Gameplay styles range from cutthroat to chill. Some games lean more strongly one way or the other, but a wide zone of games can work well with varying styles. For example, in a game like Ticket to Ride, a cutthroat player will pause from building their own routes just to block another player’s route, while a chill player will simply focus on building their own best routes without blocking others except by coincidence.
Currently there doesn’t seem to be any way to match players by style. Friendly mode allows plenty of time, but it doesn’t exclude the more aggressive players, so chill players might not get to enjoy a genuinely “friendly” game. Meanwhile, cutthroat players may be disappointed when chill players don’t put up much of a fight. So a bad mismatch can be frustrating for all types of players.
A gameplay style rating on each player’s profile could help. At implementation / when creating a new profile, players would self-describe their style by choosing a level ranging from 1 battleaxe (mild) to 5 battleaxes (spicy), or just leaving it at 3 (the default). If feasible, per-game semi-passive polling would update the style rating once a player gets beyond the initial newbie stage (first x many tables played). At that point, the style field would become read-only on the profile, as Karma is. Unless a player’s style stood out as noteworthy enough for someone to update it, the default poll response would just match their current profile rating.
Adding a play style filter to the table restrictions would enable all players to match styles, so 5-axe players could enjoy greater challenges while 1-axe players could relax with more neighborly competition.
Thanks for considering this idea!
Edit: Adjusted poll question since poll appears above post.
Before: “Would this play style rating likely enhance your BGA experience?”
After: “Would a play style rating (described below) likely enhance your BGA experience?”
Currently there doesn’t seem to be any way to match players by style. Friendly mode allows plenty of time, but it doesn’t exclude the more aggressive players, so chill players might not get to enjoy a genuinely “friendly” game. Meanwhile, cutthroat players may be disappointed when chill players don’t put up much of a fight. So a bad mismatch can be frustrating for all types of players.
A gameplay style rating on each player’s profile could help. At implementation / when creating a new profile, players would self-describe their style by choosing a level ranging from 1 battleaxe (mild) to 5 battleaxes (spicy), or just leaving it at 3 (the default). If feasible, per-game semi-passive polling would update the style rating once a player gets beyond the initial newbie stage (first x many tables played). At that point, the style field would become read-only on the profile, as Karma is. Unless a player’s style stood out as noteworthy enough for someone to update it, the default poll response would just match their current profile rating.
Adding a play style filter to the table restrictions would enable all players to match styles, so 5-axe players could enjoy greater challenges while 1-axe players could relax with more neighborly competition.
Thanks for considering this idea!
Edit: Adjusted poll question since poll appears above post.
Before: “Would this play style rating likely enhance your BGA experience?”
After: “Would a play style rating (described below) likely enhance your BGA experience?”
