Last Man Standing FAQ
The questions that come up most, about playing and about running one.
Playing
What is a last man standing competition?
A football knockout where everyone picks one team a round to win. If your team wins you go through; if they draw or lose you are out. You can only use each team once, so the strong sides are a resource you have to spend.
Is a draw a win in last man standing?
No. A draw is treated exactly the same as a loss and you are eliminated. Your team has to win.
Can I pick the same team twice?
No. Once you have used a team they leave your pool for the rest of the competition. This is the rule that makes it a game of judgement rather than luck.
What happens if I forget to make a pick?
A team is chosen for you at random from the ones you have left with a match that round, and it counts as though you had picked it — including being used up. You are never eliminated for forgetting.
What happens if my team’s match is postponed?
The pick is spent and you survive the round. The team does not come back into your pool. It is the one outcome that is neither a win nor a loss, and it is resolved in the player’s favour.
Can I change my pick?
Yes, up until the round’s deadline. Once the deadline passes every pick is locked.
What are wildcards?
One-use cards that bend a single round in your favour — surviving an elimination, or turning a draw into a survival. They are optional, and whoever sets a competition up decides whether it uses them.
Are there points, a league table or a ranking?
No. You are either still in or you are out, and everybody still in is level. The only thing separating two people at the end is the round they went out in.
What if everyone goes out in the same round?
Either the competition rolls over into a new one, or everyone who was standing comes back and it continues until there is a single winner. Whoever created it chooses which.
Running one
Is it free to run a last man standing competition?
On Standing, yes. There is no entry fee, no subscription, no premium tier and no adverts.
Who holds the money if we play for a pot?
The organiser does. No money goes through Standing — whoever runs the competition collects the pot and pays it out themselves.
Can people join after it has started?
Anyone who joins before the first round is in that competition. After it starts they go into the next one, which begins as soon as the current one is won.
How many people do I need?
Two is enough. Ten to thirty is where it is most fun — long enough to run for a while, small enough that everyone knows who is left.
Do the people I invite need an account?
They sign in with Google or an email link. There is no password to invent and nothing to download.
Can everyone see each other’s picks?
That is set when the competition is created. It either shows picks as they come in, or hides them all until the deadline passes.
Start a competition
Free, invite-only, about a minute to set up.
Create a competition