Official rules
1. Sponsor
The contest is run by Fliinch, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (“Fliinch”, “we”). Questions: hello@fliinch.com.
2. Dates
Entries are accepted from October 28, 2026, 12:00 AM Eastern to November 28, 2026, 11:59 PM Eastern (the “Entry Period”). Fliinch’s server clock is the official clock. Finalists are announced on or about December 3, 2026; the final runs December 4, 2026 to December 16, 2026; winners are announced on or about December 19, 2026.
3. Who can enter
Anyone, in any country, who is 18 or older (or the age of majority where they live, if higher) when they enter, except residents of Quebec; of Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont in the United States; of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia and Belarus; and of any other place where a contest like this is prohibited or restricted by law. Entrants are responsible for checking that they may enter where they live. Residents of everywhere else (or the age of majority where they live, if higher) when they enter. Not open to Fliinch’s owners, staff, contractors and judges, or their immediate families or households. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
4. How to enter
(a) Make an original video, up to 3 minutes, of you playing a Fliinch game at fliinch.com (HOLD YOUR BREATH, HOUSE RULES, DRAKE’S MANSION, ABYSS, or the MICHAEL’S ISLAND demo). (b) Send it with the entry form at fliinch.com/contest during the Entry Period: upload the file (up to 2 GB), or give a link to it (Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or similar) that Fliinch can open. Posting it publicly, tagging @fliinchgames with #TheFliinch50, is welcome but not required. (c) Pay the entry fee of $50 USD (plus any tax that applies) through Stripe. An entry counts once its fee is paid. Up to three entries per person, each a different video and each with its own fee. A linked video must stay reachable until the winners are announced.
5. The entry fee
The fee covers the judging of your entry. It is non-refundable, except that Fliinch refunds it in full if Fliinch cancels the contest, or if Fliinch refuses an entry by its own error. An entry disqualified for breaking these rules is not refunded.
6. What a video may not contain
Anything you don’t have the right to use (music, footage, someone else’s likeness without their consent); anyone under 18 without a parent or guardian’s consent; anything hateful, sexually explicit, dangerous, illegal, defamatory, or that breaks the platform’s rules. Fliinch may disqualify any entry that does.
7. Judging (a contest of skill)
Winners are chosen only on skill, by judges Fliinch appoints, using these criteria: The scare (30%), Creativity (25%), The edit (25%), Knowing the game (20%). Views, likes, followers and chance play no part. Round 1: every paid, eligible entry is scored, and the 50 highest are finalists. Final: each finalist gets the full MICHAEL’S ISLAND free and makes one new video by the end of the final, scored on the same criteria; the three highest win. Ties are broken by the higher Creativity score, then by the earlier entry. If fewer than 50 eligible entries are received, all eligible entries are finalists. The judges’ decisions are final.
8. Prizes
First: $5,000 USD and an offer of a paid creator partnership with Fliinch, on terms agreed in writing (the winner may decline it and keep the cash). Second: $2,500 USD. Third: $500 USD. Each finalist: the full MICHAEL’S ISLAND free, a finalist t-shirt (approximate value $30 USD), a Discord role, and their name in the game’s credits. The prizes are awarded whatever the number of entries. Cash prizes are paid by bank transfer or PayPal within 30 days after the winner has been confirmed. Prizes can’t be transferred. Winners pay any taxes on their prize; US winners of $600 or more give a W-9.
9. Winners
Potential winners are contacted by email and by message on the platform they entered with, and must reply within 7 days, and sign a declaration of eligibility and release, or another finalist may be chosen. A potential winner resident in Canada must correctly answer, without help, a time-limited mathematical skill-testing question before being declared a winner.
10. Your video and your name
You keep ownership of your video. By entering, you give Fliinch a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to show, repost and share it, and your name and handle, with credit, on Fliinch’s site and social accounts to promote the contest and Fliinch’s games, for two years after the winners are announced. You confirm that the video is yours and that everyone in it agreed to be in it.
11. Privacy
Fliinch uses what you give in the entry form (your name, email, phone number, handle, video link, and where you live) to run the contest: to judge, contact and pay, by email, phone or direct message. It is kept in our database host (Supabase), never sold, and handled as our privacy notice says. Payments are processed by Stripe; Fliinch never sees your card.
12. General
Fliinch may cancel, suspend or change the contest if something beyond its control (fraud, a technical failure) stops it from running as planned; if it is cancelled, every entry fee is refunded. Fliinch isn’t responsible for entries lost or late because of technical problems. These rules are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. This contest is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram, Meta, TikTok or YouTube.