So you want to create public GAs, but you don't want bots and auto-join scripts to enter? Good. Just post a comment in this thread with a link to an invite-only giveaway. The idea is very simple and is really not different from many (most?) of the other threads in the forum, except that you don't need to invest much time or thought into it. Just post the link in a comment, and you're done :-)

A few additional guidelines:

  • Feel free to obfuscate the link to make it more difficult for bots/scripts to enter. This is completely optional and may not make much of a difference, because the forums are probably not as infested with bots and auto-join scripts as public giveaways (see example).
  • You may use itstoohard.com, sgtools.info or other sites as filters to the link, but do try to keep things easy (for humans) to enter.
  • Don't feel obligated to write anything to accompany the giveaway link. If you have stuff to share beyond just the link, you probably should create a dedicated thread for it. Needless to say, you can also write it here, but it's not required.
  • Cross-posting giveaways your posted in other threads is fine, as long as they are your giveaways.
  • If you want to add a dynamic signature showing the game name, giveaway end date and current number of entries, but without revealing the URL to bots, you can use this tool created by Reforced. It takes the signature created by SG and provides you with a new URL that hides the original giveaway address. Just add it to your comment using the regular format for posting images: ![](URL)
  • Just like public GAs typically have a lot of entries, there's no need to maintain a low number of entries in GAs posted here. If you want to give especially good odds to people who enter and still get CV, you may want to instead consider posting the link here (and then remove it when you have your 5 entries). This is not needed here in this thread. The more (humans) the merrier :-)
  • The best way to bump this thread is by posting a link to your own invite-only giveaway. With that said, if the thread drops from the first page a regular "Bump" would also be appreciated.

I'm trying to find how serious the issue with bots really is. So far the results don't really prove things one way or another. Here are some stats from my latest experiment:

Game: Space Trader: Merchant Marine
Number of giveaways: 5
Period: 3 days

Giveaway # Level Type Number of entries Winner's Sent:Won Reroll needed?
1 Level 0+ Public 891 0:82 No
2 Level 0+ Invite only, direct link 55 4:47 No
3 Level 0+ Invite only, SGTools (no restrictions) 48 6:71 No
4 Level 0+ Invite only, shortened URL, captcha-free 50 1:205 No
5 Level 0+ Invite only, shortened URL with "I'm not a robot" captcha 54 162:86 No

Yet some more stats:

Giveaway game Period Level Type Number of entries Winner's Sent:Won Reroll needed?
Tales from the Void 5 days Level 0+ Public 755 0:37 No
Tales from the Void 5 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 183 42:514 No
Hyper Box 4 days Level 0+ Public 554 0:32 No
Hyper Box 4 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 193 178:188 No
Ace Combat Assault Horizon 3 days Level 0+ Public 1596 0:28 Yes
Ace Combat Assault Horizon 3 days Level 0+ Invite only, obfuscated link 234 88:107 No
8 years ago*

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3 months ago
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The thread I put this in originally got closed, so I guess I'll put it here:

System Shock

Hint: Eliminate the AI

3 months ago
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View attached image.
3 months ago
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Bump bump! Awesome GA and it reminds me that I still haven't played the original 1 & 2 sitting in my library D:

3 months ago
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Thank you! :)

3 months ago
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Bumping!

3 months ago
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3 months ago
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little things

remove the bots, level 3, ends next thursday

3 months ago
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little bump

3 months ago
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Thank you! :)

3 months ago
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thank thank bump

3 months ago
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3 months ago
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The Eternal Threads Link is the direct way to the GAs.
You may want to fix this.

And better not count the first people as cheaters for reaching it without using the sgtools check.

3 months ago
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Looks fine to me, what am I missing

3 months ago
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He fixed it.

3 months ago
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Thanks :)
I fixed it before anyone joined. I am still new with sgtools, so I wouldn't report anyone.

3 months ago
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Middle Ages old question if there's free will

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1337890/Choice_of_Life_Middle_Ages/

https://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/d29f8c99-dd99-46b9-b960-d949496e8c19

level 2, one day, will be gifted via Steam so winner accept invite pretty please

3 months ago
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I have no choice but to have it.

