Why does Kalah have fewer players than other popular games?

[jp1052kyo]

I think this is because it's difficult for new players to win 1v1 solo battles, so they end up abandoning Kalaha before they can get used to it.

[jp1052kyo]

We propose the following tournament: In a 3-player team match, the winner is the side that wins 2 matches. We recommend setting a friendly mode type, where ELO points do not increase or decrease (but there is a time limit). Advice during the match is prohibited (principle of trust), but post-match advice is possible.
Team composition is not random, but is distributed in ascending order of ELO rating, so that the strength of the teams is even. Of the three team members, matches between lower-ranked players are played with 4 stones, midfielders with 5 stones, and captains with 6 stones, expanding the match.
Of course, it would be interesting to fix this to 5 or 6 per game. If we could create such a game, I think beginners and advanced players could participate in tournaments together and have fun.

[Roua]

I propose holding tournaments for different skill levels, as they do in chess and checkers. It is not interesting and useless for a beginner to play among the masters; he does not have time to understand when he has lost.

[Roua]

Я не уверен, что начинать обучение с калаха-4 это хорошая идея, я бы начинал обучение с калаха 6.

[jp1052kyo]

There are still some tournaments being held today with participants of different skill levels. Most of them are 4-stone tournaments, with beginners and a few intermediate players. I understand that a tournament with beginners, intermediates and advanced players all mixed together is not very interesting for people of any level.

[jp1052kyo]

In a normal one-on-one match, the match ends with an exchange of messages such as "gg". I don't know what Karaha's absolute advice is, but when I win, there are times when I notice the move that determines the outcome of the match. However, I don't know if the other person wants that advice, and I don't want to force my advice on them, so I will probably just send "gg" from now on.

[jp1052kyo]

So what I would like to propose is to hold a tournament with three-person team matches, with post-match advice. Each team will have a beginner, intermediate, and advanced player, so I think that they can give some advice to the loser, regardless of whether it was the right answer or not. I hope that this will provide an opportunity for reflection that is not currently available in the BGA Karaha, and will help raise the level of beginners, intermediates, and advanced players alike.

[jp1052kyo]

As has been said in other forums, there seems to be an issue with the current state of Arena mode. When playing Arena mode, players are matched regardless of level. The point of Arena mode is to compete for points, but as I said before, mixed level matches tend to be less fun for many people.

[jp1052kyo]

It is necessary to raise the player level and increase the number of continuing players, but if we divide the Arena mode into equal classes such as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Elite, etc. and match players within each class, and allow them to move up or down in class depending on the points they have, then players will be able to play against people of a similar level reliably, which I think will make playing Kalaha more fun.

[Ceaseless]

Kalah doesn't seem to be a very popular game here, though to be fair that seems common among a lot of the abstracts. Given the low populations existing already, it's hard to imagine reliably getting groups of 3 players when it seems hard enough to get a basic 1 v 1. Not to mention 3 different stone set-ups, I haven't even bothered really learning the 5 or 6 stones since 4 stones seemed to be the most popular of a thinly populated group. Don't end up playing a lot of Kalah regardless since regardless of stone format it's not easy to get a game, even harder if you require it to be around your own level.