Ranking System - please explain!

[WuffleMonster]

hello - for someone quite new to BGA could you explain the ranking system and its relation to elo - i'm only playing Puerto rico so far so in relation to that specifically

I'm seeing top ranked people with a score like 1794 and a purple badge and then if i scroll down it seems to go into other badges (possibly gold, silver, bronze??) - how do you get these badges. I clicked on one profile with a gold badge and their elo was 220 or something which didnt seem that high - confused!

thanks

[Jest Phulin]

There are actually two ranking systems in place: ELO and Arena Ranking.

ELO is a permanent ranking, based off of the ranking system developed for chess and modified for multiplayer games. It was originally intended to allow players to find others near their skill level, to allow more enjoyable games. However, it began to be used as a competition gauge, and complaints began to arise from some of the limitations of the system. (How do you compare someone who plays only 2-player games of Puerto Rico vs someone who plays mainly 4- and 5-player games? Game play is quite different in those situations. Also, some people would achieve a high rank in ELO and then never play another game with ELO turned on, essentially locking their spot at the top of the leader board.)

Enter the Arena system (which is still fairly young, and has some issues of its own). The ranking is set by a season, and each season options that highly influence game play are set for all tables. Players achieve rankings stated in leagues -- Elite (purple), Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

Both ranking systems are similar: there is a pool of points among all the players. If you win a game, you take some points from the losers. So, people who are high in one ranking system tend to be high in the other as well. But, since they are different, there are the players whose ranking in one doesn't match the ranking in the other.

[WuffleMonster]

Ok got it, thanks for that clear explanation, it begins to make some sense now.

If you don’t mind a couple of follow-up q’s

1. Do I need to do anything specifically to enter into this arena system? The ELO seeMs to happen automatically but I don’t see any reference to the arena system or badges after the games I play

2. When do the seasons run from/to - is that specified?

3. Can you join in half way through a season?

I quite like the elo system - it’s a good way of getting a sense of whether you’re progressing or not, but can see how people locking a high number might get annoying. Arena seems to have the same —ish issues - the guy in 2nd (or quite high up can’t remember exactly)seemed to just play A massive amount of 2 player game’s agains the same person or few people and win (probably his mum and her friends ) but on the rare occasions he ventured i to a competitive 4 player game seemed to lose all the time!!

[Jest Phulin]

1. Do I need to do anything specifically to enter into this arena system? The ELO seeMs to happen automatically but I don’t see any reference to the arena system or badges after the games I play

When you enter the game lobby, there is a choice to play either a Simple Game or in the Arena. (Well, there's tournaments too, but that's a different topic...)
Make sure to set your preferences by clicking the gear icon before you click that you are ready to play. The options you can adjust are primarily game speed, but it really stinks to be stuck in a fast game when you want time to think, or be stuck with a slow thinker when you want to play quickly. The site will then try to match you with other players and create a table. There is no "confirm to join" and "confirm to play" action, so be prepared to keep an eye on the tab for when the game starts.

You will not be able to see who you are playing against or what their rank is until the game starts. This is by design.

2. When do the seasons run from/to - is that specified?

Yes, it is specified, but I don't remember the details. They should be easily found by looking through the announcements forums.

3. Can you join in half way through a season?

Yep. Any game that starts before the end date (and finishes before the turn-based end date) counts towards arena ranking.

I quite like the elo system - it’s a good way of getting a sense of whether you’re progressing or not, but can see how people locking a high number might get annoying. Arena seems to have the same —ish issues - the guy in 2nd (or quite high up can’t remember exactly)seemed to just play A massive amount of 2 player game’s agains the same person or few people and win (probably his mum and her friends ) but on the rare occasions he ventured i to a competitive 4 player game seemed to lose all the time!!

Check and see if those 2-player games are actually Arena games, or standard games. I'm pretty sure that the current season of PR is for 4- or 5- player games only. But I'm not terribly sure of that.

[WuffleMonster]

hey - just wanted to say thanks for the explanations, appreciated - all clear now. I had a click round and makes sense. I've been playing 'Simple Games' so explains why i wasn't in the In ranking system.

In case anyone is reading and wants to know:

Season 1 is April 16 to July 4 2020 (there was a season 0)before that [/b