How the scoring works, and why
Dynamic scoring, the frozen scoreboard, and how university points are calculated across editions.
Challenges lose value as they are solved
Every jeopardy challenge starts at a maximum value and falls as more teams solve it, down to a floor. This means the board rewards teams who go after the things nobody else can, rather than teams who race through the easy half fastest.
The freeze
For the last thirty minutes the scoreboard stops updating. You can still submit and your submissions still count — you simply cannot see where you stand. This is standard practice in international CTFs and it makes the closing announcement worth attending.
University points
Team results feed a separate, permanent table for institutions:
| Source | Points |
|---|---|
| Finals — first place | 100 |
| Finals — second place | 78 |
| Finals — third place | 62 |
| Finals — fourth to eighth | 50 down to 24 |
| Finals — ninth and below | 20 |
| Each boot-to-root machine rooted | +6 |
| Each first blood | +2 |
| Hosting a campus qualifier | +8 |
Hosting is rewarded because running a qualifier is real work and it is what makes the whole model function.
Ties
Broken by the timestamp of the last scoring submission. Solve it earlier, place higher.