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Seasons and the leaderboard
Why the leaderboard uses observations and a stability score instead of simply sorting account balances.
Last updated: 2026-09-20
A shared observation period
A Season is a published competition period within MockTradeCity. The operator sets its name and start and end times, and eligible normal accounts participate automatically while it runs. Administrative accounts are excluded. A Season does not replace the market's execution rules: matching, price protection, short collateral and financing requirements continue to apply. It creates a common scoring period, not a separate market where a leaderboard position grants special trading privileges.
The Season page states the actual schedule, so a player does not need to infer the end date from an earlier competition. A newly registered account can begin contributing observations after joining during a live Season. Its starting point is its own first eligible observation, rather than another account's starting equity or an imagined position before registration. The competition uses fictional account results and does not turn its ranking into a cash prize.
Return starts from your baseline
The engine records an account observation at hourly boundaries, with at most one observation for each hour. The first eligible snapshot supplies that account's baseline for the Season. Return compares the latest eligible equity with that baseline, divided by the baseline. An account moving from 10,000 CC to 11,000 CC has a ten percent change under a simple unadjusted example; an account starting larger is still measured in percentage terms.
The Season calculation removes Lifestyle purchase and resale transfers from trading performance. Buying a fictional car should not be interpreted as losing that purchase amount through stock trading, nor should reselling it create a trading gain by itself. This adjustment also means the Season's sampled, performance-oriented figure can differ from live Account equity. Its timestamp and calculation basis matter when two screens show different numbers after a trade or a Lifestyle transaction.
The score includes the path
Ranking uses a stability score based on Season return divided by the volatility of hourly equity changes. Two accounts with the same positive return can therefore receive different scores if one followed a steadier observed path. Negative return gives a negative score under the rule. The calculation includes a volatility floor so an almost unchanged denominator cannot create an arbitrarily large result merely because the observed account barely moved.
This is a defined game metric, not a complete assessment of skill or a forecast of later performance. Hourly observations summarize what the account looked like at those sampling times and cannot describe every fluctuation between them. Accounts with margin mode enabled carry a marker on the same leaderboard rather than entering a separate ranking. That marker gives readers context about the account setting without revealing all of the borrowing or orders behind its result.
Enough observations come before a rank
An account needs eight hourly observations before receiving a ranked result. Until then, the interface shows sampling progress rather than pretending one or two observations form a mature score. Eight observations provide seven intervals between them. Registering or trading does not instantly fill those missing hours; the engine must reach the sampling boundaries. An account waiting for observations is therefore distinct from an account that has a rank outside the visible top group.
The public leaderboard displays the leading fifty ranked accounts, while the signed-in view supplies your own result or progress even when you are outside that group. Public rows show the disclosed name and aggregate Season measures, not private orders or a full portfolio. Verified Trader badges identify certification status. Certification does not waive the observation requirement, create a separate scoring formula or change matching priority for the trades contributing to the result.
Where to follow a Season in the city
The Season page identifies the current competition, its remaining time and participation information. When none is active, it can show an upcoming schedule or preparation state. Your personal figures include rank or sampling progress, return and stability score. The rules explanation gives the calculation context. A ranked result can also be used for a Season poster, which represents the displayed result rather than creating or reserving a permanent place on the board.
Account remains the place for current holdings, CC, liabilities and order history. The leaderboard updates from hourly snapshots, so refreshing it between boundaries does not necessarily reproduce the current tick-by-tick account value. Market rules contains the authoritative Season requirements. Comparing snapshot time, baseline and Lifestyle adjustment first makes the relationship between these pages clearer than expecting every screen labeled equity or return to use an identical live calculation at every moment.