Rankings
Friendly competition for those who want it. Coming soon — and shaped by the community.
Our plan for rankings
Ranked play won't launch until there's a community ready to use it. Here's what we're building toward — and how you can help shape it.
Rating System — Glicko-2
We plan to use Glicko-2 as the rating engine — preferred over Elo for its uncertainty handling, which is important in a small community where players join at different times and play at different frequencies. Every player gets a rating and a confidence interval. The system knows when it hasn't seen you in a while.
Seasonal Ladders
Divisions are seasonal. Climb from Bronze to Grandmaster. At the end of each season, the standings reset for a fresh start — with promotion/relegation based on performance.
Tournament Standard Rules
All rated play uses one clearly-defined Tournament Standard ruleset. This ensures ratings are fair and comparable — you earned your Gold rank against the same rules as everyone else. Casual games and club nights can use any variant; only ranked tables use the Standard.
Casual vs. Rated — Always Your Choice
Casual games never affect your rating. Only games specifically designated as "ranked" count toward your ladder position. Play for fun without pressure, or opt into competition when you want it.
How rankings will start
We're being honest — this starts manual. Community validation first, automation later.
During the validation phase (Phase 0), rankings may begin as a simple spreadsheet + Discord-led leaderboard. Players report results, and a human (or semi-automated system) updates the standing. This is low-cost, community-driven, and real — it tests whether people want ranked play before we invest in building it.
If the community shows up, the spreadsheet evolves into automated rankings on the website (and eventually the app). If the community says "nah, we just want to play," then rankings stay as a friendly optional layer and we focus on the rules library and community instead.
Help shape the rankings
The ranked-play system is being designed with community input from day one. Join the Discord to weigh in on the format, rules, and ladder structure before anything is final.
Think You'd Top the Ladder?
Join the Discord to help us design the ranking system — and be first on the board when it launches.