Dynamic scoring is a scheme where a challenge's point value decreases as more teams solve it. The first solvers earn close to the starting value, later solvers earn less, and the value never drops below a set minimum. Hard, rarely solved challenges end up worth more than easy ones without the organizer guessing difficulty in advance.
Example
A challenge starts at 500 points with a floor of 100. After 5 solves it is worth about 450, after 20 about 300 and after 60 it sits on the floor of 100. Teams that solved early keep their advantage only if the event scores them at the value at the time of solving. If scores are recalculated, every solver ends up with the current value. That second behavior is called retroactive decay.
The exact curve differs: linear decay drops by a fixed amount per solve, while quadratic or exponential curves drop fastest at the start. The dynamic scoring calculator plots them for your own numbers.
Trade-offs
- Corrects difficulty guesses. An easy challenge you rated hard loses value by itself.
- Moves the board. Rankings can change after a solve, which is confusing without a clear rule.
- Needs a floor. Without one, a challenge solved by everyone is worth nothing.
On CTF7
Jeopardy events on CTF7 support static and dynamic scoring. Dynamic scoring supports linear or quadratic decay, a floor value and an optional retroactive mode, and organizers set the parameters themselves.
Learn more
Read the CTF scoring guide for worked examples and tools, or browse all CTF guides.
Related terms
Browse the full CTF and cybersecurity glossary for more terms.
