A suspected way to stay on top of the arena by screening your opponents

[Ray Hsueh]

I had an opponent the other day who gave me the red thumb after I winning two games in a row. I suspect that he is staying ahead of the arena by "giving potential opponents the red thumb". What should I do? I know it's a right to give a red thumb, but at the same time I hate it when people use this unethical way to win championships. Please remind me if I'm posting in the wrong place, I've never been to the forum before.
I would be grateful for any advice.

[Meeplelowda]

I had an opponent the other day who gave me the red thumb after I winning two games in a row. I suspect that he is staying ahead of the tournament by "giving potential opponents the red thumb". What should I do? I know it's a right to give a red thumb, but at the same time I hate it when people use this unethical way to win championships. Please remind me if I'm posting in the wrong place, I've never been to the forum before.
I would be grateful for any advice.

I assume you are talking about Arena, not tournaments. Yes, red thumbs will screen opponents in Arena (not tournaments). It is a known "strategy" by some players to avoid strong competitors in Arena by red thumbing them. There is nothing you can do.

I am of the firm opinion that allowing this undermines the integrity of Arena. It is analogous to allowing a professional in a sport to refuse to play other top-ranked players, then at the end of the season claiming to be the "champion." If the concern is having a player paired with someone who has been abusive to them, then why not limit the blocking to PUBLIC red thumbs for which the abuse has been punished by a moderation?

[Ray Hsueh]

I had an opponent the other day who gave me the red thumb after I winning two games in a row. I suspect that he is staying ahead of the tournament by "giving potential opponents the red thumb". What should I do? I know it's a right to give a red thumb, but at the same time I hate it when people use this unethical way to win championships. Please remind me if I'm posting in the wrong place, I've never been to the forum before.
I would be grateful for any advice.

I assume you are talking about Arena, not tournaments. Yes, red thumbs will screen opponents in Arena (not tournaments). It is a known "strategy" by some players to avoid strong competitors in Arena by red thumbing them. There is nothing you can do.

I am of the firm opinion that allowing this undermines the integrity of Arena. It is analogous to allowing a professional in a sport to refuse to play other top-ranked players, then at the end of the season claiming to be the "champion." If the concern is having a player paired with someone who has been abusive to them, then why not limit the blocking to PUBLIC red thumbs for which the abuse has been punished by a moderation?

Yes, I mean arena, it's a shameful way of doing things, but I can't talk to him because of the red thumb, which is infuriating.

[Ze Monstah]

I had an opponent the other day who gave me the red thumb after I winning two games in a row. I suspect that he is staying ahead of the tournament by "giving potential opponents the red thumb". What should I do? I know it's a right to give a red thumb, but at the same time I hate it when people use this unethical way to win championships. Please remind me if I'm posting in the wrong place, I've never been to the forum before.
I would be grateful for any advice.

I assume you are talking about Arena, not tournaments. Yes, red thumbs will screen opponents in Arena (not tournaments). It is a known "strategy" by some players to avoid strong competitors in Arena by red thumbing them. There is nothing you can do.

I am of the firm opinion that allowing this undermines the integrity of Arena. It is analogous to allowing a professional in a sport to refuse to play other top-ranked players, then at the end of the season claiming to be the "champion." If the concern is having a player paired with someone who has been abusive to them, then why not limit the blocking to PUBLIC red thumbs for which the abuse has been punished by a moderation?

Yes, I mean arena, it's a shameful way of doing things, but I can't talk to him because of the red thumb, which is infuriating.

You could create another account just to talk to the mentioned culprit, but nowadays chances are you will be accused of stalking or of creating multiple accounts - which is considered 100% wrong by some.

Or you could simply ignore and have many other games with other people in that game?
I am not sure of the game you are talking about, but I am sure there are more players than just you 2.

And any player who gives Red Thumbs to people whom he/she considers dangerously strong in Arena, will take many unexpected blows from underdogs, as well as the increase amount of time of waiting for a game to start (if someone gives many Red Thumbs, especially in games with >2 players, one of the natural results is the increase of the wait-time).

I find this Arena strategy to be rather complicated for the ones engaging into it.
Unless it's also combined with kingmaking-partners, I don't see it working well.

[msclark]

It's very annoying, to be sure, and in my opinion shouldn't be allowed, but there are plenty of other ways you naturally screen your opponents anyway. The times of day you like to play, whether you prefer real-time or turn-based games and what sort of speed settings you'll accept all factor in to who your potential opponents could be and you might never encounter a sizeable proportion of the field as a result.

So while it does bug me too, it's not something worth getting too upset about. Arena's not a perfectly fair tournament, and that's ok - it's not really designed to be.

[Ray Hsueh]

I assume you are talking about Arena, not tournaments. Yes, red thumbs will screen opponents in Arena (not tournaments). It is a known "strategy" by some players to avoid strong competitors in Arena by red thumbing them. There is nothing you can do.

I am of the firm opinion that allowing this undermines the integrity of Arena. It is analogous to allowing a professional in a sport to refuse to play other top-ranked players, then at the end of the season claiming to be the "champion." If the concern is having a player paired with someone who has been abusive to them, then why not limit the blocking to PUBLIC red thumbs for which the abuse has been punished by a moderation?

Yes, I mean arena, it's a shameful way of doing things, but I can't talk to him because of the red thumb, which is infuriating.

You could create another account just to talk to the mentioned culprit, but nowadays chances are you will be accused of stalking or of creating multiple accounts - which is considered 100% wrong by some.

Or you could simply ignore and have many other games with other people in that game?
I am not sure of the game you are talking about, but I am sure there are more players than just you 2.

And any player who gives Red Thumbs to people whom he/she considers dangerously strong in Arena, will take many unexpected blows from underdogs, as well as the increase amount of time of waiting for a game to start (if someone gives many Red Thumbs, especially in games with >2 players, one of the natural results is the increase of the wait-time).

I find this Arena strategy to be rather complicated for the ones engaging into it.
Unless it's also combined with kingmaking-partners, I don't see it working well.

Yes, thank you for your reply. The game I'm referring to is "Pictionary", a game for two players only.

[msclark]

Yes, thank you for your reply. The game I'm referring to is "Pictionary", a game for two players only.

I'm guessing that's a game with a different name in your language? Pictionary - the drawing game - is not on the site and not two players and would be awful in Arena!

[Ray Hsueh]

Yes, thank you for your reply. The game I'm referring to is "Pictionary", a game for two players only.

I'm guessing that's a game with a different name in your language? Pictionary - the drawing game - is not on the site and not two players and would be awful in Arena!

oh, *...I mean "battleships pencil & paper", sorry for that.

*Moderator edit: please remember to use family-friendly language on BGA. Cursing is not permitted.

[Fletcheese]

I was under the impression that the red thumb had no impact on arena matchmaking, but in rereading the FAQs I have no evidence for this. Definitely something that should change if not.

[Meeplelowda]

I was under the impression that the red thumb had no impact on arena matchmaking, but in rereading the FAQs I have no evidence for this. Definitely something that should change if not.

It has been discussed (and complained about) frequently. In one of those threads I believe there is confirmation by a BGA admin that arena matchmaking is unfortunately indeed affected.