How winners are chosen

Every Forté Prizes competition is decided by skill, knowledge or judgement. Here is exactly how each format works, step by step.

Easy guideThe short version
  1. 1Every prize needs skill. You answer a question, spot a ball, or put things in order.
  2. 2Get it right to have a chance to win.
  3. 3Spot the Ball and the Skill Challenge: the best answer wins.
  4. 4Skill questions: the right answers go into a draw, and one is picked.
  5. 5Instant Win: get the game right with a winning number and you win straight away.

Simple rules

  • You must be 18 or older and live in the UK.
  • Play on your own. Don't ask a friend, an app or an AI to help you. If you do, you can't keep the prize.
  • You can also enter for free by post. It gives you the same chance.
  • There is a spending limit each month, so you never spend too much.

Our skill formats

FormatThe skillHow the winner is decidedUsed for
Spot the BallJudgement: reading body positions, eye lines and movementClosest crosshair to the independent judges' position. No random draw.Cars and major prizes
Skill ChallengeKnowledge and reasoning: putting five items in the correct orderHighest score against the judges' answer. Closest tie-break estimate settles ties. No random draw.Watches and selected prizes
Skill questionKnowledge about the prize or a related subjectRandom draw from correct answers onlyTech, watches, cash
TiesNone: it applies only if entries are exactly equalThe prize is shared equally between the tied winnersSpot the Ball and Skill Challenge
Judged written answerA short written answer, for example a caption or a reasonScored by an independent panel against published criteriaOccasional special competitions

Spot the Ball

  1. We take a licensed match photo and digitally remove the ball.
  2. You place a crosshair for each entry where you judge the ball to be. Coordinates run from X 0 to 1200 and Y 0 to 750.
  3. After the competition closes, a panel of at least three independent judges with football experience agrees where the ball most likely was. They decide this before seeing any entries, and their decision is recorded and signed.
  4. Software measures every crosshair's distance to the judged position, to the nearest pixel. The closest entry wins.
  5. If two or more entries are exactly as close, the prize is shared equally between them, as an equal share of the cash alternative each.
  6. We publish the judged position and the winning distance.

The judges decide where the ball most likely was, using skill and judgement. This may differ from where the ball actually was in the original photo.

Play Spot the Ball

Skill Challenge

  1. Each Skill Challenge asks you to put five items in order, for example depths from shallowest to deepest, and to give a numerical tie-break estimate.
  2. The judges' answer and the accepted tie-break value are fixed and signed before the competition opens, and are not published or stored on the website until judging.
  3. After closing, every valid entry, paid and postal, scores one point for each item in the same position as the judges' answer, up to five points.
  4. The highest score wins. If entries tie on score, the tie-break estimate closest to the accepted value wins.
  5. If entries still tie, the prize is shared equally between them, as an equal share of the cash alternative each. No random draw is used.
  6. Results are reviewed and signed off by an authorised reviewer before they are published.

Play the Skill Challenge

Skill question

  1. Each competition has one multiple-choice question, set so that a significant proportion of people would answer incorrectly. We keep records of how each question was set and the share of correct answers.
  2. Only correct answers, paid and postal, are entered into the draw. Incorrect entries are not refunded.
  3. At UK time, one winning entry is drawn at random from correct entries using a certified random number generator, or under the supervision of an independent person. The draw is streamed live and recorded.
  4. Prizes are awarded in accordance with the laws of chance. Every correct entry has an equal chance.

After the result

  1. We email the winner within 24 hours of the result.
  2. The winner provides photo ID and proof of address so we can confirm they are 18 or over, a UK resident and eligible.
  3. We publish the winner's first name and county, the winning entry number or distance, and the date.
  4. We deliver the prize, or pay the cash alternative, within 28 days of verification.

Fairness and records

  • Maximum entries and entries sold are shown on every prize before you enter.
  • Closing times never change because of low sales, and prizes are never reduced or cancelled because of low sales.
  • We keep records of every competition from launch to prize delivery: final terms, entries, eligibility checks, the judges' decision or draw output, and proof of delivery.
  • Free postal entries are included in every judging and draw.