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How scoring works: Number Waffle

Your game score comes from your own puzzle result. Your party rank compares that score with your party's submissions for the same day.

Quick summary

Earn more stars by solving in fewer swaps to improve your game score. A 20-swap finish is still solved, but it earns 0 stars. An X/5 share is a failure, even if it includes the actual swap count in parentheses.

How to score well

  • More stars produce a higher normalized score.
  • A perfect solve uses 15 swaps and earns 5 stars.
  • Using all 20 swaps still counts as solved, but earns 0 stars.
  • Anything above 20 swaps becomes X/5 and counts as failed.
  • The failed swap count is stored for future analysis, not current scoring.

How ranking works in parties

  • Higher stars rank better within the party.
  • Solved 0-star results still rank ahead of failed entries.
  • Tied star counts share the same competition rank.

Example

Alice solves in 15 swaps for 5 stars. Bob solves in 20 swaps for 0 stars. Carol shares X/5 (24) and is unsolved. Alice ranks ahead of Bob, and Bob ranks ahead of Carol.

Technical scoring data 
{
    "ranking": {
        "tie_algorithm": {
            "key": "competition_ranking",
            "display_name": "Competition ranking"
        }
    },
    "examples": [
        "A player who solves in 15 swaps earns 5 stars.",
        "A player who solves in 20 swaps earns 0 stars but still counts as solved.",
        "A player who shares X/5 (24) is unsolved and stores 24 as swaps_used."
    ],
    "rule_text": "Higher star counts are better. Solved shares use 0-5 stars, where 5 stars means a 15-swap solve and 0 stars means a 20-swap solve. Failed shares use X/5 and currently score as unsolved. If a failed share includes a trailing swap count such as X/5 (24), that count is preserved for future use but does not affect current scoring.",
    "edge_cases": [
        "Solved 0/5 is valid and must not be treated as a failure.",
        "Failed X/5 (N) entries always store stars = 0 and is_solved = false.",
        "If two players earn the same star count, they tie under competition ranking."
    ],
    "measurement": {
        "metric_key": "stars",
        "metric_label": "Stars earned",
        "scoring_type": "higher_better"
    },
    "human_review": {
        "checklist": [
            "Verify rule_text reflects the scoring behavior without ambiguity.",
            "Verify examples are readable and match expected outcomes.",
            "Verify edge_cases are clear and non-conflicting.",
            "Verify 0-star solved vs unsolved distinction is explained."
        ],
        "machine_verifiable_scope": [
            "measurement.scoring_type",
            "absolute_scoring.method",
            "absolute_scoring.solved_floor",
            "absolute_scoring.unsolved_score",
            "absolute_scoring.range.best",
            "absolute_scoring.range.worst_solved",
            "ranking.tie_algorithm.key"
        ]
    },
    "party_ranking": {
        "normalization_summary": "Party ranking uses peer min/max normalization so each solved score is compared to that party's best and worst solved Number Waffle results for the day."
    },
    "schema_version": 1,
    "absolute_scoring": {
        "range": {
            "best": 1,
            "worst_solved": 0.2
        },
        "method": "higher_better",
        "scoring_type": "higher_better",
        "solved_floor": 0.2,
        "unsolved_score": 0
    }
}