Their season
—
their best year
— was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 50%.
- 3 contests
- 1 overall top-10
- 0 category wins
- average top 50%
Game of Bones
Game of Bones is a competition barbecue team with 18 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 4th of 14 at the UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series) (2018). They are ranked #4314 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1477
peak 1477 · rated over 7 contests5 invitational or side-series contests not counted
Contests
18
in the data
First seen
Sep 2, 2016
latest Nov 2, 2024 · 8.2 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
5 podiums
Overall top-10s
5
28% of 18 contests
Best top-10 run
2
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
632.15 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 629.53 (+2.63)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±21.66
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 160.06 · weakest Pork Ribs (153.32)
Road miles
24,131
across 15 mapped stops · furthest 9,409 mi
Schedule strength
34%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1546)
Purse competed for
$71K
listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 1 state-championship entry
Master avg
629.53 / 720
6 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
303.82 / 360
4 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Game of Bones, each with one reason worth a look.
150 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#4,303 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1507
They've been 1507 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Compare careers#4,325 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1501
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before Game of Bones's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,289 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1477
Fewer contests behind them than Game of Bones has cooked, 7 to 18, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,293 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1477
Level with Game of Bones on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,315 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1476
Fewer contests behind them than Game of Bones has cooked, 6 to 18, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#4,308 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 50%
- Peak
- 1477
They turned up 5 years after Game of Bones did, first appearing in 2021.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 171.4056 | 133.7488 | 156.50 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 167.4172 | 139.4172 | 153.32 | top 67% |
| Pork | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 172.5600 | 152.5256 | 160.06 | top 59% |
| Brisket | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 170.8228 | 145.1200 | 158.82 | top 48% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 3 | 0 | top 48% |
| Medium (20–39) | 9 | 0 | top 62% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 85% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | 3 | 5 | 0 | top 62% | Aug 20, 2022 |
| Smoke on the Harbor BBQ throwdown | 2 | 17 | 0 | top 76% | Nov 16, 2018 |
More numbers
Busiest season
—
3 contests
Contests a season
1.8
across 10 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
TN
7 of 18 contests · 6 states in all
Contests visited
11
2 of them more than once
Opponents faced
307
finished ahead 150 times, behind 238
Longest layoff
2.2 yrs
Jun 7, 2019 → Aug 27, 2021
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES)
20191 milestone
- 10th tracked contest UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series)
20183 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score659.9312 UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series)
- Career-best overall score659.9312 UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series)
- Career-best single call (Pork)172.5600 Smoke on the Harbor BBQ throwdown
20161 milestone
- Peak power rating (1494) Low Country Hog Fest
—3 milestones
- First tracked contest Southern Hotwing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES)
- First call Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
- First overall top-10 Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +11.1 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest | Jun 7, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -10.9 | Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) | Aug 20, 2022 |
| -9 | Smoke on the Harbor BBQ throwdown (PALMETTO BBQ SERIES) | Nov 10, 2017 |
| -6.4 | Low Country Hog Fest | Sep 2, 2016 |
| -5.9 | Ocean Sate BBQ Championship | Oct 21, 2017 |
| -1.4 | Heat Beads BBQ Turf Wars | Nov 5, 2018 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33% | top 50% | 89.2% | 84.7% |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | top 67% | 93% | 93% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 85% | 81.2% | 81.2% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 63% | 92.7% | 92.7% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% | top 34% | 91.4% | 90.7% |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 53% | 91.7% | 90.1% |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 84% | 84.5% | 84.3% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 85.6% | 85.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 2026 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 25, 2025 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 2, 2024 | 901 Hot Wing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) (JUDGING FULL) unrated Memphis, TN | 10 / 15 (167.4172) | — | — | — | — |
| Apr 20, 2024 | World Championship Hot Wings Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS SERIES) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oct 22, 2022 | World Championship Hot Wing Contest & Festival (COMPETITORS) Memphis, TN | — | — | — | — | — |
| Aug 20, 2022 | Vine St. BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 35 / 41 (292.4800) | 36 (142.2400) | 28 (150.2400) | — | — |
| Aug 27, 2021 | World Championship Hot wing Contest and Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Memphis, TN | 19 / 30 (166.8572) | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Smoke on the Plains Derby BBQ & Music Fest 🏅 Derby, KS | 7 / 39 (329.1088) | 8 (161.6916) | 7 (167.4172) | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | UMB Smokin Vault BBQ Contest (Invitational Competitor's Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 8 / 16 (647.8284) | 7 (166.8228) | 12 (155.3600) | 9 (159.9656) | 2 (165.6800) |
| Nov 16, 2018 | Smoke on the Harbor BBQ throwdown Mt. Pleasant, SC | 17 / 25 (631.8976) | 13 (165.1200) | 22 (149.0860) | 3 (172.5600) | 19 (145.1316) |
| Nov 5, 2018 | Heat Beads BBQ Turf Wars Cranbourne Victoria | 13 / 21 (655.4056) | 14 (165.1200) | 16 (159.4628) | 15 (160) | 6 (170.8228) |
| May 4, 2018 | UMB Smokin' Vault (Competitors Invitational Only Series) unrated Kansas City, MO | 4 / 14 (659.9312) | 2 (171.4056) | 10 (156) | 5 (164.5600) | 2 (167.9656) |
| Nov 10, 2017 | Smoke on the Harbor BBQ throwdown (PALMETTO BBQ SERIES) Mt. Pleasant, SC | 21 / 25 (608.4456) | 18 (157.7028) | 19 (152.5028) | 20 (153.1200) | 22 (145.1200) |
| Oct 21, 2017 | Ocean Sate BBQ Championship West Kingston, RI | 20 / 24 (605.0860) | 22 (148) | 23 (139.4172) | 18 (157.6916) | 13 (159.9772) |
| Sep 2, 2016 | Low Country Hog Fest Charleston, SC | 20 / 26 (616.4000) | 24 (148.0116) | 17 (158.7884) | 22 (152.5256) | 16 (157.0744) |
| — | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 5 / 39 (318.8456) | 3 (161.6912) | 12 (157.1544) | — | — |
| — | Vine St BBQ Competition & Fest (BACKYARD ONLY) Park Ridge, IL | 33 / 38 (274.8348) | 33 (133.7488) | 28 (141.0860) | — | — |
| — | Southern Hotwing Festival (COMPETITOR SERIES) unrated Memphis, TN | 34 (160.5144) | — | — | — | — |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.