Commerce · 4 Rounds
Zeus' Verdict
Beneath the melting Arctic, an empire waits.
Beneath the melting Arctic lies Aetherion, a revolutionary energy source. Corporations must enter a high-stakes battle of finance, diplomacy, law and strategy as they compete to dominate the Helios Basin.
Register for Zeus' Verdict
The Rounds
How it unfolds
- 01
Round 1 — The Market Awakens
The Aetherion rush begins. Launch corporations into a live commodities market — issue shares, raise capital, hedge bets. But the Oracle is watching: refinery explosions, trade bans and frozen shipping lanes strike without warning.
- 02
Round 2 — The Auction Wars
Corporations go head-to-head in high-stakes bidding wars for rights to operate in the Helios Basin. Every bid is a bet on the future — spend big and dominate, or spend wisely and survive.
- 03
Round 3 — Trial by Tribunal
Espionage. Broken treaties. Environmental cover-ups. Corporations face off in the International Corporate Tribunal. Mid-hearing, the Oracle unleashes fresh evidence, cyberattacks and investor panic.
- 04
Round 4 — The Final Crisis
One catastrophic event changes everything. With war on the horizon and investors fleeing, corporations must negotiate, restructure and fight for survival in real time. Only the sharpest strategists walk away intact.
Rules & Regulations
Event rules for Zeus' Verdict
- 01
Each team represents one corporation and must remain in character/strategy throughout all four rounds.
- 02
Market actions (share issuance, capital raises, hedges) in Round 1 must be logged with the organizers/game master as they happen.
- 03
Auction bids in Round 2 are binding and cannot be withdrawn once placed.
- 04
In Round 3, all courtroom claims must be backed by evidence provided in the round packet — fabricated evidence is not permitted.
- 05
Alliances between teams are allowed but must be disclosed to the game master when formed.
- 06
The final Annual Report submitted at the end of Round 4 must be completed within the given time and format.
Universal Rules
Apply to every event.
These rules are binding across all ten events at Plutus 2026. No exceptions.
- 01
No AI tools permitted. Use of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any generative AI tool — for research, content generation, calculations, or decision-making — at any stage of any round is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification of the team.
- 02
Judges' and organizers' decisions are final and binding on all matters, including scoring, disqualification, and rule interpretation.
- 03
Reporting time is mandatory. Teams arriving late to their round may lose time from their allotted slot or forfeit their turn, at the organizers' discretion.
- 04
Original work only — any pitch, script, design, or presentation must be created live/on-site during the event unless a round explicitly allows pre-prepared material.
- 05
Respectful conduct is required toward judges, volunteers, and other teams; unsporting behavior, verbal abuse, or sabotage of another team's materials leads to disqualification.
- 06
Substitutions are not allowed once a team is registered, except in case of a genuine emergency and with prior organizer approval.
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Ecolympics