This is where you will track your points for the 2025 Summer Reading Contest. As soon as you’ve registered, make a post to keep a tally of your featured comments here. Failure to do this may result in your comments not being counted towards your group’s total. Remember not to edit-lock anyone else’s posts. You may also use this thread to discuss strategies, chat about the contest, and keep tabs on your competition using the leaderboard.
🏆The Review Bored (Cavus, Fluxion and Mousecore): 158.5 🏅 The Final Draft (Fresh, Goodnight and Cat): 146 🏅The Worst (Shadowdrake, Benholman and NotSoSpecial): 70 ☼ Rapid Reviewers ☼
Grill Night and the Newbies (Liminal, Kage and Yummyfood): 68 The Bakers (YellowCake, RK and TDuck): 59.5 Winter's Wrath (IcePrincess, Petros and DarkSoul): 51 Penguin Paparazzi (ProminentPenguin, Jster and Clayfinger): 30.5 𓊝 Cruising Critics 𓊝 Mercer Gang (Anthraxus, Enter and UnescapableDeath): 2.5 Team 3 is Fucked (Darius, Mizal and Suranna): 2 The Thug Shakers (Bezro): 0.5 ⚘ Stranded at Sea ⚘ Team 5 (Corgi, Milton and MrAce): 0 Last edited: 18/7
🥇Cat: 152 🥈RK: 75.5 🥉Cavus: 67.5 ⋆ The Prolific Ones ⋆ Fluxion: 51 IcePrincess: 44 ≫ The Somewhat Skilled ≪ Benholman: 29 Shadowdrake: 26 Mousecore: 25 Clayfinger: 24.5 Liminal: 18 YellowCake: 17 𖥧 The Amateurs 𖥧 Fresh: 8 Darksoul: 7 Jster: 6 𓋼 The Time-Challenged 𓋼 Anthraxus: 2.5 Suranna: 2 Yummyfood: 2 Goodnight: 1 Bezro: 0.5 𖦹 The Soon-To-Be Shamed 𖦹 Corgi: 0 Darius: 0 Enterpride: 0 Milton: 0 Mizal: 0 MrAce: 0 NotSoSpecial: 0 Petros: 0 Prominent: 0 TDuck: 0 UnescapableDeath: 0 Disqualified Daiki: 137 Last edited: 18/7
Current reviews: 3
Current featured: 2
Current teammate(s): Liminal and whats his name
Most recent reviews:
Searching for Sunsets
Red Fools
Battlefield Commander
Reviews: 13
Featured: 5
Total Points: 18
Team: Grill Night and The NewbieS
Games Reviewed:
Team: The Worst
Total Points: 26
Stories Reviewed:
Points Scoring
In light of the new scoring system for reviews, it would be appreciated if you could keep track of story length on your posts. You may use this table if it helps:
Total Points:
I will copy this table and fill it out... just curious though... it says we accumulate points daily. If we get switched teams do we keep our points and take them with us? Or do they stay with that team?
As Will said, the points would stay with the team. Any card-related powerups only affects team points, e.g. doubling your points for the day doubles the team's score but not individual rankings. This also prevents teams from just stealing the top scoring member on the last few weeks of the contest to win.
I do not envy those who have to track daily point totals... all of our threads are setup to track total points without a way to track points for just the day...
Perhaps I can add a date to the "games reviewed" section to help?
I'll be keeping a spreadsheet of points earned each week, along with the cards that are used and the effect they will have. But adding a date to your games reviewed section would definitely be helpful.
Yeah, I've added it where I list the games reviewed for you. I have no clue how this is working... but I feel the dates will be important. I did make a decision that the date commended, not the date the review was left, is what is listed.
Also good to see Mizal shirking responsibilities! I guess CYStia does never change.
Team: #3 with Mizal and Darius
Reviews:
Escaping the Pit of Sin, by Yummyfood (3/8) (Featured)
Gay and Depressed in Prison, RKrallanor (2/8) (Featured)
Points I have: 2
Reviewed:
Featured:
KOBOLD KEBABS Play length: 4
A Bird in a Cage Play length: 4
Alpha Wolf Play length: 6
Eternal Play length: 8
The Pure, the Vile, and the Deadly Play length: 7
Death Song Play length: 6
Point Total: 29
Team: ~The Review Bored~ (CavusRex and Mousecore)
(Space reserved to screw with people who wonder why a space would be reserved within an editable post, making them waste time reading this sentence....)
