Game Rules
A game of skill, played for a discount. The Beggathon gives you sixty seconds to type a case for a lower price. A good one earns a code worth up to 10% off your order. A bad one earns nothing. Nothing you do in the game can ever make your order cost more than the listed price.
What it is
- A promotional game of skill. There is no draw, no random element and no entry fee. The outcome depends only on what you write and how you write it.
- It is offered at the seller's discretion on some products and not others. A seller may switch it off at any time, including while you are playing; a code already issued still stands for its hour.
- You do not need to play to buy anything, and playing does not commit you to buying anything.
What a win is worth
- Between 1% and 10% off the items in your order whose seller runs the game, decided by the grader described below. Most accepted pleas earn three or four percent.
- The discount is capped at $25 per order, however large the order.
- A code is valid for one hour from the moment it is issued, whether or not you use it. It is single use, one code per order, and it does not combine with any other discount: if two apply, the larger one is used.
- A code has no cash value, cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged, and is not applied to shipping or tax.
- An order can never be reduced below the payment processor's minimum charge.
What it never costs
- Your price never goes up. Losing, being refused, running out of time, or breaking a rule below costs you nothing. The listed price is the most you will ever pay.
- Breaking a rule locks the discount on that browser until a set number of accepted pleas have been made. That is the only penalty. It affects discounts and nothing else.
How a plea is judged
Grading is automated and happens on our servers. Every plea is scored on four things, and the score for each is shown to you with the result:
- The case you made (35%): reasons, specifics, and whether you named what you want.
- Originality (30%): whether it reads like something we have seen before, from you or from anyone else.
- Legibility (20%): whether it reads like a person wrote it.
- Time (15%): how much of the minute you used.
The grader's decision is final. It is a machine with a sense of humour, not a court: it may refuse a plea that a reasonable person would accept, and it will tell you which rule it applied. You may try again, within the limits below.
What is refused
- Anything pasted, dropped in, dictated or swipe-typed rather than typed by hand. The game counts keys, and only keys carry the letter.
- Profanity, abuse, threats or hate. The letter burns and the plea earns nothing.
- Keyboard mashing, repeated words or phrases, all capitals, links, or text that does not make an argument.
- A plea you or someone else has already sent, or one typed to the same rhythm as a previous one.
Limits
- Five attempts per game, and twelve graded attempts an hour per browser.
- One winning code an hour per browser.
- Two orders a calendar month per email address, with or without a code.
Fair play
Automated play, scripted typing, shared winning texts and attempts to defeat the grader void any code obtained and may result in the game being withdrawn from that browser. We may change, suspend or end the game at any time without notice. Codes already issued remain valid for their hour.
Your data
The text you type, the timing of your keystrokes and a random browser token are sent to our servers to grade the plea and enforce the limits above. Pleas are kept briefly to detect repeats and are not used for anything else. If you give an email with a code, only a one-way hash of it is stored, so the code can be tied to the order that uses it. See the Privacy Policy.
Who runs it
The game is run by Kaayko. Where a product is sold by an independent kreator who has switched the game on, the discount applies to that kreator's items and is honoured by Kaayko at checkout. Questions about the game go to the address on your receipt.