Board Game Arena

ikiruyume wrote: ↑04 August 2026, 17:44 ELO is necessary, i constantly play with players who doesn't know how to play and ruin the game

I agree that a better ranking system is needed, as the current one tells nobody nothing.

Because of the frustrations resulting from this, I have taken the following steps to improve my mental health when approaching this game -

1. Accumulate some BGA friends that your playing style and experience is comfortable with, and use those friends as invites to the games you set up to challenge yourself

2. When joining pickup games with strangers, look at it as a social studies experiment and expect to die from someone else's mistake while LOLing at the insanity of other people's play of the game

3. By playing the pickup games, you may find other players that can be added to your friends list for this game because you/they agree with/like your play style

4. If people's playstyle or personality irritates you, red thumb them (I have been on BGA for 2 years or so, and in that time only red thumbed maybe 3 or 4 people on just as many games. But just in the past couple months, I have had to red thumb 12+ zombicide players for multiple reasons. This game attracts some really toxic people (from the ignorant know nothing to the belligerant servant of evil ).

Schwerpunkter wrote: ↑04 August 2026, 18:29
I think you underestimate Ostara

I play with Ostara almost every game. She rarely earns the same XP as Tiger Sam, Lou, Odin, or Elle. Yes she finds molotovs, and then people take them and use them (in my experience).

I was commenting on a specific proposed ELO that I do not believe would be good for cooperation within the game. If we are competing with each other for kills to earn ELO, instead of working together to accomplish the mission tasks, it will negatively impact the team experience of the game. And players will be discouraged from choosing players who don't have extra actions or extra dice so that they can earn extra kill points/ELO.

The 4th highest upvoted feature request on bga is about ELO in co-op games. This is a problem in many co-op games and there are some good proposals in the comments. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, nothing is done since years.

I'm glad that something finally started in this topic. But some of you think in wrong directions. You don't need anything more then: get ELO points for win, and lose them for lost. No need to look how many zombies someone killed. This is cooperative games and survivors takes different roles. One will be very good at killing zombies and will do that, other will search for better stuff for others, yet another will be fast and good at opening buildings. There is no need for special ELO for different roles. After all team lose or win together.

And second, for real ranking you need to be able to lose ELO point for lost. Thinking different is just wrong. There is no real measure if you can't get down. Some cooperative games has that simple ranking. Points are hidden, details too, but it works, you can get down, you go up faster if you win more difficult games.
As example I will give The Gang, very popular game that has it. And thanks to that you can set limits by player level that will give you chance to play with players close to that level. Is not ideal of course but good enough.

Sure, it creates some toxicity, but let's not exaggerate, toxicity in games has always been and always will be. Both in competitive and cooperative. With ranking system at least you have some info about other players level, and tools to play with one of desired level.

So you don't have to do this:

Schwerpunkter wrote: ↑04 August 2026, 19:02

ikiruyume wrote: ↑04 August 2026, 17:44 ELO is necessary, i constantly play with players who doesn't know how to play and ruin the game

I agree that a better ranking system is needed, as the current one tells nobody nothing.

Because of the frustrations resulting from this, I have taken the following steps to improve my mental health when approaching this game -

1. Accumulate some BGA friends that your playing style and experience is comfortable with, and use those friends as invites to the games you set up to challenge yourself

2. When joining pickup games with strangers, look at it as a social studies experiment and expect to die from someone else's mistake while LOLing at the insanity of other people's play of the game

3. By playing the pickup games, you may find other players that can be added to your friends list for this game because you/they agree with/like your play style

4. If people's playstyle or personality irritates you, red thumb them (I have been on BGA for 2 years or so, and in that time only red thumbed maybe 3 or 4 people on just as many games. But just in the past couple months, I have had to red thumb 12+ zombicide players for multiple reasons. This game attracts some really toxic people (from the ignorant know nothing to the belligerant servant of evil ).

tarongot wrote: ↑07 August 2026, 12:33 And second, for real ranking you need to be able to lose ELO point for lost. Thinking different is just wrong. There is no real measure if you can't get down. Some cooperative games has that simple ranking. Points are hidden, details too, but it works, you can get down, you go up faster if you win more difficult games.
As example I will give The Gang, very popular game that has it. And thanks to that you can set limits by player level that will give you chance to play with players close to that level. Is not ideal of course but good enough.

Sure, it creates some toxicity, but let's not exaggerate, toxicity in games has always been and always will be. Both in competitive and cooperative. With ranking system at least you have some info about other players level, and tools to play with one of desired level.

It seems like you're referring to my comment regarding concern if/when they update the ELO system so that we start earning negative ELO for losses. I have a valid concern. In other cooperative games, teams can try to mitigate less skilled players making mistakes. But I've seen multiple times players kill themselves instead of quitting a game or being willing to work through it. And then they're in the lobby creating a new game 30 seconds later.

Obviously red thumbs exist for this, and hopefully those players will quickly get tired of the game since they quit at the first sign of difficulty. But it creates a very effective way to troll other players. And we can't really report them for doing it.

It discourages experienced players from joining games with new-ish players and helping them learn. It is what happened in The Gang. And it isn't good for the overall gaming community.

dizzymisslizzy17 wrote: ↑08 August 2026, 12:34 It seems like you're referring to my comment regarding concern if/when they update the ELO system so that we start earning negative ELO for losses. I have a valid concern. In other cooperative games, teams can try to mitigate less skilled players making mistakes. But I've seen multiple times players kill themselves instead of quitting a game or being willing to work through it. And then they're in the lobby creating a new game 30 seconds later.

Obviously red thumbs exist for this, and hopefully those players will quickly get tired of the game since they quit at the first sign of difficulty. But it creates a very effective way to troll other players. And we can't really report them for doing it.

It discourages experienced players from joining games with new-ish players and helping them learn. It is what happened in The Gang. And it isn't good for the overall gaming community.

Partially yes, but others also. I think there is report path for player who on purpose lose game. And that fits what you describe.

If experienced players REALLY want help a new one learn game, they can do it in no-ranking mode. Why not use that?
Sorry but that concern you have, might be valid, I don't negate that, is not enough to give up on the ranking system. Even if there wouldn't be way to have both, and there is one.