SOMER blink is an exciting way to play for cash, ships, and prizes in the world of EVE. Our microlotteries, called "blinks", finish in just minutes... for a fast-action experience you won't find anywhere else!

Overview

How does this work?

You can sign up for a blink account using the in-game browser. Then deposit funds by sending money to the corp SOMER Blink. Once you've got money in your account, you can use any browser to log in and play-- any time you want!

What are blink lotteries?

At SOMER blink you can win prizes quickly. Our microlotteries consist of just 8 to 16 tickets; after all tickets are bought the winner will be revealed immediately! Tickets show up instantly without having to wait for the EVE API to update.

What can I win?

SOMER.blink lotteries are unique in that the players have chosen what prize they want to play for! If a blink slot is open, any player may select a prize to play for by buying the first ticket in that slot. It's fun and easy!

Playing blink

How do I deposit money into my account?

Send money to the corporation SOMER Blink - this corporation is a member of the alliance Cognitive Development. You don't need to use any reason code.

How long does it take for money to be credited to my account?

Check the status of deposits at the top right. You'll see a timer showing you how long until the next deposit update. Or, will appear to show you that deposits are being pre-authorized!

What's a "pre-auth"?

A pre-auth (short for pre-authorization), is when a Blink employee credits your account on the site once you've deposited ISK. The money is added to your account right away, so you don't have to wait for the API to pull.

"Preauth Online" will appear in the top right section of the "Active Blinks" main page if a Preauth Employee is online. You don't have to ask in channel for your deposit to be preauthed; your deposit will be checked in the order it arrives.

How do I buy a ticket?

You can either play an existing blink, or start your own if slots are free. To play a blink in progress, just click the Blink! button next to a ticket number. Your tickets will be assigned immediately.

To start a new blink, just choose a prize to play for by opening the Blinkbar that hovers at the bottom of the page. Once you buy a ticket, the Blink will start up!

How many active blinks are allowed on the board?

• Normal Blinks: Maximum 8
• Big Blinks: Maximum 3
• Mega Blinks: Maximum 2
• Ultra Blinks: Maximum 2
• Max on board: 8 Normal+Big+Mega, and 2 Ultra (total 10)

You can buy as many tickets as you like per blink, except for some special blinks that will be marked "1 Ticket Per Player".

Pres Butan

Hey, what's this "Pres Butan" thing?

Occasionally, there will be trivia questions in the MOTD of the SOMER Lotteries in-game channel. To answer this question, go to the Active Blinks page and click on the "Butan Trivia" link. Type your answer into the available textbox. This page also displays the amount of correct answers and the amount of time remaining on the trivia question.

I got it right! What do I get?

The amount awarded for a correct answer depends on the number of correct answers submitted when the time runs out. The fewer answers submitted, the more prize money will be distributed.

My buddy is begging me for the answer. Can I tell him?

Please don't discuss answers or hints. Sometimes, it can be very hard to answer the question, or to even find the question in the butan riddle, but don't give up! All answers have something to do with Eve Online, and all are solvable. Not only is it against the rules to share the answer with someone else, but it will decrease your own prize as well!

Special Blinks

What are promo tokens?

Promo tokens are special counters that you can use to buy tickets in Promotional Blinks, or "promo blinks". The amount you have appears on the main page, right under the value of isk that you have.

What's a promo?

A promo is a special give-away Blink that has a set amount of tickets, usually between 200 and 500. They appear at the top of the Active Blinks main page, and are bordered in yellow. Unlike normal Blinks, you can only buy one ticket in a promo. Promos do not cost isk; instead, you can buy a ticket by using one of your promo tokens. Once all of the promo slots are taken, the winner is selected just like a normal Blink.

Are there any restrictions on playing Promo Blinks?

To play a promo blink you must have played a regular Blink in the past 48 hours. Players who have deposited more than one billion ISK into their Blink accounts are exempt from this rule.

How often do promos appear?

Promos appear whenever Blink staff decides to start one. They can come one at a time, or in rapid-fire sequence, and can activate at any time during the day. Make sure you check back often so you don't miss out!

Can I use them for anything else?

Sure can! During milestone celebrations, there are often large lotteries called "mini-Bonks" which have prizes above and beyond the value of normal Blinks. You can buy tickets in the mini-bonks using promo tokens, but keep in mind that Bonks have no ticket limit. Mini-Bonks are linked at the top of the Active Blinks page. Click on the banner link to go to a separate page when a mini-Bonk is offered, and then buy as many tickets as you want. After an indicated time limit has passed, the mini-Bonk will end, and the winner will be decided.

Any other special Blinks?

During milestone celebrations, there may be "Bonk" lotteries in addition to normal promos and mini-Bonks. Bonks are huge lotteries offering unique prizes with unlimited tickets, which run on a time limit. To buy a ticket for a Bonk, click on the link at the top of the Active Blinks page, and navigate to the Bonk page. Tickets for main Bonk lotteries cost isk, and you can buy as many as you like. The prizes for Bonks are usually very large, so check back often to see how many tickets other people are buying.

Claiming Prizes

I won! I won!

