TL;DR: Agree rules before tournament: device class, input method, pause policy, lag dispute resolution. No macro scripts, no tampering with detection, honor red freezes on stream delay.
Pre-match rule sheet
Keyboard only? Touch allowed? Best of three or single elimination? Write in Discord pinned message.
Device classes
Separate mobile and desktop brackets—touch stop dynamics differ enough for unfair cross-match without handicap.
Stream delay honesty
Streamers add delay for content; competitors watch stream must not coach live player—honor system.
Anti-cheat scope
Browser automation moving on green forbidden. Human input only.
Lag disputes
Replay clip or forfeit round—organizer decides. Cap acceptable ping if networked variant ever added.
Pause policy
Biological break pauses only between full runs not mid-green—prevents abuse.
Spectator noise
LAN events quiet during runs—yelling simulates audio cue advantage dispute.
Prize proportionality
Small stakes maintain fun; large prizes increase incentive to exploit—match scrutiny to stakes.
Grace on first offense
Accidental double tab macro kid—warn before ban community toxicity prevention.
Official practice site
Tournament seeding practice runs on agreed canonical redlightgreenlightgame.net not unapproved forks.
Device class brackets
Mobile vs desktop separate tournament brackets—fair without handicap debate.
Stream delay coaching ban
Competitors watching delayed stream must not coach live player.
Pause between runs only
Mid-green pause exploit forbidden—organizers clarify in rules PDF.
Grace first macro offense
Accidental automation kid—warn before ban maintains community health.
Canonical URL in rules
All seeds practice https://redlightgreenlightgame.net/ not unapproved forks with different detection.
Best of three, keyboard only, written before anyone plays
A kitchen tournament needs a rule card before the first attempt. “Best of three, arrow keys only, same laptop, no pausing to argue a catch.” Read it aloud. A player who wants the mouse may have a mouse tournament later. They may not renegotiate after they see the first green. Renegotiation after the green is how the card becomes decoration. Sign the card with initials if people are competitive enough to forget. Initials are mildly ridiculous and very effective.
Catch argument replaced by a replay rule
If the game has no replay, the catch stands. The rule card should say that. “No replay, catch stands, next attempt starts in ten seconds.” The ten seconds keep the tournament moving and give the hands a moment. A five-minute trial about whether the doll was early will not become more accurate with time. It will become louder. Loudness is not evidence. The card already named the evidence: the catch on the screen.
Macro ban stated as a finger rule
No auto-clickers, no macro keys that tap for you, no turbo buttons on a controller if a controller is even allowed. The card says “one finger, one key, you release it.” A turbo button turns the game into a hardware spec contest. If someone shows up with one, they can play exhibition after the tournament, not inside it. Exhibition is a polite word that keeps the friendship and the ranking separate.
Lag complaint logged once, then the attempt stands
If the laptop stutters, write “stutter” on the card and finish the round or restart the round for everyone, not for one player. A restart for one player is a gift. A full restart is a weather delay. Choose before the final. Do not invent the weather delay when you are the one who got caught. The card can include one line: “stutter restarts the round for all, or it counts, decide now.” Fill in the blank before Start.
Initials on the card before the laptop opens
The card gets initials while the laptop is still closed. Once the doll is on screen, people become lawyers. Closed laptop, read the card, initials, then open. If someone arrives late, they initial before they touch a key, even if attempt one is underway for someone else. A late arrival who plays without initialing will demand a mouse exception after they lose on arrows. The initials are the memory of their consent. Be boring about this. Boring rules finish tournaments.
Ten-second gap timed by the person who is not playing
The waiting player holds the ten-second gap on their phone, in silence, then says “start.” They do not say “you should tap.” The silence is the hard part for friends. If they talk, the attempt does not count and the ten seconds begin again. This will feel harsh the first time and normal the second. Write it on the card so the harshness belongs to the card, not to the friend who enforced it. Friends survive tournaments when the card is the villain.
Exhibition round that starts only after the card is signed off
The exhibition with the turbo controller, if you allow one at all, starts after the winner is written down and the card is put away. Exhibition results do not get a column. They get a laugh and then they are over. If someone wants the exhibition to “count if I win,” the answer was already on the card and the card is in a drawer. Reopening the card is a new tournament on another day. Same day, the ranking is closed. Closed rankings are what make the next invitation possible.
Same-laptop rule checked by a glance at the sticker
Put a piece of tape on the tournament laptop with today’s date. If you are looking at a machine without the tape, you are on the wrong machine. This is a childish control and it works when someone offers their “faster” computer between attempt two and three. The tape is the rule you can point at without a speech. Point, finish on the taped machine, and let the faster computer have a friendly game that is not on the tally.
