NEST

Something we are trying in 2025 as an alternative to The Auction is… The Raffle!

Up front, something to be said which is exactly the same as The Auction:

Winning someone does not guarantee play

Winning someone in The Raffle is meant to be an introduction; an invite to a conversation and negotiation for possible play. Do not go into this activity under the assumption that whoever you win is guaranteed to play with you, and understand that–like all situations at NEST–consent can be revoked at any time. This is, at its core, just an elaborate icebreaker; meant to be a fun way to gauge interest of your fellow attendees, and a fun, spectacular way to introduce people.

tl;dr

  • The Raffle replaces The Auction for 2025 (and possibly beyond, depending on how this goes).
  • Instead of Rhino Bucks that people accumulate, pass around, and use to bid, we use Rhino Tickets (which are gotten in the same way, and at a lower volume).
  • Those who want to participate as prizes fill out an info card and get a box that is put in the public play room.
  • If you want to try to win a prize, write your name on a ticket and put it in a box! You can do this any time up until the winners are drawn.
  • Instead of a singular long show on Saturday night, there’s a “Prize Parade” show on Saturday afternoon where Rhino reads off each prize participant’s card, and they get to present themselves a little. The only thing that happens here are these presentations.
  • Then later Saturday evening, there’s the actual drawing, where a winner is pulled out of each box. It’s intended to be much shorter, but still exiting!
  • The end goal is the same as the Auction: It is just an opportunity for conversation and negotiation, not guaranteed play.

What is The Raffle?

The Raffle, as the evolution of The Auction from years past, is a spectacle that allows people to feature themselves, have some fun banter and presentation, and a thrilling mystery game of “who will win”. It’s kind of exactly what it sounds like; people who wish to participate and become possible prizes in the raffle will fill out information about themselves and get a raffle box with a number, and over the course of Friday and Saturday, attendees can put their Rhino Tickets into boxes for a chance to “win” that prize participant (remember the disclaimer at the top of this page!). On Saturday there will be a presentation–“The Parade”–where the prize participants will have their introductory card read off by our Resident Rhinoceros. Later on that day, “The Drawing” will actually take place, where a winning ticket will be plucked out of each box. Then winners and prizes will be able to link up, chat, negotiate possible play, whatever!

How do I join The Raffle?

For those wishing to be possible prizes, upon check-in (or any time up until The Parade on Saturday)–assuming there is free space)–prize participants are given their numbered box. You can put your name or any other decorations on this box, just make sure your number is still plainly visible.

Something to note–you are allowed to put a “no win list” inside your box (just write it on the lid inside). Again, while play is not guaranteed, we understand that the semi-anonymous nature of this activity can be a little stressful. So if you wish, you can put a list of names, gender expressions, or the like on the inside of your box, which will be reviewed by staff before the drawing.

With that said, a better way to handle this–especially for broad gender preferences–would be, when you’re writing your preferences on your information card, you also write something about what you might do with someone outside your preferences who wins you. While possible play might be what most people put on their information cards, it is not the only option; so think of some unique other activities or chats that you might want to do with someone who wins you who isn’t in your play preferences/boundaries.

Example 1: Casey heavily prefers only playing with masculine-expressing people. Rather than putting “men only” on their no-win list, they write on their information card “Would love to play with men and male-expressing people. Others, we’re going to play rock-paper-scissors!”

Example 2: Jordan really wants to participate, but is more of a top. They do really love a foot massage though. So they write that specifically in their information card “Seeking a really good foot massage. Like a really, really good one. Ideally while we’re talking about space.”

Always remember that you, as the prize, are in control of whatever happens with whomever “wins” you. But also remember that this is meant to be fun and introductory, so where possible, try to think of creative solutions to work around your preferences without making compromises to your boundaries (please do not make compromises to your boundaries for the sake of The Raffle. 🙂)

How do I win in The Raffle?

Upon check-in, all attendees are given a number of Rhino Tickets. This is akin to the Rhino Bucks of yore, so in addition to these, you can get more over the course of Friday and Saturday by being engaged with NEST. There is not truly a rhyme or reason to how to obtain more, but some examples are:

  • Volunteering for things (setups/teardowns/gopher quests)
  • Winning activities
  • General participation in activities
  • Randomly lmao

When you want tempt fate, just write your name on a ticket, and slip it into the box of someone that has caught your eye. There’s no maximum to the number of tickets you can put in a box; the more you put in, the more chance you have to be the winner!

You can put your tickets into a box at any time, but unless you know someone already, it’s a good idea to wait until after The Parade to put your tickets in. That way you get an idea for everyone who’s participating, and you might see someone especially intriguing to you!

To reiterate–winning someone is not a guarantee for play. Although there’s no rule against attempting to win someone who you do not fit their stated preferences, remember that they are ultimately in control of what comes out of your “winning”. Also remember that the “not guaranteed play” does go both ways; you are not forced to play with someone just because you won them.

Ultimately, this is meant to be a fun spectacle and a glorified introduction. It shouldn’t be taken too seriously, so ways you can have fun with writing around your preferences and boundaries–while keeping them respected and not compromising them–is encouraged.

Other Notes

  • The boxes will be placed in the public play room. This is to discourage people from looking through boxes during the day. There won’t be a hard and fast “you are not allowed to look through boxes”, but c’mon; this is meant to be a fun little thing. Just don’t mess with things and let the fates take control.
    • If you want to edit your “no win list” after creation, grab a staff member/the DM on duty to help you, just so that people don’t think you’re trying to mess with a random other box.
  • Remember that you don’t even have to offer play to your winner. We’ve had people offer games, piano lessons, singing sessions, lots of things! Since this is really just a conversation starter, it is totally okay to do something not play related as part of your information.

FAQ

  • How does the “no win list” actually work?
    • Before the drawing, staff will go through the boxes and remove names that match the written list. We will do this to the best of our ability, but it is possible that we might miss.
  • Does anything actually have to happen after winning?
    • Technically? No. It is completely acceptable to just not even talk after winning. But this is meant to be an introduction and conversation starter, so the winner and prize should at least try to link up after the drawing and see where a conversation takes them.
  • Can I look at my box after the drawing?
    • Once the winner is drawn from your box, it is given to you. It’s up to you whether or not you want to rifle through it, or just throw it away immediately. Some people might like to see all of the people that were interested in them, but others might not want the horror because “what if there’s only a few tickets?!” It is completely up to you whether you look through your box after The Drawing.
  • What if nobody puts anything in my box? 🙁
    • Just like The Auction, where we have never had anyone get no bids, we do not foresee any situation where any participant will not have tickets in their box.
  • If I participate, do I need to be there for The Parade and/or The Drawing?
    • It is not mandatory, but if you’re a prize you should really, really be there for both. If you’re interested in possibly winning someone, it would be a good idea to be there for The Parade so that you can see everyone participating. And if you did put tickets into boxes, you should also be there for The Drawing just so that you know you won.
    • For 2025–space and attendee count are both a little bit of a concern for us this year. We are thinking about ways around this for The Parade and The Drawing presentations themselves, but in addition, we plan to use some TV signage to have some basic information about each prize participant scrolling over the course of the day, so at least you can get an idea of who is participating as prizes and maybe chat them up if you can’t make The Presentation. We will also encourage prizes to reach out to their winners, if they are not present during The Drawing.