Getting started with Up and Down the River
Four players to a court, one match a round. Win and move up a court, lose and move down. Two variants:
Up and Down the River — individuals, new partner every round
Up and Down the River (Set Partners) — fixed pairs all season
Start with How Up and Down the River works.
Season lifecycle
1. Create the event. Always a League event. See Create an Up and Down the River event.
2. Set play dates and the opt-in deadline before generating. See Managing rounds and dates in Ladder formats and League opt-in.
3. Generate week 1 and pick the starting order. See Generate rounds in Up and Down the River.
4. Score the round. See Scoring matches in Ladder formats.
5. Generate the next round. Winners up, losers down. See How movement works in Up and Down the River.
Repeat 4 and 5 each week.
Good to know before you start
Courts are exactly 4. Not 5 or 6. Any remainder forms a bye group that sits out and rotates.
You move exactly one court, win or lose, however the match went.
The top-court loser drops to Court 2, not to the bottom. This surprises people who have played other versions of the game.
Nothing moves until the round is scored.
Partner variety beats balance in the individual variant — a lopsided-looking match is usually the app avoiding a repeat partnership. See How partners are chosen each round.
Settings
Bye Mode is the one you will actually set — chosen when you generate, deciding whether the bottom sits out or everyone takes turns. See Byes in Up and Down the River.
Other ladder settings live in Event Settings → Ladder League Configuration, shared with the other ladder formats. Game scoring per group size is the one most worth setting here; movement and group size priority do not change this format's behavior, since courts are fixed at 4 and you always move exactly one. See Ladder League Configuration settings.
Not the same as Ladder League
Ladder League | Up and Down the River | |
|---|---|---|
Each round | Round robin on your court | One match |
Court size | 4–6, uneven | Exactly 4 |
Moves you | Where you finish | Win or lose |
Distance | Up to 2 courts | One court |
Ladder League also keeps a division-wide ladder rank and an absence penalty. This format has neither — your court is your standing. If you want the richer version, see Getting started with Ladder League.