Welcome to the 2020 edition of Guest Guesser, The Seattle Times' football prediction contest. For more than 80 years, we've hosted a football "pick 'em" game, and while the pandemic won't stop the game, we've modified it from its usual format slightly.

The 2020 game is played each week for 10 weeks, beginning with the games of September 26 & 27, 2020. Each week, players predict the outcome of 10 college football games, 10 NFL games and one tiebreaker. Unlike previous years, all ten weekly point totals will count toward a player's overall points total.

College game selections must be made prior to 9:00AM Pacific on Saturday mornings and professional game selections must be made prior to 9:00AM Pacific on Sunday mornings. The game locks at 9:00AM and any picks made on or after that time will no register.

No purchase necessary. One valid entry per contestant per week. Multiple contest entries that are submitted by one player are prohibited.

You must be at least 13 years of age or older at time of entry to be eligible for this contest. You must be a resident of Washington state to be eligible to win prizes. Out of state players are welcome to play but are not eligible to win prizes.

One prize per household per week. This contest is void where prohibited by law.

Winners will be notified by email. If a winner is unreachable after three (3) days, or if that winner is unavailable for prize fulfillment, an alternate winner will be selected. If The Seattle Times cannot find an eligible winner for the prize, that prize will not be awarded. 

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. 

The weekly round prize (one winner per week) is $100. At the end of the contest period, the overall winner will receive a grand prize of $500. 

Each winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes and will be required to complete an IRS W-9 form and a signed prize receipt. Sponsor reserves the right to withhold prizes until signed prize documentation is received.

The Seattle Times and its affiliates reserve the right to substitute any prize with another prize of equal or greater value. 

Employees of The Seattle Times and its affiliates, their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising sponsors and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of each are not eligible. 

Contest entrants agree to abide by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of the contest commissioners, which are final on all matters pertaining to the contest. 

Entrants further grant to The Seattle Times and its affiliates the right to use and publish their proper name and city/state online and in print, or any other media, in connection with the Contest.

The Seattle Times and its affiliates reserve the right to use any and all information related to the Contest, including information on contestants obtained through the contest, for marketing purposes or any other purpose, unless prohibited by law. 

The Contest and all of the related pages, contents and code are copyright, Upickem, Inc., and/or its affiliates. Copying or unauthorized use of any copyrighted materials, trademarks or any other intellectual property without the express written consent of its owner is strictly prohibited. 

Each winner, by acceptance of the prize, agrees to release all Sponsors, and their parent and subsidiary companies, their officers, directors, employees, agents, shareholders, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, and advertising agencies from all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, or use of the prize.

Upickem and its affiliates are not responsible for Internet crashes or slowdowns caused by network congestion, viruses, sabotage, satellite failures, phone line failures, electrical outages, natural disasters or acts of man or God.

If a game is canceled, forfeited, or indefinitely suspended for any reason, or if a game results in a tie, that game shall not count for any contestant and scores will be computed as if the game did not exist.

All results posted are unofficial until winners respond to e-mail notification.

Each winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes and will be required to complete an IRS form W-9 and a signed prize receipt. Sponsor reserves the right to withhold prizes until completed form W-9 is received.

Winners must present proof of social security number and date of birth upon request. The Seattle Times reserves the right to publish the names of winners.

The points for each game are clearly marked.

Tie-breaking info:

For an individual :
Fans pick who they think is going to win each game along with the score for the tie-breaker game. The computer then takes all the fans tied for first and then, for the tie-breaker game,:
1. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the winning team from the actual winning team's score and squares this value.
2. Subtracts what the fan chose as the score for the losing team from the actual losing team's score and squares this value.
3. Adds 1 and 2 above together to get the fan's "score approximation". 
The fan with the lowest score approximation wins. If there is still a tie the computer than chooses a random winner from those who are tied.

For the overall winner:
If there are ties for overall score the computer looks at the score approximation for the final week to determine a winner. If there are still ties the computer looks at who had: 
1. The most points earned in the final week.
2. The most points earned in the week before that.
3. Etc.
4. If, after going through the whole season, there is still a tie the computer picks a random winner from the tied players.

Ten (10) weekly round prizes of $100 will be awarded over the course of the contest; one will be awarded each week awarded to the eligible players who has the highest score in each round of Guest Guesser. One (1) grand prize of $500 will be awarded to the eligible player who has the highest overall score at the end of the Guest Guesser contest. If there is more than one (1) verified weekly or overall winner, the prizes will be determined by the tiebreaking procedure outlined above.

All decisions of the judges are final.

The Seattle Times, Upickem and its affiliates reserve the right to change the rules at any time.