The Square Enix newsletter just landed in my inbox and it has some really interesting details about a tournament currently running in Japan. Players can go to one of many participating internet cafes around the country and take on the Serpent Generals in the Mercenary Camp BCNM.

First, you must find a participating location here. Once you arrive at the location, you login and head to the Stellar Fulcrum. Here, there will be an Event Moogle whom you can talk to and activate the BCNM. After completing the fight, snap a photo of your time, and fill out the form here.

ワールド名 – WORLD NAME
チーム名 – TEAM NAME
キャラクター名 – CHARACTER NAME
代表者お名前 – REAL NAME (person filling out the form on behalf of the party)
代表者フリガナ – NAME IN HIRAGANA (since they’re expecting names in kanji)
代表者連絡先 – ADDRESS
メールアドレス – E-MAIL
画像アップロード – PICTURE UPLOAD (only 1 is required)
その他 – COMMENTS

Only one player in the entire party needs to be at a net cafe, and the others can all tag along. I see nothing barring foreigners from participating barring the fact that one party member must live in Japan to be able to get to a net cafe. According to the contest ads, the entire team will win prizes!

So, let’s read on to see what you can win!

From left to right:
- A Final Fantasy XI poster signed by Producer Hiromichi Tanaka
- A special iPod Touch engraved with the Final Fantasy XI logo
- A Chirping Hina Chocobo toy
- A Final Fantasy XI WebMoney card with 500 yen (roughly 5 Earth dollars)

—–

FIRST PLACE receives the poster, iPod, Chocobo and 6 WebMoney cards

2nd & 3rd receive the poster, Chocobo and 6 WebMoney cards

4-10th receive the Chocobo and 6 WebMoney cards

11th receives an iPod, the Chocobo and 6 WebMoney cards

22nd, 33rd, 44th, 55th and LAST PLACE receive the Chocobo and 6 WebMoney cards

As of November 24th, the best times are:

… and you have until December 11th to beat them!

So let’s find a location!

Alright, so there’s Japan… I’ll just click on Shizuoka(静岡) where I live…

This one sounds close by, let’s Google Map it.

Perfect! Right near a Denny’s, too, so I can celebrate my victory with spicy curry or drown the sorrows of my loss in a hot fudge sundae.

If you’re a FFXI fan in Japan, check for participating locations in your area here: You can try as many times as you want before the December 11th deadline! Good luck!