That's right fuckers, it's back! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water indeed!
Now before everyone gets too excited, there's a good reason that Jaws 2 is the presentational theme for this years tournament, and that's because just as Jaws 2 doesn't live up to the original Jaws, Tourney 2018 is not going to be of the same epic scale as 2017.
That said, Jaws 2 isn't the worst sequel ever made and similarly Tourney 2018 is still pretty good, it's just not as great as the original. 
Last year snallygaster was the overall champ, impressively holding off both cet1412 and the always dangerous brickwall. Will the experienced pros rise to the top again in 2018 or will some new contenders emerge?
How the Tournament will work
For those unfamiliar with last year's tournament, this is a completely different format to the long running 'Guess the Image' game thread. Here, I will be the only one who posts images, and everybody else tries to guess them to score points.
Each ‘round’ consists of at most 4 images from a single movie. Each time an image is posted, ALL players are allowed to take ONE guess at the identify of the movie VIA CRITICKER DIRECT MESSAGE. ...
..... I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. DO NOT POST THE ANSWER IN THIS THREAD OR ANY OTHER THREAD ON THE FORUMS ...
If 15 players correctly guess the movie, the round ends and a new one begins when the next image is posted. If 15 players do not guess correctly, the round continues with the next image from the same movie. After four images are played the next round will start regardless of how many correct answers have been played. In the event that more than 15 players guess correctly during the same active window, all players who were correct will score points.
Last year the 15 player limit never came into play but the rule stands in Tourney 2018.
As previously mentioned in the Discussion Thread, the biggest difference this year is that there will only be two images posted per day instead of 3. Yes, this means that the tourney is 33% smaller than 2017. The logic here is that two images a day makes it fairer for *all* timezones but there is also less demand on my own time both in terms of preparation and management when the tournament is running.
Images will be played at the same times every day and will remain ‘active’ and in play until the next one is posted. Because of the Direct Message (DM) system, there is no advantage to being ‘first’, so a correct guess sent hours after the image is posted has the same value as one sent after a few minutes. The image posting windows are as follows
Window 1 (12 hrs): Image is posted at 10.00 GMT (05.00 EST, 02.00 PST) and stays active until
Window 2 (12 hrs): Image is posted at 22.00 GMT (17.00 EST, 14.00 PST) and stays active until Window 1 reopens.
It's simpler this year. An image gets posted at the same time in the am and pm and you have 12 hours to play an image. Everybody should be able to manage this, and if you can't then you can just go f*** yourself
How the Scoring will work
Correct answers on the first image from a movie are worth 4 points
Second images are worth 3 points
Third images are worth 2 points
Fourth images are worth 1 point
All players are allowed one incorrect guess per round (not per image). Subsequent incorrect guesses will each incur a minus one point penalty.
Last year we had a secondary scoring system of Images vs Rebels (it was a star wars theme ... it made a small degree of sense ok!). I struggled to thematically reconcile a scoring system to the movie Jaws, so instead I will replace it with a topical system.
Harvey Weinstein vs The World!
Each time an image is posted, if 2 or more players score a correct answer within the active window, an allegation of sexual harrassment/assault is made public against Harvey Weinstein. If less than two correct answers are sent during the window, Harvey Weinstein's Lawyers successfully get a court injunction squashing an allegation which protects their client. At the end of the tournament, if there are more allegations than court injunctions, Harvey Weinstein is finished and has to crawl back into his Mansion filled with gold, never to be seen again. However if there are more court injunctions than allegations, Harvey Weinstein will be forgiven by the public and re-embraced by Hollywood and it will be all YOUR fault!
( Last year's players will know I regularly fucked with the secondary scoring system to keep it interesting so you can probably expect the same again
)****EDIT 4th Jan****Bonus Rounds
Every Saturday night (22.00 GMT (17.00 EST, 14.00 PST)) the standard round format will be replaced by a single standalone Bonus Round Image. 2 points will be awarded for correct answers. Unlike last year the bonus rounds will not be compulsory, nor will they involve points deductions for wrong answers. The current round will resume at the end of the 12 hour bonus round window.
