The Picks
Official Rules
Free to play · skill-based · no prizes in v1 · effective 2026-09-15
What this is
The Picks is a free game of skill on the LAUNCH index: four calls each week about next Monday's chart. No purchase, no payment, no prizes in this version — bragging rights, streaks, and a leaderboard.
The clock
A slate of four picks opens when a chart publishes (Monday morning ET), locks Sunday 11:59 PM ET, and settles against the Monday 9:00 AM ET settlement print. Lock and results times are shown wherever picks appear.
Results truth
Whether you called it is decided by the settlement print — the immutable record written once at publication. Later chart revisions never change a settled pick. If a person leaves the chart before results, picks on that question void: they don't count for or against anyone.
One pick, final
One pick per question per player, enforced by the database. Picks are final and timestamped the moment they're made — there is no edit, no undo, no exception (that's what makes a called shot mean something).
Scoring
1 point per correct call, flat — a long-shot crown call and a coin-flip race pay the same. Your streak counts consecutive correct calls, rolling across picks and weeks; a wrong call resets it, a question you skipped (or one that voids) is not a call and neither counts nor resets. Perfect Week (4 for 4) is its own badge. The season leaderboard ranks total points; display names appear as entered.
No accounts
Play needs no signup: your picks tie to this browser. Drop your email and we'll tell you Monday at 9 if you called it. Display names come with the public leaderboard. Results themselves only ever appear on the site.
Fair play
Same slate, same clock, same results for everyone. Submissions are lightly rate-limited. Playing from multiple devices isn't policed in this prizeless version; if prizes ever arrive, verified identity comes with them.
Crowd numbers
Crowd figures show as percentages of players, never raw counts. Your individual picks are never published — the leaderboard shows display name and record only.
Changes
Rules can change between slates (never mid-slate); changes are dated on this page. Questions: the index methodology is public — start there.