Rules and Punishments
SimOrg is a competitive environment. The policies below keep your Duels fair and the community safe. You are treated as having read them in full. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse.
Be Aware
- SimOrg tries to simulate a real tournament experience, so expect as close to real-world event policy as we can reasonably achieve.
- Rulings follow the North American TCG ruleset, except in OCG formats, which follow OCG rulings (see Ruling Authority below).
- You always have the right to appeal an administrator's decision, just like you always have the right to appeal a judge's ruling at a World Championship Qualifier. A Senior or Head Admin's decision is final, but only when given in the context of an appeal.
- Head Admins may raise or lower any punishment.
- Offenses are not limited to the examples given.
- If multiple offenses occur across two or more categories in a single incident, the punishment durations stack even though only a single strike is added.
- You may receive a strike on your record without being notified.
- Strikes are cumulative. New punishments are based on your total strike count, not the categories of previous offenses. Accumulating enough strikes will result in a permanent ban.
- You are responsible for all SimOrg activity on your account and/or network, even if someone else breaks the rules using it.
- The use of proxy servers and public hotspots is discouraged and may result in an automatic ban; unbannings occur exclusively at the discretion of Head Admins.
- These policies apply to all Duels on SimOrg
General Policies
- Ruling Authority
- All rulings on SimOrg follow the North American TCG ruleset, with the exception of Duels played in an OCG format (including Rush Duel), which follow OCG rulings. Where the two differ on card text, timing, or how a specific interaction resolves, the ruleset of the format you are currently playing decides the result. Admins rule from official sources; AI rulings are not and never will be accepted as evidence.
- In-game Appeals
- After an in-game Admin issues a decision, you may appeal that decision to a Senior level Admin. The currently in-game Admin cannot deny the appeal. The second Admin’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
- Time Limit
- There is no fixed turn timer. Both players are expected to maintain a reasonable pace. Slow Play penalties may be applied by Admins.
- Note Taking
- Note taking is not allowed, except for tracking mandatory effects and turn count. If it can be proven that you are taking notes, you will be permanently banned for Cheating.
- Coaching
- Giving advice or reminders to an in-game Duelist via watchers’ chat, PMs, or public chat is Cheating and will be penalized accordingly.
- Game-state repair
- Admins will repair game states only when it would be possible to do so in paper play. Admins can view Duel history, but will never use that to repair an otherwise irreparable game state.
Custom Image Guidelines
PRO accounts can upload custom images for their avatar, playmat, card sleeves, Token artwork, coin faces, and the “1” face of their dice. All uploads must adhere to these guidelines.
- No objectionable, offensive, or explicit material of any kind.
- No images that infringe copyright.
- Do not upload the artwork of any card that appears in an unlock gallery
What you can upload
- File types: PNG, JPEG or WebP. Animated GIFs are not accepted.
- File size: up to 20 MB. You do not need to shrink a photo first. Your browser resizes and centre-crops it after upload.
- Shape: images are cropped to fill the slot from the centre, so anything important should be near the middle. Avatars and coin faces are square, sleeves and tokens are card-shaped, and the playmat is a wide 3:1 banner.
- Uploading again to the same slot replaces the old images.
The general rule of thumb is: “If this image would be used for the artwork of a TCG card, would it get censored?” If yes, it’s against the rules.
Calling an Administrator
The Call Admin button sits in the Duel Room
above /lookup, and in the lobby itself, so you
can still reach staff even if your opponent leaves the Duel after doing something
they shouldn’t.
Choose the category that fits your problem, and the call joins that category’s queue. Game actions pause for both players while you wait, but chat keeps working, so that you can explain the situation while you wait. You may cancel your own call at any time before an Admin responds; if you do, play will resume immediately.
Play also un-pauses the moment an Admin takes the call and joins the room. From that point on, the Admin runs the Duel. Follow their instructions and do not resume normal play until they say so.
