Good Game Australia & New Zealand reserve the right to update these rules at any time. It is your responsibility to be up to date & familiar with these rules. If you're unsure or have any questions regarding a rule, please don't hesitate to ask a Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff Member for assistance.

These rules are a safeguard to ensure everyone receives a 'fair go'. Please try to resolve any issues you may encounter with the other team before contacting a
Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff Member or pursuing a match dispute. In the event of a dispute, teams or players found to be in breach of these rules shall be disqualified.

1. General
2. Scheduling
3. Rosters
4. Hosting (Peer-To-Peer Games Only)
5. Spectating
6. Cheating
7. Disputes & Evidence

1. General

1. Competitors are expected to display a good level of positive sportsmanship, before, during & after the game. This does not mean you must buy the other team flowers, more so not degrade, abuse or in any other way give the other team or players a hard time.
2. Players &/or teams that cheat, dispute on purpose, or repeatedly abuse orther players or Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff may face removal or exclusion from events &/or the forums.
3. Players may only represent one team per event, this includes alternate/secondary accounts.
4. Good Game Australia & New Zealand reserve the right to investigate all matches at their discretion, regardless of whether a dispute has been lodged or not.
5. Substitutions are not to be made during a match unless a player voluntarily leaves the game or is unexpectedly disconnected.
6. Players banned from the Good Game Australia & New Zealand Website are not to participate in Good Game Australia & New Zealand Events until their ban has lifted.
7. Match results must be reported on the Good Game Australia & New Zealand Website for them to be valid. Failing to report results may see your team denied a win, please be sure to check the Event specific rules regarding results reporting.
8. Teams may play short of 1 player, but short by no more than 1 player. For example, if a game is 5v5 a team may play with 4 people, but if they only have 3 they will forfeit the match
9. If mutually agreed, matches may be played with more players. For example, if an Event is based on 5v5, both teams may agree to play 6v6, 7v7, 8v8, 9v9 etc, or however many they agree upon
10. For tournaments on games where teams may pick map ends, may pick the maps in any order or for peer-to-peer games where a team may host, a 'homeground advantage' applies to higher ranked or first listed teams. 'Home' teams may have pick of the first map/venue & mode (if able, please refer to tournament specific rules), may opt to host & may pick which team/faction/side they are. For the following game the 'Away' team has all of these options & teams alternate round per round.

2. Scheduling

1. Teams & players are to be ready within 20 minutes of the agreed match time unless mutually agreed by both teams. If a team is unable to play within 20 minutes of the agreed time they will be disqualified.
2. Teams are to mutually agree on match fixtures (date & time). Teams unable to agree on a fixture for a match must play the match at the default day/time (see specific Event rules for this day/time).
3. All times discussed during match scheduling are to be in AEST, or AEDST when Daylight Savings is in effect in New South Wales, unless specifically stated otherwise by the person proposing the time.
4. Captains/Leaders must attempt to add one another prior to the scheduled match time. If the Captain/Leader of the opposing team has failed to accepted the friend request by the scheduled time a new friend request must be sent to a different team representative.
   

3. Rosters

1. When registering for an Event, teams are required to post a list of all their players, known as a roster. This roster must include the identities of all players who will represent the team during the Event for them to be eligible. If a team uses a player who is ineligible, they may face disqualification.
2. To be eligible, a player must:
   • Appear on the team's roster
   • Must only use the PSN/XBL/Gamertag/Handle that appears on the team's roster
   • Must not appear on another team's roster in the same Event
   • Must not banned from the Good Game Australia & New Zealand Website at the time of the match
     

4. Hosting (Peer-To-Peer Games Only)

Often, teams or individual players who host may gain an advantage during peer-to-peer games. Likewise, players competing on hosts who are at long distance to them, or that have poor quality internet can be placed at a disadvantage. Here are the rules pertaining to hosting on peer-to-peer games:

1. Hosts must meet or exceed the minimum connection to host games with full lobbies (please refer to the game to see your recommended maximum number of players).
2. 'Home' teams have the first right to host & will alternate hosting with the other team if they desire.
3. If a host disconnects after 30 seconds of the game commencing the team who the host belongs to will receive a forfeit loss
4. Before a match, it is recommended a 'host test' be carried out to check the stability of the host & ensure everything is perfect before the match. If a host test isn't carried out & the host is found to be unstable but doesn't disconnect it is too late for the opposing team to request a new host & the game must continue.
5. Hosts may not kick or exclude players of the other team from the lobby/game.
6. The host is responsible for all game settings. Failing to use the correct settings will result in disqualification for the host team.
7. A host may not end a match in progress early unless agreed with the opposing team. Ending a match early will result in a loss for the round. 4.8 Games are only to start when both teams have indicated they are ready.

5. Spectating

Many games now include the ability for spectators to join a match without actively participating. While it can be great to have a few people watching the game, be sure to follow these rules when spectating or allowing someone to spectate:

1. Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff may join matches without request or permission, either to referee or record a game.
2. Where available, games must be locked or 'join in progress' disabled to prevent unknown or uninvited people from joining
3. Where available, matches must be set so players can only spectate their own team
4. Players may not spectate a team who they are not a member of without the team's permission
5. To reduce the number of unwelcome spectators/visitors, it's recommended players appear offline, busy or unavailable where possible

6. Cheating

Cheating during a Good Game Australia & New Zealand Event is totally forbidden & those found guilty can be excluded from Good Game Australia & New Zealand Events
& the Good Game Australia & New Zealand Website.

Cheating can include, but isn't limited to;

• Glitching, either to gain an advantage or to disadvantage other players
• Exploiting, either to gain an advantage or to disadvantage other players
• Deliberately not following Event rules, including when selecting game settings
• Lying to or misleading Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff
• Falsely posting match results or posting misleading match results
• Spectating the other team
• Incorrectly advising the other team or players of Event rules
  

Generally, whether something is considered cheating or not will come down to common sense, but if you're even the slightest bit unsure please contact a
Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff Member for assistance.

7. Disputes & Evidence

Unfortunately there may come a time where you simply can't resolve something with your opposition:

1. Match disputes are to be lodged with either a Good Game Australia & New Zealand Comp Staff Member or Good Game Australia & New Zealand Administrator within
   24 hours to be considered.
2. Do not post match disputes or accusations of cheating on the Good Game Australia & New Zealand Forum
3. Intentionally lodging false or misleading match disputes is considered 'cheating' & will be dealt with as per any other instance of cheating
4. Before lodging a dispute, teams must attempt to resolve the issue between themselves.
   

If lodging a match dispute you must provide sufficient evidence to Good Game Australia & New Zealand Staff to consider. Examples of solid evidence may include:

• Video Footage uploaded to Youtube or similar
• Still Images/Photographs
• In-game recorded footage (where provided by the game)
• Links to rosters, scheduled match times etc
  

Please note that because it is easy to tamper or modify messages sent in text (ie. Emails, AIMs, Personal Messages, SMS etc), these are not considered solid evidence.