Other
ShipDuel
A faster, funnier way to find good products: two shipped products from the same category go head to head and you pick the one you'd ship. Daily and weekly boards, Elo ratings, a permanent page for every matchup, and a forum to argue in.
- Category
- Other
- Stage
- Beta
- For
- tech-savvy
About
A faster, funnier way to find good products: two shipped products from the same category go head to head and you pick the one you'd ship. Daily and weekly boards, Elo ratings, a permanent page for every matchup, and a forum to argue in.
Features
- Problem
- Product discovery can require too much research.
- How it works
- Shows two products with a logo, short pitch, screenshot, and outbound link, then asks users to pick one.
- Result
- Users can evaluate products quickly.
- Why
- A single head-to-head choice takes about a second.
- Problem
- Comparisons between unrelated products distort results.
- How it works
- Restricts every duel to products in the same category.
- Result
- Matchups are more comparable.
- Why
- The site states that cross-category votes measure category preference rather than product quality.
- Problem
- Raw likes do not account for opponent strength.
- How it works
- Maintains all-time Elo ratings and matches products with similar ratings.
- Result
- Rankings reflect relative competitive strength.
- Why
- Beating a stronger product produces a larger rating move.
- Problem
- Evergreen leaderboards can favor old winners.
- How it works
- Resets daily board scores at midnight UTC, recognizes yesterday's leader as Product of the Day, and maintains a weekly board.
- Result
- Users can see both current and longer-running performance.
- Why
- Shorter time windows keep competition current.
- Problem
- Votes and context can disappear after a comparison.
- How it works
- Gives every matchup a permanent page with its running tally and argument underneath.
- Result
- Duel outcomes have lasting, discussable context.
- Why
- Each fight remains accessible at a permanent address.
- Problem
- Participation friction can reduce voting and submissions.
- How it works
- Allows voting and product submission without an account; accounts are used for comments, forum posts, and profiles via X, GitHub, or Google sign-in.
- Result
- People can participate immediately while signed-in users can discuss products.
- Why
- The main judging and submission loop avoids a login wall.
- Problem
- Product owners could manipulate results.
- How it works
- Allows one verdict per matchup per person and prevents users from judging duels involving their own product.
- Result
- The voting system is designed to limit self-promotion.
- Why
- Products move up only when strangers select them.
Product questions
What does ShipDuel do?
ShipDuel is a product-discovery game where users choose between two products from the same category. Votes feed daily, weekly, and all-time product rankings.
Who is ShipDuel for?
tech-savvy
Screenshots
