How to Play CW Battle Royale
CW Battle Royale turns your normal CW operating into a live game, whether you're a 35 WPM contester or still learning at 10 WPM. Here is everything you need in six steps. The fine print is on the Rules & Scoring page.
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1
You're in once your logger sends your QSOs
There is no signup. Turn on your logger's UDP contact broadcast and point it at cwbattle.com port 12060 (N1MM Logger+, Log4OM and Ham Radio Deluxe can all do this). Log a CW QSO as you normally would, and you're a player. The Get Started page has step-by-step setup for each logger.
ExampleYou set up N1MM, then log a QSO with JA1XYZ on 20m CW. A minute later your callsign is on the Today board. -
2
Every QSO scores
Each CW QSO is worth 1 point. Be the first player today to work a station on a band and you get +4 more. POTA and SOTA contacts get +2. QSOs on 6m and 10m count 1.5 times. Any speed counts, and so does any key: straight key, paddles, keyer macros, or software.
ExampleYou're the first player today to work JA1XYZ on 20m: 1 + 4 = 5 points. Work them again on 15m and that's a separate QSO with its own points. -
3
Get verified
CW logs are typed by hand, so every QSO is checked against the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), a worldwide network of receivers that decode CW and report who they hear. If RBN heard you, or the station you worked, on that band around that time, your QSO is verified. If both stations play the game and both log the QSO, it's mutually verified, which is even better.
Verified QSOs get every bonus. Unverified QSOs still score their 1 base point, but no bonuses, and they can't steal.
TipRBN mostly hears stations calling CQ. Answering a CQ is usually fine because the CQing station was heard. To make sure you show up yourself, call CQ for a few minutes now and then. You'll see ✓ RBN or ✓✓ next to verified QSOs. -
4
Steal points
If another player works the same station on the same band later the same UTC day (with a verified QSO), they take your points for that QSO. They keep their own points too. Steals stack, so popular stations get more valuable as the day goes on.
Example10:00 You work W9ABC on 20m: 5 pts.
14:00 K4XYZ works W9ABC on 20m: their 1 + your 5 = 6 pts. You lose your 5.
18:00 N0ABC does the same: 1 + 6 = 7 pts. K4XYZ loses their 6. -
5
Grab the boosts
Plenty of ways to get ahead:
⚡ Happy HourDouble points from 07:00 to 07:59 UTC and from 17:00 to 17:59 UTC.📅 2x sessionsThe weekly CWops CWT and K1USN Slow Speed Test sessions, plus big contest weekends, are double points. See 2x Events.🎯 Daily bountiesThree target countries each day. Your first QSO of the day with each one earns +10, and that QSO can't be stolen.🔥 StreaksMake 5 or more scoring QSOs in a UTC day to keep your streak alive.ExampleToday's hard bounty is New Zealand. At 17:20 UTC you're the first to work ZL2XYZ on 10m, and RBN heard them: (1 + 4) × 1.5 for 10m = 7, × 2 for Happy Hour = 14, plus the +10 bounty = 24 points that nobody can steal. -
6
Climb the weekly divisions
Everyone starts in Bronze. Your points from Monday to Sunday (UTC) rank you inside your division. Every Sunday at 23:59 UTC the top 25% move up and the bottom 25% move down. Then the week starts again from zero.
Bronze› Silver› Gold› EliteBig contesters naturally rise to the top divisions, so most weeks you're racing operators at your own level.
Example20 players scored in Bronze this week. You finish 4th, so on Sunday night you move up to Silver. Check where you stand any time on the Divisions page.