Difference between revisions of "Competitions"

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Through EyeWire, the general public can get involved in our research. We offer competitions about once a week where you can earn more points while still helping to map the retinal connectome.
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Through Eyewire, the general public can get involved in our research. We offer competitions about once a week where you can earn more points while still helping to map the [[Retinal Connectomics | retinal connectome]].
  
EyeWire challenges have varied; many are points-based, but some are cube-based, and some are even accuracy-based. For an accuracy based challenge the person with the highest average percentage correct is awarded the victory. Points are deducted for incorrectness.
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Eyewire challenges have varied; many are points-based, but some are cube-based, and some are even [[F-Scores and Accuracy| accuracy]]-based. Here are the different competition formats so far.
  
===Happy Hours===
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===VS Competitions===
[[File:Happy-happy-happy-hour-eyewire.jpg|right|200px]]
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Also every Friday between 2 and 4 pm eastern time, [http://blog.eyewire.org/standard-happy-hours-2/ Happy Hours] are hosted. The goal of Happy Hour is to earn as many points as possible. When a certain point threshold is reached, you will earn a bonus. These bonuses stack and are awarded after the Happy Hour has finished. crazyman4865's crazybot is used to track the points earned by the players. Occasionally, when it's a holiday,  someone's birthday, or some other time for celebration, a spontaneous Happy Hour will be held with it's own rules.
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===The Winter Games===
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Each VS competition is held '''every other week from Thursday at 11:00 AM Eastern to Friday at 11:00 AM Eastern'''. When signups are running, select a team in your notification popup, then you'll be registered; you can change teams up until the competition has actually started. Averaged points per player are how we determine which team wins.
  
In February of 2014, EyeWire held it's very own [http://blog.eyewire.org/welcome-to-the-eyewire-games/ Winter Games], to celebrate the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Many of these challenges will be repeated for fun at random points throughout the year.
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===Happy Hours===
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These weekly challenges began by happening '''every Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern'''. Learn the full rules [https://blog.eyewire.org/hh/ here]. HQ then added Happy Hour 180 for players on the opposite side of the globe from HQ; Happy Hour 180 runs '''every Thursday from 8:00 to 10:00 AM Eastern'''. And now, most recently, there is HH3 ("Happy Hour Cubed") for those folks playing Eyewire '''every Friday from 10:00 PM to midnight Eastern'''. Enrollment for all of these events is automatic.
  
====The Hunt====
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===Marathons===
  
One of the [http://wiki.eyewire.org/en/GrimReaper/ GrimReaper's] favorite events, [http://blog.eyewire.org/winter-games-hunt/ The Hunt], was held during the Winter Games. A hunt is when the GrimReaper creates mergers in cell for the players to find, but some are very tricky to find. But when hunting one must be careful, for everyone has a limited number of guesses.
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Every month there is a 24-hour period for all Eyewirers to focus together on speed-growing one cell and then finishing as many other existing cells as possible. This falls somewhere in the second half of the month, most often '''the fourth or fifth Wednesday''' but sometimes the third. In odd-number months, marathons start at '''8:00 ''PM'' Eastern''', while in even-number months, they start at '''8:00 ''AM'' Eastern'''. You receive bonuses based on how many cubes you trace. Enrollment for this event is automatic.
  
====The Marathon====
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===Challenge Weeks===
  
One of the games that was introduced during the Winter Games was the [http://blog.eyewire.org/eyewire-marathon/ Marathon]. The players were challenged to complete an entire cell in just 26.2 hours! This game has become widely popular and different variations on it have been held since then. [[File:CeremonyGrims.png|right]]
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Every couple of months, we hold a series of thematically linked challenges with a simple storyline behind them. This began with the Eyewire Winter Games to commemorate the 2014 Winter Olympics, eventually followed by the Chemical Z competition for Halloween that year. With the help of our own players, we have now developed these events into more regular occurrences. These competitions typically take place in the lead-up to our player promotions. Challenge week events usually include an Accuracy Happy Hour, The Hunt (or Evil Cubes), Trivia, a VS Challenge, and a Marathon. The last two events work just like they always do, but the first few only happen during challenge weeks.
  
====Trivia====
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====Accuracy Happy Hours====
  
While most of the challenges had to do with tracing cubes, one did not. A chat bot, Inquizitor, was created to hold EyeWire Trivia! In trivia, points are awarded for correct answers, but you have to be quick, because more points are awarded if you answer first.
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When Eyewire holds an Accuracy Happy Hour, the time window and basic points-based bonuses are the same as for a normal Happy Hour. However, additional bonuses can be earned based on how accurately players trace during the time window.
  
====Evil Cube Challenge====
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====The Hunt====
  
By far the evilest challenge of them all was the [http://blog.eyewire.org/evil-cube-challenge/ Evil Cube Challenge]. For this challenge 10 of the GrimReaper's hardest cubes were chosen and given to players, and the players had to trace them as best as they could.
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HQ launches a special cell with 12 mergers; players have 24 guesses to send a chat bot about where they think the mergers are located. Bonuses are allocated based on how many mergers a player finds and how close their coordinates were. Full Hunt rules and guidelines can be found [https://blog.eyewire.org/how-to-hunt-in-eyewire/ here]. A few Scythes typically assist with preparing the Hunt cell. Note that this event only takes place in February, June, and October.
  
