How to Play and FAQs

[independence1776]

How to Play Bingo

Bingo is a fairly simple game. B2MeM puts our own spin on it by allowing participants to create cards before we begin playing and by not having a single winner.

1. Card creation: submit prompts for one themed card, or if you have graphics skills, create multiple themed cards

2. Card claiming: claiming what cards you want to play with, giving you prompts for creating fanworks

3. Gameplay:

• A mod will post a number every day. For example, B3.
• You look for that number on your card(s) to see if you have any matches. For example, B3 will be in the first "B" column.
• If you have a match, you can create something using that prompt. We cannot guarantee every person will have a prompt to create for every day.
• If you have multiple matches, you may use as many prompts as inspire you. For example, B3 has the following prompts on some cards: Silmaril, Finwe/Indis, AU, Tragedy, fog. You can create a fanwork involving one, some, or all of those prompts, or you can create multiple fanworks using these prompts in any combination.
• You do not have to use every prompt that is called on your cards.
• A traditional bingo game is won when someone had five numbers in a row, column, or diagonal and the board is then cleared for the next round. B2MeM is not playing traditional bingo; people who reach a bingo will receive a banner and the boards are not cleared. It does not matter if you have a bingo on March 5, March 31, or not at all: the point of the game is to use prompts to create fanworks.

You can read an in-universe explanation of how bingo came about and how to play here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can participate?

Anyone! It doesn’t matter if this is your first time in the Tolkien fandom or your fiftieth year; everyone is welcome. All genres, formats, and ratings of fanwork are also welcome.

How can I participate in B2MeM if I'm also creating something for a fandom event also running in March?

You can use B2MeM prompts in your fanwork(s) for the other event(s).

What sites can I follow you on?

Dreamwidth is our main platform, but we have mod-only mirrors on Tumblr and LiveJournal. New for this year, we also have a mailing list so you can receive our prompts in your email. We have an AO3 collection as well.

How can I participate if I don’t have a Dreamwidth account?

If you wish to leave comments on fanworks posted on Dreamwidth, you may use an anonymous comment. However, we do require anon comments to be signed. (For example, if your AO3 username is Frodofan1, please sign your comment Frodofan1.) Anonymous comments are automatically screened before they appear in the community, and unsigned comments will not be unscreened.

We welcome participation on other platforms if you do not wish to post fanworks here, even platforms we don't have a mirror on. We welcome links pointing to your fanworks posted elsewhere. We also have an AO3 collection and the SWG has a challenge listing for B2MeM 2019.

If you do wish to post fanworks on Dreamwidth or link to fanworks posted elsewhere, you will need a Dreamwidth account. You can sign up for a free account here. There is also OpenID available that allows log-in through Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LiveJournal.

A link list of Tumblr to Dreamwidth guides can be found here.

What sort of things do you consider to be fanworks?

It’s simple: if you consider it fanwork, so do we. We’ve had stories, artwork, cosplay, crafts, rec lists, fanmixes, and more. We welcome everything.

We only require that responses have a significant basis in Tolkien’s works. Crossovers and AUs are welcome, as are movieverse fanworks.

Is there a minimum amount of words, time spent, etc. in order to participate?

No! We want people to be as free to create as possible, whether this means writing a lone haiku or working on an epic novel, creating a single icon or a batch of a hundred, a sketch or a detailed painting, a moodboard or picspam, or whatever else you wish to work on.

What are your restrictions on content? Do you require warnings?

We welcome all Tolkien-based fanworks. There are no restrictions on content; the B2MeM community accepts all forms of fanworks from low-rated gen fluff to explicit incest. We do have a header that participants are required to use in order to allow people the ability to choose whether or not to view your fanwork. The header and tagging post will be available before March.

We require warnings for reasonable things that fellow fans might wish to avoid, such as violence, gore, explicit sex, incest, etc. OR you may use Choose Not to Warn. Choose Not to Warn indicates that the work may contain anything, including potentially triggering or explicit content. Participants who wish to avoid certain content should make their own decisions on whether to read or view CNTW entries.

Do I need to create something using all of the prompts that are called on my card(s)?

No! You may choose to use one prompt or you can use as many as you wish. If you only want to create one fanwork for the month, you may use only one prompt or you can use as many in your fanwork as work for you.

