THE RULES
Overview
Each player takes the role of director of their very own professional cyclocross team. The aim of the Velogames:CX contest is to score the most points during the entire race series from mid-October through to the World Championships at the end of the 2011-12 cyclocross season!- the historic one-day races that form the spine of the early-season cycling calendar.
As a director, you must select a team of six riders, sticking to a team selection budget. Your riders will score points in the eligible Velogames:CX races, which take place in Europe and North America.
Races are split into four categories: Cat 1 (World Championships), Cat 2 (UCI World Cup races), Cat 3 (Other International Races), Cat 4 (Elite National Championships).
Each category of race has a set points schedule, and riders will score your team points by finishing in the leading positions in each of these races, gaining points in line with the Velogames:CX scoring system.
Directors are allocated 16 transfers during the season, which they can use to change their team before each weekend of racing. Transfers allow you to keep your team competitive throughout the season, so make the correct team changes at the correct time to move your team up the leaderboard!
Team Entry
Players must use the online entry form to submit their team.
Team entries must be submitted before the entry cut-off for each Game Weekend, else they will only become effective at the next available deadline.
The entry cut-off for the first Game Weekend of Velogames:CX is 12:00 CEST on Sunday 23rd October 2011. You must submit your team by this deadline to have a chance to score maximum points during the contest. Leter entries will become active when the next Game Weekend deadline passes.
Team Selection Criteria
Each director must select a team of six riders from the official Velogames:CX rider list.
In order that each director creates a balanced team, there is a budget of 100 velocredits (the Velogames currency) set down for team selection.
Each rider is given a value in velocredits, based on their prospective points-scoring abilities. The velocredits values are based on past results and recent form, with an emphasis towards those riders who have been successful in previous editions of the World Cups and World Championships, along with a small premium for the top North America-based pros.
Rider credit values will not change for the duration of the Velogames:CX season.
For the Velogames:CX game, there are no other team selection criteria apart from staying within the velocredits limit and selecting a team of six riders.
Scoring Points
Points are allocated to riders based on their real-life performance in each event, subject to the Velogames:CX Scoring System.
Points are awarded for finishing positions, with each race graded into Cat 1, Cat 2, Cat 3 and Cat 4, depending on the status of the race.
A higher amount of points are awarded for the Cat 1 race compared to the Cat 2 races, while Cat 2 races score more points the Cat 3, and so on.
Please check the Velogames:CX schedule for full details of each race, and their scoring category, on the calendar
And for a full breakdown of how to score points in Velogames:CX, please visit the Scoring System page.
Pre-Game Team Changes
Each director can make unlimited team changes to their squad of six riders prior to the entry deadline of Game Weekend 1 at 12:00 CET on Sunday 16th October. Once this entry deadline has passed, the six riders set for each team at the deadline will be used for scoring purposes during the first Game Weekend, and no team changes will be allowed until the weekend's racing is completed.
In-Game Team Changes / Transfer Windows
Velogames:CX allows directors to change their roster of riders before the start of each Game Weekend. This allows directors to select a team most suitable for the upcoming races and prevents any problems where a direcetor may find themselves with a squad of riders who are not competing in any particular event.
Directors are allocated 16 transfers, which they can use to make team changes.
The Transfer Window for each Game Weekend opens at the culmination of the previous Game Weekend's racing, once the scoring update for that Game Weekend has been completed.
The Transfer Window will close at the deadline listed for the upcoming Game Weekends, at which point in time the six selections for each director will be locked for the duration of the Game Weekend's duration.
No transfers can be made while a Game Weekend is in progress- so pick your six riders carefully to ensure you have coverage over all events due to take place within the Game Weekend!
When a director runs out of their 16 allocated transfers for the season, they may not make any more team changes, so make sure to keep some transfers in reserve until the high-value races at the tail-end of the Velogames:CX campaign!
Game Weekends and Selection Deadlines
There are 15 Game Weekends in the Velogames:CX series.
Game Weekends may contain several races, on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, as set down in the Velogames:CX race calendar.
The Game Weekends are as follows:
Weekend 1 - Sunday 23rd October
Weekend 2 - Saturday 29th October & Sunday 24th October
Weekend 3 - Saturday 5th November & Sunday 6th November
Weekend 4 - Saturday 12th November & Sunday 13th November
Weekend 5 - Saturday 19th November & Sunday 20th November
Weekend 6 - Saturday 26th November & Sunday 27th November
Weekend 7 - Saturday 3rd December & Sunday 4th November
Weekend 8 - Saturday 10th December & Sunday 11th December
Weekend 9 - Saturday 17th December & Sunday 18th December
Weekend 10 - Monday 26th December
Weekend 11 - Sunday 1st January
Weekend 12 - Saturday 7th January & Sunday 8th January
Weekend 13 - Sunday 15th January
Weekend 14 - Sunday 22nd January
Weekend 15 - Sunday 29th January
Directors may use their allocated transfers (up to a maxmium of 16 for the season) between each Game Weekend.
Team rosters are set for each Game Weekend at the stated deadlines below, at which time Team Changes will be locked for the duration of the Game Weekend.
Directors must therefore make their transfers before the deadline passes for each upcoming Game Weekend.
The deadlines, which are subject to change due to schedule alterations, are as follows:
Weekend 1 - 12:00 CET - Sunday 23rd October
Weekend 2 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 29th October
Weekend 3 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 5th November
Weekend 4 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 12th November
Weekend 5 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 19th November
Weekend 6 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 26th November
Weekend 7 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 3rd December
Weekend 8 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 10th December
Weekend 9 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 17th December
Weekend 10 - 12:00 CET - Monday 26th December
Weekend 11 - 12:00 CET - Sunday 1st January
Weekend 12 - 12:00 CET - Saturday 7th January
Weekend 13 - 12:00 CET - Sunday 15th January
Weekend 14 - 12:00 CET - Sunday 22nd January
Weekend 15 - 12:00 CET - Sunday 29th January
Note that all times listed above are Central European Time, which is one hour ahead of British time and five hours ahead of US Eastern Time.
It is the responsibility of each director to make sure they submit their selections on time.
Leaderboards
Each leaderboard is formed from the total points gained by each team.
There are two main types of leaderboard: the Overall Leaderboard and Game Weekend Leaderboards.
The Overall Leaderboard is made up of the cumulative points total gained across the entire Velogames:CX season, and is therefore main leaderboard in the game.
Individual Game Weekend Leaderboards are for the lesser glory of scoring the most points across any single racing weekend.
Entry Fees and Prizes
The Velogames:CX series is a free-to-play game.
Prizes are provided by Cyclocross Magazine and reward the top-performing directors on a weekly basis.
OVERALL PRIZES
The main overall prize will be awarded to the director of the team that scores the most points across the entire Velogames:CX campaign.
The winning director will receive a six-month digital subscription to Cyclocross Magazine, a Cyclocross Magazine jersey or jacket, plus polo shirt and supporters' cowbell, and a set of Clement PDX Tubular Cyclocross Tires.
The director of the second-placed team will be awarded a digital subscription to Cyclocross Magazine, a polo shirt and a pair of Kenda tires.
And the third-placed director will get a digital subscription, a Cyclocross Magazine t-shirt and a souvenir pack of Cyclocross Magazine back issues.
WEEKLY PRIZES
There are fifteen weekly prizes on offer, awarded to the director of the team that finishes top of the leaderboard for each weekend of the game.
So even if you fall behind early on in the overall leaderboard, there's still everything to play for on a week-by-week basis!