Eurovision-style voting for anything: how the 12 points system works

The system in one paragraph

Every voter ranks their ten favourites. First place gets 12 points, second gets 10, third gets 8, and then 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. Each value is used exactly once, and anything outside the top ten gets nothing. Add up the points from all voters and the highest total wins.

The Eurovision Song Contest has used this ladder since 1975. Since 2016 each country hands out two sets — one from a professional jury and one from the public — but the ladder itself has not changed.

Why is there no 9 or 11?

The gaps are the point. Dropping from 12 to 10 to 8 means a voter's first and second choices are worth noticeably more than the rest, so being somebody's favourite really matters. Below that the ladder falls one point at a time, so the lower places still count without deciding everything.

It also makes for better television: "douze points" — French for twelve points, read out in both of the contest's official languages — is a bigger moment when twelve is a real jump from ten.

Why it works for ordinary decisions

Most group votes ask one question: what is your favourite? That throws away nearly everything people think. If four friends want four different films, a show of hands tells you nothing about which film all four would happily watch.

A points ladder asks for a ranking instead. Second and third choices count, so the winner tends to be the option with the broadest support rather than the most passionate minority. Voting theorists call this family positional voting; the best known version is the Borda count.

Turn it into a 12 points voting game

The scoring system is half the fun. The other half is the reveal. To run a douze points game with friends:

• Choose a topic and add the options — songs, snacks, holiday plans, each other's cooking.
• Share the link. Everyone drags their 12, 10, 8 and the rest onto the options on their own phone.
• Keep the results hidden. On Voting Stage only the host sees the live scoreboard.
• When everyone has voted, finish the voting and reveal the scoreboard. Reading out "and our twelve points go to…" is optional but recommended.

What if we have fewer than ten options?

Use the top of the ladder. With five options most people give 12, 10, 8, 7 and 6 and leave the remaining chips in the tray. The maths still works: the totals simply get larger.

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