Reviews: 37.
Mole. Play length: 2. (Featured)
The Knight Order of the Golden Sun. Play length: 6. (Featured)
A Hill to Die On. Play length: 3.
A Prayer For Destruction. Play length: 4. (Featured)
Wholesome Dog's Birthday Adventure. Play length: 2. (Featured)
Propheteering. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Dog Day. Play length: 2.
The City and the Tower. Play length: 2.
Day of the Dead--One Soul's All Souls Procession. Play length: 2.
Saturday Bike Ride. Play length: 6. (Featured)
Color Your Own Adventure (webcomic) . Play length: 1 (But this is deceptive: all the words are on images. It felt more like a 3 or 4.).
Julia. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Avarga. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Tane no Monogatari. Play length: 1.
Temple of Spades. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Awakening of the Tower (Roguelike RPG). Play length: 2.
Forgotten Rose. Play length: 1. (Featured)
Merlin: Origins.. Play length: 5.
Love is for the Birds.. Play length: 3. (Featured)
The Little Princess of the Forest. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Slaying the Scourge. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Paper-Mache. Play length: 6. (Featured)
Nautilus. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Treatise on Heartly Manners. Play length: 6. (Featured)
Halloween Fright. Play length: 2.
A City Lost. Play length: 4. (Featured)
Terrorist. Play length: 4. (Featured)
The wolves of the sea. Play length: 2. (Featured)
The End of Creation. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Biscuits and Ghosts. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Siren. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Inseparable. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Twin Arrows. Play length: 5. (Featured)
The Mayoral Campaign.Play length: 2. (Featured)
Ineptitude 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO.Play length: 2. (Featured)
The Christmas Crossing. Play length: 4. (Featured)
Sacrifice. Play length: 2. (Featured)
***
Featured: 28 (So far, my batting average is [perfumed] ass. Fortunately, I have good teammates.)
Points I should have: 51 (Four featured length 6, seven length 5, sixteen length 4, 3, 2 and 1. Yummy yummy points).
I see you... scrolling by without a care, looking for the latest post. Well, since you're down there... here are some shameless self-plugs for stories you can review for the contest in increasing order of length:
The Shameful Dead. Length: 3. Genre: Horror.
Slay the Dragon. Length: 3. Genre: Medieval dick jokes.
Chivalry. Length: 5. Genre: Medieval fantasy.
By the Light of Day. Length: 6. Genre: Horror/vampires.
Fey Light. Length: 6. Genre: Grimdark fantasy.
Shadow of a God-King Length: 7. Genre: Grimdark fantasy.
