Board Game Arena

Ceaseless wrote: ↑12 November 2026, 00:43I wonder what the next game is that will be suspicious.

I need to understand what's your point here. Yes, I participated to that topic about Heat but I wasn't the one that opened it and put the suspect about other players using AI or other stuff to cheat. So, argue with that user, not me.

At Heat I've had the same weird fact: I easily got to 200 elo 3-4 years ago while now it seems barely impossible to pass that level anymore.
I assure you that I've seen, more than once, players with 150 elo play perfect moves for the entire game, guess the moves to get the slipstreams every time, always have in hand the right garage cards at the right moment, et al.
While the real beginners spin a lot of times or go too slow. So yes, I can distinguish good by bad players and if their elo is truly representative.
And 4 years ago AI didn't exist yet, what a coincidence...

Mars4ever wrote: ↑12 November 2026, 21:00

Ceaseless wrote: ↑12 November 2026, 00:43I wonder what the next game is that will be suspicious.

I need to understand what's your point here. Yes, I participated to that topic about Heat but I wasn't the one that opened it and put the suspect about other players using AI or other stuff to cheat. So, argue with that user, not me.

At Heat I've had the same weird fact: I easily got to 200 elo 3-4 years ago while now it seems barely impossible to pass that level anymore.
I assure you that I've seen, more than once, players with 150 elo play perfect moves for the entire game, guess the moves to get the slipstreams every time, always have in hand the right garage cards at the right moment, et al.
While the real beginners spin a lot of times or go too slow. So yes, I can distinguish good by bad players and if their elo is truly representative.
And 4 years ago AI didn't exist yet, what a coincidence...

That "weird fact" is nothing more than the basics of k factor, a common feature of elo. That it's been mentioned this many times and you still aren't aware of it is surprising.

Since you're at a beginner level with Patchwork and Heat right now, it's understandable that you don't really get the levels of the players above you. You're still working out the fundamentals of the game, the basics of what fits together for you and what doesn't. At that level you end up with many basic gaps in your play and may even get confused by other players still starting out with the game that have different gaps than you do. This isn't that uncommon for players.

The only unusual thing in your case is the bizarre degree of conspiratorial thinking. I can play a game of Patchwork, and though I'm not much more than a beginner myself, I can face fellow 300s and accept that I can lose to them without accusing the ones that beat me of cheating. I'll usually beat 100s pretty easily and get squashed by 500s, with the occasional upset in either direction without freaking out about it.