SN Official Rules

Terms and Definitions

• Administration: SWAT Nation, its Core Leadership team, and all other entities SN grants administrative powers and responsibilities, including any other tournament operators or third parties administering competitions in the Community, at the designation and discretion of SWAT Nation.
• Flash Event: A Tournament or event that is announced with little or no prior notice. Generally, a Player would register individually and expect to be randomly assigned to a Team.
• Game: A competition within a Match, usually consisting of a single round of play.
• Grassroot Event: An online tournament or event that has been officially sanctioned and recognized by Microsoft’s 343 Industries.
• Match:  A series of Games in which Teams or individual Players compete until a designated majority of Game wins are achieved (e.g., Best of 3, Best of 5).
• Online Event: A Tournament or event where players are participating via online connection, playing from their own provided location and equipment.
• Participant: Any person or entity competing or participating in any element of the overall Community. This may include other defined persons, including but not limited to Players.
• Player: Any person who has registered for any element of the Community for the purpose of competing.
• Team: An entity that consists of a combination of Players for the purposes of competing in any element of the Community.

Roles

A.    Administration

The Administration reserves the right to oversee and facilitate all elements of the Community, while also being the sole decision-making body behind any changes made to any element of the Community. The Administration’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• • Setting and approving dates and prize pools for all events and competitive elements
  • Deciding the cadence or occurrence for all events and competitive elements
  • Seeking and approving all third-party operators for all elements of the Community
  • Having the final authority to grant or deny any Participant eligibility in the Community.
  • Levying final judgment on the outcome of all match disputes or tournament contentions
  • Sole power to levy penalties in accordance with the Official Rules and Code of Conduct
  • Distribution of prizes
  • Creating, updating, and maintaining these Official Rules

In addition to the above responsibilities the Administration reserves the right to oversee and maintain all decisions regarding the general operation of the Community.

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B.    Reserved

This section is reserved for future use.

Player Eligibility

The Administration reserves the right of final approval over any persons seeking eligibility in the Community and may grant or deny eligibility at its discretion.

A. Required Accounts

Participants are required to maintain ownership of the following accounts.

1. Microsoft Accounts

Players must have a Microsoft account linked to an Xbox Live account in good standing.

2. Additional Accounts

Participants may be required to own and maintain additional accounts to participate in Online Events.

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B. Account Maintenance Requirements

Participation in the Community is contingent on ownership and maintenance of accounts with certain native and third-party entities. In addition to ownership, Participants must be the sole owner and maintain sole access to the required accounts. Players are prohibited from trading, sharing, or otherwise transferring ownership or access to any of the personally owned, required accounts.

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C. Age

To compete in this community, Participants must be a minimum of 13 years of age by the date of the event they are participating in. Any prospective Player must have reached the minimum age requirement on or before the first day of the event they are competing in.

Players who are under the age of majority (minors) as defined by the law in their country of residence must have a parent or legal guardian review and consent to these Official Rules.

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D. Names

A Name is any dynamic form of identification that Participants may designate for themselves to be identified during their participation in the Community, including but not limited to team names, player names or aliases, etc.

Participants are prohibited from choosing a Name that could be considered vulgar, discriminatory, denigrating, or otherwise inappropriate. For example, Names may not include:

• • Obscene or suggestive language.
  • SWAT Nation, 343 Industries, Microsoft, or any shorthand of the aforementioned
  • Halo derivatives that may cause confusion during gameplay.

The Administration reserves the right to deny the use of any Participant submitted Name for use in any element of the Community.

Competition Eligibility

A. Team Competitions

Teams are defined as a roster made up of a required number of Players that participate together in team competitions within the Community.

Participants are prohibited from competing on more than one (1) Team within a single competition.

B. Random Team Competitions

Random Team Competitions require Participants to register as an individual or portion of a Team and will be randomly assigned the remaining Players that participate on a Team.

C. Solo Competitions

Solo Competitions require Participants to compete as an individual. Participants are eligible to compete in Solo Competitions without joining a Team.

D. Draft Competitions

Draft Competitions require Participants to register as individuals. A select number of individuals will be delegated to “Captain” a team and will draft the rest of the team from the pool of remaining Participants. This Team will participate together in draft competitions within the Community.

Code of Conduct

A. General Philosophy

All Participants are expected to exercise courtesy, professionalism, and respect while participating in the Community. All Participants are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which reflects positivity on their Team, the Community, Administration, affiliates, and any other Participants, or fans of the Community. Failure to comply with this philosophy may result in suspension or exclusion from the Community.

