Who has the better game tonight?

Before every Oilers game, you get one simple question: two Oilers players, and you tap the one you think will have the better game.

The morning after, a panel of three judges gives the verdict. If you called it, you earn points. Either way, your answer supports a local charity cause you choose.

That's the whole game. You don't need to know much about hockey, and you never type anything. Just tap.

"I'm Lange. I keep the door. I'll tell you when the question's up and when the verdict comes down."

A game night, step by step

1. Game day morning: your question appears on the page. It shows the game (who the Oilers play, the date, puck-drop time), the level, and the two players. Elias Varga, the Meridian's Question Maker, picks the pairs and tells you in one line why he put these two together.
2. Tap the player you think will have the better game from the offered set.
3. Pick the charity cause you're supporting tonight. Each of your three judges champions a charity cause close to their heart (more below). Your choice doesn't change the verdict.
4. Tap "Lock it in". You can change your mind any time until puck drop. After that, it's locked.
5. Watch the game (or don't, no homework required).
6. The morning after: tap "Hear the verdict". Your judges explain who had the better game, out loud and in writing. Then you see if you called it.
7. Tell us if it made sense: one tap, Makes sense, Arguable or Nonsense. This is the most useful thing you can do for us this season.

Not every friend gets the same question. Each game has three versions, and you're dealt one. Elias always pairs two players who have been close lately, so either one could win; then he looks for a story: a star and the player keeping pace with him, a hot streak against a quiet one, a scorer against a grinder, a veteran against a kid. Nobody is asked about two games in a row.

Levels

Every question has a level. Harder levels are worth more points. Every game has a Level 1-1 question, and since October 24 also one Level 1-2 and one Level 1-3. Those two are optional extras: answer any or all. Your charity cause comes from your Level 1-1 answer.

Later levels stretch over 2 or 3 games (your player has to win every game, a streak). They'll come once the basics work.

The judges

Nine judges live in a run-down old hotel called The Meridian. For each game you're dealt three of them at random. Over a season everyone gets a fair mix.

They don't all see hockey the same way. When the game is clear, they agree. When it's close, each one calls it their own way, and you'll get to know them as the season goes.

TomásThe Fire

NadiaThe Heart

FinnThe Mystic

MargauxThe Diplomat

OllieThe Historian

DeviThe Current

RuthThe Spine

ZevThe Disruptor

SilasThe Shadow

The judges are characters voiced by AI. They're not real people, and they never pretend to be.

The charity causes

Every judge is an advocate for one charity cause close to their heart. Each game you're asked: which charity cause are you supporting tonight? Pick one of your three judges' charity causes, and your answer supports it, whether your pick is right or wrong.

This test season: no money moves yet. We count which charity causes friends support. When Better Game launches, every answer will send real money to a checked local charity for that cause.

How "the better game" is decided

Every play a player makes in the game earns or costs game points, from the NHL's own play-by-play record:

• Adds: goals, assists (more for the pass that set the goal up), shots (more for shots from dangerous spots near the net), faceoffs won, hits, blocked shots, takeaways, drawing a penalty, being on the ice for goals (the plus in plus/minus) and for his team's shot attempts at 5 on 5, and for goalies, saves and wins.
• Takes away: giveaways, penalties and being on the ice for goals against (the minus in plus/minus) and for the other team's shot attempts at 5 on 5, and for goalies, goals allowed and loose rebounds.
• About a goal: 20 game points is worth roughly one goal, so a 40-point night is about two goals' worth.

A clear winner: if one player is clearly ahead on game points, the panel agrees and one judge gives the call for all three.

A tight race: if the two players' game points are within 10% of each other, each judge breaks it their own way (see the judges). The verdict goes with the majority of your three.

Your reason counts: before you lock in, you can add a line on why you picked your player. In a tight race, any of your judges who called it the other way reads it. If what you said really showed up in the game ("he'll set one up from the back end", and he did), it can win them over and change their call. It takes real insight: a specific call that wasn't obvious before puck drop. "A top defenceman gets an assist" won't do it; hunches and "he's due" don't either. We also read every reason to learn what you see in a game and make Better Game better for you.

