This guide is recommended for the Admins of an Enterprise account. If you are a participant, please click here.
OffSec Versus is a simulated environment designed to mimic real-world cyber threats and scenarios, providing a platform for training, testing, and improving cybersecurity skills.
This article provides responses to the following inquiries:
General information
Who can participate in a Versus tournament?
Members of an organization that has an active Learn Enterprise Subscription.
If a member does not have an active subscription, then Admins or Sub-admins can assign a new license.
Who can create a tournament?
A Versus tournament can be organized by the primary admin or any sub-admins of an organization that has a Learn Enterprise subscription or Enterprise Cyber Range licenses.
Please note that Sub-Admins and Full-Admins have the same rights in OffSec Versus.
However, please remember that only one tournament can be launched at a time per Organization account. Even if multiple tournaments are ready to be launched, only one can be initiated simultaneously.
Are there any best practices when creating a tournament?
Setting up a Versus tournament is quite simple, but it can be made even easier if you plan ahead:
- Know your teams ahead of time: While you will have the opportunity to add members at a later time, knowing the number of teams you need to set up and their members will make organizing the tournament a lot easier.
- Be clear on the start time: Versus tournaments do not have a preset start time. As an Admin you will be responsible for launching/starting a tournament. Make sure you and the participants are aligned on the start time and the length of the tournament.
- Remember: As an admin, you will need to launch the tournament 30 minutes before your teams can start competing, so the machines can finish booting up. While the booting up is in progress participants will not be able to connect to any of the machines, so you can either have your participants join once the booting up is completed or use the 30 minutes to have them meet their teammates, plan strategy, etc.
- Arm your participants appropriately: When creating a tournament, it's essential to ensure that your teams have all the necessary resources to compete effectively. Consider factors such as clear instructions on the tournament rules and schedules. By arming your participants appropriately, you set them up for success and enhance the overall experience of the tournament.
- Set the tone: As an Admin, you play a crucial role in setting the tone and atmosphere for the tournament. It's important to establish clear expectations and guidelines for participants from the outset. Consider how you can make the event as engaging and exciting as possible, whether through enthusiastic communication or interesting team names. Setting a positive and energetic tone can help build anticipation and contribute to a memorable tournament experience for everyone involved.
How to Manage a tournament
How to create a tournament?
- Go to “Manage my team” section
- Click on “Tournaments” (If it’s your first time creating a tournament, you will see the introduction, please click “Continue” Don’t worry as you will be able to view the intro again once you proceed)
- Select “Create Tournament”. If you wish to see the intro again before creating a tournament, you may do so by clicking on “Show me the intro again”.
- Add the “Name and Duration” of the tournament. Please note that the maximum duration is 30 days or 720 hours. The Tournament name can contain only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters: +, -, @, _, .
- Add “teams”. Please note, there’s a minimum of 1 Attacker and 1 Defender team. Once you click on the “Add team” button, you will see this window.
Things to remember when trying to add a team member:
- Only users with active Learn Enterprise subscriptions can be added as a participant in a tournament
- A user can only be part of one single active team per tournament.
- Type the names of the Defender and Attacker teams and select each team’s members.
- After adding all the members of a team, click “Add Team” to save your progress.
- Click “Save”.
- You will see a pop up window confirming that the tournament has been successfully created. You can go to either the “Tournaments List” or “Tournament Overview”
- In the Tournament’s list, the one you just created will now be in status “Ready to Launch”
Tournaments List page
Tournaments overview page 
- Click “Launch” if you want to start the tournament. You can either do this in the Tournaments List page or the Tournaments overview page. Please note that you need to wait for the Tournament to finish “Booting up” for 30 minutes, before the tournament starts.
After 30 minutes, a prompt will show that the tournament is now in progress
NOTE: Only one (1) tournament per organization account can be "In Progress" at any given time.
Additionally, if the machine is booting up, you are not able to update any information or even add team members. However, you are able to copy the tournament link or delete the tournament.
ADDITIONAL TIP: If you want your Defenders team to have a quick look at the machines or check things out and start putting defenses in place before the actual tournament starts, you may do so.
Example: If you want the Defenders team to look around and prepare for defense and you want the tournament to last for 4 hours, you may add 30 minutes of the duration (ie. 4.5 hours) so the 30 minutes are going to be dedicated to the defense team.
As the creator of the tournament, you may need to communicate and organize it with your team members.
If you wish to update the tournament’s details, please go back to the “Tournaments' list” view and you may click on “Manage”.
Under the “Manage” button you can still edit the tournament’s information. What you can edit will depend on the tournament status.
How can I send an invitation email to the learner after creating the tournament?
There are 2 ways to send an invitation email.
- After clicking on the “Save” button upon creating a tournament, a pop-up button will be displayed. Click on the “Manage Tournament” from step 1.
