Ten weeks of regular season Survivor Circuit contests are in the books. Congrats to those who earned spots in the semis and finals – it was not an easy road. For everyone else that competed, we have weekly contests that will start running on the side again shortly. And for everyone who has been keeping up or not, we need your input on what we’ve built. Here’s what comes next for everybody.
Upcoming Schedule: Championships and Weekly Contests Resume
This Week (Starting Thursday 10/9):
- Semifinals Contest: Opens Thursday for our 8 qualifiers – Dbacksfan, Wfn, Upstateumpire, Perrycarter, Snowwind, Christo, Hardy, and myself. No rest for the wicked – we jump right into the championship rounds.
- Weekly Contests Return: For everybody else (and semifinalists who want extra action), our regular weekly Survivor contests are back with some brand new formats on the side (read more below).
Next Week (Starting Thursday 10/17):
- Finals Contest: The 6 finalists ( Zubaz, Cardboardtube, Drinkslinger, Trempk, ClaytonKershaw, and HankJepherson) are joined by the the top 6 from the semifinals, to compete for the $250 championship prize
Semifinals Format Note
Per the outlined rules – the top 6 semifinalists advance to finals (we didn’t anticipate having only 8 semifinalists this first time around… we’ll learn.) The issue is our daily elimination format won’t work so well with only two eliminations over 5 days, so….
This Week’s Semifinal Structure:
- Cumulative Scoring: Instead of daily eliminations, your entire week’s performance will determine your ranking
- No Daily Eliminations: Everyone plays all five days (Tuesday through Saturday)
- Final Round moved up to Friday Noon: We’re running two rounds on Friday instead of one, a little earlier finish than normal to ensure we know the finalists going into the weekend.
- Top 6 Advance: At week’s end, the top 6 cumulative scores move on to finals
For Everyone: The Contest Laboratory Continues
Weekly Contests Resume: Starting this Thursday, standalone Survivor contests return to the regular rotation. The Circuit was just one way to compete in them – and we’re working on the next evolution. Think promotion and relegation, competitive tiers, and chances to work your way up the ladder. More details coming soon.
Why These Contests Matter Beyond Prizes: Weekly contests give us a controlled competitive environment to study game dynamics. Unlike regular leagues where different league rules, free agency, drafts, and trades can create countless variables, these contests are letting us see specific game mechanics in relative isolation. Everyone’s working with the same player pool, same salary cap, same opponents, the same weekly rules. It’s a clear window into game mechanics with greatly reduced noise.
Changes Already Born from Contest Data:
- Reliever Management: New manager settings implemented based on how contests revealed bullpen usage patterns
- Baserunning Controls: Fixed after contest play exposed issues with how baserunning rates interacted with manager controls
- Coming Soon (week of 10/20): Natural catchers will have higher positional value versus out-of-position players – borne out through data on stolen base attempt and success rates
(READ MORE)
If you enjoy thinking about BaseHit’s game dynamics and want to influence how the platform evolves, playing these contests isn’t just competition – it’s participation in development. You’re generating the data that shapes how the game works across our entire platform. Every different lineup, every strategic gamble, every crazy team build someone’s tried – it all teaches us something about what works and what needs refinement.
Your Feedback Shapes What’s Next
Contest Ideas Welcome Now: We’re taking suggestions for upcoming weekly contest variations. We’ve already tried out some suggestions and we love the ideas. Some are more doable than others, but even outlandish ideas have sparked related experiments we hadn’t considered. I actually read all of these, so don’t hold back. Email citizenclone@basehit.com, find me on Discord, PM me on the forums, or comment below. Some possible topics to consider:
- Different weekly rules or formats
- Player pool restrictions or tweaks
- New opponent structures or matchup systems
- Most importantly – Ways to ensure multiple viable strategies can succeed
This is a work in progress and there’s real fun to be had in this format that lets you compete against the entire site in days rather than months. We want to make it better – easier to get into, more fun, and with more strategic depth.
We built contests as an entirely new game format and they are evolving rapidly. 160+ of you participated in the Circuit, with 280 total users trying out weekly contests so far. You’ve trusted us enough to try something completely new, rolled with evolving rules, navigated pages we were building in real-time, and turned this project into something real. Congrats again to the semifinalists and finalists who grinded out spots. To everyone else – you are helping us learn what works and what doesn’t and that’s invaluable.
Comprehensive BaseHit Survey Coming Soon: Keep an eye out for a broader survey about both contests and BaseHit in general. We’ll be digging deeper into what works, what doesn’t, and all kinds of topics related to your participation. Your input directly influences how we improve this game.
The work continues. Help us build something better.