This Code of Conduct applies to all Participants and all Participants are expected to adhere to these standards, including when not participating in official Community events.

In addition to this Code of Conduct, all Participants are expected to follow applicable local, state, federal, and country laws. Violations of this Code of Conduct, either suspected by or made known to the Administration, will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with these Official Rules.

If a Participant becomes the subject of public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or behaves in a manner that, in the sole judgment of the Administration, reflects unfavorably upon the Administration, Competition, Tournament Organizer, or any affiliates, such acts or omissions shall constitute a violation of these Official Rules and the Administration reserves the right to remove a Participant from any tournament or suspend the Participant from entry into any future tournament or event.

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B. Reporting

All Participants are required to immediately report any violation of the Code of Conduct using an Administration approved channel. Failure to report a violation may lead to disciplinary action.

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C. Cheating

The Administration understands that it has an obligation to facilitate a level playing field for all competitors.

Any form of cheating, whether intentional or not, by any Participant is strictly prohibited. Participants are required and expected to maintain cognizance of these Official Rules and any form of cheating or violation of these rules, intentionally or unintentionally, will result in penalties in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

All Participants are prohibited from influencing or manipulating a Game or Match so that the outcome is determined by anything other than fair and reasonable play. Examples of Cheating include but are not limited to:

1. Collusion

• • An arrangement or agreement made between multiple Participants with the intention of manipulating the results of gameplay outside of reasonable play.
  • Forming an agreement to adhere to rules outside the bounds of the required Gameplay Rules
  • Negotiating the distribution of prize money and/ or any other compensation with a third party
  • Intentionally losing a Game or Match, altering performance for any other reason, or attempting to induce other Participants to do so.
  • Sending or receiving any type of message to gain an advantage.
  • Any type of match fixing

2. Hacking

Using any cheats, hacks, or other third-party “helper” applications, or the modification of game code or files beyond the intended use of standard game options while competing in any element of the Community for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage.

Additionally, the use of any external cheats, hacks, or other “helper” devices such as XIM, Cronus, or other external cheats is prohibited.

3. Exploiting

• • Committing an intentional abuse of in-game mechanics outside the scope of normal gameplay.
  • Abusing any known exploits in the game.

4. Network Abuse

Participants may not intentionally delay or slow gameplay, including but not limited to stalling, disconnecting network cables, interruption of network connectivity, or any other known or unknown manner of tampering with gameplay.

5. Stream Sniping

Attempting to view gameplay feed from any source outside of a Participant’s personal game window.

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D. Heightened Competitive Integrity Measures

The Administration may require additional, heightened measures to promote competitive integrity. Such measures may include but are not limited to installing and maintaining supplemental software (e.g., “anti-cheat”); submitting system logs; use of video capture hardware (e.g., gameplay, monitor facing cameras, face cameras), or other measures as deemed necessary by Administration. Should the Administration deem additional measures necessary, each Participant must comply with the reasonable instructions from the Administration in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

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E. Bribery

Participants are prohibited from directly or indirectly requesting or accepting a gift for services promised or rendered in connection with Games, Matches, or any other element of the Community.

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F. Anti-Harassment

While the Administration acknowledges that competition can bring about passionate and spirited interactions, Participants are expected to treat their opponents, members of the Administration, fans, and all additional staff and personnel of Teams or the Administration with respect.

Participants are prohibited from engaging in or using language that disparages a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, color, age, nationality, disability, religion, or any other characteristic or status protected by law.

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G. Non-Disparagement

While the administration will always value constructive criticism and feedback in relation to the Community and encourages Participants to express their opinions in a professional manner, disparagement and harassment will not be tolerated.

Participants are prohibited from using language or otherwise communicating to any person, public forum, or entity in a way that would be considered disparaging or slanderous in connection with the Administration, SWAT Nation, or any associates or affiliates of SWAT Nation. Such violations can include but are not limited to direct or targeted personal attacks towards SWAT Nation or Community officials, excessively vulgar outbursts aimed towards SWAT Nation or Community officials, or obscene or toxic language aimed at the Community.

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H. Treatment of Community Officials

Community Officials, including members or representatives of the Administration, Referees, or any other associates or affiliates of the Administration, are to be treated with respect and Participants are expected to comply with their reasonable requests.

Participants are prohibited from engaging in the use of language or other communication that may be considered demeaning, harassment, denigrating, or otherwise unacceptable behavior deemed as such by the Administration in its sole discretion.

