OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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Squiddies and ToS and SciWorld, Oh my!

That’s right, we’re accepting Squiddie, ToS, and SciWorld nominations all at the same time!  Good luck! Read More

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How Does the Tournament of Simulations (ToS) Work?

Despite the image, we’re not currently accepting nominations for the 2018 Tournament of Simulations (ToS).  But that will happen very soon… so stay tuned!

In 2016 we published an article on how to win Squiddies that explained in great detail how the process works.  Even though that piece briefly discussed ToS and gave what is still the best advice regarding ToS (Just Enter!), we thought it would be helpful to pull back the curtain on this competition as well.

So here’s everything you need to know about the Tournament of Simulations:

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2017 Tournament of Simulations (ToS) Winners!

The results are in and we have some winners!  If you’ll recall, we asked for nominations back in December.  If you’re not familiar with ToS, the original competition was held back in 1999.  For this year’s ToS, each participating sim submitted 10 posts that were written sometime during 2017.  The posts were then evaluated by three judges in three different categories (Story, Characters, and Readability/Grammar) on a 1-10 scale.  The final scores were then adjusted based on the individual judge’s respective averages and standard deviations to adjust for both hard & easy grading judges and judges with small & large ranges of scores.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art, and this is certainly true with ToS.  We’re not here to identify the best games as this is impossible.  Instead, we’re here to identify what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s okay!  With that our of the way, here are your 2017 tournament winners: Read More

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It’s 2017 Tournament of Simulations (ToS) Time!

With FallFest out of the way, it’s time to turn our attention to something else.  Ahem…  Role players, hosts, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games/sims/role plays in the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the entire simming and online roleplaying world: the Tournament of Simulations (ToS)!  What, did you think it was some other competition?  C’mon!

Ongoing Worlds is now officially calling on YOU (yes, you!) to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2017 edition of ToS.  This will be the 13th tournament to be held, and the 4th sponsored by Ongoing Worlds.  Nominations will be accepted through December 31st, 2017.  Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

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2016 Tournament of Simulation Winners!

Hear ye!  Hear ye!  It’s time to announce the winners of the 2016 Tournament of Simulations (ToS).  For those who may not be aware, ToS is an annual competition, sponsored by Ongoing Worlds, where role play games of different clubs and genres compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  The original tournament was held back in 1999.  For this year’s ToS, each participating sim submitted 10 posts that were written sometime during 2016.  The posts were then evaluated by three judges in three different categories on a 1-10 scale: Story, Characters, and Readability/Grammar.  The final scores were then adjusted based on the individual judge’s respective averages and standard deviations to adjust for both hard & easy grading judges and judges with small & large ranges of scores.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art, and this is certainly true with ToS.  We’re not here to identify the best games as this is impossible.  Instead, we’re here to identify what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s okay!  With that said, it’s time to finally announce our winners… Read More

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It’s time for the 2016 Tournament of Simulations (ToS)

ToS2016That’s right, it’s time for our annual Tournament of Simulations (ToS) competition!  Role players, hosts, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games/sims/role plays in the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the entire simming and online roleplaying universe (yes, it’s ToS!).  Indeed, Ongoing Worlds is officially calling on on YOU (yes, you!) to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2016 edition of ToS.  This will be the 12th tournament to be held (the first happened in 1999).  Nominations will be accepted through January 31st, 2017. Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

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How to Win a Squiddie (and other awards too)!

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

We have received a few questions about how we choose the Squiddies winners (20162017, 2018) and what makes a good candidate.  Before we get to that, I want to do two things first:  1) Explain the Squiddies to anyone who might not be familiar with them, and 2) Provide a brief overview of some of the other major annual awards within the greater simming and online role playing community.

  1. The Squiddie (officially the “Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying”) is presented annually to three entities: one person, one sim, and one sim club.  It also consists of three categories: Excellence in Roleplaying, Originality & Innovation, and Facilitating the Community Experience.  The award is sponsored by us, Ongoing Worlds, and was first presented in 2013.
  2. The Squiddie is one of three families of major community-level awards.  The oldest is the Simming Prize (officially the “Prize for Simming and Online Role Playing in Memory of Seth Cotis“), dating back to 1999.  Originally awarded by the Simming League and later by Ongoing Worlds, it is now bestowed by a group of trustees.  It is presented to up to five entities each year and is named in memory of an early influential simming leader.  ToS (“Tournament of Simulations”) is the final group of awards.  In ToS, volunteer judges from around the community read posts form participating games and choose winners in different categories that may vary from year to year.  ToS also dates back to 1999.  It is currently presented by Ongoing Worlds, but began in the Simming League as well.

Clear as mud?  Fantastic!  So here’s how we choose Squiddie winners… Read More

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2015 Tournament of Simulations Winners

simcup2015It’s time to introduce the winners of the the 11th Tournament of Simulations (ToS)!  In case you missed it, ToS is an annual event where role play games of different clubs and genres compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  The first tournament was held all the way back in 1999.  This year, each participating sim submitted 10 posts that were written sometime during 2015.  The posts were then evaluated by three judges in three different categories on a 1-10 scale: Story, Characters, and Readability/Grammar.  The games receiving the highest marks are now recognized.

As I say every year, evaluating sims is a subjective art and this is especially true with ToS.  We’re not here to identify the best games as this is impossible.  Instead, we’re here to identify what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.

Without an further ado, here are your winners…

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2014 Simulation Cup Results… Finally!

Simulation Cup

2014 Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to (finally) introduce the winners of the 2014 Simulation Cup!  Before we get to the results, however, I’d like to quickly remind everyone what the Simulation Cup is and how it works.  It’s an annual competition that’s normally called the Tournament of Simulations where role play games of different clubs and genres compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  This year, each participating sim submitted one mission/episode/thread that was completed during 2014.  Each submission was then evaluated by three judges on a specific criteria set.  The games receiving the highest marks are now recognized.

Evaluating sims will always be subjective and this is especially true for the Simulation Cup.  We’re not here to identify the best sim or sims as this is impossible.  Instead, we recognize what we think are outstanding role plays that exude excellence.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s okay!   Read More

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The 2015 Tournament of Simulation is Now Calling all Entrants

simcup2015UPDATE: The Nomination window has been extended through February 29th, 2016.

Hear ye, hear ye!  Hosts, participants, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games into the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the simming and online roleplaying universe:  The Tournament of Simulations!  Indeed, Ongoing Worlds is officially calling on on YOU to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2015 edition of ToS.  This will be the 11th rendition of the tournament, which was first held in 1999.  Nominations will be accepted through January 31st, 2016. Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More