Guide [Issue 43] How to Win Contests

[Fen-Harel 1,176]

Every issue, the TO Newspaper hosts a few contests for the routine readers. Naturally, a lot of players covet the all important crystals that are on offer to the best entrants in every contest. Because of this competition, winning isn't easy, but there are ways to improve your chances. Here, I'll give you a few tips and guidelines on how you can easily increase your chances of winning any contest. Let's get straight into it!

 

Get there on time

The sooner you see the contest topic, the more time you'll have to think about your entry. Keep track of that date.

 

If you're lucky enough to be among the first people to read the latest issue of the Tanki Newspaper, you'll have a pretty big chance of winning contests that are based on task solving speed. These pretty much include any contests that provide a reward for those that answer the contest's demand first. Most popular of these contests are "What's the Password?" and "The Crossword", followed by "What map?". The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish, so keep following the Newspaper. Publish dates depend on the number of weeks in a particular month, but the issue is always public on a Friday. It might be a good idea to check up on the previous issue main topic, often reporters would announce a publish date for the latest issue.. Of course, arriving first to the party doesn't mean all that much in skill related contests where quality wins out over speed.

 

Choose your battles

If you want to win, you'll need to pick contests that align with your personal skills.

 

It's important that you know your flaws and virtues, which I guess is useful outside of Tanki as well, but I digress. Anyway, if you see a contest that suits your talents, don't be afraid to enter. Interest in a certain contest topic can lead to greater motivation and fun during competing, not only raising your mood but also increasing your chances of winning. So, are you a dramatic writer or a romantic poet? An aspiring artist or a humorous comedian? The Tanki Newspaper team tries to cover a wide range of contests, so you should eventually find something perfect for you. Of course, if you want to enter contests you're not that good at for fun, go for it. It's a great way to expand your skill set and improve overall, trying new things is always an enlightening experience.

 

Read the contest demands

It's vital that you completely understand what the contest requires you to do.

 

Although it might seem obvious, there are many cases of people failing to understand a particular contest. Most common mistakes are not sending a proper entry via a google document, either by posting your entry in the forum topic instead or not filling out the form correctly. These are pretty much technicalities that you should fully understand before entering. Rules of the contest, along with the contest's theme and goals, are always explained in the respective topic. Additionally, if some questions are still unclear, the contest organizer will answer them when asked.

 

Professionalism

It's hard to win if your entry looks like it has been mashed up together with no particular idea in mind.

 

This is most important in writing themed competitions. Avoid using excessively large fonts for no reason. If you want to make some part of your text stand out, try writing out the world in bold or coloring it. While on the subject of coloring text, please don't paint the entire thing in an annoyingly bright or invisibly dark color. You want your stuff to be readable, so keep your audience in mind. Reserving a post doesn't really go in your favor either, some contests even ban this trend, so be careful. Use of proper grammar is also important. We get that not everyone is a native English speaker, but a lot of our contests give you plenty of time to prepare your entry. Yes, it may be tough to do, but it'll improve the look of your entry immensely. As for spelling, a small mistake can be forgiven, but do try and use spell check - one click should point out any possible mistakes, so you can easily correct everything 'till it's perfect for the contest.

 

Effort

Most things in life aren't easy to get. You want a certain benefit or reward? Work for it.

 

I can't stress enough how crucial this is. Let's analyze this one step at a time. Putting actual effort into a contest entry means that you didn't just make the entire thing in a few minutes. It really does take time to do things well, so don't rush it and focus on quality. Over the years we've truly had some amazing entries that have stunned both the judges and the readers. Even if you don't win, a lot of contests hold consolation prizes. Trust me, the reporter team easily notices hard work and it almost always gets rewarded. Another reason why you should try your best is to impress other readers or competitors - there are plenty of entries that unfortunately didn't get any prizes, but were incredible in their own regard. Such entries get the appreciation of readers and you might just get a bit of popularity for them. Finally it's important that you enjoy what you do. Once you've finished a tiring project and checked the result, it's the best feeling in the world. Looking at what you created from scratch, seeing it being appreciated by other, it's worth more than any crystal reward.