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I. Sportsmanship

Participants of the Community will be held to a high standard of behavior, communication, and action. Participants are expected to represent the Community in a professional and courteous manner and are strictly prohibited from engaging in communication or actions that could be considered vulgar, toxic, antagonistic, inflammatory, threatening or generally misrepresent the Administration in relation to the Community at any time.

Examples of prohibited behavior include:

• • Hate speech or discriminatory behavior.
  • Violent or physical aggression or behavior.
  • Threats
  • Sexual Harassment of any kind
  • Racist or sexist words, phrases, or gestures
  • Extreme profanity
  • Any “sound-alike” or “look-alike” words or phrases that reference these topics.
  • Any other type of conduct deemed inappropriate at the discretion of the Administration or tournament organizer.

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J. Ringing

Ringing is defined as the action of participating in any competitive element of the Community under the unapproved guise of another Player’s identity by any means. At all points in the event Players are required to participate using their own personal and required accounts or aliases.

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K. Account Sharing

Participants are prohibited from any action that could be considered Account Sharing, defined as the act of using any account or profile that does not belong to them for the purposes of bypassing competition restrictions.

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L. Smurfing / Alternate Accounts

Smurfing is defined as using an account owned by the participant, other than your established, primary account. Participants are prohibited from playing on any Smurf or Alternate account. Participants are required to own and use one (1) Microsoft and Xbox Live account consistently and exclusively within the Community.

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M. Profanity / Vulgar Speech / Gestures

Participants are strictly prohibited from using language that would be considered excessively profane, vulgar, demeaning, discriminatory, or otherwise unacceptable as deemed by the Administration in its sole discretion.

Participants are strictly prohibited from engaging in physical gestures that may be considered offensive, inflammatory, or otherwise unacceptable deemed by the Administration in its sole discretion on or off official broadcasts or personal channels.

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N. Confidentiality

The Administration may at times share sensitive or confidential information with Participants. The sharing or distribution of confidential information or material given to Participants by the Administration, either intentionally or unintentionally, is strictly prohibited. Confidential information may include but is not limited to information or material not yet released to the general public, a reasonable person knows or reasonably should understand to be confidential, or information or material designated as confidential by the Administration.

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O. Non-Compliance

Participants are required to comply with the reasonable instructions given to them by the Administration, including Referees, representatives of the Administration and all auxiliary associates or affiliates of the Administration.

Failure to comply with instructions may result in penalties.

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P. In-Game Behavior

Participants must adhere to professional standards and represent themselves, their Team, and the Administration in a positive light on broadcast, on streams, and in-game.

Disciplinary Actions & Penalties

A. Disciplinary Actions

The Administration recognizes that ideally the enforcement of penalties would not be required, their implementation is necessary to maintain the integrity of the Community and the safety and well-being of Participants. The Administration will investigate and evaluate alleged offenses and will consider the context, reach, and impact thereof, including alleged offenses outside the standard scope of the community, when evaluating the Administration’s response.

The Administration reserves the final right to levy punishments, or other penalties deemed appropriate in the interest of protecting the integrity of the Community.

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B. Appeals Process

If the Administration decides to levy a penalty upon a Team or Player, the affected party is free to pursue the reversal or nullification of the penalty (an “Appeal”) by means of the procedure described in this section. An Appeal can only apply to penalties as described in Section VI. Code of Conduct and does not apply to in-game or intra-tournament penalties such as Game forfeiture or disqualification.

The affected party must submit all Appeals to the Administration within seventy-two (72) hours of official notice of the prospective penalty. Failure to submit an Appeal within 72 hours will result in the affected party’s acceptance of the penalty.

The Administration will review the appeal, which may include a consultation with related parties, and deliver a final ruling within seven (7) days. The Administration’s final ruling will either be to grant the Appeal, grant the Appeal under amended conditions at the sole discretion of the Administration, or decline the Appeal.

Once the Administration has levied a final decision for an Appeal that decision is considered binding and no further attempts at an Appeal will be accepted.

Gameplay Rules

A. Player Expectations for Broadcast matches

Administration reserves the right to broadcast any Match of SWAT Nation. Refusing to allow the Administration to broadcast any Match may result in penalties as prescribed in the Code of Conduct.

