The Rules

The basic premise is simple:

Who has the most T-shirts?
This is assessed by the contestants wearing a different T-shirt every day for as long as possible. The last person still wearing different T-shirts wins! This is known as the Longevity Contest.

Who has the best T-shirts?
This is judges on a daily basis with points awarded for each T-shirt. The winner is the person with the most points by the end of the contest. This is known as the Quality Contest.

The details of the competition, however, turned out to be much more complicated.
After much deliberation and many cups of tea, the rules for T-Shirt Wars were hammered out today:

T-SHIRT WARS

RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. OVERVIEW

There shall be two contests taking place concurrently: the Longevity Contest for the most consecutive days wearing of different T-shirts and the Quality Contest for the highest overall quality of T-shirts.

2. LONGEVITY CONTEST

For the Longevity Contest, contestants shall wear a different T-shirt each weekday for as long a period as possible. The winner will be the contestant who maintains this for the longest.

a. The basic rule for the Longevity Contest is that it is prohibited to wear the same T-shirt twice. The only exceptions to this rule are described in Rules 4a (Non-attendance of a contestant), 4b (Non-wearing of a T-shirt) and 3c (Exhaustion of T-shirt supply).

b. Wearing a T-shirt twice.

i. In the event that a contestant wears a T-shirt twice but this goes unnoticed during that day’s play, the contestant shall incur NO PENALTY.

ii. In the event that a contestant wears a T-shirt twice and is noticed on the same day, he shall score zero points for quality that day, shall incur one black mark and the other two contestants can compete for quality points that day and can wear their T-shirts again at a later date without penalty.

c. If two or more contestants tie for the Longevity Contest then the number of black marks shall come into play, and the player with the fewest black marks shall be deemed the winner. If there is still a tie then the player who received the first black mark loses.

d. When a contestant runs out of T-shirts he is forced to retire from the Longevity Contest. He can however continue in the Quality Contest under rule 3c (Exhaustion of T-shirt supply).

3. QUALITY CONTEST

For the Quality Contest, contestants’ T-shirts will be assessed each day by a different lab. Points will be awarded for the best (3 points), 2nd best (2 points) and worst (1 point) T-shirts that day. At the end of the contest the player with the most points wins.

a. The labs to judge the T-shirts will be 306, 207, 301/305 and 405/4th floor. The order each week shall be determined by the player who had the fewest points at the end of the previous week with each lab being used once per week with one being used twice at the choosing player’s discretion. The first week’s order will be determined at random.

b. Each lab will have up to two persons nominated to lead the deliberations as to the awarding of points. They may include the opinions of anyone in the lab and may use any criteria, although guidelines will be provided. Interesting comments concerning the awarding decision may be recorded but have no bearing on the overall result.

c. Exhaustion of T-shirt supply. In the event that a player has used all of his T-shirts he can then start wearing T-shirts a second time. However he cannot wear a T-shirt a third time until he has worn all of his T-shirts a second time. The penalty for doing this shall be the same as described in 2b) Wearing a T-shirt twice. The contestant may not acquire any new Quality points but any player ranked below him for a given day’s play shall receive no points.

d. End of Quality Contest

i. The Quality Contest will end on the last day of the Longevity Contest i.e. on the day that the winning player of the Longevity Contest wears his final T-shirt.

ii. In the event of a tie, the number of black marks shall be taken into account with the contestant with the fewest being deemed the winner.

iii. If the number of black marks are also tied then the number of ‘3 pointers’ shall come into play with the player with the highest number of three rankings declared the winner. Note: ‘3’ rankings achieved after the exhaustion of a player’s T-shirt supply will not be counted for this purpose.

iv. If there is still a tie then the tied players will enter into a ‘sudden-death’ play-off to be held the next working day. In this situation they can wear any T-shirt which will then be judged by all four labs with 306 having the casting vote.

4. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

a. Non-attendance of a contestant

i. In the event of a contestant not being able to be present on a particular day, it is the responsibility of that contestant to inform the other contestants by 10 p.m. the night before. That day is then counted as null and void.

ii. If a contestant is absent without prior warning then he shall score zero points for that day. The other contestants can then compete for 3 and 2 points respectively and can wear that day’s T-shirts again at a later date of their discretion.

b. Non-wearing of a T-shirt

i. If a contestant does not wear a T-shirt then he must give prior warning of this as per rule 4a(i).

ii. If no warning is given then the penalty shall be as for rule 4a(ii).

c. Prohibited shirts

i. No long sleeves

ii. No collars/polo shirts

iii. No borrowing of T-shirts (T-shirts already borrowed and in the contestant’s house at the commencement of the competition are exempt).

FIRST AMENDMENT – THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF TEES

Jokers and Hexes

a) Jokers

Each player shall have one Joker that can be played on any day of the competition. A Joker is a declaration of the player’s confidence in the quality of the T-shirt that he is planning to wear. As such, if he receives first or second place in the Quality Scoring, he shall receive an extra bonus point i.e. 4 or 3 points respectively. However, if his confidence is misplaced and he comes third, he forfeits his points for that day and scores zero.

b) Hexes

Each player shall have two Hexes that can be played on any day of competition. They can be played against either opponent or the same opponent twice. A Hex is way of nullifying the effects of an opponent’s T-shirt. The player must state which opponent he is placing the Hex on, and the Hexed player will score no points on that day of play. The other players receive the number of points that they would otherwise have scored i.e. 3 points for first place, 2 for second or 1 for last.

c) Playing a Joker or a Hex

Key facets of both Jokers and Hexes are that they are played before the other players have chosen their T-shirts for the day’s play, and also that those players are unaware that a Joker or Hex has been played. As such, in order to play a Joker or a Hex, on the day before the play, a player must write down his intention – including the name of the player being Hexed if appropriate – and give it in a sealed envelope to one of the judges for the day of the Joker/Hex. The judges cannot open the envelope until they have made their decision. Thus, the judging takes place as normal, but once the results are known, the envelope(s) is opened and any adjustments to the score made.

d) Combinations of Jokers and Hexes

Any combinations of Jokers and Hexes are allowed. In the event of a player being Hexed while playing a Joker, the Hex takes precedent and the player scores no points. If that player comes in third place that day (and would therefore have scored no points because of the Joker) there is no additional penalty. If a player is Hexed by two other players at the same time, the effect is the same as for one Hex. Other combinations of Jokers and Hexes are self-explanatory.

e) New Jokers and Hexes

By mutual agreement of all players, new Jokers and Hexes can be issued. In this case, any unused Jokers or Hexes can be carried over.

SECOND AMENDMENT – THE RIGHT TO BARE ARMS

When a player has used all of his T-shirts, he retires from the Longevity Contest but can start wearing his T-shirts again as part of the Quality Contest. In the original T-Shirt Wars Rules, the player could not score any further points. This is amended to allow the player to score half as many points as usual. In other words, he scores 1.5 points for a win, 1 point for 2^nd place and 0.5 points for third place. The other players score as normal (3, 2 and 1 points respectively). In the unlikely event that a player wears all his T-shirts a second time and commences a third cycle, he shall score quarter points and so on until the gain of points is so small as to approach zero and everyone gives up.

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