Ready! Set! Go!

Look, I'm killing two birds here. I'm announcing that Gint-A-Cuffs V is officially on.  And a public service announcement.

Please read and become familiar with the 2013 Rules.  If you have questions, post them on the Q&A page.

Let's Go!

On another note, I received confirmation this afternoon from Topps that the prize boxes have shipped.

Please check your box tops

The Cardboard Connection is reporting diabolical shenanigans from Topps.

Read how some collectors are finding out the hard way about some hidden gems.

They're also reporting about an Oddity Relics insert set.

Again, this is why we don't rush things at Gint-A-Cuffs.

Core rules are coming along nicely.  Thank you for your patience.

Wrapper Scan

Thanks to David (Tribecards), I now have a scan of a wrapper.

And I've transcribed it.  I share it here mostly for my own use.

*Sequentially Numbered

One Little Corner 1:8
Palaces & Strongholds 1:8
Martial Mastery 1:8
Civilizations of Ages Past 1:8

Mini Parallels
Mini Short Print 1:13
A&G Back 1:5
Short Print A&G Back 1:65
Black-Bordered 1:10
Black-Bordered Short Print 1:130
No-Number 1:102
* A&G Bats Back 1:203
* Wood 1:2,716
* Printing Plate 1:594

Insert
The First Americans 1:5
Inquiring Minds 1:5
Heavy Hangs the Head 1:5
Codes, Ciphers & Cryptographs 1:5
Peace Makers 1:5
Famous Finds 1:5

Arachnology Card Redemption 1:47,500

* Rip Card 1:356
* Double Rip Card 1:1,429
* Framed Silk Card 1:633
* Framed Employee Edition Autograph 1:15,250
* Framed Employee Edition Relic 1:15,250
* Framed Ginter Code Breaker Autograph 1:8,994
* Framed Ginter Code Breaker Red Autograph 1:95,000
Framed Mini Autograph 1:49
Framed Mini Red Autograph 1:931
* Cut Signature 1:90,835

Framed Mini Relics - Version A 1:29
Framed Mini Relics - Version B 1:27
Full-Size Relic 1:37
* Framed Mini DNA Relic 1:302,784
* Framed Allen & Ginter Originals 1:9,500
Framed Mini Select Picks Relic 1:908,256
* Framed Mini Oddity Relic 1:7,150
* Book Card 1:37,848

Two unannounced mini insert sets discovered

The Cardboard Connection is reporting that there are two unannounced mini insert sets that have been discovered. People on Bikes and All in a Day's Work.

This is why we don't start Gint-A-Cuffs on release day.

Put last year's Bryant Gumbel in your Penny-Farthing and smoke it.

A little help?

Some of you have your boxes in hand.  You've ripped the packs, scanned the cards.  What I'd like are hi-res scans of any checklists that came with the boxes and hi-res scans of the wrappers that have the insert odds.  This will help me in setting points for the core rules.

Please post them on your blog or send me an email: mark DOT aubrey AT gmail DOT com

Thanks.

In the spirit of Gint-A-Cuffs being transparent and all that hooey, I was approached by a participant last night letting me know that his wife was also a participant and offered to step out so that there wasn't any conflict regarding prizes and all.

I told him in no uncertain terms to "stick it" and that all is fair in love, war, and GAC.  I think that it is really cool that Ryan (Ginter Godfather) and Faith (A Time for Sorrow and a Time for Joy) are in this thing together.  Even if he said, "She's kind of a weirdo."

So far, only one person has picked up on the bribery issue.  They've been involved in Gint-A-Cuffs for some time and have tried to bribe me before.  Come on people.  You want to win?  Get to bribing.

NOTE: All bribes are intended to be in jest.  Maybe.  All previous winners were determined by point totals and nothing else.  Or were they?  Sandwiches are yesterday's thing.  Wow me, people.

Big Day

The Big Day is here.  Topps 2013 Allen & Ginter is being shipped.  It is appearing on the twitter.  As I type this there are over 4,100 listings for '2013 Ginter' on ebay.

Tonight is the last night to become a participant.  Thanks to Faith for stepping out and into GAC V.

I'm still tweaking the 2013 rules and will roll them out soon.

Here's a card that I found interesting...

Does it remind you of anything you've seen before?

Housekeeping Duties

Time to address some of the details of Gint-A-Cuffs V.

The last day to enter this year's contest will be on Wednesday, August 7, 2013.  No exceptions.

I still have a few discount coupons from our official Dealer Sponsor, Dave and Adam's Card World.  Let me know if you'd like one.  Yes, to use it you need to be an active participant in GACV.

Thanks to our Main Sponsor, Topps, we have three hobby boxes of 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter to be used as prizes.  I'm still mulling some ideas in my head on how they will be given.

Favorite Players, Favorite Teams.  Some of you are very, very anxious to select your FP/FT.  Please look at the checklist provided by The Cardboard Connection.  Your favorite player might be Cy Seymour, but if he's not part of the checklist, he's not going to get you any points.  The selection of your Favorite Player affects everyone in the contest.  The selection of your Favorite Team only affects your points.

Even though you might have 'claimed' your FP/FT in previous comments, please post a comment on the 2013 Participants' page.

I'm still tweaking the 2013 rules.  Patience, people, patience.

The contest will officially start one week after Topps ships the product.  A tentative ship date is Wednesday, August 7, 2013.  Hey, that coincides with the last day to join the contest.  The contest would officially start on August 14, 2013, with it wrapping up on Friday, September 27, 2013.  That's a bit over six weeks to get display your point cards.

I'm sure that there will be questions about scoring.  We'll address those as they arise.

Recapping:

• A week to sign up
• Claim your FP/FT now
• Patronize our sponsors
• Keep calm