Team: #5 with Corgi213 and MrAce321 Reviewed: 0 Featured: 0 Team total: 0 Game/Date/Length/Worth: My Total Points:
Might steal one of those tables later. I like sturdy text furniture,
Reviews: 25
Featured: 15 (so far)
Team #7: Winter's Wrath
Points: 57
1. Don't Get Distracted (length: 3) 06/03/2025
2. Gaiety and Sorrow (length: 7) 06/03/2025
3. Bright Days (length: 3) 06/03/2025
4. Can Anybody Escape? (length: 2) 06/03/2025
5. These Shackled Souls (length: 7) 06/04/2025 *FEATURED*
6. A Hero's Odyssey (length: 6) 06/04/2025
7. Alpha Wolf (length: 6) 06/04/2025 *FEATURED*
8. A Chosen Hero (length: 6) 06/05/2025 *FEATURED*
9. Dark Nigh (Noir) (length: 5) 06/05/2025
10. Hastings, 1066: Aftermath (length: 7) 06/10/2025
11. Farewell, My Childhood Self (length: 5) 06/11/2025 *FEATURED*
12. The Path of Death (length: 7) 06/11/2025 *FEATURED*
13. Durwood Mansion (length: 6) 06/21/2025 *FEATURED*
14. Lasso of Time (length: 6) 06/22/2025 *FEATURED*
15. A Graveyard Smash (length: 5) 06/22/2025
16. The Titanic Experience (length: 5) 07/09/2025 *FEATURED*
17. An Unusual Mirror (length: 4) 07/09/2025 *FEATURED*
18.Tower of Riddles (length: 5) 07/10/2025 *FEATURED*
19. 5 Floors (length: 1) 07/11/2025 *FEATURED*
20. Winter, After the Harvest (length: 6) 07/13/2025 *FEATURED*
21. Land of the Setting Sun (length: 5) 07/13/2025 *FEATURED*
22. Disney Trivia Quiz (length: 2) 07/13/2025
23. Saoirse (length: 7) 07/17/2025 *FEATURED*
24. Buried (length: 3) 07/18/2025 *FEATURED*
25. Kitchen Nightmares but Gordon Ramsay Contractually Permitted to Kill the Owner During Filming (length: 3) 07/18/2025
I'm just going to point out that The Review Bored has somehow amassed a grand total of 34 points in the first week. Maybe someone should win a Mini Challenge and use a Sabotage card to slow them down. They're followed by The Worst with 11 points. Grill Night and the Newbie and Team 7 have 5 points each. The rest of you better hurry up.
I also just finished a 7 game story with review today... I was thinking about a shorter one but might try to make the deadline. Weekends are going to be tough to find time for me.
At least the points are more efficient for these! I'm assume we still get points if our review gets featured from doing the challenge?
Makes sense. Winning and getting points would be ideal, very efficient use of time... I guess I'm trying it, haha. I was going in reverse order of the newest stories, but I think this one was on there anyway.
I did hear the mods changed the featured reviews and can confirm that I made it onto a story as the 4th featured review. That basically opens up every story again. Just getting back into the review game, but it seems like you are doing well getting reviews featured as well! We might all bump off one of the 3 existing comments of everyone tries on this challenge.
Sometimes if a review is pretty good on a story an old one just gets replaced. Especially if the old one was a bit of a place holder anyway.
I've upped mine to 7. Maximum amount of comments shown on the title page is 10, after that you have to click that little link that shows you the rest of them.
I underestimated how difficult it is to update the leaderboards frequently on a phone, so here, you may use this spreadsheet to keep track of the competition until I regain access to my laptop.
Oh, I'm just on holiday lol. I didn't realise how it sounded like there was a laptop problem.
Welcome to the Review Contest announcements. I am your host, Mystic Warrior, and I'm here with a live commentary of the summer boat race! The disparity of points between The Review Bored and everyone else continues to grow. They're speeding into the distance with 52 points, leaving the other teams in more turbulent waters. This team is doing so well that two of their captains---Cavus and Mousecore---are in first and third place, respectively. Their other teammate, Fluxion, is at a solid fifth place. The Worst is steadily sailing through the seas, largely due to the efforts of Shadowdrake, who has secured the third place spot. He is assisted at the helm by Benholman, currently tied at sixth place. Their third member is nowhere to be seen. Cruising behind them is Grill Night & The Newbie. Yet, it appears that RK---who is in fourth place---is steering the ship, rowing the oars and adjusting his course, while his other members attempt to...are they swimming behind the boat? Well, at least they're trying, which is more than can be said of many other competitors at the moment. Next, we have Winter's Wrath, where two relatively new members seem to be holding their own. Although this is their first race in these uncharted waters, both IcePrincess and DarkSoul are currently out-sailing a number of veterans, turning the waves beneath their boat into a thin sheet of ice. As for the remaining participants, some have been silently mapping out their paths and waiting for their wind to carry them forward, while others have yet to leave the dock. But most of them seem to be taken ill with a mysterious affliction known as apathy. This malady was first reported at a recent dinosaur fight at the Thunderdome arena, but sources state the mods have it under control, ordering a genocide of infected individuals to prevent contagion. But on a slightly more cheerful note, let's congratulate our recent winners for our first two mini-challenges! They also have shiny new weapons aboard their ships.
