# Events and Mayhem > The recurring competitive event series, how instanced events change the economics, and whether they are worth entering. Source: https://www.entropiacentral.com/guides/advanced/events-and-mayhem Last updated: 2026-07-30 --- Alongside ordinary play, Entropia Universe runs recurring competitive events. The best known is the **Mayhem** series, which comes round on a regular cycle and is a fixture of the calendar for a lot of players. ## What an event is The typical structure: an instance with its own creatures, entered for a period, where your performance is scored against everyone else in your category. Rewards come from the scoring, from tokens the event pays out, and from whatever you loot while you are in there. Events are usually split into categories so that players at different stages compete against comparable opposition rather than against the whole game. ## Why they matter economically Events change the arithmetic in a few ways: - **Token rewards are additional.** You are getting event currency on top of loot, which improves the effective return of activity done inside the event. - **The prizes are real.** Top placings pay meaningfully, which is what makes the competition serious. - **Demand spikes around them.** Ammunition, armour and healing supplies all see more buying while a big event runs, and material prices move with it. That last effect is worth noticing even if you never enter one. Events move markets, and players who supply the participants do well without ever setting foot in an instance. ## Competing seriously Competitive placings in the larger events are contested by players who prepare properly: appropriate equipment, a plan, and a willingness to spend at a rate that reflects the size of the prize. If that is not you, that is fine, and it does not mean you should stay out. Entering casually still gives you the token rewards and the loot, and the categories exist so that casual entry is not simply feeding the leaderboard. What to consider before entering seriously: - **What does an hour inside cost you?** Same arithmetic as any hunting run. See [Planning a hunting run](https://www.entropiacentral.com/guides/hunting/planning-a-hunting-run). - **What is the realistic placing** given who else is entering? - **What are the tokens actually worth**, at current prices, for what you would spend them on? ## Community events Alongside the official ones, players run their own events constantly: hunting competitions, land area tournaments, sponsored prize runs, charity events. These are often the better entry point. Entry is frequently free or cheap, the field is smaller, and they are one of the fastest ways to meet people. Entropia Central hosts community [events](https://www.entropiacentral.com/events) and [challenges](https://www.entropiacentral.com/challenges) with automatic scoring from recorded globals, so organisers do not have to tally results by hand. [Creating an event](https://www.entropiacentral.com/documentation/events/creating-an-event) covers running one. ## The honest advice Events are one of the more enjoyable parts of the game and one of the easier places to spend more than you intended, because the competitive frame does exactly what competitive frames do. Set the budget before entry, in the same way you would for any run, and treat the placing as a bonus rather than a plan. The players who consistently do well at events are the ones who were going to hunt that creature anyway.