Administration may require additional, reasonable actions from Participants to help facilitate and execute the broadcast of tournament matches. Participants are expected to cooperate with and comply with Administration. These expectations may include, but are not limited to:

• • Inviting spectators/observers or other designated accounts into the game lobby
  • Utilizing an Administration-designated communications server for Team communications or other coordination
  • Participating in post-game interviews
  • Staging and starting matches upon designated instruction or timing as indicated by the Administration.
  • Any other reasonable instructions given by the Administration.

Failure to adhere to the Administration’s instructions or requests may result in penalties as prescribed in the Code of Conduct.

1. Master Chief Collection Events

At least one (1) player from each Team shall stream their game-play throughout the duration of the event. Every Player on each Team that is playing in the Loser's Finals, Winner's Finals, and Grand Finals are all required to stream their game-play.

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B. Referees

A “Referee” is defined as a member of the administration team designated by the Administration to help facilitate the execution of general competition related tasks.

Referee responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• • Taking inventory of Teams that are present prior to the designated match start time and that proper penalty procedure is enacted.
  • Informing players of the map and sides for the Match.
  • Enacting the beginning of the Match
  • Maintaining a consistent presence and monitoring for foul play or technical issues
  • Reporting the final score of the Match to be officially recorded

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C. Coaches

Coaches are not permitted to spectate live matches from within the game at any point during online competition. Violation of this rule will be considered cheating and is subject to the Code of Conduct and associated penalties.

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D. Spectators

Third party spectators are not permitted inside of Match lobbies without the explicit permission of the Administration. For the avoidance of doubt, the only entities permitted inside Match lobbies consist of:

• • The Players on the active Match rosters of both Teams
  • Administration designated Referees or admins
  • Official broadcast personnel (i.e. observers)
  • Any personnel granted explicit permission to be present by the Administration.

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E. Host Selection

Matches shall take place in official lobbies, which utilize dedicated servers for all matches. Responsibility for formation of a match lobby will be granted to the higher seeded team.

1. Master Chief Collection (MCC) Events

Matches played in MCC events will make use of dedicated servers.

• • Matches played between two North American (NA) Team shall use the Central US server.
  • Matches played between one NA Team and one European (EU) Team shall use the East US server.
  • Matches played between two EU Teams shall use the West Europe server.
  • Matches played between one NA Team and one Australian/New Zealand (ANZ) Team shall use the West US server.
  • Matches played between one EU Team and one ANZ Team shall use the South Central US Server
  • Matches played between two ANZ Teams shall use the East Australia Server.

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F. Side Selection

The lower seeded team will select their Team side (i.e. Eagle or Cobra, Red or Blue) before the start of each Match. This side choice will apply to all Games within the Match series.

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G. No Shows

Participants and Teams are expected to be online and ready to play up to 15 minutes before the start of a scheduled Match. Teams will wait a maximum of an additional 15 minutes beyond the scheduled Match time. Any Team that does not have their full roster in the Game lobby and ready to play within that window will forfeit the current Match.

Subsequent rounds of play must start within 15 minutes of the conclusion of a prior round. Any Team that does not have their full roster in the Game lobby and ready to play within that window will forfeit the current Match.

Any Participant or Team that is found to have No Showed any Event may be subject to penalties determined by the Administration.

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H. Playing in Non-SWAT Nation Events

Participants are not permitted to play in any Non-SWAT Nation Events concurrent to participation in a SWAT Nation Event. Any Team found to be infringing on this rule is subject to disqualification from the SWAT Nation Event.

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I. Participation in Random Team Events

In Events where Participation requires that Players are given a randomly assigned Team roster, it is the sole responsibility of the Participants to contact and assemble their Team. The Administration will not contact Participants on behalf of other Players.

The Administration will make reasonable efforts to announce the Team rosters with ample time for Participants to contact each other and prepare for the Event.

If Participants are unable to get in contact with their assigned roster, they should contact The Administration and request a Substitute assignment. The Administration will make reasonable efforts to assign a new Player to the roster. Participants are not permitted to nominate their own substitute players for Random Team Events unless the Event registration included partial team registrations (i.e. “Random Duos 4v4”)

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J. Participation in Draft Team Events

This section is reserved for future use.

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K. Substitute Players

Except in cases defined in Section VIII. I., Participants will adhere to the following rules regarding Substitute Players:

• • All requests for Substitute Players must be presented to and approved by the Administration.
  • A substitute Player cannot have already participated in the Event in which they wish to substitute into
  • Only one (1) Substitution may be made by a Team per Event
  • Substitutions are not permitted mid Match or Series
  • Teams are not permitted to play a Game or Match with a partial roster.
  • Teams looking to make a substitution are subject to all the rules outlined in Section VIII. G. No Shows.
  • For Flash Events, Substitutions are not permitted after a Team has started its first Match.