I'll do my best! I was worried you guys would catch me, but I also had a few comments get featured today... awesome job everyone! We are avoiding the pit of shame and (hopefully) genocide.
Hey... Hey RK, can we get back on the ship now? Please?
Did... Did I say that? Uh, well, I'll just be hanging on to the anchor desperately.
I felt this way and left a funny review on one of RK's stories... so I can confidently say length does not automatically get you featured, haha. I think mods were just busy over the weekend!
I hope it was somewhat helpful! That's what I'm here for. Some of the stylistic choices were obvious... and some were hard to tell. That style of writing can be really hard to judge/critique because of the humor element. 4th wall brakes in particular are almost always bad... but are a comedic tool when writing slap-stick comedy, as an example.
Making a story longer is always better. It is also harder to accomplish with the same quality of writing. I had a story for a contest that really suffered from being too short and time-constrained about Merlin the Magician, so I understand the pains that come with actually writing something. It's very easy to review something and give advice, which is why I stick to that!
"Row!" Shadowdrake27 yelled, padding frantically as if the back of the canoe was on fire."Row! Row... row?"
He turned around to see how much distance they had put between themselves and the competition, only to see the review board motor ahead like a well-oiled machine. Horrified, he looked at the other contestants The Worst had managed to pass: two boats zig-zagged across the river unproductively as the rest floated with the river's current. "Well... this is interesting..." he muttered as something else caught his eye. Benholman was paddling smoothly--with his paddle sideways so the narrow edge caught the water.
"What are you doing?" Shadowdrake27 scoffed.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Benholman snapped.
"Uhh... wait! Where is the new guy?"
"NotSoSpecial?"
"Yeah, that's what I said, right?" Shadowdrake scratched his head and looked around.
That's when he saw it, NotSoSpecial running along the bank of the river with a could of dust hot on his heels. Peering into the distance, Shadowdrake27 tried to make out what was following him. The canoe tipped wildly and he had to drop his paddle and clutch the edge of the canoe to stabilize it before the entire thing flipped over.
"Dinosaurs!" Benholman exclaimed as the oversized reptiles came more clearly into view.
NoSoSpecial looked back--then doubled his efforts as a unintelligible scream escaped his lips. His arms went flailing as his legs continued to churn while he screamed. His form was terrible--Shadowdrake27 noted mentally--but he was surprisingly effective as he gained ground on the herd of Dino's chasing him.
"Help!" NotSoSpecial managed to scream as he reached the bank of the river with no where left to run.
"They must have decided on genocide..." Shadowdrake27 muttered to himself with a shudder running down his spine. He wasted no time knotting a rope around the support in the middle of the canoe and testing it with two good tugs. "Catch!"
Shadowdrake27 tossed the rope casually, causing it to drop directly into the water. Benholman cursed and steered the Canoe towards shore as Shadowdrake27 picked up his paddle and helped. They managed to get to NotSoSpecial as the water got choppy from the vibrations of thousands of dinosaur legs pounding the shore.
"Thanks!" NotSoSpecial sighed in relief, stepping towards the boat.
"Not so fast," Shadowdrake27 said, putting an arm out to block the rescued teammate. "Can't have you tipping the boat, and I don't know if you can even paddle... Ben at least showed up on time!"
NotSoSpecial's eyes shot wide open and his jaw hit the ground. "You are going to leave me?" he whined.
"No! That would be crazy! Here, take this." As he handed over the end of the rope tied to the boat, Shadowdrake27 climbed back in and put a life jacket on his seat before sitting down and shifting back and forth to get comfortable.
"Any day now," Benholman chided while the dinosaurs closed in, kicking up sand that almost reached the canoe.
"Row!" Shadowdrake27 yelled, smacking the water like it owed him money.
Dinosaurs nipped at NotSoSpecial's heels as he was dragged into the water by a wrist. Benholman and Shadowdrake27 continued to struggle forward, dragging their new teammate away from genocide. The entire time he screamed, "Can I just get in the canoe?"
Thanks! I'm glad it wasn't boring... I'm out of pratice... but it was just for fun!
