How do aura battles work? Rules, rounds and judging
The rules of an aura battle: turns, what counts as a move, how the winner is decided, what gets you disqualified, and the scoring systems organisers use in 2026.
There is no official rulebook for aura battles, and organisers are proud of that. But after reading coverage of dozens of events from Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Spain, the same skeleton shows up every time. Here it is.
The four things every aura battle has
- A face-off. Two people (occasionally two teams of two) inside a circle of spectators.
- Turns. They alternate. One performs, the other waits and, ideally, doesn't react.
- A crowd. The audience is the judge, the soundtrack and the camera crew.
- A winner criterion. Usually crowd noise. Sometimes judges. Occasionally a phone vote.
A Mexico City organiser, Aldhir González, summed up the criterion in one line: "whoever looks better, shows off more, gets more laughs and has more confidence wins."
What counts as a move
Anything performed without speaking. In practice that means:
- Stares and stillness: the sigma stare, the "Gen Z stare", arms crossed like Piccolo while the other person panics.
- Gestures: the 6-7 hand wobble, mewing (jaw forward, finger tracing the jawline), the finger to the lips, the eye roll, the chin touch, laced fingers behind the head.
- Walks and celebrations: the slow "aura walk", Ronaldo's Siuuu, Messi's hands-to-the-ears, LeBron's silencer.
- Dances and emotes: the Griddy, the Floss, Fortnite emotes, the boat kid dance.
- Bits and props: perfume sprays "to raise the aura", a giant sandal used as a lasso, costumes, anime poses.
Read descriptions and origins of all of them in the complete move list.
What loses you the battle
- Laughing or smiling at the wrong time.
- Hesitating, or checking whether people noticed.
- Losing your balance.
- Explaining the joke.
- Any contact or insult. Most events state this explicitly: "no se tocan, no se insultan".
How long does it last?
Most street battles run a duel in one to two minutes, with the crowd calling time. A La Plata event in Argentina used direct elimination with six judges and roughly 90-second duels. Brazilian championships run themed rounds ("cold villain", "supreme aura", "cringe or genius"). The World Aura Battle Federation's unofficial rulebook suggests about ten exchanges per battle, paced by an MC, with no stopwatch.
Scoring systems people actually use
| System | Who uses it | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Applause meter | almost every street event | loudest reaction wins the round |
| Judge panel | organised tournaments | 3 criteria scored 0–10, e.g. aura / ego / creativity (Brazil) or presence / creativity / battle IQ (WABF) |
| Mixed | WABF rulebook | judges 75%, phone vote 15%, crowd noise 10% |
| Aura points | online | viewers post arbitrary numbers: +1000, −5000. "The numbers are meaningless and that is the point." |
How the online version works
Aura Battles turns the same structure into a game you can play on a phone with anyone, anywhere, and swaps the crowd's judgement for a rule a child already knows: the bigger move wins. The turns alternate the way they do in the street: one fighter leads, the other answers with the lead showing, and the bigger move takes the pot. You can always pass to load up for a bigger round.
Every rule of the game (the ante, sauce, ties, the twelve effects, fighters and bosses) lives in the Aura Battles game guide. Create a battle and send the code.
FAQ
How is the winner of an aura battle decided?
By the crowd. Whoever gets the louder reaction wins. Organised events add judges who score presence, creativity and confidence.
How many rounds are in an aura battle?
Street battles are usually a single duel of one to two minutes. Tournaments use elimination brackets. The online game runs about 15 rounds, two and a half minutes, and ends when one fighter is out of aura.
Can you talk during an aura battle?
Most organisers ask for no talking. Sounds like "Siuuu" or "six seven" are allowed because they're part of the move.
Are there age limits?
Some events are 14+. Many have none. Most participants are between 14 and 20.
keep reading
Aura battles are 1v1 pose-offs where two people take turns "farming aura" and the crowd picks the winner. Here's where they came from, how they work, and how to play one online.
What actually wins aura battles according to the people running them: composure, timing, commitment, a bit of comedy, and knowing when to walk off. Plus how to win the online version.
The complete list of moves used in aura battles, with what each one looks like, where it came from, and how much aura it's worth. From the sigma stare to the sandal lasso.
How to play Aura Battles: one leads, one answers, the bigger move takes the pot. The ante, sauce, ties, effects, the tutorial, the unlock road, fighters and their abilities, bosses, daily goals and titles.