Board Game Arena

I agree. The best players >500 ELO are playing the strategic variant with traders and builders expansion. Too much randomness in the base game for me.

It is a very competitive game, in strategic form this moves to a higher level as much of the luck is removed with effective play. If you choose to play in a global community such as BGA then I don't think it is reasonable to expect anything other than people playing to win (and being polite). Ultima...