 

Examples

Here are a few quality contest entries that have truly deserved to be remembered by the Tanki newspaper readers.

By @MetalMann

 

The winning entry for the Design your own Tank contest. There was a bit of controversy about this entry, since many believe it was too good to be true. Still, in the end the entry was accepted as legitimate and got its deserving prize. A great example of skill, effort and creativity, and a true representative of what digital art can accomplish.

 

By @Phoenix-Warbird

 

Second place winner in the Artist of Tanki Online contest. This entry demonstrates creativity, originality and artistic prowess. The transfer between paints followed by three different backgrounds is beautifully done. The attention to details such as the graffiti, the drawing on the wall, the tree stump/trash bin and the Sun representing the Railgun's beam is outstanding. Certainly an entry worthy of memory.

 

By @Supra.the.Ninja

 

The winning entry to the second Tanki Online Custom Paints contest. This is what a quality entry should be. It's well made, original, wonderfully presented and is an overall quality entry. It might not be as impressive as the previous examples, due to it only being a paint and not an entire tank, but that was what the contest requested. A custom made paint from players, which is what the entry perfectly resembled. This is why I feel everyone should check out this entry and the whole contest - lots of cool stuff there.

 

By @LaserShark

 

Placed third in the Equipment Advertising contest. I like this entry because it's really clean, elegant and to the point. The colours are placed just right to attract attention, but keep that calm look of the entire picture. Not to mention the stunning effects on the Shaft M3, followed by its key characteristics. Nothing more to say really, I3rilliant entry.

 

By @tanker538N

 

Finally we've had great entries in The Parody Contest. This contest asked players to actually record their own singing rather than just typing out their entry. Such call to action was a huge amount of fun to both viewers and participants with even the reporters joining in. A great contest that'll always hold its place as one of the most fun competitions organised in the Tanki Newspaper. It's really heartwarming to see players from all over the world try out something they might've never done before if not for this contest. That's really what contests should motivate people to do - try out new things and live through different experiences.

 

Perseverance

If at first you don't succeed, don't cry.

 

If all else fails, you have to be ready to take a loss. Sure, it sucks, but it happens. Even though criticism is welcome, don't abuse this right. Brash assertions won't get you far and it might even hurt your credibility in later contests. The best thing you can do is practice, get better and participate again. It's not just our victories that define us, it's how we deal with failure. No matter what your situation is, no one will condemn you for attempting to improve, to reach new heights and to push your limits. When there are people that make snide remarks against you because of this, always know that eventually you won't be able to hear them from your place at the top.

 

Well, that's all I've got. I'm hoping that this will get you the general idea of what you should strive for to win a Tanki contest. Maybe if you read this carefully enough, you can pick up a few things that might help you outside of these contests, too. At least, that's what I was going for. Either way, I wish you luck in all your future callings and thank you for taking the time to read this. 'Till next issue, bye!

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hexed

[Quarks 2,255]

Well done fen, hopefully I will finally win a contest. At some point.

[Supernatural 2,053]

Or just ask your host friend. :)

[Flexoo 6,980]

Nice tips for any future contestants. I remember most pics you posted as examples. That were a really great entries. Great to see how many talented players this community has.

[canadian_tank 226]

Great tips

:( I never won 1

[Ambitious 2,084]

That's my entry for the custom paint contest!

I feel so honored to know that my entry was amazing and well-presented!

Edited November 14, 2015 by Ambitious

[r_jodha-akbar0 0]

nice tips for coming contests...

[Eragon 13,876]

This tank really looks like its stolen from background or game, yet I can't find it no matter how hard I search  -_-

 

Anyone wants to help me search for the possible plagiarism?   :ph34r:

[Prince_The3rd 50]

its nice to know there are talented ppl on tanki

[Prince_The3rd 50]

This tank really looks like its stolen from background or game, yet I can't find it no matter how hard I search  -_-

 

Anyone wants to help me search for the possible plagiarism?   :ph34r:

Unbelievable huh

[swede1 1,726]

First and foremost, make sure @GoldRock is not entering  :P