Introduction
Hello and welcome to the Gobstones Club! Gobstones is a magical game similar to marbles & petanque played by Muggles, except that the balls spit up gob [a foul smelling liquid] in the face of the opposing player when they lose a point! The version of Gobstones we will be playing this term is Jack Stone, in which you must position your Gobstone closer to the Jack Stone within the circle than your opponent.
Advisers
Professor J. Descoteaux (Maxilocks)
Professor J. Hadley (PhoenixRising)
****** The Game House Teams
Each student will serve as a representative of their House and have the opportunity to participate in the Gobstones Tournament. There will be no set number of members on the team, and thus, NO TRYOUTS. Everyone gets to play if they wish to do so (even Mods and Quidditch team members) by choosing to answer for their House whenever a question is asked! Also, there are no ‘positions,’ so any person can answer any question at any time.
Tournament
The tournament will consists of four matches, two preliminary, one Consolation and one Championship match. The matches will be open in their own threads and will last for approximately
2 weeks, which is plenty of time to allow for people in different time zones and with differing schedules to be involved. The preliminary matches will run one approximately simultaneously, with the consolation match occurring before the Championship match. All matches will conclude before finals week.
Format
These matches will be played using a question-answer format, similar to that used for Quidditch matches in the School RPG. Questions will be categorized by academic subjects that include: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Current Events (pertains to Hogwarts, A History for the School RPG), Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Flying and Quidditch, History of Magic (includes Harry's time at Hogwarts and anything prior), Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration.
Scoring
Each match is divided into eight rounds. Each round consists of three questions of varying challenge levels – Easy, Moderate, and Difficult, and varying subjects, with some questions combining subjects. Each question will be asked to BOTH Houses simultaneously in a head-to-head situation.
Each house gets ONE CHANCE ONLY to answer the question, so only one player (presumably, whoever gets there first and thinks they know the answer) should answer from each House. (Please do not post the same answer multiple times from different players of the same house. Answers from the same house posted
4 or more minutes apart will be penalized so make sure you refresh when necessary.) The first House to answer correctly will get their ball closer to the Jack Stone than their opponent and earn one point for that round.
If a house answers and the opposing house believes the answer to be incorrect, that opposing house has the opportunity to answer the question correctly (provided that they have not already given another answer.) If the first House is incorrect and the second House is correct, the ball belonging to the first house will be "knocked" out of the circle and out of play. The second house's ball will be considered closest to the jack stone, thus earning them one point for that question. If both houses get the question wrong on their first attempt, both stones will roll out of the circle, out of play, and there will be no score for that question.
The House with the most points (best out of three) for each round will win that round. Each subsequent round will be played the same way until 8 rounds have been completed. However, when one house leads the other in five rounds, the match could be completed prior to the eight rounds. The house with the most won rounds will have rolled their Gobstone closest to the pit and win the match. In the event of a tie, either within a round or between rounds, there will be a tie-breaker question or round of questions, respectively.
House Points
The winning house of the championship match will receive seventy-five house points.
During each match a player of the match will be selected. This person will be the individual who answers the most questions correctly and need not be on the winning team in order to become player of the match. The player of the match will receive ten points for their house.
Example: Here is what a question from a round may look like:
Quote:
Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw
Subject: Ancient Runes
Round 1, Question 1
Difficulty: Easy
Question: Which rune is known as the Rune of Chance, Mystery, and Science?
Now say, Slytherin answered first with the following:
Since this answer is correct, my reply (as Club Adviser) might look like this:
Quote:
The Slytherin player rolls the stone at just the right speed and angle, putting their gobstone as close to the jack stone as you can get! Ravenclaw's stone overshoots and rolls out of the circle! ٍSlytherin's stone spits up that foul-smelling nastiness into the face of the Ravenclaw player!
Round 1 Score
Question 1 - Slytherin
Match Score
Slytherin: 0 rounds
Ravenclaw: 0 rounds
Responsibilities
All members on each team are expected to act with decorum both in the school RP and on the SS site. Any abuse or perceived unsportsmanlike conduct behavior by any member of a House (player or not) can result in House Point deduction, detention, banning from the Gobstones club, loss of the match, and/or expulsion from the site.
Infractions and Penalties Editing
Editing your post is not allowed. If you are caught editing your answer to a question during a match, the opposing team will automatically be awarded the point for that question, regardless of their answer. If the behavior continues, you will be banned from the club. You have been warned.
Posting in the Match Thread
If someone other than one of the houses playing posts in the match thread, House points will be deducted. Five House points will be deducted from their House Point total. Repeat offenders will be placed in detention
and/or banned from the Gobstones Club.
The Viewing Area
This thread, much like the stands for Quidditch, is provided as a place to RP your character watching a Gobstones match. You may RP supporting your team or other teams and react to plays accordingly. This is not where Gobstones questions should be answered and SS rules apply at all times in this thread as well as general school rules.