The Administration reserves the sole right to approve or deny any Substitute Players or rosters. Violation of these rules could be subject to the Code of Conduct and result in penalties to be determined by the Administration.

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L. Ties

In the event a Game ends in a tie, the game will be replayed in its entirety until a winner is determined. The replayed game(s) will utilize the same side selection for both Teams.

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M. Game Restarts

If a Player experiences a disconnection or lag out the Game should be restarted with modified Win Conditions to emulate the game state conditions that were present prior to the event that prompted the restart. The restarted game will utilize the same side selection for both Teams.

Example: Team A is leading 30-25 against Team B and a disconnection causes a Game restart to occur. Team A requires 20 points to win the Game and Team B requires 25 points to win.

If a Team experiences more than two (2) disconnections in a single Game, that Game will be awarded to the opposing Team. Teams are further subject to the Rules defined in Section VIII. G. No Shows and Section VIII. K. Substitutions in the event a Participant is unable to reconnect to the Game lobby.

Other situations that could prompt a Game Restart are to be determined at the sole discretion of the Administration. Games that have been interrupted to a point where the Administration has deemed continuation of gameplay to be untenable or a threat to the integrity of the Match will be restarted. Games in which a restart has been deemed warranted shall resume from a point determined by the Administration at their sole discretion.

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N. Score Reporting

Participants are responsible for reporting their own scores unless a Referee or Administrator is present for the Match. Scores should be reported in the appropriate Discord Channel in the official SWAT Nation Discord Server, or directly to a Referee. Score reports should include:

• • Match Number as displayed on the Bracket.
  • Team A Name and Score
  • Team B Name and Score

Example: Match 17: Team A, 2 – Team B, 1

Scores should not be reported in Twitch chat unless requested by the Administration.

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O. Stoppage of Play

Players are not permitted to cause the premature cessation of gameplay ("Stoppage of Play") without the explicit permission of a Referee or other representatives of the Administration. Actions that would be considered committing Stoppage of Play include but are not limited to manipulation of equipment resulting in the cessation of gameplay, ending or leaving the game via the in-game menus, or causing permitted time frames to extend past their designated parameters.

Players who are found to have committed Stoppage of Play may be subject to Game forfeiture or penalties as prescribed in the Code of Conduct.

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P. Game Dispute Procedure

Players are free to express concerns after the conclusion of a Match or Game but should be aware that decisions made by the Administration during the Match or Game are considered binding.

Game and Match results will be considered final if there are no outstanding disputes raised within the designated window to dispute the results of a Game (the “Dispute Window”). The Dispute Window closes at: (a) the start of the following Game within a Match; (b) the start of a subsequent tournament Match from any of the Teams within the respective Game or Match; or (c) fifteen (15) minutes after the conclusion of the Match, whichever occurs first.

The final ruling of the Administration is considered binding.

Prizing

A. Distribution

Players competing in events, competitions, and tournaments referenced in these Official Rules may be subject to receiving Prizing based on their participation and performance. These “Prizes” or “Prizing” can include but is not limited to monetary awards, digital merchandise, physical merchandise, etc.

Prizing for each competition will be evenly distributed amongst all Players on the competition roster for the associated event. Players are not permitted to transfer their Prize to any other Player, organization, or company.

Monetary prizes must be claimed through PayPal. Failure to provide the Administration with the required information (i.e. PayPal account, address, etc.) to process a Prize within forty-eight (48) hours of the conclusion of an Event could result in forfeiture of the Prize. Administration will make reasonable efforts to distribute Prizing to Participants within fourteen (14) days after the Administration has received all necessary payment information from the Player. Players are responsible for any and all costs and expenses associated with their Prize. National, state, and local taxes, including possible VAT taxes, which are associated with the receipt or use of any prizes are the sole responsibility of the Player.

Players will not be allowed to claim cash Prizing or cash-value Prizing if the Player resides in a country currently subject to financial sanctions by the United States of America that prohibit financial transactions or payments to their country of residence.

Reservation of Rights

Administration reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Community, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, human error, or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Community, as determined by the Administration in its sole discretion. If terminated, the Administration may, in its sole discretion, determine the winners from among all non-suspect, eligible gameplay up to the time of such action.