---
key: mechanic/online-participation--t325
type: mechanic
id: online-participation--t325
lang: en
title: 'Asynchronous competition, ghosts and messages'
summary: >-
  Results persist without simultaneous play. Duolingo participants earn XP at
  different times, and a weekly leaderboard compares their contributions.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t325/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t325.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/online-participation--t325.md
aliases:
  - Asynchronous competition and messages
tags:
  - Online worlds and participation
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-d6403e86b24cf114
  - source-a2b24d50bbf6f14c
sources:
  - id: source-d6403e86b24cf114
    title: 'Steamworks: Multiplayer'
    url: 'https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer'
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-a2b24d50bbf6f14c
    title: Duolingo
    url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: online-participation
    id: t325
    title: Online worlds and participation
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/online-participation/#t325'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Asynchronous competition and messages
    description: >-
      Results persist without simultaneous play. Duolingo participants earn XP
      at different times, and a weekly leaderboard compares their contributions.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/online-duolingo-leagues.webp
      width: 702
      height: 615
      crop:
        x: 24
        'y': 28
        width: 315
        height: 560
      game: Duolingo
      sourceUrl: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://storage.ghost.io/c/7a/33/7a33d0f4-927d-4fe8-a6bf-96131b5e76d4/content/images/2023/04/tournament-soon--1-.png
      credit: Duolingo
      rights: >-
        © Duolingo. Official image or public interface capture; all rights
        reserved. Excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'Duolingo: a weekly leaderboard with accumulated participant XP'
      alt: 'Duolingo: a weekly leaderboard with accumulated participant XP'
      markers:
        - x: 42
          'y': 40
          label: The table stores scores independently of when participants practice
    tips:
      - >-
        Compare equivalent conditions and clearly state the result’s time
        window.
    examples:
      - title: Duolingo
        url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/online-participation
---
# Asynchronous competition, ghosts and messages

id: online-participation--t325
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/online-participation--t325
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/online-participation--t325/

Results persist without simultaneous play. Duolingo participants earn XP at different times, and a weekly leaderboard compares their contributions.

## At a glance

![Duolingo: a weekly leaderboard with accumulated participant XP](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/online-duolingo-leagues.webp)

[Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/) · © Duolingo. Official image or public interface capture; all rights reserved. Excluded from portal MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The table stores scores independently of when participants practice

- Compare equivalent conditions and clearly state the result’s time window.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/)

## How it works

Asynchronous participation preserves one player's result or message for another to encounter at a different time.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t325-variants"></a>

- Ghosts replay a completed attempt's route. <a id="t325-v1"></a>
- Messages provide limited location clues. <a id="t325-v2"></a>
- Challenges publish reproducible conditions. <a id="t325-v3"></a>
- Deferred turns support responses across sessions. <a id="t325-v4"></a>

## Design example

A player leaves a jump ghost so another can compare takeoff timing in a later session.

Prototype check: Test rule-version compatibility and message constraints, including deleted or unavailable replays.

## Context and limits

Online mechanics connect individual contributions to shared state, participation timing and explicit commitments between players. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Steamworks: Multiplayer](https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/multiplayer) (id: source-d6403e86b24cf114)
- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-leagues-leaderboards/) (id: source-a2b24d50bbf6f14c)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors