CoinUp Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How much does CoinUp® cost the Operator?
  2. How long does it take for Operators to to be able to put their games online after they fax over the completed forms and voided check?
  3. Do Operators have to wait for the Operator Card to put their games online?
  4. What features does CoinUp® add?
  5. What is the $0.50 fee for online play?
  6. When will Operators receive invoices?
  7. What does Play Mechanix do with the collected fees?
  8. How do players join in on the fun of online play?
  9. How do players purchase cards and how much do they cost?
  10. What is Trophy Club?
  11. What are Add-on and Showdown Tournaments?
  12. How do players collect prizes?
  13. Can Operators run their own local tournaments?
  14. Can Operators run two tournaments on the same machine, during the same time period?
  15. How does the operator validate contest winners for local tournaments?
  16. Can Operators put advertisements on their games?
  17. How can Operators promote CoinUp to their players?
  18. What are the World Championships and how can Operators get involved?

How much does CoinUp® cost the Operator?

CoinUp for Big Buck HD and later games is a recurring monthly cost of $24.99. The majority of online fees are paid for by the player at the point of purchase. All fees that are paid by the player are then put into an invoice every month and emailed to the operator. A sweep account is set up with Play Mechanix and the Operator so that Play Mechanix can collect those fees from the Player. For a detailed breakdown, check the latest fee schedule within the Coinup Registration Packet. Fee schedules may vary between countries.

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How long does it take for Operators to to be able to put their games online after they fax over the completed forms and voided check?

How long does it take for Operators to to be able to put their games online after they fax over the completed forms and voided check? Once Play Mechanix receives the voided check and Registration Packet, Play Mechanix will enter the Operator into the system and send an email to the Operator regarding their CoinUp account within 3-5 days. Also, Play Mechanix will create Operator cards and will send that to the Operator within 7-10 days. It is imperative that the Operator completes all the paperwork in its entirety and send a copy of a voided check. Incorrect or missing information will delay this process. A savings account may be used for CoinUp Sweep. Operators will need to furnish a deposit ticket or letter from the bank including the pertinent information, in lieu of a voided check.

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Do Operators have to wait for the Operator Card to put their games online?

No, once the Operator receives the email from Play Mechanix regarding their new account, they will have all of the information needed to put their games online. The information needed at the game will be Operator ID and PIN which will arrive in the initial email and can be entered into the games manually to connect that game to the CoinUp network.

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What features does CoinUp® add?

Coinup adds a multitude of features to Big Buck HD. Players will have access to their online accounts to participate in an expansive challenge system, the add-on tournament system, showdown gameplay, and premium content including Duck Dynasty. Big Buck World units that are online gain an additional animal within Big Buck Hunter Pro Open Season. Caribou is the new animal and has 3 brand new bonus rounds as well. In addition to this extra content, Operators will also be able to view their games at CoinUp.com where they can find earnings reports, collection reports, and remotely manage their games. Operators will also be able to send advertisements down to their games, as well as creating their own tournaments. All online locations are also added into the database of online games and are displayed on the player website. This enables players to search for nearby online games and gives them driving directions.

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What is the $0.50 fee for online play?

On Big Buck World and older titles, the player will pay a premium to participate in tournaments and Trophy Club. A $0.50 up charge is added to any online game that players choose to play. In the case of the National Tournament, $1.50 is built into the cost that will come back to Play Mechanix. $0.50 is the usual CoinUp transaction fee and the extra $1 funds the prize pool. For Big Buck HD, this fee has been eliminated. The base cost of Big Buck HD play, paid for by the player, goes to the operator. Tournament funding fees and premium content fees do exist and are paid by the player and collected from the Operator. These fees are paid for by the player at the game. That fee is collected from the Operator by Play Mechanix at the end of each month. An invoice is emailed to the Operator and then swept from the account on file.

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When will Operators receive invoices?

An invoice is created every month on the 5th. That invoice is emailed out to the email address provided on the registration paperwork. The account on file will be swept 15 days from when the invoice was created. The invoice contains all of the fees collected from the players over that given period of time. A portion of those fees are given back to the Operator in the form of a discount on the monthly invoice. For games outside the United States, contact your administrator to determine the billing schedule.

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What does Play Mechanix do with the collected fees?

Some of the fees are pass-through fees, in that Play Mechanix collects them to disperse them to other parties.Examples of pass-through fees include:

  • The monthly cellular fee which goes to the cellular provider
  • The add-on and showdown tournament fees which are paid out to winning players
  • The credit card transaction fees which are paid out to the credit card companies
  • Part of the premium content funding fees are used to pay licensing costs/royalties
  • The monthly Coinup service fee helps keep the CoinUp system up and running (hard costs). Beyond these upkeep costs, Play Mechanix reinvests much of the collected CoinUp fees back to the Operator by various promotions held throughout the year and certain PR initiatives that drive traffic to online games. Representatives from Play Mechanix travel the country to host Big Buck Promotional Events at certain online locations across the country. These events consist of mini tournaments, raffles, and spreading the word of online play to new players. The Big Buck World Championship is a huge tournament held every year, involving the best players from across the country competing for over $50,000 in prize money.

