Hi all, we've gotten a few questions recently about Skins Games and the rules related to "disconnecting" during a Skins Game, so I wanted to address those here and hopefully clear them up.
Below are the official rules, according to our FAQ (found here).
Two important things to keep in mind are: the "5-minute rule" and the "3-strikes" rule.
- 5-minute rule: "
There is a 5 minute allotment for players to reconnect at this time. If the disconnected player does not return within that time, they are considered to have forfeited the game, and the remaining players continue on with the game."
- 3-strike rule: after one disconnection, you receive no penalty -- simply re-join the game; after two disconnections, you receive a 1 shot penalty; after 3 disconnections, you forfeit and the rest of the players continue the game without you. Additionally if you forfeit a game, you also forfeit your Credits Needed to Play to WGT.
The rule that "if you forfeit your game, you forfeit your Credits," is in place to discourage players from just forfeiting games prematurely (for whatever reason), as that's no fun for the rest of the players... And really, we're all just here to have fun!
OFFICIAL RULES:
What are the values in a Skins Challenge game?
Each skin is assigned a credit
value prior to the start of the game. Taking that Skin Value per Hole,
multiplying by the number of holes being played, and the resulting product is
the Total Skins Challenge amount. A nominal fee will be charged by WGT for
hosting the game (based on the Skin Value per Hole, which will be discussed
later). Add the Total Skins Challenge amount to the WGT fee, and you come up
with the amount of Credits Needed to Play. This amount is placed on-hold for
each participating player until the completion of the game.
What happens if someone
disconnects during a game?
In the event that one or more of
the players in a Skins game gets disconnected for any reason, all the other
players will be brought back to the multiplayer lobby to await the return of
the disconnected player(s). There is a 5 minute allotment for players to
reconnect at this time. If the disconnected player does not return within that
time, they are considered to have forfeited the game, and the remaining players
continue on with the game.
- 1st disconnection = No Penalty.
- 2nd disconnection = 1 shot penalty.
- 3rd disconnection = Forfeit.
If I forfeit during the game for
any reason, what happens to any skins I have won??
Skins that have been won by a
player who forfeits before the last hole is finished also forfeits any skins
they have won up to that point. In a Skins Challenge game, this means that the
credit value of any skins won up to the point a player forfeits will not be
refunded to that player. Skins games must be completed by a player in order for
that player to receive credit for the skins they have won. Once again, you must
complete your Skins game in order to receive credit for any skins you have won.
Otherwise the value of those skins will be forfeit to WGT. We do this in order
to strongly encourage players not to quit during Skins games, and prevent
players from leaving games before they are finished in order to protect skins
they may have won to that point.
What happens if there are skins
that no one has won at the end of the game?
There will be times when players
have skins carry over to the final hole, only to have no one win that hole. In
this case, those skins which were carried over would go unclaimed, and the game
would be over. In Skins Challenge, the credit value of the unclaimed skins
would be refunded back to each player. We do this to ensure we are fairly
distributing the credit values of only those skins which were won or lost
outright.