Community Challenges on NightCafe

Community Challenges on NightCafe

What is a Community Challenge?

Community Challenges are a type of game that can be played on NightCafe. Each player submits a creation that follows the theme (chosen by the host), then all players vote to determine the winner.


Let’s hop into it by creating a challenge. Head to the chat tab and click on the "Start or Join" button. From there, click on “Start a New Challenge” to start the process. This will open up the challenge creation modal. Here you’ll find the challenge settings, shown below.


Choosing a Challenge Theme, Description, and Entry Criteria

Crafting compelling challenge descriptions goes beyond outlining the rules. For instance…




…If your aesthetic revolves around futuristic looks, consider themes like "Cyberpunk Dreams" or "Sci-Fi Utopia" to resonate with your audience.


…Instead of a generic description, paint a picture for your audience of what exactly you’re looking for in an entry!


…If you value creativity, set criteria encouraging unique interpretations. For instance, "Bonus points for out-of-the-box thinking" can inspire diverse entries.

Best Practices for Crafting Challenge Descriptions

A well-crafted description sets the tone for creativity and encourages participants to express themselves within the challenge's framework. Your challenge description should:


  • Vividly portray the theme for the audience through words 

  • Describe the essence, atmosphere, and emotions you envision. 

  • An explanation of the theme if it's a bit avant-garde or abstract.


Below is the challenge description format that is suggested (see it live on the site here):


[Description of theme with a few examples of acceptable submissions, or ideas for contestants]


[Contest dates]

[Accepted aspect ratio]


[Prizes]


[Voting dates]


[Judging criteria for voters]

Discoverability

By default, games on NightCafe are private, but anyone with the link can join them.



If your game is in a public chat room, then anyone can find and join it via the "Find a chat" or "Find a game" buttons.

When you create a new game in a new chat room, you can opt to make it public, which will also make the chat room public. 


Finding More Settings

Find these settings by tapping on the “Edit challenge settings” button, boxed in yellow below.


Scoring Method

There are two supported scoring approaches for user created challenges - vote and rank. Setting circled in yellow below.



Vote approach (best for 20+ players)

If you've ever done a Daily Challenge on NightCafe, then you are already familiar with this approach.


Each player views each entry, and chooses a scale of 1 - 5 of how much they like the creation, in the form of an emoji (pictured below). At the end of the game, we average the scores across all votes, and the winning entry is that with the highest average vote.


Rank approach (best for fewer players)

In this approach, the player only chooses their favorite top 10 entries, and ranks them according to how much they like them.


Points are given to each entry included in a player's favorite list, with more points given to entries higher in the list.


In addition to the ranked list, players can like any entry they choose to, to give them a small additional bonus in points.


At the end of the game, we sum the points for each entry according to rank and likes, and the winning entry is that with the highest score.


Setting the Schedule

This is where you define how long each game phase should last. You can skip to the next phase any time.

Challenge Phases

Each challenge has 4 phases: starting soon, entries open, voting/ranking open, and finished. We’ll go through each phase separately.

Starting soon

This represents a challenge that has not begun yet, and is waiting for players to join. Generally a host will skip ahead to the next phase once everyone has joined, but the timer will also do this for a more asynchronous game that supports multiple time zones.

Entries open

In this phase, players can submit a single entry to the challenge. They can also replace their entry as much as they like. Players who missed the upcoming phase can still join the game at this stage.

Voting/Ranking open

In this phase, players will score each entry, either using the vote or rank scoring approach (chosen during setup). At this stage, the challenge will not accept late players joining just to score.

Finished

When a challenge is finished, NightCafe will publish a list of challenge entry results, showing where each entry placed in the challenge.


If you submitted an entry, the user interface will show your entry at the top, and show your score and what you placed in the challenge.


If this challenge was scored with the Voting approach, then you will see your averaged rating from each player's vote.


If this challenge was scored with the Rank approach, then you may also also see a highlight of who favorited you and in what position, along with the number of bonus likes the entry received.

Allow NSFW Entries

This setting is based on the content rating of the chat room. If the chat room allows NSFW entries (e.g. partial nudity, violence, gore) then those types of creations will also be allowed in the challenge. Rooms rated PG13 and below do not allow NSFW content.


See our Community Standards for more information on what is deemed NSFW on NightCafe.

Skip to next phase automatically

This option allows the game to automatically skip to the next phase when all players have submitted an entry or voted, making the game run smoother. We recommend you leave this setting on, unless you prefer to have a slower game that waits out the full length of the timer, or you want more control.


A game will normally proceed to the next phase when the timer runs out.


The game host can click "Skip" to move to the next phase even when the timer hasn't finished.

Enforce NightCafe Challenge Checks

Select this option if you want to use the same challenge requirements that the Daily Challenges use. These requirements prevent players from submitting creations that:

  • were placed in the top 5% of any Daily Challenge

  • were evolved from other users creations

  • use or were evolved from an uploaded or stock start image

Use this option if you have a preference for users creating their own work from scratch using prompts only.

Allow uploads

By default, entries must be creations that were made on NightCafe. To open up entries to creations made in any app, you can allow uploaded creations.

Tips for Chat Participation

Encourage Dialogue: Foster conversations by posing questions related to the challenge theme. For instance, "What inspired your creative choices?" or "Share your process with fellow creators."


Provide Feedback: Acknowledge standout entries, offer constructive feedback, and encourage others to do the same. Positive interactions boost morale and create a supportive environment - something we love here at NightCafe!

Guidelines for Community Interaction

Promote Respect: Establish a culture of respect and constructive criticism. Remind participants to express their opinions courteously, fostering a positive and inclusive atmosphere.


Enforce Challenge Rules: Reinforce challenge rules within the chat, emphasizing fair play and adherence to guidelines. This ensures a smooth and enjoyable experience for all participants.


Collaborate with Site Mods: Leverage the support of NightCafe's site moderators for chat moderation. They play a crucial role in maintaining a friendly environment and addressing any concerns that may arise.


Reporting Mechanisms: Educate participants on how to report inappropriate behavior or content, ensuring a quick response from site mods. This helps in swiftly addressing any issues within the community.


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