Dragon Cup/Rules

The Objective

Golly is a game played between two or more teams, each of a different color, on a rectangular grid with even dimensions.
Play shall proceed by starting with the first 1 dimensional row of cells on the grid, and applying a 3-state cellular automata rule to determine the state of the next row; this action is applied sequentially to all rows on the grid.
The objective of both teams is to have the most number of alive ells on the M x N grid once the state of the last row has been determined.
Once play begins, it shall continue until the 3-state cellular automata rule has been applied to every row and there are no more rows left.
A day shall consist of a set of games between two or more teams.
A season shall consist of an odd number of days, following which a pool of winners shall be selected for a post-season playoffs bracket. The winner of this bracket shall be declared the Rainbow Cup Champion until the next season begins.
All games during a given season shall use a common grid size.

The field shall be laid out as a rectangular M x N grid, where M and N are even integers.

Each matchup of teams shall have a three-state cellular automata rule string, and a pattern.
The initial configuration of each team's cells on the first row of the grid is determined by the pattern for that matchup.
A single set of patterns shall be used throughout a given season.
The pattern for a matchup shall determine which shapes shall be placed on the grid. The exact arrangement of the shapes for each game shall be unique and random.

Each team shall maintain a roster of players, with one player assigned to a unique grid square.
Each cell on the grid is alive or dead. If a cell is alive, it may only be occupied by a single player.
Each player is permitted to live in a single cell for the duration of their lifetime.
Players shall not complain about how small their cell is.
Players shall not be permitted to sublet or lease their cell.
Players shall not be permitted to make any additions to their cell, including but not limited to: fences that fail to meet inspection standards, antennas or satellite dishes, canvases or tarps on the exterior of the cell, pets above the 200 kg household pet weight limit, or any other modifications to the cell that would affect its appearance in any way that may interfere with the golly spectator experience.
Players shall be responsible for repairing damages and removing all furniture from their cell prior to dying.

The game shall commence through the second dimension through the repeated application of the 3-state cellular automata rule, starting with the first row.
Each square on the grid shall be in a state of being either alive or dead.
Each live cell shall have a color associated with a team playing in the game.

(TODO)

Game play shall end once the 3-state cellular automata rule has been applied to all rows to determine each row's state.
The victor shall be the team with the most alive cells.

Each season shall consist of S games, where S is a positive, odd integer. In general, S = 49.
Each team shall play their season's games against teams in the same division (intra-divisional games) or against teams in the same league (inter-divisional games).
Schedules for each season shall be determined randomly. Mechanisms may be implemented to ensure a fair schedule for all teams.

At the end of each season, a playoffs bracket shall be determined.
Each league shall declare one winner from each division, with each division winner earning a spot in the playoffs bracket. The remaining spots in the playoffs bracket shall go to the non-division winner teams with the best win records in the league.
In the case where two teams are tied in number of wins, the best record shall be assigned to the team with the most cumulative points over the course of the season (the highest-scoring team). in the case of a tie in total, teams shall roll a 100-sided die. The team that rolls the highest number shall have the best record.
Each postseason bracket shall consist of at least three rounds:
1. League Division Series Round: two division series per league, played amongst the top 4 teams in each league. The number 1 and number 4 seeds shall play the first division series. The number 2 and number 3 seeds shall play the second division series. The series shall be best of 5.
2. League Championship Series Round: one championship series per league, played amongst the top 2 teams in each league. The series shall be best of 5.
3. Dragon Cup Series Round: one Dragon Cup series, played between the winners from each league. The series shall be best of 7.
The championship team shall be the team that wins 4 games in the Dragon Cup Series. They shall be declared the Dragon Cup champion and shall remain the Dragon Cup champion until a new champion is named.