Payphone Tag Wiki - User contributions [en]

Cells

2026-05-03T02:32:40Z

Alex:

Cells are the option team mechanic with most active players joining one. A cell pools its members' held phones for the purpose of cell triangles and cell territory. As of writing there are over '''one hundred active cells''' on the game; the live count is on the '''CELLS''' tab at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].

== Forming a cell ==

* Any logged-in player can create a cell.
* Each cell has:
** A '''4-character tag''' (uppercase letters/digits, e.g. <code>WOLF</code>
** A '''name''' (free text)
** A '''colour''' picked from a fixed palette; each colour is unique across all cells, so the palette caps the number of cells visible on the cell-map view.

* Membership is small — currently a max of 12 agents can exists in a cell
== Roles ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Role !! Can do
|-
| '''Handler''' (creator) || everything: rename, recolour, kick,
promote, disband
|-
| '''Runner''' || kick members
|-
| '''Member''' || hold phones for the cell, leave at any time
|}

Handlers are succession-aware: if a Handler is purged for inactivity, the longest-tenured Runner (or Member) inherits the Handler role automatically.

== Cell scoring ==

See [[Scoring#Cell_scoring]]. In short: cell holdings + cell triangles + cell territory area. A cell triangle counts when all three Delaunay vertices are held by '''any''' cell member at the moment of evaluation.

== Map view ==

The CELLS toggle on the map (top-right of https://payphonetag.com) switches between Individual view (everyone's emoji
on their captures) and Cells view (cell-coloured rings, territory fills, perimeter borders).

== Solo cells ==

A 1-member cell is "solo" and is excluded from the cell leaderboard and the cells map view. This is to prevent the game from having lots of single agent cells.

[[Category:Game]]

Scoring

2026-05-03T02:31:45Z

Alex:

Player score is recomputed on every capture. There is no decay; once earned, base points (Explored) stick around even if you lose the phone.

The canonical scoring source is the live game at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com] — values below reflect the current model but may change as the game is tuned. The '''STATS''' tab on the game site shows your live breakdown.

== Base components ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Points !! Notes
|-
| '''Explored''' || 10 per unique payphone you've ever captured ||
Sticky — you keep these even after a phone is stolen back.
|-
| '''Captures''' (Held) || 15 per phone currently held ||
Drops to 0 the moment someone steals it.
|-
| '''Edges''' || 10 per Delaunay edge between two of your held phones ||
The mesh is computed once at game startup and is static.
|-
| '''Triangles''' || 15 per complete Delaunay triangle (all three vertices held by you) ||
|-
| '''Area''' || 10 × log₂(1 + ha) where ha is the area in hectares of your held territory ||
|}

Your '''Capture Score''' is the combined Explored + Held portion. It's the headline number on the leaderboard; the geographic components are bonuses on top.

== Cell scoring ==

Cells (teams) score independently — see [[Cells]]. A cell triangle requires all three Delaunay vertices to be held by '''any''' member of the cell.

Solo cells (1 member) are excluded from the cell leaderboard and the cell map view.

== Streaks ==

A capture streak counts consecutive days on which you captured at least one payphone (Sydney time). Streak is "alive" if your last capture was today or yesterday. Milestones at 7, 14, 30, 60, 100 days trigger an in-game alert. There are also badges at 7, 14, and 30 days — see [[Badges]].

[[Category:Game]]

Scoring

2026-05-03T02:30:39Z

Alex:

Player score is recomputed on every capture. There is no decay; once earned, base points (Explored) stick around even if you lose the phone.

The canonical scoring source is the live game at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com] — values below reflect the current model but may change as the game is tuned. The '''STATS''' tab on the game site shows your live breakdown.

== Base components ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Points !! Notes
|-
| '''Explored''' || 10 per unique payphone you've ever captured ||
Sticky — you keep these even after a phone is stolen back.
|-
| '''Captures''' (Held) || 15 per phone currently held ||
Drops to 0 the moment someone steals it.
|-
| '''Edges''' || 10 per Delaunay edge between two of your held phones ||
The mesh is computed once at game startup and is static.
|-
| '''Triangles''' || 15 per complete Delaunay triangle (all three vertices held by you) ||
|-
| '''Area''' || 10 × log₂(1 + ha) where ha is the area in hectares of your held territory ||
|- Sub-linear so a few mega-suburbs don't dominate.
|}

Your '''Capture Score''' is the combined Explored + Held portion. It's the headline number on the leaderboard; the geographic components are bonuses on top.

== Cell scoring ==

Cells (teams) score independently — see [[Cells]]. A cell triangle requires all three Delaunay vertices to be held by '''any''' member of the cell.