If you see that you've won a prize, visit your account page and look for it there. You have four options:

• Hub Dropoff - we will contract your prize from a SOMER office, usually Jita. This option gets you your prize fastest. Prizes are contracted in under 24 hours, and in most cases far less time.
• Delivery - we will deliver your prize to any high-sec system. This service is paid for by SOMER.blink at no cost to you. This option may take 48 hours before your prize is ready to be picked up. Shipping is not available on prizes costing 8M or less per ticket, or capitals.
• ISK Buyout - SOMER.blink can buy your prize for ISK. The ISK value of our offer will be displayed on the buyout page. Deposits should be completed in under 24 hours in most cases.
• Blink Credit - you can turn your winnings right into Blink credit to put in your account! This is instant and you can start playing again right away. We also offer a bonus compared to the buyout option if you choose Credit.

You have an unlimited amount of time to claim a prize after you have won it, so feel free to check Blink later on without worry. However, after you have claimed a prize for delivery or shipment, you will receive a 2-week contract. If you do not accept the contract in that period of time, your Blink winnings in that contract will be forfeit. Promo blinks can only be fulfilled as Hub Drop-offs. There may be an isk buyout offered for certain Bonks and Mini-Bonks– if you've won one of these and would like to discuss your prize, please contact a Blink Claims Specialist.

How do I get money back out of my account?

At this time we have no plans to offer a cashout of your existing balance. You can use the balance to play for prizes, and if you win, you can convert them into ISK using the buyout option. We have several reasons for this:

• CCP's feeling is that such a feature can be exploited to "launder" ISK from ISK sellers. Blink does not condone such activity.
• Blink awards billions of ISK of achievement credit, which would need to be kept separate from your actual balance.
• Blink relies on deposited ISK to pre-purchase popular prizes, ensuring we can keep the cost of blinks low.

I'm sure there has to be some legal stuff!

You got it. Here goes!

• If there's an error caused by the malfunction of our website, we'll fix the problem as soon as possible, and return any ISK to your Blink account. However, we're not responsible for these malfunctions. For example, if buying tickets didn't take any money from your account, we may remove those tickets at our discretion.
• If your prize isn't available, we'll offer you the ISK equivalent.
• We promise to do our best to get all prizes to you in 24 hours (48 hours for shipments). However, sometimes there will be circumstances beyond our control (for example, Eve might be down). We can't guarantee how long it will take to receive your prizes.
• Only one Blink account per person is allowed, even if you have multiple Eve accounts.
• Don't use automated tools to access or play Blink. This includes autorefreshers and scripts.
• We will not ban accounts by request. If you wish to no longer have access to your account, you can change your password to something you cannot remember. You may change your password at this link.
• If a GM removes money that you've sent to us, we will ban your account until you repay the owed amount.

Troubleshooting

My ISK hasn't shown up on my account. Help!

Did you deposit to the right corp, SOMER Blink? Check the API Timer on the upper right hand corner of the Active Blinks main page. Occasionally it may take up to a minute or two after the API pulls for all accounts to be updated to the new balance. If this doesn't solve the problem, there may be a problem with the API function on CCP's end. If your balance hasn't been updated after two API pulls, and there are no reported issues with CCP, please check with us in the SOMER Lotteries channel.

I requested a hub drop-off, buyout, or delivery. The claim is marked complete in My Blinks, but I haven't gotten my prize. What's up?

Make sure to check the proper contract settings for receiving prizes. They are:

• Location: All Regions
• Contract Type: Item Exchange
• Item Category: ALL
• Availability: Me
• No security filtering

Remember that the contract icon in your neocom may not flash if the contract was assigned to you while you are offline. Expired contracts are shown in your journal. As previously stated, if you do not accept a contract that has been issued in the two week period offered, your Blink winnings in that contract will be forfeit. You have unlimited time to choose a delivery method, so make sure you will be available to claim your prize when you choose! If you have not received your hub drop-off claim or buyout prize within 48 hours, if you have not received your delivery shipment within one week, or if you have received an incorrect buyout amount, please see the last troubleshooting step below.

If you received ISK, it will be categorized as a "Corporation Account Withdrawal", not a "Player Donation".

Done all that, but nothing. Now what?

If you've gone through all of the above and the problem isn't fixed, please ask in the Somer Lotteries channel if anyone else is experiencing your problem. If no one else has reported the problem, send GrammarNazi, Somerset Mahm, or Andrev Nox an Eve-mail. Please include as much detail in your mail as possible to help us solve your problem as quickly as possible, including the following information:

• If the issue involves a deposit:
  • The time and date of the deposit, copied from your wallet
  • The place you sent the deposit (what corp?)
  • The amount of the deposit
• If the issue involves a claim:
  • The type of the claim (hub, shipment, buyout)
  • The Blink ID, found in My Blinks → View All Winnings

I've found a bug! Do I get a medal?

Actually, yes! If you find a problem with the website, please let us know as soon as possible. Please do not discuss pricing errors, website bugs, or other errors; instead, bring them directly to a claims specialist. If none are online, please mail Somerset Mahm for issues with the website. If the error has to do with pricing, please Eve-mail Andrev Nox, Somerset Mahm, or GrammarNazi. If you report an error that no one else has spotted, you may be eligible for a reward from us.

You can get started by registering for an account.