Nock-Nock
Every archer on Nock-Nock has a rating: one number that says how strong you are compared with the other archers. It works like a chess rating (the Elo system). This page starts with the short version and goes into more detail further down.
In short
- Win and you go up, lose and you go down. Your opponent moves by about the same amount the other way.
- Who you play matters. Beating a stronger archer earns more than beating a weaker one; losing to a weaker archer costs more.
- Recurve and compound are separate. A strong compound rating says nothing about your recurve.
- Only rated matches count. Casual matches never change your rating.
- A ? after a rating (1500?) means it's still provisional: fewer than 20 rated matches with that bow.
What the number means
A rating on its own isn't a score. It only means something compared with other ratings: the bigger the gap, the more likely the higher-rated archer wins.
| Rating gap | Stronger archer is expected to score |
|---|---|
| 0 | 50% |
| 100 | 64% |
| 200 | 76% |
| 400 | 91% |
| 800 | 99% |
"Expected to score" counts a win as 1 and a draw as ½, so 76% means roughly: out of 100 matches, about 76 wins' worth.
Which matches count
Rated or casual
- Create match: you choose Casual (the default) or Rated.
- Random opponent and Opponents waiting are always rated.
- A rated match shows a RATED badge on both phones.
Rated invites that are played as casual
- The same two archers can play one rated invite match per 24 hours. A second rated invite that day is played as casual. This stops two friends from farming points off each other. (Random-opponent matches don't have this limit — you can't pick your opponent there.)
- An account can never be rated against itself.
How a match result counts
| Result | Counts as |
|---|---|
| Win | 1 |
| Draw (only possible in scoring rounds) | ½ |
| Loss | 0 |
| You forfeit | Loss |
| You stop shooting and your opponent claims the win (allowed 10 minutes after their own last end) | Loss |
| Match stopped before either archer shot an arrow | Cancelled — no change for anyone |
How many points?
Real examples, calculated exactly as the server does. Both archers have played more than 20 rated matches.
| You | Opponent | Result | You | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 | 1500 | You win | +10 | −10 |
| 1500 | 1500 | Draw | 0 | 0 |
| 1600 | 1400 | You win | +5 | −5 |
| 1600 | 1400 | Draw | −5 | +5 |
| 1600 | 1400 | You lose | −15 | +15 |
| 1700 | 1300 | You win | +2 | −2 |
| 1700 | 1300 | You lose | −18 | +18 |
A win you were expected to get earns little; an upset moves a lot. A draw against a stronger archer is a gain.
New archers and single-arrow shoot-offs
| Situation | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|
| New archer (1500?) beats an established 1500 | +20 | −10 |
| Single-arrow shoot-off match, 1500 vs 1500 | +5 | −5 |
| Single-arrow shoot-off match, 1400 beats 1600 | +8 | −8 |
A newcomer's rating moves twice as fast, so it quickly finds the right level — without swinging the established archer's rating by the same amount. A shoot-off match is one arrow, which says less about your level, so it counts for half. (A shoot-off that decides an elimination or show-down match is part of that match: the whole match counts in full.)
For the curious
The formula
1. Expected score. Before the match, each archer gets an expected score between 0 and 1, from the rating difference alone:
Ryou = your rating, Ropp = your opponent's rating.
2. Result. S is what actually happened: 1 for a win, ½ for a draw, 0 for a loss.
3. Change. The difference between result and expectation, scaled by your K-factor (below) and the format weight, rounded to a whole number:
- weight is ½ for a single-arrow shoot-off match and 1 for everything else.
- A rating never drops below 100; near the floor a loss can cost less than the formula says.
- Each archer's change is calculated with their own K, which is why the two changes aren't always equal and opposite.
K-factor: how fast your rating moves
| When | K | Win vs equal rating |
|---|---|---|
| Your first 20 rated matches with this bow (provisional, ?) | 40 | +20 |
| After that | 20 | +10 |
| Once your highest-ever rating reached 2100 — for good | 10 | +5 |
The same idea as FIDE, chess's world body: fast for newcomers, steadier for experienced archers, most stable at the top. Your highest-ever rating is shown as Peak on the stats page.
Worked example
You are 1600 (K 20) and lose to an archer rated 1400.
Your opponent: E = 0.24, change = round(20 × (1 − 0.24)) = +15 → 1415.
How matchmaking uses your rating
With Random opponent, Nock-Nock looks for an archer with the same bow type and the same round whose rating is close to yours. The longer you wait, the wider it searches:
| Waiting | Rating range |
|---|---|
| From the start | ± 100 |
| Every minute | + 50 wider |
| After 6 minutes | ± 400 (maximum) |
| After 10 minutes | anyone |
Both archers' ranges have to fit, so the gap must be inside the narrower of the two — unless one of them has waited 10 minutes. With several candidates, the closest rating goes first, then whoever has waited longest. The Opponents waiting list on the setup screen only shows archers you could be paired with right now. More in How matchmaking works.
Where you see it
- In the app, under Athlete on the setup screen: your rating for the bow type you picked.
- After a rated match: both archers' rating before and after.
- On the stats page: the rating table for recurve and compound (with Peak on larger screens), and the rating change next to each rated match in Recent matches.
Questions
I won — why only a few points?
You were expected to win. The further you are above your opponent, the less a win is worth: at +400 a win earns 2 points, a loss costs 18.
I gained 20 but my opponent only lost 10. How?
Each archer uses their own K-factor. You are still provisional (K 40), your opponent isn't (K 20), so the same result moves your rating twice as much.
Does it matter whether I win 300–250 or 300–299?
No. Only win, draw or loss counts, not the margin — just like chess.
My connection dropped. Did I lose rating?
Only if the match ended against you: if you forfeit, or if you stop shooting and your opponent claims the win after 10 minutes. If you come back in time, just carry on. A match where nobody shot an arrow yet never counts.
Why are recurve and compound separate?
They are different disciplines with different scoring (at 18m compound only the inner X scores 10). You are also only ever paired with archers using the same bow type.
Can a rating go down to zero?
No, the lowest possible rating is 100.