3 months ago
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Free will does not exist , but the closest we can be to it, the better.

And also, thanks!

3 months ago
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Do I enter because of my compulsory need of SG-gambling-esque dosage? Or is it because I think the game looks interestingly interesting? It almost made it into my wishlist but in the end I decided my wishlist is too clogged. Did I decide to not wishlist for that reason? Because it wasn't +90%?
The answer to all those questions is "yes". The problem is that I don't think I would be able to do something different, tho I have reasons to. I'm happy with just the illusion of free will in my life, because most of the time I don't have real free will.
Do I believe in free will because I'm somehow "programmed" by the events in my life to do so? If so, that belief is from free will, or from another origin?
I think I better play the game. Reconsidering whitelist... Access failure, try again after pillow therapy.

3 months ago
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I'm inclined to believe it is real since our mind makes decisions on the spot, and even tho we're not quite sure of what consciousness is we definitely experience it and it tells us that we are the ones making those decisions. So either free will is real but really hard, or impossible to, explain why it's real or thoughts are actually deterministic but for some reason we developed in a way that makes it more convenient to not be aware of that. Or it's just a design flaw like how we can accidentally bite our own tongues with enough force to bleed to death.

3 months ago
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Bump! Quite an interesting game, I haven't heard of this one before.

3 months ago
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Thanks xurc, glad you approve.

3 months ago
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Deleted

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3 months ago
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White Noise 2 2 hours

3 months ago
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bump

3 months ago
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Deleted

This comment was deleted 3 months ago.

3 months ago
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3 months ago
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Still 5 days left bump!

3 months ago
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3 months ago
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bump

3 months ago
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Bump.

3 months ago
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https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/hH_xt/chaos-on-deponia

The game is Chaos on Deponia. Please do NOT join the GA if you already own Deponia: The Complete Journey, as though it's listed as a separate game, it's actually a composite game which consists of the first 3 Deponia games (plus bonus content), including Chaos on Deponia.

GA is Level 2+, lasts 3+ days, no region restrictions.

Anti-bot: The character in the attached image is known as Mr. _?

View attached image.
3 months ago*
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And here, a cup of tea :

View attached image.
3 months ago
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https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/b?2QL/wasteland-?
Please take a look at the HB Xbox Games Studio Bundle (2025) then you will figure out what "?"is

3 months ago*
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bump

3 months ago
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bump

3 months ago
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3 months ago
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Po[n]go in TOgo
https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/87i?r/pongo
level 2, one day

3 months ago
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Seasons after Fall
Moon Hunters
X * 6 = 0
https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/XoSkF/seasons-after-fall

yy = 1000 * gram
https://www.steamgifts.com/giveaway/yyXFK/moon-hunters

Level 4, 3 days

3 months ago*
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Bump!

3 months ago
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Bump

3 months ago
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trying out sgtools (testing it out) ┐( ̄ヮ ̄)┌
lvl 1+

Kenshi
https://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/f95990ae-e52b-4b13-aa7f-be1605e81e98

( Well people are joining, so I assume it works. I'll do some more random sgtools giveaways later to test out a bit more) ( ̄︶ ̄ )

3 months ago*
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It works, to a certain extent. Just remember to check the winner if they actually went through sgtools, I can already see 1 entry that clearly wouldn't have passed.

3 months ago
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Wait, people can just bypass the sgtools lock?

3 months ago
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It's just a code/url. But unlike other puzzles and stuff, sgtools actually provides a way for you to check.

3 months ago
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yea, someone shares the link behind it.

SGtools lets you easily check all entries of a giveaway for someone who didn't go through it properly.

3 months ago
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Deleted

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3 months ago
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Thank you! :)

3 months ago
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Level 2+
⚠️Steam Gift - Add on Steam
⛔AE, AU, JP, SG, IL, HK, US, ZA, NZ, CA, CH, RU
⏳May 21, 2025 4:00 pm BST

2 months ago*
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King <3

2 months ago
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bumpity bumpity

2 months ago
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Lonely bump!

