Docs

How the game works

There are four steps. You repeat them every tournament.

1. Rip a pack. A pack gives you 5 cards. Each card is one of 200 traders. Every trader has a fixed number of cards, and that number never grows.
2. Build a lineup. Choose 5 of your cards. Each card must be a different trader.
3. Enter a tournament. Submit your lineup before the deadline. Your first lineup is free. You can pay to enter more, and every fee goes into that tournament's prize pool.
4. Score. During the tournament, each trader's return becomes points. A trader who makes 10% scores 10 points. Your score is the total of your five cards.

Your cards are tokens on Robinhood Chain. Packs, randomness, and the prize vault run on that chain.

Packs and cards

Every pack holds exactly 5 cards. The machine draws them from the cards it has left. In Season 0 the cards are free. You pay Ξ 0.001 per pack to have it delivered. That fee covers the gas our relayer spends to prove the randomness, deliver it, and mint your cards. The current fee is on the Rip page. It can change when network gas changes.

Tiers

Each trader has a tier. The tier says how many cards of that trader exist. Traders were placed in tiers by their trading returns at launch. The rarest tiers hold the strongest traders.

The chance per card is the starting chance. It shifts as cards run out, because each draw comes from what is left.

How the machine draws cards

• Cards run out. Once a card is drawn, it is gone. The machine started with 43,500 cards. Nobody can add more quietly.
• Every card has a serial number. The first card of a trader to be minted is number 001.
• Your first pack avoids duplicates. Your first pack gets five different traders whenever the machine can manage it. Later packs use the normal chances, so they can repeat a trader.
• The draw is provably random. Each pack is tied to a future public random number from drand before anyone knows the result. Packs are opened in the order they were bought, so nobody can jump the queue.

Your cards are in your Binder. If you own several cards of one trader, they stack under one face.

Lineups

You build lineups on the Lineups page. You can keep up to 20 saved lineups. Drag cards in from the bench. The bench shows only cards that are not in a lineup yet. A card can be in one lineup at a time. To move it, take it out of the other lineup first.

• 5 cards, 5 different traders. Two cards of the same trader cannot share a lineup.
• Your first entry is free. A saved lineup is a draft. Entering copies it into the tournament. A lineup must be full to enter.
• You can pay to enter more lineups. The price of the first extra lineup is set for each tournament. Each one after that costs 25% more than the last. An extra lineup needs five cards that are not in your other entries. The whole fee goes into that tournament's prize pool.
• You can change lineups until the deadline. You can swap or withdraw your free entry. You can edit the cards in any entered lineup, and the entry updates. Paid entries stay in the tournament, but you can still change their cards.
• Lineups freeze when the tournament starts. Nothing changes until scoring ends. Each of your lineups is ranked and paid on its own.
• Auto-fill picks for you. It fills the empty slots with your bench cards that have the best returns over the last 7 days. It never takes cards from another lineup.

Tournaments

Every tournament has one leaderboard and a published schedule. It moves through four phases.

The deadline, the scoring window, and the prize pool for the current tournament are on the Tournaments page.

Scoring

Scoring uses one number: return on investment, or ROI. That is how much a trader's account grew or shrank, as a percentage.

• One percent is one point. A trader who returns +10% during the scoring window scores +10 points. A trader at −3% scores −3.
• Only the scoring window counts. We measure each trader when scoring starts and again when it ends. What they did before or after does not count. The 7-day return shown on a card before the tournament is a hint, not the score.
• There is no maximum. One trader with a huge week can win the tournament for you.
• The minimum is −100. A trader cannot lose more than everything, so a card never scores below −100.
• Scores are provisional until we check them. Points update live during the scoring window. When it ends, we review every trader's numbers and fill any gaps before we make the results final.

Your lineup's score is the sum of its five cards. Lineups with the same score share a rank.

Prizes

Each tournament's prize pool is money that Degen Draft puts in, plus every fee paid for extra lineups in that tournament. In Season 0, pack fees do not go to prizes. They only pay for delivery. The pool is shown live on the Tournaments page.

Who gets paid

• The top part of the field is paid. Each tournament sets the share of entries that win a prize. At least one entry is always paid.
• First place gets the biggest share. Each tournament sets that share. In a small field it grows if needed, so first place always beats second.
• Higher ranks always get more. Prizes shrink step by step down to the last paid place.
• The whole pool is paid out. Tied lineups add up the prizes for the places they share and split the total evenly.

How we work out each prize

1. Multiply the number of entries by the paid share and round up. That is how many places get paid. It is never less than one.
2. Give first place its share. If the field is small, raise that share just enough so second place cannot get more. If only one place is paid, it gets everything.
3. Split what is left between the other paid places using falling weights. With ten paid places, second place has weight 9, third has 8, and so on down to 1.
4. Work in exact wei, and give any rounding remainder to the highest ranks first, so the prizes add up to the whole pool.

Example. 100 entries, the top 10% paid, a 20% first-place share, and a Ξ 1.8 prize pool:

If lineups tie, add up the prizes for every place they cover and split that evenly between them. This also applies when a tie crosses the last paid place.

Prizes are paid in ETH from the onchain prize vault. Once a tournament is final, you claim your prize from the Tournaments page with the wallet that entered.

What you pay, and where it goes

In Season 0 you pay for two things. Both are routed onchain the moment they settle, so you can check where the money went.

You also pay network gas on Robinhood Chain for your own transactions: buying packs, paying for lineups, and claiming prizes.

Season 1 will sell packs for a price, split onchain between prizes, delivery, the team, and buying back the native token. We will publish those numbers with that season.

Questions

Do I need a wallet?

Yes. Log in with Privy. It creates a wallet for you, or connects one you already have, on Robinhood Chain. Your packs and cards go to that wallet.

Do I need ETH?

A little, on Robinhood Chain. You need Ξ 0.001 per pack, the fee for any extra lineup, and gas for your own transactions. Your first lineup in every tournament is free.

What happens to my Season 0 cards?

They stay in your wallet as beta collectibles. They do not carry into Season 1, which starts with new traders and new cards. Prizes you win in Season 0 are real, and you can claim them.

Can I trade cards?

Not in Season 0. Cards cannot move between wallets, so every card keeps its serial number. We plan a marketplace for Season 1.

What if a trader in my lineup stops trading?

Their return over the window is whatever it is. A trader who does nothing scores 0.

Can I use the same card in two lineups?

A card can be in only one saved lineup at a time, and in only one of your entries per tournament. Every entry needs five different traders, so a second entry needs five more cards.

Why does my pack show the same trader twice?

Only your first pack avoids duplicates. Every later pack draws from all the cards that are left, so a trader can repeat.

Why is my pack still “sealing”?

Each pack waits for a public random number, then for our relayer to deliver it and mint your cards. This usually takes under a minute. Packs are opened in order, so a busy moment can put yours in a queue. Nothing is lost. Come back and your cards will be there.

Where can I follow updates?

@draftingdegens on X.