; if your team did advance, you stay on the same team.

Bonuses (50 cube minimum required):

  • The Starting Lineup will consist of the 8 best players on each team.
  • The Starting Lineup on each team will earn a bonus equal to 150% of their base score.
  • All other players on each team will earn a bonus equal to 50% of their base score.
  • The MVP (top-scoring player) on each team will earn an additional 40,000 points.

Trivia

While the hype builds for our Final VS, the inquizitor bot will throw you a boatload of questions about both autumn and winter holidays, plus questions about neuroscience and other science topics!

Bonuses:
For every question —
1st to answer – 300 points
2nd to answer – 200 points
3rd to answer – 100 points

Final

The remaining 2 teams face off; the winning team wins the entire Hallow-Xmas competition! If your team did not make the Final, you can join a new team; if your team did advance, you stay on the same team.

Bonuses (50 cube minimum required):

  • The Starting Lineup will consist of the 8 best players on each team.
  • The Starting Lineup on each team will earn a bonus equal to 200% of their base score.
  • All other players on each team will earn a bonus equal to 50% of their base score.
  • All members of the winning team who played at least 100 cubes will earn 100,000 points!!!
  • The MVP (top-scoring player) on each team will earn an additional 50,000 points.

What You Can Earn

If you participate in Hallow-Xmas, you have the chance to earn the bonuses outlined above, but there’s also some other stuff.

Swag

Two types of swag will be awarded at the end of the entire competition.

  • Final VS: a special personalized prize for everyone on the winning team + the MVP of the other team.
  • Trivia: a neuron clock for the top-scoring player.

Thank you again to @susi for her swag sponsorship!

Badges

  • Hallow-Xmas Player – Play during any event in Hallow-Xmas to earn this badge.
  • Gold, Silver, or Bronze in Hallow-Xmas – Gold and Silver will go respectively to members of the winning and losing teams in the Final. If you play in the Semifinal but do not play in the Final, you will earn the Bronze.
  • Original Team Member – If you were on the same team from Round of 16 to the Final, and your team wins the Final, you get this badge!
  • Team Captain – This badge is awarded to every team captain.
  • Starting Lineup – Win this badge for reaching the Starting Lineup rank during any round.
  • MVP – Win this badge for achieving MVP status during any round.
  • Best Team Name — Players will vote on their favorite team name. The Team Captain who came up with it wins this badge (not required to be in the final round to win). Any names chosen by HQ will not qualify for this badge.

Artwork by Amy Sterling