===Team Challenges===
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====Evil Cubes====
  
In May of 2014, EyeWire HQ released a new way for teams of people to compete against each other. The developers had created a way for EyeWire players to join a team and then the teams points would be tracked in a separate leaderboard! This system is highly effective and fun!
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HQ launches two special sets of 12 cubes apiece; all the cubes are moderately to highly tricky to trace with 100% accuracy, hence the designator "evil." Bonuses are allocated based on a player's most accurate performance between either set of cubes. A few Scouts and Scythes typically assist with collecting cubes deemed suitably "evil." Note that this event only takes place in April, August, and December.
  
===Other Challenges===
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====Trivia====
 
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====Crazyman Challenge====
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The [http://blog.eyewire.org/announcing-the-crazyman-challenge/ Crazyman Challenge] started because EyeWire user crazyman4865, the then all-time high-score record holder, was challenged by other EyeWire users. In a valiant attempt, Crazyman was defeated by a5hm0r, forcing him to reliquish his title. This challenge was entirely points-based and spontaneous. For spontaneous challenges like this, one can either nominate themselves or be challenged by other users. If you think you've got what it takes, and your points record shows it, give a spontaneous challenge a try.
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For just over 48 hours, a chat bot asks questions on the hour (and every two minutes in the last hour). These questions may be about neuroscience, other science topics, Eyewire facts, or topics related to the challenge week's theme. Bonuses are allocated based on the first three players to answer correctly, or in the case of numerical questions, how close to the correct number someone guessed.
  
====Crazybot Duels====
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===Bracketed Competitions=== <!--T:8-->
  
Crazyman has created another feature in his crazybot that allows a player to challenge another player to a [http://crazyman4865.com/crazybot/duel.php duel!] The players can set up start and finish times, and they can even decide to base it on cubes or points!
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With the beta Eyewire Cup in [https://blog.eyewire.org/eyewire-cup/ 2014] and a full-blown version in [https://blog.eyewire.org/welcome-to-the-eyewire-cup/ 2018], we have experimented in how to compete with brackets just like for sporting events. This may become a more regular event in the future.

Latest revision as of 17:19, 6 August 2019

Through Eyewire, the general public can get involved in our research. We offer competitions about once a week where you can earn more points while still helping to map the retinal connectome.

Eyewire challenges have varied; many are points-based, but some are cube-based, and some are even accuracy-based. Here are the different competition formats so far.

VS Competitions

Each VS competition is held every other week from Thursday at 11:00 AM Eastern to Friday at 11:00 AM Eastern. When signups are running, select a team in your notification popup, then you'll be registered; you can change teams up until the competition has actually started. Averaged points per player are how we determine which team wins.

Happy Hours

These weekly challenges began by happening every Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern. Learn the full rules here. HQ then added Happy Hour 180 for players on the opposite side of the globe from HQ; Happy Hour 180 runs every Thursday from 8:00 to 10:00 AM Eastern. And now, most recently, there is HH3 ("Happy Hour Cubed") for those folks playing Eyewire every Friday from 10:00 PM to midnight Eastern. Enrollment for all of these events is automatic.

Marathons

Every month there is a 24-hour period for all Eyewirers to focus together on speed-growing one cell and then finishing as many other existing cells as possible. This falls somewhere in the second half of the month, most often the fourth or fifth Wednesday but sometimes the third. In odd-number months, marathons start at 8:00 PM Eastern, while in even-number months, they start at 8:00 AM Eastern. You receive bonuses based on how many cubes you trace. Enrollment for this event is automatic.

Challenge Weeks

Every couple of months, we hold a series of thematically linked challenges with a simple storyline behind them. This began with the Eyewire Winter Games to commemorate the 2014 Winter Olympics, eventually followed by the Chemical Z competition for Halloween that year. With the help of our own players, we have now developed these events into more regular occurrences. These competitions typically take place in the lead-up to our player promotions. Challenge week events usually include an Accuracy Happy Hour, The Hunt (or Evil Cubes), Trivia, a VS Challenge, and a Marathon. The last two events work just like they always do, but the first few only happen during challenge weeks.

Accuracy Happy Hours

When Eyewire holds an Accuracy Happy Hour, the time window and basic points-based bonuses are the same as for a normal Happy Hour. However, additional bonuses can be earned based on how accurately players trace during the time window.

The Hunt

HQ launches a special cell with 12 mergers; players have 24 guesses to send a chat bot about where they think the mergers are located. Bonuses are allocated based on how many mergers a player finds and how close their coordinates were. Full Hunt rules and guidelines can be found here. A few Scythes typically assist with preparing the Hunt cell. Note that this event only takes place in February, June, and October.

Evil Cubes

HQ launches two special sets of 12 cubes apiece; all the cubes are moderately to highly tricky to trace with 100% accuracy, hence the designator "evil." Bonuses are allocated based on a player's most accurate performance between either set of cubes. A few Scouts and Scythes typically assist with collecting cubes deemed suitably "evil." Note that this event only takes place in April, August, and December.

Trivia

For just over 48 hours, a chat bot asks questions on the hour (and every two minutes in the last hour). These questions may be about neuroscience, other science topics, Eyewire facts, or topics related to the challenge week's theme. Bonuses are allocated based on the first three players to answer correctly, or in the case of numerical questions, how close to the correct number someone guessed.

Bracketed Competitions

With the beta Eyewire Cup in 2014 and a full-blown version in 2018, we have experimented in how to compete with brackets just like for sporting events. This may become a more regular event in the future.