Death Pool 2010 Official Rules

Entry fee: $10.  This can be cash next time I see you, or by mail if I won’t see you by 12/30.

Numbers of celebrities: 25.  We generally don’t run into problems with the definition of a celebrity.  There will be a one-week probationary period January 1 – 8 where anyone will be able to review the lists and dispute celebrity status.  We’ll take a vote on it, and the name will stay in or the player will be allowed to choose a replacement.

List and cash due to me: No later than December 30, please format your list in an Excel sheet.

Start date: January 1, 2010

End Date: December 31, 2010

Payout: 1 person will be paid for every 4 entrants (no rounding), meaning if there are 12-15 players, the top 3 will be paid; if there are 16-19 players then the top 4 will be paid.  The payout structure for top 3 will be 70%-20%-10%, and this will slide accordingly based on the number of entrants.

If someone happens to die after you’ve submitted your list but before January 1, you can pick another name (sorry no points!).

Points: Awarded as 100-[age at death]. So, if a 72 year-old dies you get 28 points.  If a 102 year old dies, you get -2 points.  Please keep this in mind, Hags.  Also, if you choose someone who is already dead, you’ll win a No-Research Award.  Hags already has 4: a regular, Platinum, Diamond, and Lifetime Achievement.  I can’t wait to find out which dead person he’ll pick this year.

For reference, there were 11 players in 2009 and as of November 16, the leader has 187 points, and the lowest score is 43, with a fairly even spread in the middle.  A scoreboard will be kept on the sidebar of this site.

Once I get all the lists I will post them on Google Docs on January 1 and link to them in the sidebar.

When the game starts I’ll put together an informational list like last year for the celebrities.

If you are found to have any involvement in the death of any of your picks you will be disqualified.

If you have any questions, e-mail me or use the Facebook group until the game officially starts, then all communication can be done on this site through comments.  Good luck!