2 months ago
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Bump!

2 months ago
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https://www.steamgı̣fts.com/gı̣veawav/I__zI/corpse-keeper

Hint 1: Look Carefully
Hint 2: See image below
Level 1
Ends May 21

View attached image.
2 months ago*
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What's with the weird link?

2 months ago
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Hi! Bots usually just look for the five-character code, so this obfuscation – while it may look cool – won't stop them.

2 months ago
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Got it, thanks for the info!

2 months ago
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My fellow commenters are right what matters is the five characters/numbers combination. Obfuscating everything else is a nothing burger.

2 months ago
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Got it, thanks for the reminder.

2 months ago
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When it ends could you drop an answer, very curious.

2 months ago
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Of Course, The answer was:
1) I changed all of the "i" to "ı̣"
2) giveawav : sneaky v
3) the last answer (image) was: 8K

2 months ago
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Train of the last 3 lootboy games I have, Cryofall + Oh My Gore! + Deponia so allow me to delete them if they return duplicate.

https://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/91c8dbcf-6379-4175-8ff6-04a80b440702, ends 05/22 4pm ET.

EDIT: Okay I just put back my normal SGTools, this test was a failure. SGTools whitelist bypass

TL;DR: 800 or more owned licenses = no entry + stricter requirements the more games you own on your account. Just me testing it out.

This is just me testing some new sgtools. I never liked having my giveaways locked behind a significant cv ratio and level since I would like to give to people that aren't able to give. Problem is, bunch of people with low cv ratios are actually just greedy. Multiple years on the site, a couple thousands of games owned, rarely if ever play their wins, not even the basic "thank you", and not to put everyone in a bucket since lots of people are in different situations but with the combination of the other points, if someone has 10+ years on your Steam account, I'm going to assume you have funds to make giveaways, but you choose not to out of selfishness. The ratio and level req for my sgtools were also increased based on abusers. No whitelist bypass this time. I'll improve these rules after some iterations, and ultimately combine it with my "normal" rules. The 800 now owned games is just a cut off due to sheer laziness. I have to do math and plotting to make sure that the requirements I have is basically a piecewise function so there are no steep spikes or valleys of criteria.

edit: drats, after some thinking i might need to make changes but wont be able to do for a while.
edit2: quick fix, hopefully it didn't break, but i halved the penalizing factor for owned games due to poetickatana's comment.
edit3: Should be looking good now. I think I'm done fiddling with it for now and if JTC3 is the only one that gets in, that's fine with me lol. Just a lil transparency, num_owned_games, num_won, num_sent, and real_sent_cv are the factors I used. And you don't need to have sent anything for the first couple hundred licenses owned. And if you do send something nearing the 800 owned licenses, 0 cv games count in your favor.

2 months ago*
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Can confirm I can't pass the test!

2 months ago
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Can confirm I can pass the test!

2 months ago
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success!

2 months ago
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Confirm, can't pass test. (I know I'm above the game number ratio).

2 months ago
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can confirm, failed it.
seems to be working.

2 months ago
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Failed as expected :)

One thing to keep in mind is that num_owned_games counts all licenses, including free ones, not just those that give +1.
That's why I never use it and prefer num_won instead.

2 months ago
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Yeah way back when, I ran a script that added just about every free game on Steam into my library. So many games were added that I have a category called "Because it's Free" that I literally never look at. There's so much junk in there, like demos that aren't labeled as demos, incomplete games that look like they belong on an Atari, programs that have no use, outdated games that don't work, etc.

I would like to clear them out of my account someday, but there's just too much, so I know I won't ever finish.

2 months ago
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oh drats. and i was so excited when i noticed this parameter in sgtools. Back to the drawing board I guess.

2 months ago
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:-D

2 months ago
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Expected failure.

2 months ago
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Failed :(

2 months ago
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failed! :D

2 months ago
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failed!

2 months ago
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800?