Solo cells (1 member) are excluded from the cell leaderboard and the cell map view.

== Streaks ==

A capture streak counts consecutive days on which you captured at least one payphone (Sydney time). Streak is "alive" if your last capture was today or yesterday. Milestones at 7, 14, 30, 60, 100 days trigger an in-game alert. There are also badges at 7, 14, and 30 days — see [[Badges]].

[[Category:Game]]

Badges

2026-05-03T02:26:08Z

Alex:

There are currently '''24 badges''' in the game. They are awarded automatically — on capture, once a day at the rank-snapshot time, and at startup as a backfill. The list below was scraped from [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com]'s live badge endpoint at seed time and may drift; the canonical version with current holders is on the '''RANKS → BADGES''' tab in the game.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
! style="width:3em" | Badge !! Name !! Earned by
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🩸 || '''First Blood''' || Make your first capture
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔰 || '''Rookie''' || Capture 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎯 || '''Operator''' || Capture 25 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎖️ || '''Veteran''' || Capture 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 💯 || '''Century''' || Capture 100 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 👑 || '''Warlord''' || Capture 250 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦹 || '''Thief''' || Steal 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ⚔️ || '''Raider''' || Steal 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔒 || '''Iron Grip''' || Hold a phone for 30 days
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗺️ || '''Explorer''' || Capture in 10 postcodes
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔄 || '''Reclaimer''' || Reclaim 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 😈 || '''Nemesis''' || Steal from the same player 5 times
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📐 || '''Surveyor''' || Complete your first triangle
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📅 || '''Week Warrior''' || Achieve a 7-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔥 || '''Fortnight''' || Achieve a 14-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗓️ || '''Monthly Grinder''' || Achieve a 30-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🌉 || '''Sydney Sider''' || Capture a phone in NSW
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☀️ || '''Sunshine State''' || Capture a phone in QLD
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☕ || '''Melburnian''' || Capture a phone in VIC
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦢 || '''West Coaster''' || Capture a phone in WA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🍷 || '''South Aussie''' || Capture a phone in SA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🐊 || '''Top Ender''' || Capture a phone in NT
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏔️ || '''Islander''' || Capture a phone in TAS
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏛️ || '''Capital Agent''' || Capture a phone in ACT
|}

== Browsing badge holders ==

The full holders list per badge is on the game site's RANKS '''→''' BADGES tab. Note: when the game's leaderboard JSON endpoints are live, this page can embed live holder counts via parser tags (see [[Help:Parser_tags]]).

'''[[Category:Game]]'''

Badges

2026-05-03T02:25:09Z

Alex:

There are currently '''24 badges''' in the game. They are awarded automatically — on capture, once a day at the rank-snapshot time, and at startup as a backfill. The list below was scraped from [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com]'s live badge endpoint at seed time and may drift; the canonical version with current holders is on the '''RANKS → BADGES''' tab in the game.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
! style="width:3em" | Badge !! Name !! Earned by
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🩸 || '''First Blood''' || Make your first capture
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔰 || '''Rookie''' || Capture 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎯 || '''Operator''' || Capture 25 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎖️ || '''Veteran''' || Capture 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 💯 || '''Century''' || Capture 100 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 👑 || '''Warlord''' || Capture 250 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦹 || '''Thief''' || Steal 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ⚔️ || '''Raider''' || Steal 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔒 || '''Iron Grip''' || Hold a phone for 30 days
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗺️ || '''Explorer''' || Capture in 10 postcodes
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔄 || '''Reclaimer''' || Reclaim 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 😈 || '''Nemesis''' || Steal from the same player 5 times
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📐 || '''Surveyor''' || Complete your first triangle
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📅 || '''Week Warrior''' || Achieve a 7-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔥 || '''Fortnight''' || Achieve a 14-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗓️ || '''Monthly Grinder''' || Achieve a 30-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🌉 || '''Sydney Sider''' || Capture a phone in NSW
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☀️ || '''Sunshine State''' || Capture a phone in QLD
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☕ || '''Melburnian''' || Capture a phone in VIC
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦢 || '''West Coaster''' || Capture a phone in WA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🍷 || '''South Aussie''' || Capture a phone in SA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🐊 || '''Top Ender''' || Capture a phone in NT
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏔️ || '''Islander''' || Capture a phone in TAS
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏛️ || '''Capital Agent''' || Capture a phone in ACT
|}

== Browsing badge holders ==

The full holders list per badge is on the game site's '''RANKS →
BADGES''' tab. When the game's leaderboard JSON endpoints are live,this page can embed live holder counts via parser tags (see [[Help:Parser_tags]]).