- Once you click the “Manage Tournament” it will redirect you to the Tournament Details.
- Then you may scroll down and it will show this window:
If you accidentally closed the pop-up window, after “Saving” the tournament you can still send emails by clicking “manage” in the appropriate tournament from the list:
- In the tournament list, select the tournament you wish to send invitations to and then click "Manage"
- When you click the Manage Button, scroll down to step 3. From there, you can send the Invitation email to all the participants by clicking the “Send Email” button. You can also see an overview of the email that will be sent.
A pop-up message will confirm that the email has been sent successfully.
The participants will receive the email which contains the link to the tournament.
However, if you do not want to send the invitation email, you also have the option to send out the “Tournament Link” to the participants manually.
This can be found after you successfully create the tournament. Just select the “Tournament” you wish to copy the link from the “Tournaments List” view and you will be able to see the link.
After saving the tournament:
- You can still manage or make some changes to the Tournament that is in status “Ready to Launch” or “In Progress”
- You cannot make any changes if the status is “Closed”
What can you manage/update based on the status:
| Status | What can be updated |
| Ready to launch |
|
| In progress |
|
| Closed |
|
| Booting Up |
|
Can I create multiple tournaments?
Yes, to create another tournament, please go through the steps here.
NOTE: Please remember that, while you can create as many tournaments as you need for the duration of your Learn Enterprise access, your account can only have 1 (One) tournament “In Progress”, at any given time.
Can I also join the tournament? (Both for Admins and Sub-admins)
Absolutely! You can also play in a tournament as long as you invite yourself to the event and you have an active Learn Enterprise license in your account.
For the tournaments that you have invited yourself, you can see it under:
The “Manage my team” menu on the top right where you created the event with the ability to “Manage or Update” it based on the status.
Another option is: Under “Explore” button, there will be “Tournaments” Menu
When you click on it, you will be redirected to the “Tournaments list view” where all the tournaments you have been invited to will be displayed.
Note: As an admin/sub-admin you are not able to update or manage any events from this section, as this view is a participant's view. You will also not be able to see any events you might be an admin for but not a participant.
Can I resend the invitation email?
Yes. You can resend an invitation email for the Tournaments with the status “Ready to Launch” and “In Progress” when you add participants.
However, please do remember that the “Send Email” button will be disabled if you have made updates that have not yet been saved through clicking the 'Update' button . This ensures that all the tournament information matches the new information you have inputted before you send out the email.
After clicking on “Update”, now that the changes have been recorded, please come back to the Manage tournament view and the “Send Email” button should now be enabled.
How can I stop a tournament?
Tournaments close automatically once the event duration set by the admin has ended.
However, a tournament can be closed at any time by an admin.
As an Admin/Sub-admin of an organization, you have the ability to stop any “In Progress” tournament your organization is running.
- Go to “Manage my Team” when you log in to the Platform.
- Select “Tournament”
- Choose the tournament you wish to stop (status “In Progress)
- Click “Stop”
- Once the tournament is stopped, the status will be “Closed”
Another way to stop a tournament is by “Clicking on the Tournament” you want to stop in the “Tournaments” list.
Once you click, it will redirect you to the “Tournament View” where the stop button is also visible.
I've gone through everything but forgot to send the email invites. Can this event still be started?
Yes. Sending email invites is an option that a Master Admin or Sub-Admin has. It is NOT required to start the tournament. In the event the admin is not able to send emails, the tournament can still start.
Can I delete a tournament?
You can only delete a tournament when the status is “Booting up” or “Ready to Launch”.
To delete a tournament:
- In the Tournaments list view, click on “Manage”
- It will redirect you to the Manage Overview page, please click on “Delete Tournament Button”.
- A pop-up will appear for confirmation.
If the Tournament is “In Progress”, can the Admin or Sub-admin create another Tournament?
Absolutely! You can still create or update any created tournaments.
Can I revert the machines?
Yes, only admins can revert a machine. When this happens, the defense gets removed, however, the same flags can’t be resubmitted.
When you revert machines, we highly recommend informing the participants as there will be no notifications sent to them.
Frequently asked question
What is the maximum amount of time for the tournament to be running?
The maximum amount of time is 30 days (720 hours).
Can a new member be added to the team in the middle of an event?
Yes. Participants can be added before and during the event.
Can a participant be removed from a team after the event has started?
No, participants cannot be removed after the event has started.
Will members need to accept an invitation to the tournament, or will they automatically be a part of it if the Admin adds them?
Members will not need to accept the invitation. They will automatically be a part of the tournament.
Can a participant change teams?
Before the tournament has started, the admin of the tournament can move participants from one team to another. Once a tournament has started, participants cannot change teams.
Is there a limit on the number of “teams” that can participate in a tournament?
No, the Admins may create as many teams as they wish to compete in the tournament.