Score is a measure of skill that compares players skill and your performance in each game you play. New Premium players start off with a Score of 1000 (Regular users have no Score). Score is used to rank players in order of skill in the Overall scoreboard. Score can increase or decrease depending on how well you ranked in the game and how tough the players were (AvgScore).
At the end of each game you play, your Score will change according to his equation:

New Score = PreviousScore + 62.5 x AvgScore/ PreviousScore - 500 x GameRank/(#Players+1) + 187.5

With:
PreviousScore = the Score you had up to the end of the Game
AvgScore = the average Score of all players involved in the game (excluding of course Regular players, who have no Score)
GameRank = how you ranked against the players in this particular game
#Players = how many players were involved in the game that just ended

Players will gain more points if they play in games in which the AvgScore is higher than their own Score. If a Players Score is equal to the AvgScore a middle rank (i.e. 10 out of 19) will generate no Score gain or loss. Players that engage in games with AvgScores much lower than their own may have a hard time gaining Score and may even lose some if they don't rank extremely well.

Ex: say you ranked 5th out of 30 players in a Pirate TWR game called Atlantica, your previous score was 1500 when you joined the game and the average score of players in this game was 2000.

The player's New Score would be:
1500 + 62.5 x 2000/1500 – 500 x 5/(30+1) + 187.5 = 1690 (190 point gain)

ZONE	SCORE	LEVEL
Open	any	any
Beginner	less than 1300	1-3
Amateur	1300 - 2999	4-8
Expert	3000 - 4999	9-TBD
Veteran	5000 - 6999	TBD
Elite	7000 - 8999	TBD
Master	more than 9000	TBD

Players are only allowed to Create games of Zones they can play relative to the score. Thus a Premium player with a 1375 Score who reached Level 9 would be able to Play games in the Open, Amateur and Expert Zones and Create in Open and Amateur Zones.

Levels are meant to go up as players achieve the objective listed for the next level. Once achieved, players gain some valuable in-game perk that they get to keep for the next games. Like the Score, Levels also determine in which Zone the player gets to play (see the table at the top of the page). All new players start at Level 1.

Though Regular players can reach new Levels by playing games, they can only gain the Level 2 perk. All subsequent Perks are only active for Premium players who have reached the proper Levels.

Level	Game End requirements to reach next level	Perk Gained
1	none	none
2	-be in the top 50% of any ranked game at game end	+10% initial credits*
3	-be in the top 50% of any ranked game at game end -be an in a Corp (2 members minimum)	Unlock Tholian Sentinel ship AND billboard access
4	-be in the top 50% of any ranked game -kill at least 20 NPCs/players by game end	+10% initial Turns
5	-be in the top 50% of a ranked Classic game -get killed less than 15 times by game end	+50% initial ColoTickets
6	-be in the top 50% of a ranked Colonization game -own 10 active planets/outposts at game end	Unlock Merchant Freighter ship
7	-be in the top 50% of a ranked MoneyRun game -have 15 000 experience points or more at game end	+1% combat ratio
8	-be in the top 50% of a ranked Pirate game -kill 50 at least 50 NPCs/Players by game end	+1% extra Turns per day
9+	TBD	TBD

*Both Regular and Premium members get this Level 2 perk.

A Colonization game from the Beginner Zone just ended with a total of 46 players inside.

- All Level 1 players ranked 1st to 23rd are now Level 2 and gain +10% to their Starting Credits for all upcoming games.
- All Level 2 players ranked 1st to 23rd that were Corporation members have completed their own requirement, thus those are given Level 3. However only those that are Premium players will benefit from being able to buy the Tholian Sentinel and buy Billboard space in starports.
- All Level 3 players ranked 1st to 23rd that have also killed at least 20 NPCs/Players will graduate to Level 4. Level 4 players get +10% Initial Turns in their subsequent games AND can now play Amateur Zone games. The extra Turns are only given to Premium Members.