Below is a list of call categories and when to use them.
| Category | Use it for |
|---|---|
| AFK | Your opponent has abandoned the Match. |
| Cheating | Your opponent has intentionally committed illegal actions during your Match. |
| Harassment | You see somebody using insults, slurs, threats or any other abusive behaviour. |
| Report Bug | Something on the site is broken. |
| Ruling Question | You need an administrator to settle a ruling dispute. |
| Slow Play | Your opponent is playing unreasonably slowly. |
Wait times will vary with how busy the site is and what issue you have reported. Keep the call open and explain the situation in chat. Admins will be able to see the game and chat history when they join and will read them upon joining.
Choose the category that most accurately fits your problem. The Admin will resolve all current problems when they respond. Picking the wrong category does not void your call, but intentionally choosing a category that you know does not apply is a Call Admin Button Misuse infraction and will incur a penalty (see table below).
Quitting, disconnecting, or conceding while an Admin call is open does not cancel it. The Duel Room stays open, and an Admin will still review the Duel history and speak to whoever remains.
To appeal an Admin’s decision, simply say so in chat to the Admin handling your Duel. An Admin cannot reject an appeal.
1. General Duel Errors and Misconduct
In-duel actions. Most carry no strike unless noted.
| Category | Description | 1st Strike | 2nd Strike | 3rd Strike | 4th Strike |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game-play (Minor) | Minor unintentional errors fixable by admin instruction (summoning while prohibited; both players forget a mandatory effect, traceable). | In-duel warning | - | - | - |
| Game-play (Major) | Major unintentional errors beyond repair, or a 2nd Minor (shuffling your hand into your deck; forgetting a maintenance cost noticed turns later). | Game Loss | - | - | - |
| Slow Play (Minor) | Unintentionally slow or stalling; AFK under 6 minutes and returns when prompted. | In-duel warning | - | - | - |
| Slow Play (Major) | Unresponsive, or a 2nd Minor; AFK 6+ minutes; unresponsive 30s after a prompt. | Game / Match Loss | - | - | - |
| Rule-sharking | Using the rules to gain advantage rather than to ensure fair play. 2nd offense is an upgradable Game Loss. | In-duel warning | - | - | - |
| Non-compliance | Refusing to follow admin instructions. Repeated offenses may upgrade to Trolling (Major). | Game Loss + Warning (no strike) | - | - | - |
| Profanity (to admin) | Profanity directed at an admin. | Game Loss + Harassment (Minor) | - | - | - |
| Inexperience | Not knowing basic rules, how to navigate the site, or how to use in-game commands; insisting on AI rulings after being told they are unreliable. | Warning | 1 day ban | 3 day ban | Perma ban |
2. Unsporting Conduct
| Category | Description | 1st Strike | 2nd Strike | 3rd Strike | 4th Strike |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harassment (Minor) | Badgering with highly insulting remarks and/or frequent profanity. A 2nd within 7 days is upgradable. | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) |
| Harassment (Major) * | Racist or sexual slurs, offensive or threatening behavior, excessive profanity, compound insults. | 2 day ban | 4 day ban | 7 day ban | Perma ban |
| Harassment (Severe) * | Threatening or abusive behavior; intent to stir hatred, incite violence, or threaten a person, their family, or their property. | 7 day ban | Perma ban | - | - |
| Hate Speech | Slurs or hateful speech, icons, emojis or symbols; advocating hate groups or ideologies. 2nd offense is a permanent ban. | 7 day ban | Perma ban | - | - |
| Unsporting Conduct (Minor) | Minor unsportsmanlike behavior (refusing to communicate; appealing before a decision is finished; refusing to agree on a randomization method). | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) |
| Unsporting Conduct (Major) | Beyond minor, or a 2nd Minor within 7 days. | Game Loss + Warning (no strike) | Game Loss + Warning (no strike) | Game Loss + Warning (no strike) | Game Loss + Warning (no strike) |
| Call Admin Button Misuse | Misusing the Call Admin button to stall or waste admin time, including calling with no genuine problem, or deliberately choosing a category you know does not apply to your situation. | 3 day ban | 7 day ban | Perma ban | - |
| Trolling (Major) | Majorly trolling users or admins to waste time (setting LP to 999999; setting a monster’s ATK or DEF to absurd values; troll-decks to draw out matches; pretending not to know what you are doing). | 3 day ban | 5 day ban | 7 day ban | Perma ban |
* Potential legal issue; we reserve the right to pursue legal action.