Because each friend has their own three judges, two people with the same pick can, in a tight race, get different verdicts. Over a season, the luck of the panel evens out.

📊 See the scoring chart: what every play is worth.

After the verdict, tap "How was this decided?" to see the game points. We're still tuning the values; your Makes sense / Arguable / Nonsense taps tell us where they're off.

The Live Tracker

Once the puck drops, the Live Tracker shows your two players as bars of game points that move during the game, about a minute behind the play. The bar is 100 points long and coloured by period (overtime in orange); a night past 100 breaks the bar and earns a "!". Every play is listed underneath, newest first. See a big hit on TV, and a moment later the bar goes up. Your three judges are watching too and chime in when the lead changes or it gets close.

The live numbers are unofficial. The judges have the last word the morning after, using the NHL's final record (things like the game-winning goal and the three stars only count at the end).

Points and standings

• Called it: you earn the level's points (20 for Level 1-1).
• Missed it: no points, and you never lose any.
• A true dead heat: every pick in the tie counts as right.
• The Local Hero Board shows everyone's points and how many they've called right.

The Local Hero Board

The season standings. At the end of the season, the top Local Hero wins the original Better Game prize: we walk your résumé into the Oilers' offices and apply for an assistant coaching job for you. We can't promise they'll call, but we'll make the trip.

Why a coaching job? At the 1995 NHL Draft in Edmonton, the Oilers had the 6th pick, and the whole Coliseum chanted for Shane Doan. The Oilers took someone else; Winnipeg took Doan with the next pick, and he had a great career. A thousand fans saw what the people in the middle of it couldn't. Better Game started there.

House bots are on the board to beat, but they can't win the prize.

The Meridian

The judges live together at The Meridian, an old hotel with an owner nobody has ever met. They live there rent-free as long as they judge every game honestly. Between games, life goes on: there's a short new scene from the House most days. Read it on the main page under "The Meridian today", or skip it. The game works fine either way.

House rules

1. Be kind. Cheer, tease, argue about hockey; never attack a person: not a fan, not a player, not a judge.
2. No hate, no harassment, nothing sexual, no threats.
3. One account per person. Don't play as someone else, and don't use a bot unless it wears the bot badge.
4. No spam or selling.
5. The judges have the last word on the game. You can tell us they got it wrong (that's what "Nonsense" and the feedback box are for), but don't take it out on other fans.

Break the rules and we'll nudge you, then pause your account, then remove it. Tell Steve if you think we got it wrong.

Your name and picture: your name is 3 to 20 characters, not an NHL player's, nothing rude. Your avatar comes from our own set; there are no photo uploads. What you type (your reasons and feedback) is private: only your judges and the Better Game team read it, to make the game better for you. We never quote you without asking.

Your link is your key. Don't share it. If it gets out, Steve can cancel it and send you a new one.

The Watch Party

Friends and family can watch the game together in a Watch Party (a group can have its own name, like the Tea Circle). Each seat gets one of the night's three questions, spread around the group, so you can argue about who had the harder call. During the game, the Watch Party shows goals on anyone's pick and lead changes as they happen, and you can tap a reaction (Goal!, Told you, Robbed…). Only your Watch Party sees it, and it's deleted after 14 days. Joining a Watch Party means agreeing to three more rules:

1. Rib the pick, never the person. "Bold call on Murphy" is fine; anything about who someone is, isn't.
2. What's said at the Watch Party stays at the Watch Party. Don't share what others said there outside it.
3. Anyone can leave, anytime, no questions. Nobody is pressured to play, pick, or keep up.

Why "under construction"?

You're one of a handful of friends trying an early prototype during the 2026-27 Oilers season. It's here to answer two questions: is it fun? and do the verdicts make sense?

Expect rough edges: odd verdicts, robotic voices (better ones are coming), things that change from week to week. When something feels wrong, tap Nonsense or tell Steve. That's exactly what we need.

Questions