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How the Ranking Works & How to Earn Points
Learn how FFC ranking is calculated, how to score points across categories, and what each tier represents.
Overview
The FFC Ranking is a points-based system that measures each nation’s overall participation in Forest by combining:
- Football Roleplay (dispatches, lore, team updates)
- Regional events participation (contests, activities, puzzles)
- Bonus (easter eggs, contributions)
- Past performance (previous editions participation)
Participants can earn points by completing any of the listed category items.
Points earned in the current edition will only be applied if the participant submits the form for this season.
Starting with Forest Cup 2026, the top 24 ranked teams (who have submitted their current form ) qualify directly.
All remaining nations enter a playoff for the final 8 spots.
Categories
The ranking system divides points into four main categories:
Roleplay 15 points each
Current edition roleplay are worth 15 points each:
Dispatch in NS (Hist) Permanent as long as you don’t delete it: A NationStates dispatch covering your federation history, league, or football lore. This should be substantial content that adds depth to your nation’s football identity.
Forest Cup Mention (FCM): Roleplay something about this edition of the Forest Cup, it can be a video, a dispatch, or simply including something about it in your federation dispatch. Can be mentioned in text or, as recommended, a dedicated results section showing your performance across editions, updated up to the current edition.
Updated Roster (UR): Submitting your current squad list and formation for this edition. This simulates real world squad rotation between tournaments, and avoiding abusing the same players over the seasons to accumulate goals in the overall table. Restrictions about that may be implemented in the future.
Article (AR): Writing one article for the Forest Cup website about your federation. This can cover any aspect of your nation’s football culture, or it can be a piece of news!. Additional articles beyond the first do not accumulate points.
Tutorial on how to make an article.This section is designed to give a strong foundation to those who enjoy the football roleplay, lore, leagues, stories.
Events 15 points each, normalized
Regional event participation is capped at 15 points per event through normalization:
How normalization works:
For each event, the participant with the highest raw score receives the full 15 points.
All other participants receive a proportional score based on their performance relative to the top scorer.
For example, if the top score is 100 and you scored 50, you would receive half the maximum points (15 / 2 = 7.5).
This ensures fair scaling and prevents any single event from dominating the overall ranking.
Poetry Fantasia (PF): Points from the Poetry Fantasia .
Flag & Banner (FB): Points from Flag & Banner Contest .
Murder Mystery (MM): Murder Mystery points.
Quiz: Forestian quiz event points.
Scavenger Hunt (SH): Scavenger Hunt points.
Connections Grid (CG): Forest-themed Connection Grids puzzle points.
This section rewards active engagement with the community during last year. You may have been scoring points here without knowing it. 😛
Bonus Variable points
Host: 15 points automatically awarded for hosting.
Easter Eggs (Eggs): 4 points for each hidden easter egg discovered! Eggs can be found in mysterious places. If you find one, make sure to telegram Bilsa to claim it!
Last edition, finding a secret alone was rewarded with more points, but this time will not be the case, so anyone can accumulate a fair amount of points through Easter Eggs!
Extra: Variable points (typically 5-20) for exceptional contributions beyond normal categories. This includes outstanding roleplay, dedication on details, helping the community with technical aspects or other valuable contributions that enhance the Forest Cup experience.
Bonus points are the wild card, to give everyone a chance to pick up a few extra points during the weeks before the tournament starts, as the events and past categories are the heaviest ones, and cannot be changed after the announcement of the tournament.
Past Performance Decay applied
Previous editions contribute through a decay system that values recent activity over past history:
Roleplay (RP): Roleplay points from previous editions. Past roleplay scores were normalized to prevent unfair advantages from different scoring systems used in earlier editions.
Events: Event points from previous editions.
Bonus: Bonus points from previous editions.
Results: Points earned from actual tournament performance (not ranking table points) in previous editions.
Decay System
The decay system works as follows:
| Edition | Percentage Counted |
|---|---|
| Last | 100% |
| 2 editions ago | 50% |
| 3 editions ago | 25% |
| 4 editions ago | 10% |
| Older | 0% |
Example: If you earned 20 roleplay points in the last edition, all 20 count. If you earned 20 roleplay points two editions ago, only 10 points (50%) count toward your current ranking.
This system rewards consistency while ensuring recent activity matters more than distant achievements.
Just like in real football, a national team can remain strong across several editions thanks to a solid generation of players. If a team stops participating, it will gradually fade. That’s what decay simulates, a realistic drop off in influence when nations go inactive.
Total Score Calculation
Your Total Ranking Score combines all categories:
Current Edition Points (no decay):
- Football Roleplay (0-60 points possible)
- Event participation (0-90 points possible)
- Bonus points (4 points from Easter Eggs, and variable points)
Past Performance Points (with decay):
- Previous roleplay submissions
- Previous event participation
- Previous bonus points
- Previous tournament results
The realistic maximum for current edition points is an estimated 200, though it should be only reachable by someone who participated in previous editions, in many of the events, has a dedicated football roleplay, found some easter eggs, and shows enough interest in the event itself. It is super hard, but doing it deserves getting a super team.
Ranking Tiers
| Tier | Points | Description | Real Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | 0 | New participants, minimal involvement | San Marino |
| E | 6 | Basic participation, occasional roleplay | Latvia |
| D | 16 | Regular members with some engagement | Bulgaria |
| C | 30 | Active participants in multiple categories | Scotland |
| B | 48 | Strong contributors with consistent involvement | Denmark |
| A | 70 | Highly engaged members with substantial participation | Netherlands |
| S | 96 | Pillars with exceptional long-term involvement | Argentina |
| S+ | 126 | Elite contributors who consistently excel across all areas | Brazil ‘70 |
| ??? | ??? | ??? | Unrealistic Superteam |
How do these points actually affect my team’s performance?
In short, the points you earn are used in a “random” (not actually) generator for each of your players. The higher your score, the greater the chance of getting better players.
This is explained in detail here.
Rembemer: Points earned in the current edition will only be applied if the participant submits the form for this season .
Good luck preparing your squad for the Forest Cup! See you in the pitch.
Feel free to contact us if you still have doubts!