I have no doubt everyone will eventually get reviewing! It is a long contest and some people stated early on that they were busy for the first month or whatever. Ben is doing great, but he gave me some crap when our team was first formed, so I like to poke fun at him.
The Final Draft: Fresh, Goodnight, yours truly
Reviews Left: 32 (1-4 length); 2 (5 length); 13 (6 length); 8 (7 length); 1 (8 length)
Featured Reviews: 27 (1-4 length); 2 (5 length); 11 (6 length); 8 (7 length); 1 (8 length)
Total points: 152
Reviews: 2 Featured: 2 Team: Penguin Paparazzi Games reviewed:
Points total: 6
Boats battle against the tumultuous waves, as the summer sun scorches the skies. Still, several competitors soldier on, paddles against the currents, canoes inching forward. Others have yet to leave the port. As they idly stroll the shore, listening to the stories of sailors and the gossip of pirates, one rumor is particularly persistent. An old fisherman echoes this as he stares at an approaching storm. “It is coming. A card powerful it trumps fate itself. Some see it as akin to kidnap; for others, it is merely a reallocation of resources. But this much is true: it has the power to change…everything.” (Stay tuned for this week’s challenge to be released on Friday!)
The one thing the review bored does not have is a stop card *laughs maniacally*
Perhaps... it's a long contest and many things will change a lot over the course of it. At the very least, you can rest assured that you are not hanging over the pit of shame like some people.
Reviews: 14
Featured: 11
Team: The Bakers (YellowCake, RKrallonor)
Points: 7 + (1 * 10) = 17
Games Reviewed(Length)(Featured or Not):
The Price of Freedom: Innocence Lost (7) (Featured)
Lazarus Cage (2) (Featured)
Nautilus (3) (Featured)
PSYOPS (3) (Featured)
>DEVOTION (2) (Featured)
A Stack of Cats (2) (Featured)
Leroy and Mika's Organic Poetry (1)
The Song Binder (3) (Featured)
A Hill to Die On (3) (Featured)
A night in Dark Chicago (4)
The Backup by Anthraxus (3) (Featured)
The Shameful Dead (3) (Featured)
The Story of Count Osmond Jorgensen (3) (Featured)
Don't get distraced! (3)
Track your comments for Week 4's Mini Challenge here!
Week 4 Mini Challenge
Games Reviewed, Author (Featured or Not):
Lazarus Cage by CavusRex (Featured)
Nautilus by CavusRex (Featured)
PSYOPS by Fluxion (Featured)
>DEVOTION by Mizal (Featured)
A Stack of Cats by Mizal (Featured)
Leroy and Mika's Organic Poetry by Shadowdrake27
The Song Binder by corgi213 (Featured)
A Hill to Die On by corgi213 (Featured)
A night in Dark Chicago by Anthraxus
The Backup by Anthraxus (Featured)
The Shameful Dead by Fluxion (Featured)
The Story of Count Osmond Jorgensen by Fluxion (Featured)
Don't get distracted! by Clayfinger
Week Four Mini-Challenge Reviews
- The Siberian, by Yummyfood (featured)
- Halloween Fright, by Benholman44
- Inheritance House, by Shadowdrake27 (featured)
- Bound by Light, by MrAce321 (featured)
- Cannibal Apocalypse, by Enterpride (featured)
- The Lonely Inn, by Petros (featured)
- The Village That Was, by Goodnight_a (featured)
- >Devotion, by Mizal (featured)
- The Song Binder, by Corgi213 (featured)
Games reviewed:
Of Dreams and Daemons by Clayfinger, Featured
(These still count for regular points, right?)
Mini Challenge Reviews:
Escaping the Pit of Sin, Yummyfood (featured)
Gay and Depressed in Prison, RKrallanor (featured)
Yay participation! Maybe I'll review one or two here for the Mini Challenge.
Merlin: Origins by Shadowdrake27. Play length: 5.
