The rulebook for the rankings
Find your kind of ranking
Wins, consistency or the strength of your opponents? Your results hold more than one story.
There is no single fairest method. Start with what your table values; you can always read the same results another way.
What feels fair?
1 of 2What should a great player do?
Two quick choices. Your results stay the same.
Win Percentage
The simplest possible measure: wins divided by matches played, where a draw is played but not won. Everyone understands it instantly, and it works for any game.
- Good when
- New groups, any game, and settling the 'who actually wins more' argument.
- Be careful when
- Uneven schedules — someone who plays three matches and wins two outranks a 60% player with a hundred. It is also field-size blind: winning a duel counts the same as winning an eight-player game.
Try Win Percentage with example numbers
Every result changes the picture
Interactive example · no real player data
6 wins / 10 results
A draw is a result played, but not a win. Small samples can make a big percentage.
Exploring here changes no group settings. On a group board, Change ranking previews your own players.
Same results. Different leaders.
Example players at four-player tables. Change the lens and watch the order.
More victories lead. Morgan’s three wins take the top spot.
- 1stMorgan3
- 2ndAlex2
- 3rdCasey0
Three ways to name a leader from these same results
See the example results
Synthetic records from different four-player tables; other seats are omitted. No ties.
| Player | Finishes | Played |
|---|---|---|
| Alex | 1 · 1 · 4 | 3 |
| Morgan | 1 · 1 · 1 · 4 · 4 | 5 |
| Casey | 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 | 6 |
What do Needs and Compares mean?
Needs says what a method has to be fed: a method that works from placements only needs to know who finished where, while one that needs scores stays blank until your game records numbers. Compares says how far the number travels — methods that scale across any group are the only ones a global game leaderboard can offer, because a simple total is an artefact of how often your group plays.
Switching methods never changes your matches — only how they are read. Open a row for the plain-language explanation, the formula, and where the method misleads.
17 families
9 compare across groups
8 need scores
4 coming soon
Know what you want? Browse every method.
Choose a starting point
Tap a row for details · swipe for more
| Good at | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic Counting | New groups, any game, and settling the 'who actually wins more' argument. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Basic Counting | Seasons and leagues that want to reward attendance as well as winning. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Basic Counting | Tournaments and playoffs where the stakes genuinely vary. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Basic Counting | Free-for-all fields of four or more, where a near-miss still deserves the record. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Basic Counting | Comparing people who have played very different numbers of matches. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Basic Counting | Big groups, where finishing consistently above average is the real competition. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Placement Points | Free-for-all game nights with a fairly steady group size — the easiest system to explain. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Placement Points | Groups whose numbers swing between four and eight from week to week. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Placement Points | Large fields of eight or more, where you want winning to be worth a lot and the podium fight to matter. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Placement Points | Groups that only respect the podium and want the table to say so. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Placement Points | Groups who want a sharply top-heavy curve and are happy to tune one number. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Placement Points | Structured events with pools, semis and a final. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Average & Percentile | A balanced, instantly readable reading when your matches are roughly the same size. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Average & Percentile | Measuring someone's typical evening rather than their worst one. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Average & Percentile | Mixed field sizes and uneven attendance; the fairest reading in this family, and comparable enough between groups to travel to a global board. | Placements | Any group | Intermediate | Live |
Average & Percentile | Groups who believe one catastrophe should count for more than one triumph. | Placements | One group | Advanced | Live |
Average & Percentile | Long seasons where you want to forgive the occasional disaster and reward a peak. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Average & Percentile | A balanced reading that neither a lucky win nor an unlucky collapse can swing. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Head-to-Head | Duos and rivalries, and small groups where everyone plays everyone. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Head-to-Head | Free-for-all games, where beating more people in a bigger field is genuinely harder and this notices. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Head-to-Head | Round-robin settings with plenty of repeated matchups, where the pairwise picture is complete. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Head-to-Head | Free-for-all game nights with rotating attendance and variable table sizes. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Score-Based | Combining games whose scores live on wildly different scales, when you want a cumulative total. | Scores | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Score-Based | Groups playing many different scored games under a single ranking with uneven attendance. | Scores | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Score-Based | Mature scored datasets where how far above average you were is the interesting part. | Scores | One group | Advanced | Live |