[[Category:Game]]

Main Page

2026-05-03T02:23:27Z

Alex: Add onboarding heads-up about moderation queue for new accounts

__NOTOC__
<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 1.3em; margin: 1em 0;">
Welcome to the '''[https://payphonetag.com Payphone Tag]''' Wiki''':''' the community field guide to the game
</div>

== What is Payphone Tag? ==

A real-world territory capture game using payphones. Dial in, enter your PIN, and claim payphones across Australia to build your turf. There are currently '''thousands of payphones''' in play, distributed across every state and territory.

Play at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].

== Where to start ==

''New account? Your first few edits wait briefly in a moderation queue for review — they go live instantly once you're autoconfirmed (4 days + 10 edits).''

* '''New to the wiki?''' Read [[Help:Editing]] (no wiki markup needed, it's a Word-like editor).
* '''Want to add a photo?''' [[Help:Adding a payphone photo]].
* '''Curious how scoring works?''' [[Scoring]].
* '''Just browsing?''' Open [[Special:Random/Payphone]] and read.

== Game mechanics ==

* [[Scoring]] — explored, held, edges, triangles, area
* [[Cells]] — teams, roles, and the cell map
* [[Badges]] — every badge in the game

== Live leaderboards ==

{{Note|Live leaderboards via <code><ptLeaderboard/></code> will
appear here once the game's <code>/api/leaderboard</code> JSON
endpoint is live. In the meantime, see the '''RANKS''' tab on
[https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].}}

== Recent activity ==

See [[Special:RecentChanges]] for what's been edited recently on the wiki. For in-game activity (captures, steals), see the '''INTEL''' tab on the game site.

[[Category:Wiki]]

Main Page

2026-05-03T02:21:30Z

Alex: Restore Main Page content (prior edit saved blank due to my mistake)

__NOTOC__
<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 1.3em; margin: 1em 0;">
Welcome to the '''[https://payphonetag.com Payphone Tag]''' Wiki''':''' the community field guide to the game
</div>

== What is Payphone Tag? ==

A real-world territory capture game using payphones. Dial in, enter your PIN, and claim payphones across Australia to build your turf. There are currently '''thousands of payphones''' in play, distributed across every state and territory.

Play at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].

== Where to start ==

* '''New to the wiki?''' Read [[Help:Editing]] (no wiki markup needed, it's a Word-like editor).
* '''Want to add a photo?''' [[Help:Adding a payphone photo]].
* '''Curious how scoring works?''' [[Scoring]].
* '''Just browsing?''' Open [[Special:Random/Payphone]] and read.

== Game mechanics ==

* [[Scoring]] — explored, held, edges, triangles, area
* [[Cells]] — teams, roles, and the cell map
* [[Badges]] — every badge in the game

== Live leaderboards ==

{{Note|Live leaderboards via <code><ptLeaderboard/></code> will
appear here once the game's <code>/api/leaderboard</code> JSON
endpoint is live. In the meantime, see the '''RANKS''' tab on
[https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].}}

== Recent activity ==

See [[Special:RecentChanges]] for what's been edited recently on the wiki. For in-game activity (captures, steals), see the '''INTEL''' tab on the game site.

[[Category:Wiki]]

Main Page

2026-05-03T02:20:47Z

Alex: Fix broken Game: links after rename; minor copy fix

Scoring

2026-05-03T02:16:58Z

Alex: Alex moved page Game:Scoring to Scoring without leaving a redirect: Drop Game: pseudo-namespace prefix

Player score is recomputed on every capture. There is no decay; once
earned, base points (Explored) stick around even if you lose the
phone.

The canonical scoring source is the live game at
[https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com] — values below reflect the
current model but may change as the game is tuned. The '''STATS'''
tab on the game site shows your live breakdown.

== Base components ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Component !! Points !! Notes
|-
| '''Explored''' || 10 per unique payphone you've ever captured ||
Sticky — you keep these even after a phone is stolen back.
|-
| '''Captures''' (Held) || 15 per phone currently held ||
Drops to 0 the moment someone steals it.
|-
| '''Edges''' || 10 per Delaunay edge between two of your held phones ||
The mesh is computed once at game startup and is static.
|-
| '''Triangles''' || 15 per complete Delaunay triangle (all three
vertices held by you) ||
|-
| '''Area''' || 10 × log₂(1 + ha) where ha is the area in hectares of
your held territory || Sub-linear so a few mega-suburbs don't dominate.
|}

Your '''Capture Score''' is the combined Explored + Held portion. It's
the headline number on the leaderboard; the geographic components are
bonuses on top.

== Cell scoring ==

Cells (teams) score independently — see [[Game:Cells]]. A cell
triangle requires all three Delaunay vertices to be held by '''any'''
member of the cell.

