ROOFTOP RAIDER

WHAT IS ROOFTOP RAIDER?

Rooftop Raider is a location-based APRS game played across Singapore. There are 44 designated locations to discover, activate and compete for using amateur radio.

Travel to a location, transmit your position using APRS, and send an activation command to earn points.

The more locations you activate, the more points you earn. Complete Maidenhead grid challenges, achieve daily activation milestones and compete for special awards.

ACTIVATING A LOCATION

1. Travel to one of the 44 designated locations.
2. Transmit an APRS position beacon from within the location's specified activation radius.
3. Send an APRS message to 9V1VB-10 using the format RAIDER LOC=3 (for example, to activate Location 3). The activation message must be received within 15 minutes of your position beacon.
4. If your position and activation are valid, you earn +10 points and become the location's current holder.

Your successful activation opens a 30-minute kill window, during which another player can attempt to capture your location.

KILLING ANOTHER PLAYER'S ACTIVATION

If another player's activation has an open kill window, you can attempt a kill.

Travel to that location, transmit a valid APRS position beacon, and send the normal activation command before the 30-minute window expires.

A successful kill:

• Awards the attacker +20 points.
• Deducts 10 points from the original holder.
• Transfers ownership to the attacker.
• Immediately closes the kill window.

A successful kill does not start another kill window.

SCORING

Keep an eye on the live dashboard for scores, active kill windows, location holders and competition rankings.

2.1 PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

• Players must be registered and enabled in the Rooftop Raider game.
• Each player is identified by their APRS callsign, including SSID.
• All position beacons and activation commands must use the same callsign and SSID.
• All transmissions must comply with applicable amateur radio regulations.

2.2 DESIGNATED LOCATIONS

• The game consists of 44 designated activation locations across Singapore.
• Each location has a unique identification number, published activation radius and geographical position.
• Players must be physically located within the specified radius to activate a location.
• Activation radii are strictly enforced. No additional distance tolerance is provided.
• Locations must be accessed legally and safely. Do not enter restricted, private or unsafe areas to participate.
• Permission to operate amateur radio equipment at the designated locations has not been obtained. Prior permission to operate amateur radio equipment is the responsibility of the player, in accordance with IMDA's Amateur Radio Handbook.

2.3 APRS POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Every activation or kill attempt must be supported by a valid APRS position beacon.

The following requirements apply:

• The position beacon must be received before the activation message.
• The beacon must have been received within the preceding 15 minutes.
• The beacon and activation message must originate from the same callsign and SSID.
• The reported position must fall within the target location's specified radius.
• Ordinary compressed and uncompressed APRS position formats are supported.
• APRS objects and items cannot substitute for the player's position beacon.
• Packets must show an acceptable RF-originated path. Clearly internet-only transmissions are not accepted.

A qualifying position beacon may support multiple activation messages within its 15-minute validity period, provided the player satisfies the requirements for each location.

2.4 NORMAL ACTIVATIONS

A successful normal activation:

• Awards +10 points.
• Establishes the player as the current location holder.
• Opens a 30-minute kill window.
• Applies a 12-hour personal lockout at that location.
• Contributes to daily activation milestones and applicable location achievements.

A player may normally activate a location held by another player once that holder's kill window has expired, provided the new player is not locked out.

2.5 KILL WINDOWS

Every normal activation starts a 30-minute kill window.

During this period:

• Another eligible player may attempt to kill the current activation.
• The attacker must satisfy all normal position and message-validation requirements.
• The attack must be completed before the kill window expires.
• Only the first successful kill of that activation is awarded.
• A successful kill awards +20 points to the attacker and deducts 10 points from the victim.
• The attacker becomes the current holder.
• The kill window closes immediately after a successful kill.

Once a kill window has expired without a successful attack, the activation can no longer be killed. The location can still be activated normally by another eligible player.

2.6 PERSONAL LOCATION LOCKOUTS

Lockouts apply individually to each player at each location.

A lockout prevents a player from activating the same location again until their restriction expires.

Lockouts do not prevent other eligible players from activating or killing that location.

FIRST STRIKE BONUS

The first player to successfully activate a designated location during the competition earns an additional +5 points, on top of the normal +10 activation points.

• Only the first successful activation of each location earns this bonus.
• Each of the 44 locations has one First Strike bonus available.
• The bonus remains awarded even if the player's activation is subsequently killed.
• Later activations of the same location do not earn another First Strike bonus.

2.7 DAILY ACTIVATION BONUSES

Players receive bonus points for reaching daily activation milestones.

• 5th successful activation: +15 bonus points.
• 10th successful activation: +30 bonus points.

Both bonuses are additional to any points awarded for the successful activation or kill.

Successful kills count toward daily activity milestones.

Each milestone can only be awarded once per player per day.

Daily counters reset at 00:00 Singapore time (UTC+8).

2.8 MAIDENHEAD GRID HUNTER

Every designated location belongs to a six-character Maidenhead grid square.

Players earn +25 bonus points when they successfully activate every designated Rooftop Raider location within a particular grid square.

