This rulebook is currently being updated for the Fall ‘25 season. Content is subject to change before the start of the season.
View the Competition Rulebook for league details.
Introduction and Purpose
These official rules (rules) of the PlayVS Scholastics Esports League apply to each of the teams who have registered and met the requirements for the 2025-2026 school year, as well as their head coach, assistant coaches, vice principals, athletic directors, starters, substitutes (collectively team members), and other members.
1. Game Rules
1.1 Game Account Connections
Players are required to create and add the friend code of their Nintendo account to their PlayVS profile before competing in a match.
Players without in-game accounts connected are ineligible to participate in the match.
Per section 6.2.7 Connected Accounts of the league’s Competition Rulebook,
teams must address missing game account connections before establishing a game of record. Reaching a game of record without confirming game accounts or addressing missing game account connections is not grounds for a match restart or loss.
1.2 Roster Requirements
Team members must be eligible to compete on behalf of their school as listed in section 2. Team Member Eligibility of the league's Competition Rulebook.
Each league page will list the number of players necessary to fill a team’s roster and bench. No individual may simultaneously hold two or more roles as listed above. All players and coaches must be present physically or virtually for all official PlayVS matches. The roster and bench must be finalized before the roster lock date, as listed in section 3.4 Roster Submission of the league’s Competition Rulebook.
Once a game of record is established, substitutions are not allowed. Once the game is complete and the results are recorded, player substitutions may be made before the start of the following game.
1.3 Substitutions
Substitutions must be made before the start of each game by using the Match Assistant to change the roster and re-confirm rosters during the roster confirmation step.
Once a game of record is established, substitutions are not allowed. Once the game is complete and the results are recorded, player substitutions can be made before the start of the following game.
In the event the Match Assistant is unavailable, rosters and substitutions must be confirmed before the start of each game unless otherwise approved by a League Official and stated by a PlayVS Admin in the match lobby chat.
Players on the bench may be used for any match their team is competing in within their assigned league. Eligible substitutes for a match will be displayed on the Bench tab of the team’s roster card. Only the players shown on a team’s bench can be used as substitutes in an official PlayVS Match.
If a player on the starting roster cannot compete in the match and there are no available substitutes, competition may continue without that player as long as it does not disadvantage the opposing team.
1.4 Game of Record
A game of record (GOR) in Splatoon 3 is established under the following conditions:
When players are launched onto the stage.
Once GOR is established, game restarts will only be allowed under limited conditions as listed in section 7.4 Game Restart of the league’s Competition Rulebook.
1.5 Stoppage of Play
Directed Pause
At any time, League Officials may order the pause of a match at the sole discretion of League Officials. Teams may complete the current game and finalize the results.
Player Disconnection
If a player disconnects from the online match during a game, the player should attempt to reconnect to the match as soon as possible. In the event of a disconnect, the game will continue with the current players found in the lobby. Please provide a screenshot for all disconnects as proof of when the disconnection happens.
You can not fill the spot of a disconnected player with a different player in the middle of a game. You must wait until after the game to substitute the disconnected player for another player.
Rosters are locked for each game once the game begins and a GOR has been established according to section 1.4.
If an entire team disconnects from the online match during a game, the disconnected team must share a message in the match lobby chat to notify the opposing team. If the team cannot reconnect in a timely manner, notify PlayVS Support immediately for further assistance.
If the disconnected player, or their coach for the team, has not shared any updates in match lobby chat within the 5-minute window, please pause the match and submit a ticket to the Customer Experience team immediately for further assistance.
1.6 Match Format
Format | Best-of-Five (Bo5) games |
Mode | Alternating
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Team Size | 4 Players |
Settings |
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For weapons and gear, anything a player has unlocked may be used, except that Splatfest Tees. Any player wearing a Splatfest Tee may result in an automatic loss for their Team at PlayVS’ discretion.
Each team will compete in a match consisting of Bo5, with the winner of each game determined by one of the following methods, whichever occurs first:
Completion of the countdown timer or objective achieved.
Team surrender.
Team forfeit and the winner of the match determined by the team to win three games first.
If a single team reaches three game wins before the start of the fourth game, then the fourth game will not be played.
In the event one of the below game modes is deactivated by the publisher, continue the play in the intended game order above.
All matches within the season will share the same match format as listed above, regardless of phase.
For a detailed breakdown of each phase available for the league, see section 5.2 Phase Details of the league’s Competition Rulebook.
