Designing Leaderboards for AI Viral Labs
A scoreboard can rocket a lab to cult status f you balance hype with fairness. Here how we design leaderboards that motivate shares, respect credits, and avoid getting botted.
1. Pick a scoring model that reinforces the ritual
Not every lab needs a raw ?00-point ?scale. We map scoring to the lab story: Toxic Score uses percentile ranks, NPC Statement rates ompliance %, ?and Tattoo Prophecy uses a tarot-grade. Each scale lives inside product.js so the same output can render on the card and on the leaderboard. Consistency matters layers should predict how their screenshot will compare before they even hit enerate. ?/p>
2. Tie eligibility to client IDs, not IPs
Our credit system already anchors to client_id, so we reuse that ID for leaderboard submissions. Every entry stores the ID, timestamp, score payload, and a short hash of the prompt. If someone tries to submit 50 entries from the same device in a minute, the backend throttles them. This keeps internet caf s or co-working spaces from being punished while still stopping obvious spam.
3. Offer micro leaderboards for different cohorts
Global boards are intimidating. We add slices like riends You Invited, ? his Week, ?or irst-Time Players. ?Each slice draws from the same dataset but applies filters when rendering. On desktop we show tabs; on mobile the board becomes a carousel. Splitting audiences increases the number of people who see their name in lights, which drives more shares.
4. Promote fairness with screenshot verification
Before a score hits the board we run a screenshot check: the player uploads or auto-saves the 1080x1350 result, and we validate metadata (font positions, watermark, QR code). If anything looks off, the entry goes into review. This step also gives us ready-to-use art for social posts and newsletters.
5. Reward participation without inflating credits
Instead of giving bonus credits for ranking (which could ruin the economy), we grant cosmetics: badge overlays, limited ShareCopy, or Discord roles. Credits remain scarce while bragging rights stay abundant. The prize logic sits server-side and writes to the player profile so it persists across labs.
6. Surface the board everywhere
Leaderboards live on the homepage hero, inside each lab, and on the blog sidebar during launch weeks. We also embed our rank ?info in the result card footer so players know how close they are to the next tier. The more screen time the board gets, the more people chase it.
7. Run limited-time seasons
We reset leaderboards every two weeks, archive the winners, and send a recap email linking to the blog. Seasons prevent incumbents from camp ing forever and give newcomers a clean slate. Each reset syncs with the credit ledger so no entries reference deleted runs.