Consistency | A secondary column beside a real ranking — who is both strong and reliable. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Consistency | A quick volatility check that needs no explaining. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Participation | Groups where attendance varies a lot and you want performance separated from turnout. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Participation | Social groups who want the every-week regular to stay competitive with the occasional visiting shark. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Participation | Recognising the person who never misses a game night. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Any competition that wants standings nobody has to have explained to them. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Leagues where people play very different numbers of fixtures. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | All-time honours boards where the count is the story. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Score-based games where lifetime output is itself the badge — bowling, Scrabble. | Scores | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Comparing scoring efficiency when people skip rounds. | Scores | One group | Intermediate | Live |
League Standings | Two-sided scored games where the size of a win carries information. | Scores | One group | Intermediate | Live |
League Standings | Comparing how decisively people win across different numbers of fixtures. | Scores | One group | Intermediate | Live |
League Standings | League play where draws exist and you want winning to be worth clearly more than not losing. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Best-of series, elimination brackets, anything sudden-death. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Competitions whose incentives do not match the standard 3-1-0. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
League Standings | Racing-style free-for-all where you want precise control of the curve. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Placement Standings | Tournaments where the whole distribution of finishes is the story, not a single number. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Momentum | The trophy case and the headlines — a bragging-rights board, and a good one. | Placements | One group | Simple | Live |
Cross-Game | Groups with a wide shelf, asking who is the most versatile rather than the most specialised. | Placements | One group | Intermediate | Live |
Elo-like | Pure duels with a stable roster: chess, darts legs, head-to-head anything. Cross-group play knits ratings together, so it travels to a global board. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Live |
Elo-like | Long histories with a stable group and mixed table sizes — the default serious choice, and it scales to global boards. | Placements | Any group | Advanced | Live |
Uncertainty-aware | Ladders where people come and go, so returning players re-find their level quickly. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Coming soon |
Bayesian | Global game leaderboards with many players in groups that never meet — it was built for exactly that, and it is the only advanced rating that handles all three match shapes. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Coming soon |
Statistical Models | Dense histories between the same people, and global boards, since it tolerates players who have never met. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Coming soon |
Statistical Models | Free-for-all groups who record complete placements and want the most rigorous estimate available. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Coming soon |
Matrix Methods | Leagues where people play very different fixtures — it was designed for exactly that problem in college football. | Placements | Any group | Expert | Live |
Matrix Methods | Scored competitions where beating someone by thirty says more than beating them by one. | Scores | Any group | Expert | Live |
Tournament Formats | Actual Swiss-paired tournaments, where those tiebreakers are the standard and mean something. | Placements | One group | Advanced | Live |
17 families, easiest first
Tap a family for the idea behind it and its methods. Easiest to explain comes first.
Basic Counting6 methods
Simple win, podium and top-half counting — intuitive and universal.
Placement Points6 methods
Points by finishing position, so every place is worth something.
Average & Percentile6 methods
Averages of where you finish — fair across uneven schedules.
Head-to-Head4 methods
Pairwise readings: who finishes ahead of whom, directly.
Score-Based3 methods
Uses the raw game scores, rescaled so different games compare.
Consistency2 methods
How steady your results are, not how high they peak.
Participation3 methods
Balances how well you play against how often you show up.
League Standings11 methods
Classic league tables: W/L/D records, league points and margins.
Placement Standings1 methods
Placement tallies for free-for-all fields.
Momentum1 methods
Time-aware readings — streaks and runs.
Cross-Game1 methods
Rankings that span several games — measuring range, not depth.
Elo-like2 methods
Adaptive skill ratings that update after every match.
Uncertainty-aware1 methods
Ratings that carry a confidence band and know when data is stale.
Bayesian1 methods
Probabilistic skill estimates that handle duels, teams and free-for-all alike.
Statistical Models2 methods
Maximum-likelihood models — the most rigorous skill estimates.
Matrix Methods2 methods
Linear algebra over the whole schedule — fair rankings from messy fixtures.
Tournament Formats1 methods
Format-specific standings with their own tiebreakers.