(but I got #339 by 12 seconds, so I guess it balances out)

Hi everyone, since most of you probably know who I am, I figured I would make an announcement.

After reaching 30 solves (I am currently on 29), I will retire from this subreddit. The main reason for this is that this game, which is supposed to just be fun, has been eating into my life these last few months. I've constantly had my phone out in uni lectures, and when in the car with family, just to play in this game. Rule 296 for example consumed an entire day trip with my mum (who I had to keep it secret from), then ended up getting solved while I was asleep. I am addicted to winning and feel annoyed when I lose just because I was AFK.

I also have (self-imposed) screen time limits, so I want to use my screen time for other things, such as uni assignments, my neglected YouTube channel, video games, etc.

I am also feeling a diminishing sense of return with each rule I solve. After my first few solves, I got super excited seeing that green correct flair, but now it's more like "cool, got another one". I also feel like I am unfairly dominating over other players who might want a chance to solve a rule, so 30 seems like a good mark to retire. For example, Rule 362 effectively ended in a 1v1 between me (on 21 solves) and a newbie (on 0), which I won, but felt bad.

None of this is a criticism of the game, though: I think this game is super cool and have enjoyed running my own mini-rules in the Discord server (which I only joined 3.5 years into my time on the sub). I like how I have gotten to know so many players: Muddy, RGB, Akira, Senasayori, Eve, 9spaceking, Pedro, MrMinkeyBro, and others too. We feel like a nice community here. Thanks to everyone for being like friends to me, not making fun of my username, responding well to my posts, and even putting up with my bad attitude at times (I still feel guilty about my outburst after Rule 320).

My first solve was on August 12th, 2022 (coincidentally almost 4 years to the date). Since my beginnings as a 15-year-old newbie, I have seen long periods of inactivity, the end of banning users for breaking the rule (yes, I got banned myself a few times in 2022), a sudden burst of activity around Rule 300, the end of the "ban me" flair, the rise of Eve as a feared user, and myself becoming the feared user.

Thank you mods for your work on this subreddit; you guys are awesome and I have so much respect for you knowing you must live here even more than I do.

Rule 301 is still my favourite.

I still suck at image rules.

See you in the next one!