10 Things I Learned From Yooyuball

1. From the hardest competition comes the highest respect. From the highest respect come the best allies.

Back in the first round, when Kreludor and Haunted Woods were playing against each other, both teams realized how tough the competition was going to be. As they each played as much as they could, they inevitably came to respect such a worthy opponent. From that respect came a feeling that, since one of them won't be continuing to the next round, wouldn't they both be better off together?

When the round's results came out, many Kreludorians indeed joined the Haunted Woods team, creating an alliance called the "Haunted Moon." This was an almost seamless merge, because unlike many other "alliances" where players joined only so they could continue playing, the Haunted Moon was created out of mutual respect.

2. It's not who you support, it's how you support.

Unless you end up on the team that wins the Cup, no participation means no prize. You're always better off playing and helping your team win than sitting and hoping for it. And unless you've been on the winning team from day one, you're better off playing for a losing team than "freeloading" on the winning one.

Freeloading actually hurts your team, as it lowers the average score. If you "freeload," you lower your own team's chances of getting a prize. If you play, you raise your team's chances… and get a prize for participation as a bonus. Think about it.

3. Quality, not quantity.

The more players your team has, the higher chance of winning, right? Wrong. The more freeloaders a team has—that is, team members who don't play—the lower the team average, and the lower the team's points. The only players worth having are ones that indeed play. The ones that don't are just dead weight, and actually hurt their team's chances.

Quality, not quantity is true for the games played, too. Team points are determined by goals scored, not only by wins. Therefore, it's far better to have one hundred 9-0 games won than one hundred and fifty 1-0s.

4. Determination knows no bounds.

Many, many players set themselves outrageous goals per round, battling through fatigue, boredom, and, of course, time restraints. You have to be pretty determined to rack up five hundred wins at the rate of twenty an hour. That makes for 25 hours of gameplay, not including food and bathroom breaks and sleep. Not everyone can be on the computer twenty-four hours a day, either, but many dedicate every possible moment to Yooyuball.

There are other, equally important kinds of determination, too. Some are determined to get nine goals per game, despite the boredom. Others will play for hours without a break. Whatever your goal, accomplishing it is incredibly satisfying.

5. Never underestimate the power of team spirit!

Without team spirit, we'd have nothing. Where would all the determination come from, to start with? For me, talking on the Neoboards between wins is a source of inspiration, and encourages me to do better, try harder. There's something to be said for playing alongside a team and feeling that your fates are intertwined. The Haunted Woods Neoboards topics are like a second home to me, and I'm sure many dedicated team members feel the same. I love my team and the people on it, and I'm pretty sure the teams with spirit do better. Hey, there's a reason all those expensive Cup souvenirs are so popular.

6. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

A team divides into two groups: those who play, and those who don't. Those that play increase their team's points, and those that don't play decrease them. There's no middle ground. If you're not in one group, you're in the other; if you're not actively getting points for your team, you're losing points for it. Those that don't play are every team's biggest problem, because they are actually countering the efforts of the real players.

7. Doing your best is worth it!

Yeah, you've heard it a thousands times before, but that doesn't make it less relevant. Do your best! Not everyone has the determination to play two hundred games, or the ability to score a perfect 9-0, but almost everyone can do something. When one team beat another, it's not because one team's "best" is better than the other's; it's because one team had more people doing their best than the other. The more you do, the bigger your prize for participation and chances for winning the Cup, so working hard is definitely worth it.

8. Every little bit helps.

While it's true that one point more or less doesn't usually make too much of a difference, it's important to remember that little things add up. Take the Kreludor vs. Haunted Woods match, for example, which was the closest match so far. The Haunted Woods beat Kreludor 663,129 to 600,965 points. But what if 62,164 Haunted Woods team members had scored only one point less? If that had happened, Kreludor and Darigan Citadel could be the ones facing off at the finals.

No one player, no matter how good, can be responsible for a win or loss. The most dedicated players, who manage to score one thousand points or more, each "only" account for a fraction of a percentage of the total score! Every single point brings your team one step closer to the Cup, and every freeloader—one step back.

9. If at first you don't succeed, try again!

The first time I played Yooyuball, I was terrible. The second time, I was good. The third, fourth, and fifth times, I was terrible again. But the sixth time? The sixth time, something happened. I got it. Now, I can win ninety-nine games out of one hundred. Now, I can get a perfect 9-0 score 80% of the time. Why? I can because I didn't give up. I can because I didn't stop playing. I can because after the third, fourth, and fifth time, I tried again.

Someone I know didn't play at all during the first two rounds. Finally, at the end of the third round, I convinced her to give it just one more shot. She did… and a few games later, was beating Roo Island 5-0. She racked up twenty wins in no time at all.

No one is excellent at a new game from the beginning, but think what would have happened if no one had ever tried again! The whole tournament would have taken place between the fifty people around Neopia that understood Yooyuball at first glance. Not too interesting, eh?

And now, last but definitely not least….

10. If you aren't going to support your team, think that whoever does so is a loser with no life, and aren't going to change your mind no matter what, please keep it to yourself.

Well. Trust me on this one.

Imagine, just for a moment, that you've finally finished your goal of one thousand wins, when suddenly…

"ONG u looozer u lyk totullly hav no life ur SOO sToOpId 2 ply thiz s2piid youyoubal thung lyk pMG!!111"

How would you react?

...Exactly.

If you don't want to play, don't play. No one can force you. But please don't ruin it for everyone else!

*sprays n00b-b-gone*