Love is for the Birds by Mizal. Play length: 3. (Featured)
The Little Princess of the Forest by Anthraxus. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Slaying the Scourge by MiltonManThing. Play length: 5. (Featured)
Paper-Mache by jster02. Play length: 6. (Featured)
Nautilus by CavusRed. Play length: 3. (Featured)
Treatise on Heartly Manners by enterpride. Play length: 6. (Featured)
Halloween Fright by benholman44. Play length: 2.
A City Lost by MrAce321. Play length: 4. (Featured)
Terrorist by benholman44. Play length: 4. (Featured)
The wolves of the sea by Yummyfood4. Play length: 2. (Featured)
I would just edit. The mods can check here at the end of the night to do last minute features and rally the scores.
Also, your comment on Merlin Origins should be featured. I appreciate the feedback on that review. I was surprised to see a few news comments in my stories, and some of them are really really good.
I liked both of your reviews
Mini challenge reviews:
Lazarus Cage by Cavus Rex (featured)
Shadow of a God-King by Fluxion (featured)
Team: The Final Draft
Week 4 reviews:
Gay and Depressed in Prison by RKrallonor
Total: 1
Hi guys, I have a pulse now.
Reviews Completed: 2!!
Featured: 2
Review Links:
Lazarus Cage, 2/8 (Featured)
Shadow of a God-King, 7/8 (Featured)
Total Points Accumulated: 8
Congrats on avoiding shame!
Thank you for the recommendation! I will be sure to check it out this week.
I can add it to my list too, since you asked. It's always nice to read a fun superhero story.
Team: The Final Draft (Team 8)
Featured Reviews: Gay and Depressed in Prison by RKrallonor - 1
Total Points: 1
Current featured: 23
Current reviews: 29 ( counting only the ones that I reviewed when I joined the contest )
Current teammate(s): RKrallonor and yellowcake ( Bakers team )
Total points: 137
A little update of how things are going!
Nice video, I like it :)
Great video Mystic!
Thanks, appreciate it.
Whaaaat, nooooo, of course I love and appreciate my teammates!
...
(Rk please come back Kage may be a lost cause and I think Yummy just said "Nah I don't want to do this anymore I've avoided SHAME. I'm good, all done now.")
Anyway this was hysterical. Honestly a work of art. The music really ties it together.
I was busy. I'm back now. I would never join a contest and only review one storygame to avoid SHAME. Who would ever do something like that? Not me. No sir.
It's okay Yummy, I totally 100% believe you! We totally got this and can stay in the top 8! (I say top 8 because it's a LONG shot to stay in the top five.) We are TOTALLY DEFINITELY going to lock in now, right?
Oh yeah its not like the next few weeks are the busiest time of the year for me or anything... nah, we've got this.
For sureeee.
Track your team's reviews for Week 6's Mini Challenge here.
Mini Challenge Week 6:
Blood in the King’s Court, by Orange. 6-length (featured)
Dungeon Stompage!, by BerkaZerka. 6-length (featured)
Aphrodite’s Orphan, by ThomasLaHomme. 7-length (featured)
In the Pale Moonlight, by Steve24833. 6-length (featured)
Kitchen Nightmares but Gordon Ramsay is contractually permitted to kill the owner during filming. 3-length (featured)
Week 6 Mini Challenge:
1. Farewell, My Childhood Self (featured)
2. Winter, After the Harvest (featured)
3. Land of the Setting Sun (featured)
Adding my own reviews.
First one already has a thousand features, but I've been meaning to read it:
The End of Creation.(Featured)
Biscuits and Ghosts.(Featured)
Siren. (Featured)
Inseparable.(Featured)
Twin Arrows.(Featured)
The Mayoral Campaign. (Featured)
Ineptitude 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO. (Featured)
The Christmas Crossing. (Featured after the contest)
It kind of confused me because it said commended reviews on featured stories (is a commended review a featured review?). So I just went with the ones on the main page, since that was the advice given in the mini challenge thread, which said, "All those found on the Storygames main page, subtitled Storygame Categories". Each of mine were found there.
Again, it doesn't matter, I just want to see if I misunderstood something. I already had forgotten you can't have duplicate reviews for teammates, so I'm sure I missed something. If not, no big deal since we won anyway.
🤔
Hello, Ninja! It's been awhile.
