SOME IMPORTANT FACTS TO KNOW:

• If a user leaves the application during a question, the timer will continue to run and the time it takes that player to complete the question will include the time during which the app was closed.
• If a user takes more than 72 hours to complete a round of a Ladder match, he or she will forfeit the match.
• Each user can only be involved in ONE Ladder match at a time.
• Two Ladder members cannot compete in more than one Ladder match against each other in a 24-hour period.
• If a user is IDLE (does not play any Ladder matches) for one full week (168 hours) he or she will be penalized 10 rungs/ranks on the Ladder.
• A player cannot use his or her Got Next feature on the same player twice in a 7-day period (168 hours)
• If a player has been challenged by someone via the Got Next feature, that player cannot reject that challenge and must play that player immediately after the conclusion of the current Ladder match.
• The formula for rank-improvement from a successful Ladder challenge is as follows:

  
  

  If the end result of the formula yields a decimal, that number will round up. For example a rise of 4.5 rungs would round up to 5 rungs.
  
  Note: This calculation will be based upon the Ladder members' ranks at the immediate conclusion of the match – not based upon the ranks at the beginning of the match.
• The only time a Ladder member would FALL in rank as a result of a Ladder match is if that player loses a "Rank War" to the opponent who is directly below him or her in the Ladder at the conclusion of the match.
• If two individuals who are BOTH unranked play a Ladder match, the winner of that match will become the lowest ranked player on the Ladder and the loser will remain unranked.
• If an unranked user challenges and beats someone who is ranked on the Ladder, he or she will enter the rankings and become the lowest ranked player on the Ladder. So if there were 10,000 players on the Ladder – upon that player's victory he or she would be ranked #10,001.
• As a ranked player on the Ladder, a user can only challenge a lower ranked player if that player is directly below him or her in the rankings at the time of the challenge.
• Because the rankings are always changing, it's likely that a user's personal ranking will be different at the conclusion of a match than it was at the beginning of the match.
  
  For example: Let's say a user is ranked #200 and he or she challenges the #80 ranked player. If it takes 20 hours to complete the match, it is likely that during that time span, some other matches were completed that bumped some players around. It would not be surprising, based on these changes, if, by the conclusion of the match, the #200 player is then ranked #208 and the #80 player is now ranked #84.
  
  Note: It's conceivable that during a "Rank war" this could happen as well and the players might not be adjacent to each other at the conclusion of the match.
• When a player becomes the #2 ranked player on the Ladder, in order to ensure a shot at the #1 spot before losing rank to #3 or #4, that player should immediately use his or her Got Next challenge on the #1 player.

"GOT NEXT" CHALLENGE FEATURE

The Got Next challenge feature is in place to help facilitate rank wars between players who are adjacent to each other in the Ladder rankings. Most specifically, it is in place to ensure that the #2 ranked player will get his or her fair shot at the coveted #1 ranking.

Example: If the #2 ranked player wants to challenge the #1 ranked player, but the #1 ranked player is currently involved in a Ladder match, the #2 ranked player can proactively call "next game" by submitting a Got Next challenge to the #1 player. The #1 player cannot reject that challenge and the game will begin at the conclusion of the #1 player's current Ladder match.

Upon submission of a Got Next challenge, the challenged player receives notification that he or she has been challenged to a Rank War by the player ranked directly below him or her and that this match will begin after his or her current match ends.

IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE FROM OTHER CHALLENGES

A ranked Ladder member cannot refuse a Got Next Rank War challenge. The user can wait to start the challenge for up to 3 days after being challenged, but the user must participate in that challenge or forfeit the match.

A player can perform only ONE Got Next challenge against a particular opponent in a given week. So if a user challenges that player and loses, he or she cannot force a second challenge immediately – the user will have to defend his or her own rank for a week and hope to get another opportunity once that week has passed.