Board Game Arena

Blocking is a good strategy only in 2 player games. In multi player games, it's not easy to block someone, so it's mostly a matter who claims the required route first. In such games, players that block each other (deliberately or not) will not win. However, one might block somebody just for the sake of being 3rd rather than 4th, which is legitimate.
Even more, in 2p games, you may block only someone who is playing naively, namely getting many tickets and claiming routes thinking that opponent will just claim their own routes and stay out of their way. If you like such a mode, just pick up 3 tickets, add the score, and the one with more points is declared the winner, and off you go for another fast and furious game of luck called "adding 3 TTR tix".
Of course this would be the way of playing with your children as they would whine by losing this way (I say that from personal experience). Just apply the way mrmagic suggested.
Otherwise it's offensive to call names to players for aptly using the rules.

Photios wrote: ↑25 December 2022, 17:34 Blocking is a good strategy only in 2 player games.

I think you are wrong. Interference (blocking) can be very effective in three player games.

I never play 3 player games, so I didn't consider this at all; 3 player is indeed a blocking feast

Photios wrote: ↑25 December 2022, 17:34 Of course this would be the way of playing with your children as they would whine by losing this way

I'd never play like this with my children tbh. I mean, I would on the first games, of course, to let them get confident with the game, but I don't think making the game easier by default is a good way to educate them. I'd always try to offer them the hardest challenge possibile, compatibly with their age/potential, teaching them how to prevent/react to adversities. I want my children to be able to fight for their victories, not to be whiny inepts used to get free wins. It's just a game, but I believe it's a good lesson for life too.

I fully agree on the rest you said

Hi,
Do like me... blocked the players with another game with you

loladub2 wrote: ↑29 October 2024, 17:51 Hi,
Do like me... blocked the players with another game with you

Why did you feel the need to necro a 2 year old thread, to which no one else had posted for 18 months?!

Putting aside the silliness of this thread. Look at the game linked by the OP. He is complaining that someone blocked him in an ***arena*** game! This also means your thumbs down approach will not work (you can still be matched with players that you disapprove of in competitive modes, arena and tournament)

MadManMark wrote: ↑30 October 2024, 12:49

loladub2 wrote: ↑29 October 2024, 17:51 Hi,
Do like me... blocked the players with another game with you

Why did you feel the need to necro a 2 year old thread, to which no one else had posted for 18 months?!

Putting aside the silliness of this thread. Look at the game linked by the OP. He is complaining that someone blocked him in an ***arena*** game! This also means your thumbs down approach will not work (you can still be matched with players that you disapprove of in competitive modes, arena and tournament)

Red thumbing is ineffective only in Tournaments. Hence all the threads with people complaining about top arena players red thumbing other top players to avoid the stiffer competition.

Perhaps you are thinking of this announcement:

→ Red Thumbs for competitive play
One last thing that is going to be changed in a few weeks will be the impact of the Red Thumbs.
You can currently give a Red Thumb to any player with which you had a bad game experience. This prevents you from competing against them in ranked games or the Arena, but not in Tournaments.
This system can, and unfortunately is, used to prevent some players from competing against the best players. Considering that the Red Thumb system is being abused this way, on purpose or not, we will update the way Red Thumbs are impacting the matchmaking for the next season.

Source.

Despite this announcement, this was never actually implemented in Arena.

Kruszer wrote: ↑08 October 2022, 00:22 I just had a miserable game experience (https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=306478815) with a player who blocked just for the sake of blocking. - Not because they had a genuine need for the track. At one point red made a circle around my track, cutting off my final area of track in all directions! - Just "to get their jollies" (their words).

Blocking people is a valid way to play this game. You have to set priorities and build your essential tracks first.

After all, the player who blocks you also has to invest precious train cards and a move for that, for a track he doesn't need for his own goal. He just needs to calculate if his own disadvantage is worth blocking you.

You just seem to be a bad loser.

Kruszer wrote: ↑08 October 2022, 00:22 IRL it's generally agreed upon that this is a jerk move, ...

No, It's your opinion, which is fine, but not "generally agreed upon".

Adding "generally agreed upon" to your own opinion is just a rhetoric trick.

I agree that blocking feels like a jerk move. On the other hand, I know some people consider it a legitimate strategy. For me personally, I’d prefer to find other players who agree not to engage in blocking for its own sake. But other than only playing with friends, I don’t know logistically how it would work.

Blocking is particularly obnoxious when it’s already obvious that the blocker is well in the lead and doesn’t need to do it to win, but rather to deal the other person a humiliating defeat. That happened to me yesterday and I will never play with that player again. However, in at least two games I’ve played, the person doing the blocking lost because they were spending all their cars on blocking me and not on completing their own destinations. That was satisfying karma, I thought!

newbiegeek wrote: ↑20 January 2025, 00:25 For me personally, I’d prefer to find other players who agree not to engage in blocking for its own sake. But other than only playing with friends, I don’t know logistically how it would work.

You would have to either create or join a group dedicated to playing the game in this non-standard way and then create tables limited to members of tha group only.

The same way any variation where people want to play a game differently to how the rules work.