Return to Mirror World - Rules of the Game

Return to Mirror World - Contest Rules

The Return to Mirror World plot will be hosted by the Neopets Hive between August 6th, 2005, and August 18th, 2005. During that time, hundreds of visitors to this site will be attempting to complete the plot for their shot at a portion of the 500,000 Neopoint jackpots. Last year there was a minimal amount of cheating, but since there will be many more participants, we would like to make sure that everything is clear ahead of time.

Please remember that we will be keeping an eye on the Neoboads, as well as the NeoNewsNow forums (as will be the NNN staff). We will not be alone, however, because other participants in the plot and friends of the Neopets Hive will be patrolling for rule-breaking as well. Above all else, never forget that your reward will be larger if fewer people solve the puzzle.

Punishment for breaking rules: Disqualification; no Neopoints will be awarded. Severe incidents, if any, will be immediately reported to the Neopets Team.

Participants are not allowed to share passcodes, secret phrases, secret links, or any other solutions with other users. Giving hints is fine, but telling people to "go to this link" or "use this secret phrase" is strictly forbidden.

*UPDATE* Giving people hints which are too specific is now considered against the rules. If your hint is probably going to give users an unfair advantage, then it's against the rules.
If we catch anyone submitting the final solution from multiple accounts, we will disqualify every single username we suspect of being involved. This also means that you cannot work with a group of friends or a guild and then have all of them submit the final solution from their respective accounts. If you work as a group, you will have to share the prize as a group, whether it be 5,000 Neopoints or 500,000 Neopoints. We can't stop you from helping your friends, but for your sake and theirs, limit the assistance you provide so that everyone who gets a prize has earned it.
You DO NOT have to purchase any real items or use real Neopoints to participate. Everything you need to complete the plot is available on Mirror World.
Winners have two weeks after the final results are posted to collect their prizes. Since we've promised the donors, the participants, and the Neopets Team that we will not keep the donations from this contest, we will then donate any leftover Neopoints to the Money Tree.
We reserve the right to amend these rules as necessary at any point during the contest. Please check them regularly in order to avoid the risk of disqualification.

We also have a few side notes for you:

Please do not use the Neoboards to ask for help. There is no penalty for this as long as you do not break any of the rules, but usually during our contests the Neoboards become clogged with numerous threads asking for help, the end result being a very frustrated Neopets Team and many angry Neoboard regulars. Plus, people thinking that our contests are scams report prince_raptor and the people creating the threads to the Neopets Team, and we really don't want anyone's accounts frozen because of our contest... well, unless they blatantly break the rules
Please do not Neomail us with questions or asking for hints during the plot - we will not answer them. Everyone is expected to earn their prizes on their own. Plus, we will be busy monitoring the Neoboards, the NNN forums, and our bandwidth, and we'll be busy ensuring that everything is running smoothly. If something seems wrong, you may notify us, but please do not be offended if we don't respond to Neomails once the plot starts. With hundreds of participants, we will certainly have our hands full. Rest assured, once the plot is up, we will be 99% certain that it can be completed with the available information, and if we have any doubt, we will add additional info or locations.