Those are rookie numbers. Just a few years of collecting games from promotional events a few dozen dollaroo's invested should get you there quite quickly.

Blessings to those still increasing they're library!
I'm shooting for 2k by the end of next year.

2 months ago
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2 months ago
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I believe I'm below 800 games still (I don't think I've gained that fast this year! Hard to check on phone. Old Humble $1 deals made my account blossom back in the day.) Failed current rules for edit3. (Wasn't planning on entering my though, just a data point.)

2 months ago
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Welp, this is why testing is important. I threw all my hard work out and just replaced it with my standard SGTools now 🥲, it being any license and not paid +1 is rough. Might think of doing a leniency system that lowers my requirements based on... something... but I don't know what yet.

2 months ago
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+1 on PK's opinion. I find the combo of his custom rules as the optimum 'diligent SG user' solution. I changed his combo a tiny bit for my preference. + activated all wins + No same wins. For example

If not so special, but ok game(maybe a 0.2 or a 0.3 sometimes for more participation):
Custom rule: ((ratio_real >= 0.45 and num_won < 900) or num_won == 0) and (last_vac_ban < date_modify(date('now'), '-2 year')) and (real_sent_region_restricted <= 0.4 * (real_sent_region_free + real_sent_region_restricted))

If Special game, and i want it to go to someone who wins less:
Custom rule: ((ratio_real >= 0.75 and num_won < 400) or num_won == 0) and (last_vac_ban < date_modify(date('now'), '-2 year')) and (real_sent_region_restricted <= 0.7 * (real_sent_region_free + real_sent_region_restricted))

I just put these on, keep the rules public and enjoy Sgtools :)
Why keep the rules public? so that people actually see why they didnt pass....i dont see the point of keeping the rules secret.

2 months ago*
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12 hr bump!

2 months ago
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The Invincible (and done!)

2 months ago*
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your vac ban rule not allowing to enter to those who never had it

2 months ago
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It let me enter without having vac ban ever. You might have tripped on the ratio rule.

2 months ago
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yea, but why it shows vac ban rule as not passed too?

2 months ago
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Custom rule have multipe requirements but it's treated as a singe rule.

2 months ago
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got it, thx

2 months ago
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Finished !!
There is a giveaway for Full Throttle Remastered hidden somewhere in the forum. It's so well hidden it got only 1 entry in 20 hours. 😆
(not open for Russia & Belarus)

2 months ago*
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Second entry reporting in! This is fun :D

2 months ago
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🥳

2 months ago
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[ended]
after experiencing some of the very common public giveaway frustrations, hello no-bot forum friends, i'm back here again!
so here it is, an opportunity at inua, a game that caught my attention and id love more people to give it a try <3

https://www.sgtools.info/giveaways/414ff2cb-c145-4bd2-8d1a-1709cf5421f3
lvl 2+, running 7 hours
(first time adding real sent/won cv value requirement. hope it's working okay?)

2 months ago*
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Thanks, have a bump!
Wait... wouldn't a bump actually lower my chances, because it helps other people see this and enter...?
In that case, have a pmub!

2 months ago
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I can't believe you made this rookie mistake. I myself will definitely NOT bump this in order to increase my chan...

DOH!

2 months ago
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idwnq

2 months ago
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pnɯb¡

2 months ago
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burp

2 months ago
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Your rules seem perfectly okay. No wrong entries as far as I can see :)

2 months ago
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thank you! I worried I wouldn't understand exactly how the numbers work and would accidentally demand people to have a crazy ratio to enter, but this doesn't seem to be happening. 8 year old sg forum posts and spying on others' sgtools requirements helped with that :)

2 months ago
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For me 0,5 is very reasonable, you're far from a crazy ratio :)

Of course, you have some very recent members for which the ratio part does not really mean anything (because they haven't won enough for their ratio to be low) , but for me it's a plus !

2 months ago
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Oh no... 4 hours left... Thanks, but without a bump!

2 months ago
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Bump.

2 months ago
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Bump!

2 months ago
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bump

2 months ago
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