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How do players join in on the fun of online play?

Players can create accounts directly at the game. The game will ask for the player's name, a 10-digit number (cell phone number) as a login, and birthday to use as a password. Once they create their account they are all set to go. They can choose to play Trophy Club or to compete in a tournament. They will be able to log in at any online game across the country using the account they created. They can also purchase player cards to log into games rather than manually entering their 10-digit PIN and birthday.

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How do players purchase cards and how much do they cost?

When a player creates an account on Big Buck HD, they will be sent a free play card upon completing the registration process at www.bigbuckhd.com. Additional cards or replacement cards cost the player $3. The card will be created at Play Mechanix and sent to the player within 4-6 weeks. Cards are not necessary for players to play online. Players can always log in manually using their 10-digit number and Birthday.

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What is Trophy Club?

Trophy Club is a way for players to play online and keep track of their stats and compare them with players from across the country. Players can then view those stats at the player websites and can see how they rank nationally.

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What are Add-on and Showdown Tournaments?

Big Buck HD provides players access to continually running automated tournaments. These are referred to as Add-on Tournaments, which can be entered for $1 by the player on top of any standard trek or adventure game. Showdown tournaments can be added on top of the normal showdown play for $1. The winning player has funds added directly to their player account. Their player card allows them to use these funds at any Big Buck HD game.

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How do players collect prizes?

Players can use money won from Add-on and showdown tournaments on Big Buck HD by using their player card. Additionally, they can cash out their account by visiting the player website www.bigbuckhd.com. There they will fill out a claim form and send it in to Play Mechanix via fax, email, or mail. Checks are mailed out to players within 4-6 weeks. Players must claim their own prize. If a prize goes unclaimed for over 90 days from the end of a tournament, that prize becomes void.

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Can Operators run their own local tournaments?

Yes, using CoinUp.com, operators can create their own tournament using any game parameters that they would like. Operators can choose the dates, how long it will run, which games to send it down to, which animals to use, how many treks the players will shoot, the prize pool, and the cost of the tournament. Operators can even invite other operators to be part of their tournament to increase the scope of the tournament.

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Can Operators run two tournaments on the same machine, during the same time period?

Yes. Operators may run up to 25 simultaneous tournaments on a machine.

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How does the operator validate contest winners for local tournaments?

It's up to the operator. When the contest is over, the operator has to close the tournament on CoinUp.com. There, the operator can see the leaderboard and if there are any obviously fake names. They can remove them and the next person in line will take over that place. After the winner's list is set (when the tournament is closed) that list is sent to the machines that the tourney took place on so that the winners have a chance to see what place they took and claim their prize. The operator should supply a phone number or email address for the winners to contact about claiming prizes. This should be done when the operator is creating the tournament on the prize screen. After a winner contacts the operator, the operator can choose to verify the winner however they would like. For example, when winners contact PlayMechanix for national tournaments, PlayMechanix will have the player send in a copy of their photo ID and social security card or something with their SS number on it along with the form W-9 and the CoinUp prize claim form which are both found at www.bigbuckhunter.com/prizes The operator can choose to use a similar form or create one of their own. The player can choose to send in their information by whatever means they feel most comfortable.

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Can Operators put advertisements on their games?

Yes, Operators can put up to 25 advertisements on their games at a time. Using the website, Operators can upload jpeg images of anything that they would like to advertise and send that down to any of their online games. Ads can run for as long as the Operator would like and there is no charge for using the advertising feature.

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How can Operators promote CoinUp to their players?

Getting the word out about online play to the players is one of the most important things. Besides advertising on the game using the advertising feature, Operators can visit the CoinUp website to print out the National Tournament Poster for each month. The poster is created by Play Mechanix and is ready for download and distribution by the Operator. Also, there is art from the games on the website for Operators to download if they would like to create their own poster for local tournaments. Also, direct players www.bigbuckhunter.com or www.bigbucksafari.com for the most up to date information on tournaments and any other Big Buck news.

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What are the World Championships and how can Operators get involved?

What are the World Championships and how can Operators get involved? The World Championships happen every October. The event is held in a different location every year and players from across the country come to compete. The top prize started out at $10,000, but the total prize pool has grown every year. Recently, the World Championship has been joined by the Ladies Championship which had a top prize of $5000. There is a qualifying round for both the World Championship and the Ladies Championship that happens starting in August for players to compete in at any online game. Players can play these qualification tournaments until they end, usually at some point in September. All an Operator has to do to take part in the World Championship is to make sure that his games are online. The qualifying tournaments are automatically sent down to all online games and players will be able to find those games using the location finder on the player websites. The World Championship is a huge event and players flock to online games during the qualifying tournaments. 2010 was the third annual tournament and over 350 people attended the live event in Chicago (which nearly doubled the attendance from the previous year). There were celebrity guests and media coverage. Each year will be bigger and better.

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