Rules & fine print.

The game

• Every player gets the same simulated starting balance. Allocate 100% of it across eligible US-listed stocks before the round starts — anyone not fully allocated at lock is not entered.
• Position limits (max % per stock, max number of positions) and the eligible-stock list are shown for each round before you build.
• Portfolios lock at round start. Fractional shares, no leverage, no options. Unless the round enables an option below, there's no trading after lock — your picks ride to the final bell.
• Portfolios are valued once per trading day at the market close (4:00 PM ET), captured right after the bell. This closing snapshot is the game's source of truth and may occasionally differ by a few cents from your brokerage's figure. Scoring is price return only — dividends aren't counted toward standings. Winner = highest percentage return at the final close; ties go to whoever submitted their final portfolio earlier.
• All portfolios are public to everyone, always.

Round options

Some rounds switch on extra mechanics — each round's announcement and builder say which apply.

• Shorting — bet against a stock (▼): you gain when it falls, lose when it rises. In this game a short's loss is capped at the amount you allocate to it. Real-world shorting doesn't work that way — losses aren't capped and can exceed your entire investment.
• Rebalancing — on set checkpoint days (daily, weekly, monthly, or specific dates), a window opens where you can close a position — fully or just a trim — and move the freed-up money into other stocks. Submissions freeze at 4:00 PM ET on the checkpoint day and everyone's trades execute at that day's closing prices — like a mutual fund order, so nobody can game after-hours moves. Holding is always allowed: untouched positions simply ride, even if a winner has grown past the per-stock cap (the cap applies when you buy, not while you hold). Rebalances are public, like everything else.

Fair play

• One entry per Discord account per round.
• Moderators may disqualify entries or players at their discretion (multiple accounts, exploiting a data glitch, or anything against the spirit of the game). Moderator decisions are final.
• Data hiccups happen (halted stocks, delistings, price feed gaps). We handle them with published, consistent rules — e.g. a stock that stops trading is frozen at its last known price — and moderators may correct clearly wrong results.
• Stock splits and similar corporate actions are adjusted so they have no effect — up or down — on your return. If one affects a stock you hold, you'll see a note on your portfolio.

The fine print

• This is a game played with fake money. Nothing here is financial advice, and nothing you do here involves real trading or real money.
• Any prizes, if offered for a given round, are described in that round's announcement and awarded at the organizers' discretion.
• Market data is provided by third parties and may contain errors or delays; standings are based on the data as recorded at each valuation.
• Playing requires membership in the Paper Gains Challenge Discord community and signing in with Discord.