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Games Modes, Scoring, and Leaderboards Deep Dive

This guide explains how game modes, scoring, and leaderboards work in Mission Control Games so you can choose the right mode and interpret results correctly.

Route scope​

  • Hub route: /missioncontrol/learning/games
  • Galactic Decoder run route: /missioncontrol/learning/games/galactic-decoder
  • Cosmic Pairs run route: /missioncontrol/learning/games/cosmic-pairs

Before you start​

  • Feature access: You must have access to the Games feature to open the route.
  • Sign-in for tracking: Sign in if you want personal leaderboard placement and challenge tracking.
  • Game setup: On each game card, set Mode, Difficulty, and Type before selecting Start Mission.

Games hub cards with mode difficulty type selectors and leaderboard panel

Mode behavior by game​

Galactic Decoder​

  • Classic: Fixed-length mission (10 questions).
  • Practice: Unlimited learning run.
  • Survival: Unlimited run until lives are exhausted (3 lives).

Cosmic Pairs​

  • Classic: One board per run.
  • Practice: Unlimited boards and no timer pressure.
  • Survival: Repeated boards until lives are exhausted (3 lives).

Difficulty behavior and timing​

Galactic Decoder timing (seconds per question)​

  • Easy: 10
  • Medium: 8
  • Hard: 5

Cosmic Pairs board timers​

  • Classic: Easy 300s, Medium 450s, Hard 600s
  • Survival: Easy 240s, Medium 360s, Hard 480s
  • Practice: Unlimited time

Scoring model (Galactic Decoder and Cosmic Pairs)​

Both games use the same base scoring values by difficulty:

  • Easy: +10 correct, -5 incorrect
  • Medium: +15 correct, -7 incorrect
  • Hard: +20 correct, -10 incorrect

At mission end, the results panel shows Answer Breakdown, Score Breakdown, total score, and actions for Back to Games or Play Again.

Mission Complete results showing answer breakdown score breakdown and back or play again actions

Type filters and what they affect​

  • Galactic Decoder type options: Match Tables and Match Codes.
  • Cosmic Pairs type option: Match Tiles (single effective type).
  • Leaderboard filter behavior: Hub card leaderboards are always Survival-based and filtered by selected difficulty/type; Cosmic Pairs leaderboard uses Survival plus difficulty and does not apply a question-type filter.

How leaderboard writes happen​

  • Galactic Decoder: Survival run completion writes score entries to leaderboard.
  • Cosmic Pairs: Survival run completion writes score entries to leaderboard.
  • Practice and Classic: You still get mission feedback, but leaderboard behavior is centered on Survival views in the hub.

Challenges and stars​

  • Challenge stars are shown on game cards.
  • In Practice mode, stars are hidden by design.
  • If not signed in, star tooltips prompt sign-in for tracking.

Operational tips​

  1. Pick Practice first when learning new table patterns.
  2. Switch to Survival when you want leaderboard-relevant scoring.
  3. Use the card's Help icon before launching to confirm objective, rules, and scoring for that game.
  4. Use consistent type and difficulty selections when comparing runs across teammates.

Common mistakes and fixes​

  • Comparing unlike runs: Ensure same game, difficulty, and type before comparing scores.
  • Expecting Practice stars: Challenge stars are intentionally hidden in Practice mode.
  • No personal row highlighted: Sign in to enable personal placement highlighting.
  • Confusing hub leaderboard context: Hub leaderboard chips indicate Survival context and current filter settings.
  • Games Overview
  • Daily Viewle Rules and Seasonal Leaderboard Guide
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