Skip to content
Funtico for Developers

Tournaments

Tournaments in Funtico provide a comprehensive competitive gaming platform where games can create, manage, and run tournaments with TICO cryptocurrency prizes. The tournament system supports flexible scoring, entry fees, prize distributions, and real-time leaderboards.

What are Tournaments?

Section titled “What are Tournaments?”

Tournaments are structured competitive events that allow players to compete for TICO rewards. Games can create tournaments with various configurations:

  • Entry Requirements - Free entry or TICO entry fees
  • Scoring Systems - Points-based or accumulated scoring
  • Prize Distributions - Flexible reward structures for different placements
  • Player Limits - Control maximum participants and entry frequency
  • Time Management - Start/end times with automatic lifecycle management

Tournament Lifecycle

Section titled “Tournament Lifecycle”

1. Creation Phase

Section titled “1. Creation Phase”

Games create tournaments using their API credentials, defining all competition parameters:

graph TD
    A[Game Creates Tournament] --> B{Published?}
    B -->|No| C[Draft State - Editable]
    B -->|Yes| D[Published State - Live]
    C --> E[Publish Tournament]
    E --> D

2. Registration Phase

Section titled “2. Registration Phase”

Once published, players can join tournaments (with dual authentication):

sequenceDiagram
    participant P as Player
    participant G as Game Backend
    participant F as Funtico API
    
    P->>G: Request to join tournament
    G->>F: Join tournament (Basic Auth + Access Token)
    F->>F: Validate both authentications
    F->>F: Check entry requirements
    F-->>G: Join confirmation
    G-->>P: Registration success

3. Competition Phase

Section titled “3. Competition Phase”

During the tournament period, players submit scores:

  • Games validate and submit scores using dual authentication (Basic + Access Token)
  • Leaderboards update in real-time
  • Score validation ensures competition integrity

4. Completion Phase

Section titled “4. Completion Phase”

When tournaments end, the system automatically:

  • Finalizes leaderboards
  • Calculates prize distributions
  • Awards TICO prizes to winners

Authentication Model

Section titled “Authentication Model”

Tournaments use a dual authentication system for security and proper authorization:

Basic Authentication

Section titled “Basic Authentication”

Used by game servers for tournament management operations:

Authorization: Basic base64(api-key-id:api-key-secret)

Used for:

  • Creating tournaments
  • Retrieving tournament lists
  • Managing tournament settings
  • Accessing leaderboards

Access Token Authentication

Section titled “Access Token Authentication”

Used to identify authenticated players:

X-Access-Token: user-access-token-from-oidc

Used for:

  • Joining tournaments (with Basic auth)
  • Submitting scores (with Basic auth)
  • Player-specific tournament operations

Why Dual Authentication?

Section titled “Why Dual Authentication?”

The dual authentication model provides several security benefits:

  • Player Verification - Ensures only authenticated users can participate
  • Game Authorization - Confirms requests come from authorized game servers via Basic auth
  • Score Integrity - Prevents unauthorized score submissions
  • Abuse Prevention - Stops both player and game-level abuse

Tournament Configuration

Section titled “Tournament Configuration”

Entry Requirements

Section titled “Entry Requirements”

Entry Types

Section titled “Entry Types”
  • Free Entry - No cost to participate
  • TICO Entry Fee - Requires TICO payment to join

Entry Limits

Section titled “Entry Limits”

Control how many times players can participate:

  • Single entry tournaments
  • Multiple entry tournaments with limits

Scoring System

Section titled “Scoring System”

Score Types

Section titled “Score Types”
  • Points - Best single score wins
  • Points Accumulated - Sum of all valid entries

Score Modes

Section titled “Score Modes”
  • Ascending - Lowest score wins (e.g., racing games)
  • Descending - Highest score wins (e.g., puzzle games)

Prize Distribution

Section titled “Prize Distribution”

Tournaments support flexible prize distribution models:

Distribution Types

Section titled “Distribution Types”
  • Specific Place - Rewards for exact positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
  • Place Range - Rewards for position ranges (2nd-5th place)
  • Percentage Range - Rewards for top percentages (top 10%)
  • Score Range - Rewards based on score thresholds

Reward Types

Section titled “Reward Types”

Currently supports TICO cryptocurrency rewards with plans for:

  • Inventory items
  • Game-specific rewards
  • NFT prizes

Access Control

Section titled “Access Control”

Password Protection

Section titled “Password Protection”
  • Optional password requirement for private tournaments
  • Support for multiple passwords
  • Secure password validation

KYC Requirements

Section titled “KYC Requirements”
  • Optional Know Your Customer verification
  • Compliance with regional regulations
  • Identity verification for high-value tournaments

Tournament Management

Section titled “Tournament Management”

Draft vs Published States

Section titled “Draft vs Published States”

Draft Tournaments

Section titled “Draft Tournaments”
  • Fully editable configuration
  • Not visible to players
  • Can be deleted or published

Published Tournaments

Section titled “Published Tournaments”
  • Limited editability (name, description, cover image only)
  • Visible and joinable by players
  • Cannot be unpublished or deleted

Real-time Updates

Section titled “Real-time Updates”

The tournament system provides real-time updates for:

  • Leaderboard Changes - Live ranking updates
  • New Participants - Player join notifications
  • Score Submissions - Immediate score processing
  • Tournament Status - Phase transitions and completion

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

Tournament Design

Section titled “Tournament Design”
  • Clear Rules - Provide detailed scoring and winning criteria
  • Appropriate Duration - Balance engagement with fatigue
  • Fair Prize Distribution - Reward multiple skill levels
  • Entry Fee Balance - Consider player accessibility

Security Considerations

Section titled “Security Considerations”
  • Score Validation - Implement server-side score verification
  • Rate Limiting - Prevent score submission abuse
  • Authentication Checks - Always validate both auth methods
  • Prize Pool Management - Ensure sufficient funds for rewards

Player Experience

Section titled “Player Experience”
  • Responsive Leaderboards - Update rankings frequently
  • Clear Communication - Notify players of tournament phases
  • Fair Competition - Implement anti-cheat measures
  • Reward Transparency - Clearly communicate prize structures

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”