3. Cheating
Strike categories. Penalty escalates by total strike count (1st → 2nd → 3rd → 4th).
| Category | Description | 1st Strike | 2nd Strike | 3rd Strike | 4th Strike |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheating | Intentionally misrepresenting the game state or rules; giving inaccurate info; bribery, collusion, coaching, out-of-client note-taking; misreporting Life Points. | 5 day ban | Perma ban | - | - |
| Malicious AFK | Deliberately leaving or idling to stall or waste time. | 3 day ban | 5 day ban | 7 day ban | Perma ban |
| Lying to an Administrator | Deliberately giving an admin false information. | 5 day ban | Perma ban | - | - |
| Boosting | Multiple accounts, friends, or resources for illegitimate wins or exp; abusing the matchmaking / duelist-pool algorithm; proxy self-play. | Perma ban + stats reset | - | - | - |
4. Communication Systems and Accounts
| Category | Description | 1st Strike | 2nd Strike | 3rd Strike | 4th Strike |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spam (Minor) | Nonsense repetition, caps, irrelevant links, ASCII art; spamming coin/dice/tokens. A 2nd within 7 days is upgradable. | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) | Warning (no strike) |
| Spam (Major) | Continuous unwanted messages with no intent to stop; ignoring a Minor warning. | 1 day ban | 3 day ban | 7 day ban | Perma ban |
| Spam (Severe) | A flood of spam or disturbing content with no intent to stop (varies with volume). | 3–5 day ban or Perma | Perma ban | - | - |
| Duel Notes Misuse | Duel notes used for anything other than that duel’s custom ruleset (advertising, "PM for join code", offensive notes, lurking). After 4 strikes, permanent. | 1 day ban | 1 day ban | 1 day ban | Perma ban |
| Personal Profile | Profile used for disturbing material or to harass. | Warning | 2 day ban | 3 day ban | Perma ban |
| Lurking (sexual) | Soliciting sexual contact or inappropriate information; requesting a specific gender. | Perma ban + possible IP ban | - | - | - |
| Doxing / Personal Information | Obtaining or posting another user’s personal info or IP without consent; IP-grabbing links. | Perma ban + IP ban | - | - | - |
| Objectionable Material (Major) | Linking adult content or screamers; movie spoilers posted to ruin them. | 1–7 day ban (admin discretion) | - | - | - |
| Objectionable Material (Severe) | Obscenity, illegal or disturbing content, crash links. | Perma ban + IP ban | - | - | - |
| Inappropriate Username | Foul or offensive username; filter-bypass spellings. | Perma ban | - | - | - |
| Administrator Impersonation | Claiming to be or impersonating an admin with malicious intent. | Perma ban + IP ban | - | - | - |
| Hacking | Actually compromising another user’s account (logging in without permission, deleting their decks). DDoS / DoS threats are handled under Harassment. | Perma ban + IP ban | - | - | - |
| Wagering | Betting on the outcome of any game or match. | Perma ban + IP ban | - | - | - |
| Faking Evidence | Forging screenshots or other material for an abuse report or to misrepresent. | IP ban | - | - | - |
| Multiple Accounts | Multiple accounts for malicious purposes or ban evasion. Each evasion adds +2 days to the original ban (no extra strike); 5 simultaneous banned accounts results in an IP ban. | Perma ban of alts (+ IP per policy) | - | - | - |
| Exam Cheating / Disclosure | Cheating on or leaking the admin (judge) exam. | IP ban | - | - | - |
| Custom Cosmetics | Uploading or using custom cosmetics that infringe copyright or contain objectionable / offensive material. | Cosmetic removed | - | - | - |