The Complete Guide to Prediction Game Scoring Systems

Every prediction game lives or dies by its scoring system. Get it right and the league stays competitive, engaging, and fun for the entire season. Get it wrong and people lose interest by October. If you have ever played in a prediction league where the scoring felt unfair, confusing, or just a bit off, you know how much it matters. We explored this debate in our exact score vs correct result comparison, but here we are going broader - covering every common system and what makes each one tick.

Whether you are choosing a platform to play on, setting up your own league, or just curious about why different games award points differently, this guide covers the lot.

The Two Fundamentals: Exact Score and Correct Result

Almost every prediction scoring system is built on two pillars. The first is the exact score - did you predict the precise scoreline? The second is the correct result - did you get the right outcome (home win, away win, or draw) even if the exact score was wrong?

These two elements appear in virtually every prediction game, but the ratio between them varies enormously. Some games give 3 points for an exact score and 1 for a correct result. Others go as high as 10 for exact and 3 for result. The ratio matters because it determines what kind of game you are playing.

High exact-to-result ratio (e.g. 10:1) rewards bold, precise predictions. Players who nail unusual scorelines are handsomely rewarded. The downside is that luck plays a bigger role. Getting 4-3 right while someone else predicted 3-2 is not really a difference in skill - it is a coin flip.

Low exact-to-result ratio (e.g. 3:1) rewards consistency. Getting the result right matters more relative to getting the exact score, which means players who read matches well but do not nail the precise scoreline are still rewarded. This produces tighter leagues where skill shows over the course of a season.

ScoreBadger uses a 3 points for exact, 1 for correct result system. It is deliberately simple and it deliberately favours consistency over luck. Over a 38-gameweek season, the best reader of football will almost always finish above someone who gets lucky with a couple of wild scorelines.

Goal Difference Scoring