Ranking question

[Rebecca1978]

Just curious.... Not a big problem but I am confused. I just won a game with five players. I did improve my ranking. However the player who came in second started with a higher ranking than me and still earned more
improvement points than I did. How is this possible? Thanks!

[_LBS_]

Hi,
indeed the game that you talk about is this one : https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=74724900
The fact that the player ranked second won more ELO point that you seems to be linked to the 'K factor'. This fatcor seems to represent the number of games played. More you have played of this game, the smaller the K factor is.
I'm not totaly sure about how this system works.

[dschingis27]

Correct. In your first (I think) 20 matches of any game on BGA, your ELO points are "boosted" by the K factor (in both directions, positive or negative). The reasoning is to let players who are already experienced in a game e.g. from real life to gain a proper ELO rating very fast.

[Rebecca1978]

Thank you!

[Ruskie]

Hi,
indeed the game that you talk about is this one : https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=74724900
The fact that the player ranked second won more ELO point that you seems to be linked to the 'K factor'. This fatcor seems to represent the number of games played. More you have played of this game, the smaller the K factor is.
I'm not totaly sure about how this system works.

There is a lot to be read, if you are interested, about the ELO ranking system. It's the same that is used in chess. Well, almost. To be fair, chess ELO is thought for 2 player matches only, here on BGA some sort of adaptation is made to make it work for multiple players games; but the basic principle based on expected percentage of wins still stays.
And the same is for the K factor.
There are other systems, lick the Glicko system used in the old FICS chess server which employs a realtime changing "K factor" which is based on the time you last played your previous game, but as for K, ELO and BGA:
You are considered to be a provisional player until you have played your first games (probably 20). Until then, you have a higher K factor: the K factor acts as some sort of a multiplier of your base variations, and it is higher when you are provisional to help you reach your "true value as a player" faster.
After that, you are considered to be an established player (that is, your ELO represent your true strength), and the K factor is lowered to avoid big fluctuations in your ELO due maybe to a lucky or unluck streak of games