scoring & stats

Our Scoring Formula

All portions of a RuPaul's Fantasy Drag Race episode are generated by AI using ChatGPT, and this includes all the queens' scores for challenge performances and runway presentations. Scoring is an important element of RPFDR, as these scores are used to help inform decisions for episode placements and statistical analysis.

For each challenge and runway , the queens are assigned a score ranging from "shoot+" all the way down to "boot-" depending on how they performed. Each rating awards a number of points detailed on graphic to the left. Queens are usually scored in multiple categories for a given challenge, and these scores across categories are averaged together to get their total score for the episode. The queens also receive runway scores each episode using the same scoring system.

The queens' challenge and runway scores are used to calculate PPE, CPE, and RPE averages. These terms are explained below.

Episode Scores Example

Here is an example of the challenge and runway scores from Season 5, Episode 8.
Each episode is scored in this way.

This example shows how scores are recorded and calculated using the rating system outlined above. The queens receive a total number of challenge points by adding together their scores in each category. The challenge points are then averaged. In this example, their challenge points are divided by four to give an average challenge score for the episode.

The runway points are also recorded here separately from the challenge scores. The queens receive one runway score for each runway category. Most episodes only have one runway category.

The final column "total points" is an average of each queen's challenge and runway scores. This column color-codes to give a visual rating of their performance from across the season. The queen with the green score in this column shows that she's received a particularly great showing this episode when compared to all the performances this season.

The challenge points only are used to determine the queens' placements for the episode. This is explained below in the PPE section.

Points per Episode - PPE

Here is an example of the track record and PPE scores from Season 3.

Most Drag Race fans will be familiar with the Points per Episode (PPE) scoring system. Each episode, the queens receive a placement ranging from "bottom" to "win" based on how they performing in the Maxi challenge. Runway scores are usually not a factor in determining a queen's placement, though they are occasionally used as a tie breaker for wins or bottom placements.

Each placement is worth a certain amount of "episode points" which are then averaged across the number of episodes a queen competed in to calculate that queen's PPE score.

The episode points awarded for each placement are as follows:

Win = 5 points
High = 4 points
Safe = 3 points
Low = 2 points
Bottom (BTM #) = 1 point
Eliminated (ELIM) = 0 points

A queen's placement for each episode is based on how their indivdiual challenge score compares to the other queens' scores for that episode. PPE is a relative scoring system, meaning that a queen's placement is determined by comparing her score to the other queens.

Here at RPFDR, we don't stick to three tops and three bottoms like the real show does. Instead, queens whose scores are generally higher than the others receive high placements, and the inverse is true for low placements. Safe placements are awarded to queens who are in the middle. The winner will be the queen with the highest score, and the bottom queens will be those with the lowest scores.

PPE is just one way of quantifying how a queen has performed throughout the season. Here at RPFDR, we believe if you're just using PPE, you're only getting half the story. This is where CPE comes in, which is explained in the next section.

Challenge Points & Runway Points per Episode

Here is an example of the challenge and runway points per episode (CPE & RPE) for Season 7.

We have developed another way to track queens' performances for statistical analysis purposes. While PPE is useful, we also wanted to be able to track queens' raw scores so their performances could be assessed on their own without needing to be compared to other queens.

Each season, each queen's total challenge points and runway points are tracked across episodes in tables like the one above. Challenge points are calculated by adding together the average challenge points the queens have earn each episode they compete in. Runway points are calculated the same way. CPE and RPE values are then calculated by dividing the challenge and runway points by the number of episodes each queen competed in to provide the average number of challenge or runway points each queens received per episode.

The final column averages each queen's CPE and RPE scores together to get a Total Points per Episode Score (TPPE) to serve as a general metric of a queen's overall showing on the season. As challenge scores are generally considered more important than runway scores, we do not often utilize TPPE.

The benefits to considering CPE instead of PPE is that CPE gives an idea of which queen truly performed the "best" in the season's challenges. For example, in an episode where all the queens do well, two queens will still end up receiving bottom placements even if their scores are only 1 or 2 points less than the winner's. This situation lower's a queen's PPE substantially, whereas their CPE would receive little impact as their performance was still statistically good.

This often leads to discrepancies between PPE and CPE. In the Season 7 example above, Lady Gaga has a significantly higher CPE than Beyonce. When considering their track records, however, Beyonce actually had a higher PPE. Lady Gaga went on to win the season in part that her challenge scores were consistently quite high. Additionally, PPE becomes less useful in seasons with twists that allow high performing queens to be placed in the bottom (such as in the Drag Wars format), as the PPE scores may no longer provide an accurate representation of a queen's performance. Situations like these exemplify why PPE alone is not adequate for analyzing queens' performances.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse