Rules & Guidelines

Rules & Guidelines​

Overview​

This is a score-attack replay contest for Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, run on Moriya Shrine. Submit a replay of a single Lunatic-difficulty clear (or best attempt) with default settings; the highest valid score at the end of the contest period wins.

Contest Period​

• Start: September 13, 2026
• End: November 13, 2026, 11:59PM EST
• Replays must be submitted before the deadline. Late submissions will not be scored.

Eligibility​

Game version: New Classic Version ONLY! Your choice of version and hitbox visibility has no bearing on eligibility. Score is what counts.

Difficulty: Lunatic only. Runs on Easy, Medium, Hard, or Extra do not qualify.

Lives and bombs: Must be left at default: 3 lives, 3 bombs at the start of the run. Any setting that changes your starting resources is not allowed, including New Classic's infinite-lives mode. Using a continue resets your in-game score to zero under standard Touhou scoring rules, so a continued run will not be competitive. For clarity, continues are not permitted either.

Slowdown rate: If your replay's slowdown/lag percentage is shown in-game, it must stay under 3%. Replays at 3% or higher will be disqualified, since a rate that high almost always means an underpowered PC or an altered replay, not a legitimate clear. If New Classic doesn't track or display a slowdown percentage, this rule doesn't apply.

Recording: You are required to record the run from start to finish. Whether that’s a YouTube video or a video file. It must be uploaded and included in your post.

Important: Avoiding Replay Desyncs​

Pausing during a dialogue/story scene and then resuming with the shot button can desync your replay, invalidating it. Always resume from a dialogue pause using the ESC key, never the shot button. A desynced replay cannot be verified and will not be scored. Please double-check your replay plays back correctly before submitting.

How to Submit​

1. Clear (or otherwise finish) a Lunatic-difficulty run with default lives and bombs.
2. Reply to [link to submission thread] with your replay file attached.
3. In your post, note your final score.
4. You may submit multiple attempts, however, we will take your highest score as your final entry.

Scoring and Winning​

The entrant with the highest score across all valid, non-desynced Lunatic-difficulty replays submitted by the deadline wins. Staff will verify submitted replays for validity (difficulty, default resources, slowdown rate, and desync-free playback) before finalizing standings.

Tiebreaker: If two or more entrants land on the exact same score, the earliest valid submission (by forum post timestamp) wins. If those timestamps also tie, the entry with the lower verified slowdown rate wins.

Disqualification Criteria​

A replay will be disqualified if it:

• Was recorded on any difficulty other than Lunatic
• Used non-default lives/bombs settings, including infinite-lives mode
• Used a continue
• Has a slowdown rate of 3% or higher (where the game tracks slowdown)
• Desyncs on playback
• Shows evidence of editing, tool-assistance, or other cheating
• Is submitted after the contest deadline

Moriya Shrine staff reserve the right to review any submission and disqualify runs that don't meet these standards, at their discretion.

Prizes / Recognition​

After the contest ends, the winner will receive the following:

• A custom site role and color ( your choice )
• A custom user banner ( picture below your avatar with the chosen site role ) your choice of image to use.
• $300 payable via Paypal or Wise

Any questions or clarity, reply here!

Thank you and, again, good luck!

how unfortunate that i struggle at touhou 6 on normal, let alone lunatic, let alone trying to have the best score

Should be fun. Just a heads up, the big green banner thing has two links that I guess are for two different contests (?) but they both link to this thread.