Can I combine fanworks prompts into a single work?

Yes! How you do this is up to you.

Do I have to take the prompts literally?

No! We welcome any interpretation of the prompts; we encourage outside-of-the-box thinking. How you respond to the prompts is up to you.

Can I use works begun in previous years or other Works in Progress?

Yes! WIPs of all sorts are welcome to be continued with one or more B2MeM prompts. They do not have to be previous B2MeM works.

I signed up for a previous B2MeM event and didn’t finish. Can I still participate?

Yes! We do not penalize people.

Do I have to wait until after March to post my fanwork outside of B2MeM spaces?

No. We encourage crossposting to whatever sites you normally use.

Can multiple people claim one card?

Yes!

Did I have to submit a card in order to play?

No! The card submission was a completely separate way to participate. You can do one or both.

What if I have a question that isn’t covered by the above?

Please ask us in the comments or email us at b2mem.mod@gmail.com.

Comments

[grundyscribbling]

I'm not making any promises, but if one were to make a bingo card, how do we then submit that? It looks like the card creation form is just for prompts. (Or am I not awake enough yet? That is also an option...)

Nevermind, question answered in very next post on my reading page. Less 'I am not awake enough yet' than 'keep reading'. *headdesk*

[independence1776]

No worries. :)

[narya_flame]

Wow, so are we going to be able to claim from the list of old cards as well as the new list?? :O

ETA - can't imagine how much work this is going to be for you, so thank you so much in advance for running. I can't wait!

[independence1776]

Yup!

You're welcome. It'll be easier in some ways this March because we aren't stamping players' cards, but the getting to March? It'll be busy.

[narya_flame]

OK, I didn't play last time so possibly it is answered somewhere, but how and when do we use the free space on the cards?

[independence1776]

You don't. So if you have a bingo in the N column or third row or the diagonals, you'll only have four prompts in that bingo.

[narya_flame]

Ahh, got it! That probably should have been obvious :P but I've seen it used as a "wild card" space before, where you can use it to write any of the other prompts on the card.

[independence1776]

So have I! Not so much an obvious question with that context in mind. :)

[tehhumi]

Do we have to complete the prompt on the day the number is called, or do we have until the end of March?

[independence1776]

There are no deadlines! You can complete the prompt whenever you need to/feel like. (That includes after March, too; the prompts never expire.)

[shadowcat]

Hi there!

My laptop crashed and shut down as I was clicking submit. I don't know if it went through and I don't remember which cards I had selected.

Is there a way this can be checked?

[independence1776]

Hi! I'm sorry your laptop crashed. But I have good news: your card was submitted!

Your cards are: Alternative Rock Lyrics, AU Types, Cotton Candy Fluff, Crossover 1, Language of Flowers, Love in Middle-earth, Lyrics and Poetry, Relationship, Romance Tropes, and Writer's Block Smash.

[shadowcat]

Thank you so so much!!

[independence1776]

You're welcome!

[lady_katana4544]

So I'm pretty certain that my claim(s) were submitted successfully, but I have since forgotten what they were. Would it possible for me to find out somehow what they were?

[independence1776]

Your cards are Rangers of the North; All OCs, All the Time; AU: Who Lives and Who Dies; Four words (drabble); Hurt/comfort 1; Hurt/comfort 2; Crack Pairings (femslash); and Cotton Candy Fluff.

[lady_katana4544]

Thank you so much <3

[independence1776]

You're welcome!

[marhelf]

Awfully sorry to bother, but I'm playing for the first time and can't find my cards list. As far as I remember I claimed Alternative Viewpoints, Controversial Topics, Language of Flowers and Waters. Would it be possible to check if these are actually my cards? Thanks a lot!

[independence1776]

Happy to help. Those are indeed your cards! :D

[marhelf]

Thank you!:)

[silver_trails]

I can't remember how it was with the free places in the cards. Are they called up, or we just use them as we want at any moment. I think it was the first option, but I can't remember.

[independence1776]

Free spaces are just that: free! You don't do anything with them. So it's technically possible to get a bingo with just four prompts.

[silver_trails]

That's why I didn't remember doing anything with them before! Thank you!

[lindahoyland]

I got a bingo much to my surprise!

[independence1776]

Congratulations!