SmoochFest

SmoochFest was a donation incentive introduced in ChocoBowl VI. It relied on volunteer artists from both the chat and the hosts to draw characters kissing. The rules were changed on the third day of the marathon, and varied in later years. The rules were as follows:

## Rules

### General Rules

These rules determine the sequence for Smoochfest, with some variation from year to year (especially in regards to the handling of ties).

* A character is chosen to begin the chain, often the final character from the previous year
* An artist volunteers from either among the guests or among the chat
* The artist chooses two characters from the current game that their character may smooch
* A poll is created; the audience votes for the character they want via donation
* After a set amount of time, the poll closes and the character with the highest total wins
* The artist draws the previous character kissing the winner

### Rule Variations

#### Large Totals

In some cases, totals of $100 or more have been treated different

* 2021: Total donations (among all characters) of $100+ unlock characters from Final Fantasy games
* 2022: Any character whose individual total is $100+ will be included in the kiss regardless of the winner
* 2023: If all characters' totals are $100+, it counts as a tie regardless of the winner

#### **Ties**

Ties have been handled differently from year to year, simplified after the complexity of the first year

* 2021, Days 1 & 2: If there are successive ties, they increment as follows:
	+ 1 tie: 1 character kisses 2 characters (3-way kiss)
	+ 2 ties: 2 characters kiss 2 characters (4-way kiss)
	+ 3 ties: 4-way kiss and also Knights of the Round is there
	+ 4 ties: 4-way kiss and "where babies come from"
	+ 5 ties: The Bouncer
	+ 6+ ties: start unlocking characters from Final Fantasy games
* 2021, Day 3 and onward:
	+ Ties do not stack; only one character will move forward in the chain
* 2022:
	+ In the case of "ties" achieved by high totals (rather than monetary ties), the character with the highest monetary total still moves forward
* 2023:
	+ The drawing artist gets to choose which character from the previous tie will continue forward

#### **Other variations**

* 2022: The hosts pick three Square Enix characters for the poll

## **Chocobowl VI Smoochfest Chain**

* Mario kisses Bowser
* Bowser kisses Birdo
* Birdo kisses Shy Guy
* Shy Guy kisses Dooplis
* Dooplis kisses Boo
* Boo kisses Mallow kisses A 30-something Toad with a target hat (tie)
* Mallow kisses Toad kisses Wario kisses Booster (tie x2)
* Wario kisses Booster kisses Chain Chomp kisses Piranha Plant (plus Knights of the Round is there) (tie x3)
* Chain Chomp kisses Piranha Plant kisses Belome kisses Geno, produces hybrid child (where babies come from) (tie x4)
* Hybrid Child kisses Knife Guy/Royal Bus Driver Hybrid kisses Volt Krueger (tie x5)
* Knife Guy/Royal Bus Driver Hybrid kisses Frogfucius/Bowyer Hybrid, FF9 characters unlocked (tie x6)
* Frogfucius/Bowyer Hybrid kisses Vivi
* Vivi kisses Bo-bomb
* Bo-bomb kisses Geno
* Geno kisses Zidane
* Zidane kisses Steiner
* Steiner kisses Boshi
* Boshi kisses Luigi (tie)
* Boshi kisses Sephiroth (tie)
* Sephiroth kisses Luigi kisses Buzz Lightyear
* Buzz Lightyear kisses Cloud Strife/Nimbus Cloud Hybrid (extra bonus incentive)
* Sephiroth kisses Teddy in a Kigurumi (bonus)

## **Chocobowl VII Smoochfest Chain**

* Sephiroth kisses Rikku
* Rikku kisses Ahriman
* Ahriman kisses the Shinra Building
* Shinra Building kisses Celcius the Airship
* Celcius the Airship kisses Vivi
* Vivi kisses Paine, Kimahri, and the Keyblade
* The Keyblade kisses Zidane
* Zidane kisses Cid (Oglop), Wakka, and Lulu
* Cid (Oglop) kisses Shoopuf
* Shoopuf kisses Nooj
* Nooj kisses Goofy (Kingdom Hearts)
* Goofy (Kingdom Hearts) kisses Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
* Sora (Kingdom Hearts) kisses Smoochfest the giant Cactuar
* Smoochfest the giant Cactuar kisses Moogle and LeBlanc
* LeBlanc kisses Gato the Rapping Robot and Joey (Friends) while Ross (Friends) watches sadly
* Ross (Friends) watches sadly while Iago (Kingdom Hearts) kisses himself
* Iago (Kingdom Hearts) kisses Sephiroth

## **Chocobowl VIII Smoochfest Chain**

* Goofy kisses a cactus
* A cactus kisses Dad (a phone)
* Dad (a phone) kisses Skate Punk
* Skate Punk kisses slugs
* Slug kisses Master Belch
* Master Belch kisses Mr. Saturn in a trash can
* Mr. Saturn in a trash can kisses Ranboob and Starman (tie)
* Starman smooches abstract art
* Abstract art smooches Dali clock
* Dali clock gets fixed by Apple Kid
* Apple Kid goes on an adventure with Tessie
* Tessie kisses enraged fire plug
* Enraged fire plug kisses Buzzbuzz
* Buzzbuzz kisses Ego Orb and the real Fred Durst