UPDATED Star Wars March Madness Begins March 18th! [Announcement]

NCAA March Madness begins in a few weeks, but
what if you’re not into
college basketball, or you’re looking for a change? Have no fear.
Starting on March 23rd, 18th Star Wars March Madness 2013
begins!

Above
Image: Star Wars march Madness 2013(non-official)

Update: This has been changed to support the official Star Wars March Madness game.

I found out this last night that there’s an official Star Wars March Madness tournament. So, there’s good news and bad news.

First, the bad news: I’m shutting down our tournament. While I think our match-ups are a lot more interesting and our system could be a lot more fun, the reality is the official tournament has a lot more press. Doing a competing bracket doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to take this time to point out I conceived of this last year, but didn’t have my ducks in a row. So, I waited patiently 365 days to bring this to life. I didn’t steal the idea and didn’t even know about it until I saw it in my Google Alert list. Great minds think alike.

Now, the good news: We’re going ahead with the bracket. But instead of using our voting and bracketing system we’re using the official one. There’s no limit on who can win now. 

If no one chooses the correct winner I’ll just pick someone at random from the list. Follow the updated directions below and may the force be with you.

It’ll be “Dark Side” vs. “Light Side” and the winner will come out
victorious as the greatest warrior in Star Wars. Will
Darth Vader beat Jabba the Hutt? Will Boba Fett beat his son Jango? Will Luke Skywalker battle Qui-Gon Jinn? Will Emperor Palpatine fight General Grievous?

Find out when the madness begins March 23rd 18th.

What Is March Madness?

“March Madness” is the nickname given to the NCAA Men’s college basketball championships. 32 teams play each in the month of March for a single elimination championship.

Each team is given a ranking or “seed” based on skill level. For example, one (1) has a better chance of winning than two (2) and so on.

We’re They’re doing a Star Wars based single elimination round. The “bracket” is a hierarchical tree that is used to determine the winner.

How to Play

Step 1

First, print out a copy (or use the picture below) of the Star Wars March Madness bracket. I’d recommend printing it “actual size” since it’s kind of dinky. On March 17th By March 18th complete your bracket by selecting the winner in each of the games in the Star Wars March Madness tournament. Fill out the brackets and determine who you think will make it to the end. It only takes five minutes!

Step 2

Then go to the online form and fill out your Star Wars March Madness 2013 picks and then compete against friends, family, and other fans. Sign ups end on March 22nd. It only takes two minutes. To make it easier, you can also post who you think will win in the comments section below.

Step 3

Compete for your chance to win one of three virtual trophies for creating one of the top brackets. Bonus prize details below.

The Play

On
March 23rd 18th the voting will begin. Each day, check in and vote for who
you think should win. To keep it from being a total wipe-out, and to
allow for upsets like the real tournament, I’ll be adding a random
number to each of the scores.  I’ll announce the winner the next day at the
end
of each round.

The results will be posted on the blog and viewable online at the Star Wars March
Madness Spreadsheet

The Winner

The
winner will be chosen by the one who guesses the final champion. In the
event of a tie, the one who guessed the highest number in the Final
Four right will be the winner. In the event of another tie the
tie-breaker will be the the one who guessed the highest number in the
Sweet Sixteen right.

If no one guesses the final champion, then I’ll pick a random winner
from the total list of participants.

As a bonus for inviting others, if the list of
participants goes over 100, then I’ll give away a hardcover copy of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition to the winner. This is considered the best story in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It’s rumored the new movies will be based on them, so this is a great chance to catch up.

So, go tell your friends and have some fun. This is a March Madness we can all get into. Hurry up! Sign ups end at midnight on March 22nd 18th!

Are you ready to play? Who do you think will win?

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