• Each distinct designated location must be successfully activated at least once.
• Previously completed locations remain credited to the player.
• The +25 bonus is awarded once per grid per competition.
• Repeating activations in an already completed grid does not award the bonus again.
• Merely transmitting a position beacon within a grid does not count as completing a location.

2.9 COMPETITION AWARDS

In addition to the overall points leaderboard, four special awards recognise different achievements.

KIASU KING

The first player to successfully activate all 44 designated locations. This award is claimed immediately and has only one winner.

CHOPE MASTER

The player with the longest uninterrupted location hold during the competition. Both completed holds and holds continuing until competition close are considered.

SIAO ON SOLDIER

The player with the greatest number of successful activations that have not subsequently been killed.

THE LORRY DRIVER

The player who achieves the greatest number of successful kills during the competition.

Tied achievements are recognised as joint winners where applicable, except for Kiasu King.

2.10 LEADERBOARD AND GAME TIMING

• The leaderboard ranks players by their total accumulated points.
• Activations, kills, deductions and applicable bonuses contribute to the total.
• All game timing, daily resets and displayed timestamps use Singapore time (UTC+8).
• The dashboard refreshes game data automatically every 15 seconds.
• The Live Map displays callsigns during active 30-minute kill windows.
• Kill-window countdowns show the remaining time until an activation can no longer be killed.

A callsign disappearing from the map does not necessarily mean the player has lost ownership of the location.

APRS QUICK COMMAND REFERENCE

Send all commands as APRS messages to 9V1VB-10.

Replace 3 with your chosen location number (1–44).

Transmit a valid APRS position beacon before attempting to activate or kill a location.

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3.1 SENDING COMMANDS

All Rooftop Raider commands are sent as standard APRS messages.

Destination callsign: 9V1VB-10

Commands are case-insensitive. Always transmit a qualifying APRS position beacon before attempting an activation or kill.

3.2 LOCATION ACTIVATION COMMAND

Command: RAIDER LOC=3

Replace 3 with the number of the location you wish to activate.

Accepted examples:

RAIDER LOC=3
RAIDER LOC=03
RAIDER 3

All three examples request an activation of Location 3.

The same command is used for both normal activations and kills. The game determines the correct outcome based on current location ownership, kill-window status and player eligibility.

EXPECTED RESULT — SUCCESSFUL NORMAL ACTIVATION

• Location activation is recorded.
• Player receives +10 points, plus any applicable bonuses.
• A 30-minute kill window opens.
• The 12-hour personal location lockout begins.

EXPECTED RESULT — SUCCESSFUL KILL

• Player receives +20 points, plus any applicable bonuses.
• The previous holder loses 1 point.
• Location ownership transfers to the attacker.
• The kill window closes.
• Applicable personal lockouts are recorded.

EXPECTED RESULT — REJECTED ACTIVATION

No points or location ownership changes occur.

Common reasons include:

• No recent qualifying position beacon.
• Position outside the permitted location radius.
• Personal location lockout still active.
• Invalid or unrecognised location number.
• Unsupported command format.
• Invalid callsign, SSID or packet origin.

A failed activation does not create a new lockout.

3.3 SCORE ENQUIRY COMMAND

Command: RAIDER SCORE

Send this message to 9V1VB-10 to request your current game statistics.

An example score reply is:

SCORE 0. ACT 0. KILLS 0. UNRANKED

The reply contains:

The figures reflect the player's recorded game statistics at the time of the request.

3.4 APRS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND GAME REPLIES

An APRS acknowledgement and a Rooftop Raider gameplay reply are different things.

APRS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (ACK)

An APRS ACK indicates that an addressed message was acknowledged. It does not, by itself, confirm a successful location activation or kill.

GAMEPLAY RESPONSE

A gameplay response reports the result of a command, such as a successful activation, successful kill, rejected attempt or score enquiry.

The game's scoring decision is determined by its validation and game records, not by whether a player receives a radio reply.

An activation may be recorded successfully even if its response cannot be delivered back to the player's radio.

3.5 LOCATION LOCKOUT STATUS COMMAND

Command: RAIDER STATUS 8

Replace 8 with the number of the location whose personal lockout you want to check.

Send the command as an APRS message to 9V1VB-10.

This command checks your current lockout without attempting an activation or changing your score.

EXPECTED RESPONSE — LOCATION LOCKED

LOC 8: LOCKED 3H 25M

Indicates that the player must wait another 3 hours and 25 minutes before activating Location 8 again.

EXPECTED RESPONSE — LOCATION AVAILABLE

LOC 8: READY TO ACTIVATE

Indicates that no personal lockout currently prevents the player from activating Location 8. All normal position, eligibility and game rules still apply.

3.6 INVALID OR UNSUPPORTED COMMANDS

Commands must use a recognised structure and specify valid parameters.

Examples of unsupported input include:

LOC=3
RAIDER HELLO
RAIDER LOC=999
RAIDER LOC=3 LOC=4

Unsupported commands do not award points or activate locations.

Only the documented Rooftop Raider commands should be used for gameplay.

3.7 QUICK COMMAND REFERENCE