Solo cells (1 member) are excluded from the cell leaderboard and the
cell map view.

== Streaks ==

A capture streak counts consecutive days on which you captured at
least one payphone (Sydney time). Streak is "alive" if your last
capture was today or yesterday. Milestones at 7, 14, 30, 60, 100
days trigger an in-game alert. There are also badges at 7, 14, and
30 days — see [[Game:Badges]].

[[Category:Game]]

Cells

2026-05-03T02:16:57Z

Alex: Alex moved page Game:Cells to Cells without leaving a redirect: Drop Game: pseudo-namespace prefix

Cells are the option team mechanic with most active players joining one. A cell pools its members' held phones for the purpose of cell triangles and cell territory. As of writing there are over '''one hundred active cells''' on the game; the live count is on the '''CELLS''' tab at [https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com].

== Forming a cell ==

* Any logged-in player can create a cell.
* Each cell has:
** A '''4-character tag''' (uppercase letters/digits, e.g. <code>WOLF</code>
** A '''name''' (free text)
** A '''colour''' picked from a fixed palette; each colour is unique across all cells, so the palette caps the number of cells visible on the cell-map view.

* Membership is small — currently a max of 12 agents can exists in a cell
== Roles ==

{| class="wikitable"
! Role !! Can do
|-
| '''Handler''' (creator) || everything: rename, recolour, kick,
promote, disband
|-
| '''Runner''' || kick members
|-
| '''Member''' || hold phones for the cell, leave at any time
|}

Handlers are succession-aware: if a Handler is purged for inactivity, the longest-tenured Runner (or Member) inherits the Handler role automatically.

== Cell scoring ==

See [[Game:Scoring#Cell_scoring]]. In short: cell holdings + cell triangles + cell territory area. A cell triangle counts when all three Delaunay vertices are held by '''any''' cell member at the moment of evaluation.

== Map view ==

The CELLS toggle on the map (top-right of https://payphonetag.com) switches between Individual view (everyone's emoji
on their captures) and Cells view (cell-coloured rings, territory fills, perimeter borders).

== Solo cells ==

A 1-member cell is "solo" and is excluded from the cell leaderboard and the cells map view. This is to prevent the game from having lots of single agent cells.

[[Category:Game]]

Badges

2026-05-03T02:16:57Z

Alex: Alex moved page Game:Badges to Badges without leaving a redirect: Drop Game: pseudo-namespace prefix

There are currently '''24 badges''' in the game. They are
awarded automatically — on capture, once a day at the rank-snapshot
time, and at startup as a backfill. The list below was scraped from
[https://payphonetag.com payphonetag.com]'s live badge endpoint at
seed time and may drift; the canonical version with current holders
is on the '''RANKS → BADGES''' tab in the game.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
! style="width:3em" | Badge !! Name !! Earned by
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🩸 || '''First Blood''' || Make your first capture
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔰 || '''Rookie''' || Capture 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎯 || '''Operator''' || Capture 25 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🎖️ || '''Veteran''' || Capture 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 💯 || '''Century''' || Capture 100 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 👑 || '''Warlord''' || Capture 250 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦹 || '''Thief''' || Steal 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ⚔️ || '''Raider''' || Steal 50 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔒 || '''Iron Grip''' || Hold a phone for 30 days
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗺️ || '''Explorer''' || Capture in 10 postcodes
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔄 || '''Reclaimer''' || Reclaim 10 phones
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 😈 || '''Nemesis''' || Steal from the same player 5 times
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📐 || '''Surveyor''' || Complete your first triangle
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 📅 || '''Week Warrior''' || Achieve a 7-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🔥 || '''Fortnight''' || Achieve a 14-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🗓️ || '''Monthly Grinder''' || Achieve a 30-day streak
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🌉 || '''Sydney Sider''' || Capture a phone in NSW
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☀️ || '''Sunshine State''' || Capture a phone in QLD
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | ☕ || '''Melburnian''' || Capture a phone in VIC
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🦢 || '''West Coaster''' || Capture a phone in WA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🍷 || '''South Aussie''' || Capture a phone in SA
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🐊 || '''Top Ender''' || Capture a phone in NT
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏔️ || '''Islander''' || Capture a phone in TAS
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:1.4em" | 🏛️ || '''Capital Agent''' || Capture a phone in ACT
|}

== Browsing badge holders ==

The full holders list per badge is on the game site's '''RANKS →
BADGES''' tab. When the game's leaderboard JSON endpoints are live,
this page can embed live holder counts via parser tags
(see [[Help:Parser_tags]]).

[[Category:Game]]