Course Crusher

Course Crusher is for a short, individual learning contest where entrants race to complete five assigned courses. It works best when you want a clear finish line, visible progress, and a simple prize structure based on verified course completions. Because it uses a first-to-target goal, the contest ends the moment someone reaches five completions.

This template is designed for opt-in participation, so only people who want to join should be entered. It excludes managers by default, which helps keep the contest peer-based and avoids pressure from supervisors. If you want broader participation, you can still keep the same structure while adjusting eligibility rules.

The template is set up for a 21-day sprint, which fits the natural cadence of a short learning push. That is long enough for people to complete a few courses without dragging on like a leaderboard. If your courses are longer or require scheduling, you can extend the duration, but keep the contest finite.

It uses the verified course.completed action so completions are counted from the system, not entered by hand. That reduces disputes and avoids Goodhart's-law problems where people chase a proxy instead of the real learning event. Manual scoring is better reserved for external metrics the platform does not track.

This template is individual rather than team-based, so team size does not affect the standings. That makes fairness easier to understand because each entrant is racing their own completion count. If you need team play, you would want a different contest format with per-capita scoring.

A common mistake is making the target too high for the time window, which turns a sprint into a slog. Another is assigning courses that are too long or unrelated to the audience, which lowers completion rates. It also helps to avoid vague eligibility rules, since opt-in contests work best when entrants know exactly what counts.

The template awards points by rank, with a larger payout for first place and smaller payouts for second and third. You can adjust the points, add a badge, or use bragging rights if you want a lighter incentive. The key is to keep the reward tied to verified completions rather than subjective judgment.

Course Crusher is a contest with a fixed end, not a permanent leaderboard. That matters because episodic contests create a clear burst of participation and a clean winner, while always-on rankings can feel stale or discouraging. If you want a short learning push with a finish line, this template is the better fit.

Review who completed the most courses, confirm the winner, and award the prize immediately so the finish feels real. Then look at which courses were completed most often and whether any were skipped, since that can guide your next learning sprint. If the contest worked well, you can relaunch it with a new course set.