🎮 How FT8 Battle Royale Works
A quick guide to understanding the competition
📅 Daily Competition
Points earned today
Resets: Midnight UTC📆 Weekly Totals
Points earned this week
Resets: Monday 00:00 UTC🏅 Division Ladder
Your weekly rank in your division
Top 25% promote, Bottom 25% demote⭐ All-Time
Lifetime cumulative points
Never resets - Hall of Fame💎 How Points Work
Base Scoring:
- +1 point - Every QSO
- +2 points - POTA/SOTA bonus (add in comment)
- +4 points - First Contact (first to work this station on this band today)
- ×1.5 - Band multiplier (6m, 10m)
- ×2.0 - Mode multiplier (FT4)
- ×2.0 - Happy Hour (two daily windows - see below)
- ×2.0 - ATH Happy Hour (triggered when daily player count breaks all-time high)
- ×4.0 - Double Happy Hour (when scheduled + ATH Happy Hours overlap!)
🎉 Happy Hour Schedule (2x Points)
- 🦘 Aussie Happy Hour: 07:00-07:59 UTC (Great for VK/ZL!)
- 🎉 Evening Happy Hour: 17:00-17:59 UTC (Prime time Americas/Europe)
Both happy hours are available to ALL players worldwide!
💥 POINT STEALING
Last person to work the same station on the same band AND mode on the same day gets ALL the points!
10:00 UTC - You work W9ABC on 20m FT8 → You get 5 points
14:00 UTC - K4XYZ works W9ABC on 20m FT8 → STEAL! K4XYZ gets 5 points, you get 0
⚠️ You cannot work W9ABC on 20m FT8 again to steal back - that's a duplicate penalty!
Resets: Midnight UTC (fresh battle every day!)
⚠️ DUPLICATE PENALTIES
Log the same contact twice on the same band/mode/day? You lose DOUBLE points!
00:01 UTC - You work K9XYZ on 40m FT8 → +5 points ✅
18:00 UTC - You log K9XYZ on 40m FT8 again → -10 points penalty!
Daily Total: -5 points
- Penalty = 2× the points you would have earned
- Shows in activity feed and Discord
- Different bands/modes are OK
Be careful when uploading ADIF files or logging manually!
🏅 Division System
ELITE
The best of the best
GOLD
Top-tier operators
SILVER
Skilled competitors
BRONZE
Starting point
⬆️⬇️ Weekly Movement
Every Sunday at 23:59 UTC:
- Top 25% in each division → PROMOTED to next division
- Bottom 25% in each division → DEMOTED to lower division
- 👑 Elite can't promote (compete for #1)
- 🥉 Bronze can't demote (safety net)
⭐ Military Rank System
Separate from divisions, you earn a Military Rank based on your ELO rating. This shows your career status!
- 🎯 Band Variety: +5 ELO per unique band worked (max +25)
- 🏆 #1 in Division: +15 ELO bonus
- 💥 Steals: +1 ELO per 10 steals (max +5)
- ⚠️ Inactive (AWOL): -3 ELO per week missed
📅 Weekly Timeline
❓ Which Page Should I Watch?
| If You Want To... | Look At... |
|---|---|
| See today's competition | 📅 Daily Leaderboard |
| See this week's total points | 📆 Weekly Leaderboard |
| See if you'll get promoted/demoted | 🏅 Divisions Page ⭐ MOST IMPORTANT! |
| See lifetime achievements | ⭐ All-Time Leaderboard |
| Compare two players | ⚔️ Compare Page |
🏷️ Nicknames
Want a custom display name instead of just your callsign? You can request a nickname!
How to Request a Nickname
Add this command to your QSO comment field in WSJT-X:
Example: /name SpeedyHam
Nickname Guidelines
- Requires admin approval
- 3-8 characters, letters/numbers only
- Your callsign still shows on hover/details
- Can only be changed once per 30 days
📋 Rules & Fair Play
FT8 Battle Royale has automatic filtering and admin review to keep the game fun and fair for everyone.
⚠️ Not Allowed
- Fake callsigns - only use your licensed callsign
- Impersonation - don't pretend to be another operator
- Profanity or slurs - in nicknames, team names, or comments
- Disrespectful content - keep it fun and friendly
- Log manipulation - backdated or fabricated QSOs are detected
Violations may result in rejection or ban.
💡 Pro Tips
- 🎯 Focus on Divisions page - that's where promotion/demotion happens
- 💥 Steal strategically - work popular stations that others worked
- ⏰ Watch the countdown - Divisions page shows time until Sunday
- 📊 Sunday = CHAOS - everyone fighting to stay in top/bottom 25%
- 🎮 Weekly points matter most - that's what determines your division rank