The Leaderboards
At the end of each round (ie when moving on to the next movie) a confirmation of the players who scored points during the round will be posted. Cumulative Weekly Leaderboard updates will then be posted every Saturday morning to let everyone see the scoring progression and how they are doing overall against the other players. The final Leaderboard will be posted on the 1st of February when the Tournament winner will be revealed and crowned.
Official Rules
1. The Tournament starts at 10am GMT on Monday Jan 1st 2018 and concludes at 10am GMT on Fri 2nd Feb 2017 (In order to complete the active round) at which time the final leaderboards will be posted.
2. Players can play as many rounds as they like, and can join in when the tournament is already started if they choose.
3. Guesses must NOT be posted to the forums. As I said, I can not stress this enough. They MUST be submitted to me via criticker DIRECT MESSAGE. (To send a Direct Message, click my profile and 'send philamental a message' is right under my avatar). I have discussed this with mpowell who has agreed to ban offenders from the thread or even the site depending on the severity of the case.
4. Active images/rounds can be discussed in the Discussion Thread so long as the answers aren't posted or clues aren't given. It is ok however to speculate your thoughts if you wish "e.g. this one is really frustrating me. It's reminiscent of Lubezki but I can't place it."
5. Only one guess per image is permitted per player. Multiple guesses sent from the same player for a single image will result in that player being excluded from the rest of the round and a minus three point penalty score will be applied. If you realise the correct answer after you have already guessed, you must wait until the next image is posted before guessing again.
5. Internet searching is permitted. I have painstakingly verified that every single image that will be posted does not show up on Google Image Search or Tineye. If there is some method of image searching I've overlooked that reveals the answer, then I'd ask you to inform me immediately and avoid using it from that point on. Other than that, feel free to use the internet to help you identify the images as much as you want. Last year, some players found a movie by searching a car registration. Good for them! If you find a detective method that works for you, use it!
6. ALL of the selected movies have a minimum of 500 criticker ratings (click the film profile and scroll down to bottom of the reviews column)
7. I will accept abbreviated movie title answers that are undeniably clear; eg. 'To Wong Foo' is acceptable for 'To Wong Foo thanks for everything, Julie Newmar'
8. If the film is from a series or franchise the specific film must be named. A guess of 'Harry Potter' will not be accepted if the specific answer is 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' and will be considered an incorrect answer.
9. If an image is from a specific cut of the movie, I will accept any variation of the title e.g. 'Apocalypse Now'/Apocalypse Now Redux
10. I will attempt to apply and interpret the rules as fairly and consistently as possible, but I reserve the right to make exceptions to the rules or change them if I feel it is for the benefit of the tournament. My decisions are final.
11. Any further rule changes will be amended in this original post and referenced in the latest post of this thread and also in the discussion thread.
Other Points for Consideration
I can confirm that many of the movies selected are deliberately ones that I have not rated yet on criticker so you can't use my ratings as way to narrow your possibilities I'm afraid!
I aim to reply to all correct answers via DM before the next image is posted if the round is continuing. If I have time and opportunity I will reply to incorrect guesses as well, but if you do not receive a DM reply to your guess, you can take it that you were wrong.
I'm one person and can't guarantee a flawless experience. If I screw up during the month, deal with it. If I make a decision that you don't like, tough. If events in my personal life result in an image being delayed or being missed out entirely then it's out of my control. If I anticipate being unable to post an image on time due to work or personal commitment I may choose to post it early but I'll try to avoid doing this if I can.
The tournament is meant to be a challenge for all the cinephiles on the criticker website to test their knowledge against others, but it's also meant to be a bit of fun and a distraction from our day to day lives, so treat it that way and don't take it too seriously.
For any questions, comments or discussion, please post in the Discussion Thread here ... https://www.criticker.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6873
Let’s see who will triumph in this epic month long battle!