1.7 Specific Rules
Stage Selection and Pick Order
Teams may choose any stage during stage selection, as long as they fall within the appropriate game mode for the current game round. If the incorrect game mode is selected for a round, players need to send the game back to the lobby before play begins and choose the correct game mode.
The lobby leader is in charge of ensuring that the correct game mode and stage is selected for each game round before starting the game.
Game Mode | Stage Selection |
Turf War | Stage 1 pick ➤ Home team |
Rainmaker | Stage 2 pick ➤ Loser of stage 1 |
Splat Zones | Stage 3 pick ➤ Loser of stage 2 |
Tower Control | Stage 4 pick ➤ Loser of stage 3 |
Clam Blitz | Stage 5 pick ➤ Loser of stage 4 |
Splattercolor Screen
To maintain a fair and safe state of play for all competing players, a member of either team may declare that weapons with the special splattercolor screen be banned for the duration of the match, so as not to incur any negative effects on a player's ability to compete.
For this rule to be in effect, a team member must state their intention to ban splattercolor screen weapons in the match lobby chat at any time during the match setup process.
2. Player Equipment
2.1 Equipment
Each player on the starting roster must have access to school-provided equipment or must be permitted by the school to provide their own equipment in the following categories:
Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 System
USB to Ethernet Adapter or Built in LAN port (Dock)
Any Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 compatible controller with no turbo mode functionality
Active Nintendo Switch Online membership
Stable internet connection
Copy of Splatoon™ 3 game physical or digital
2.2 Supported Equipment
Players must compete using an official Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 system in all PlayVS games.
PC, laptop and tablet use are not permitted. Any team found in violation of this rule will receive a forfeit for all matches in which PCs, laptops, or tablets were used. Nintendo Switch Consoles must not be modded in any way.
2.3 Internet Connection and Latency
Teams are expected to be connected to an internet connection using a wired connection method. Using a wireless connection method or internet hotspot can lead to latency issues while competing in an online arena environment.
If latency issues exist during a match and a team is found to be using a wireless connection method, League Officials may require a restart, reschedule, or issue a loss for the game, set, or match.
2.4 Internet Connection Disputes
In the event that a match is affected by internet connection issues, please review and complete the steps in Internet Troubleshooting For Gameday Issues.
If the steps provided do not resolve your connection issues, contact PlayVS Support with the type of connection issue you are running into along with the requested screenshots from the article above.
Once connected with a representative, a PlayVS Admin will be sent to your match lobby chat to confirm the information submitted and address the situation. All disputes are addressed on a case-by-case basis, and rulings may require a restart, reschedule, or a loss for the game, set, or match.
If a single team’s connection issue persists throughout the season, matches may be resolved at the League Officials’ discretion to ensure the season continues to move forward.
3. Match Process
3.1 Pre-Match Setup
Teams must adhere to section 6.2 Pre-Match Setup in the league’s Competition Rulebook as they prepare to join their match.
A team member of the home team must add a member of the opposing team to their Nintendo Switch friend list in order to send a room invite.
Do not skip this step, as adding players after lobby creation will cause a connection error for everyone already in the lobby and cause the lobby to close.
3.2 Match Setup
Teams will follow Splatoon™ 3 Match Instructions for lobby creation setup and joining the game lobby.
Game Mode and Map Selection
The lobby leader will ensure that the proper game mode and stage is selected prior to the start of each game, as listed in section Stage Selection and Pick Order.
3.3 Match F.A.Q.
Spectating
In order to avoid giving any team an advantage, spectators must be removed from spectating unless both coaches have agreed to allow for a spectator by following section 7.7 Match Spectating from the league’s Competition Rulebook.
In-Game Content Updates
Splatoon 3 is a live-service multiplayer game that may release new and/or updated content while the season is occurring.
Any characters, items, or game modes currently disabled in-game by Nintendo will not be available for use during official PlayVS matches. All PlayVS matches will occur on the most up-to-date patch, and any available characters, items, or game modes, as listed in section 1.6 are eligible for use in PlayVS matches unless otherwise stated by League Officials.
In-Game Requirements to Join
Players must have completed the in-game tutorial and played at least one (1) online initial turf war match to get the prompt to create a Player ID and join custom lobbies. If a player has not completed these in-game steps, they cannot join a custom lobby as needed to participate in a match.
4. Post-Match Process
4.1 Results
If the match is completed using the PlayVS Match Assistant tool, results will be recorded at the conclusion of each game using the tool.
In the event that the PlayVS Match Assistant could not be used, the match results would need to be submitted manually within 1 hour of match completion. Players should take screenshots of the match results and share those with their coaches.
In the event of an error, coaches must contact PlayVS directly.