Competition formats
Season 1 ships ten ways to race. Some are rated and feed your rating; others are casual or just for fun. Here’s what each one is and the rules that define it.
Battle Royale
A last-solver-standing lobby of 10 to 100 players. Every round uses one shared scramble; the slowest half is eliminated each round (rounded up, so an odd field loses the larger half). A DNF or disconnect is an elimination. Once you’re out you auto-spectate the rest to the winner.
Bracket 8
An eight-player seeded bracket, each match a best-of-five. Win three solves to advance; seeding is by rating so the ladder is fair from the first round.
Handicap duels
A one-on-one duel that levels the field: the faster solver gives a head start based on the gap in seasonal averages, capped at ±15 seconds. It’s casual-only in Season 1 — a fun way to race a friend at a different level without touching either rating.
The Daily
One attempt at the day’s scramble, and a streak for showing up. Miss a day and the streak resets. Simple, once a day, come back tomorrow.
Ghost races
Race a replay instead of a live opponent — yours or someone else’s. Ghost races are unrated: they’re for pacing yourself against a target, not for moving your number.
Move-count golf
Fewest turns wins, not fastest time. Time breaks ties when move counts match. Because it scores your turns, it’s smart-cube-verified — the app counts every move you make.
Time attack
As many solves as you can land in a 10-minute window. Keep scrambling and solving; your result is what you post before the clock runs out.
King of the hill
Beat the current holder to take the throne, then defend it. A reign caps at five successful defenses — win five in a row and you retire as champion, giving the next challenger a fresh hill.
Team relay
A team of 2 to 3 shares the solve, passing the cube down the line. It’s casual — a cooperative race that’s about the handoff as much as the speed.
One-handed events
OH runs on any format above, solved with one hand — and a camera is required. OH results ride the separate one-handed rating track; see fair play for how the camera policy works.