Most players with a high ELO are the laziest and worst out there.

[thg0724]

I have gotten close to 400 without excessive blocking. Don't play arena, tournaments are all about points. Play regular 2-player, and whenever you encounter someone you don't enjoy playing with give them a "thumbs down" to say you prefer not to play with them. I was surprised both by how quickly I stopped getting blockers and how many top players there are who play a really fun game!

I'm currently just over 400 so not "really good", but I got some game. It is my opinion and my experience, that blocking is only really effective in late game situations where it's just a route or two that's blocked. The most common, in my experience, is when someone tries to connect to Los Angeles late in the game, maybe after having drawn tickets.. It's seldom a successful strategy from early in the game. It can be useful for longest train considerations too, it doesn't have to be for blocking tickets.

[thg0724]

Yesterday, towards the end of a game, my opponent built Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. I had a pair I could spare (though I don't think I had three orange, so if they had simply built Los Angeles to Las Vegas first, I could not have blocked) so played Los Angeles to Las Vegas. What else was I to do? I don't understand the mentality that you ought to just let them complete a route (Los Angles to Miami in this case). Not completing the route instead of completing it swings 38 points and the objective of the game is to score more points that your opponent(s).

[ChiefPointThief]

Yesterday, towards the end of a game, my opponent built Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. I had a pair I could spare (though I don't think I had three orange, so if they had simply built Los Angeles to Las Vegas first, I could not have blocked) so played Los Angeles to Las Vegas. What else was I to do? I don't understand the mentality that you ought to just let them complete a route (Los Angles to Miami in this case). Not completing the route instead of completing it swings 38 points and the objective of the game is to score more points that your opponent(s).

It used to be a pet peeve of mine seeing people trying to connect this way. I played a 4p game a long time ago w/ a friend who has the no blocking mentality and they messaged me after because they thought I had some personal issue w/ the player I blocked . I told them no that I just wanted to win. I don’t know why a large number of people seem to forget that winning is the object when it comes to this game.

I played a game once and my opp told me I blocked them before there were any trains put down. They were very serious about it too and talked about how I ruined their game throughout the duration of it.

[Kaladry]

So just like you?

Ooooh who is the one who took insult here? You it seems. Burn.

Wat, do you realize you are just ranting randomly thinking you are smart and winning arguments while actually you are not winning anything and just look like a troll? Who even insulted anyone here? Based on what you say you seem totally dissociated from reality, nobody insulted anyone, the whole topic (and all the others like this) is just you and other people who agree with you trying to bully good players for beating you by the rules. It might not be fun for you, nothing wrong with that, but the solution is not ranting about it on the forum, just change game (it clearly doesn't fit your tastes, try some cooperative or zero interaction games) and/or play only with other players who agree to your house rules instead. How to do so? Create a group for people agreeing with you. The "Hanabi NO abandon players" group is a good example of this. It is made by players fed up with Elo being totally insignificant in the current state of coop games rating and willing to play with others who agree. It doesn't concern an actual game house rule, just a "rating house rule" differing from the actual rules of BGA, but the concept is the same.

dude. You and your same band of people who love blocking just come to any board of people who don’t like it and just shame them for “not playing by the rules”. And it’s literally you same people every time coming to someone’s else’s board and bullying them. So don’t mind me trying to defend someone against a bully, and yet you call me a troll. You are the ones coming the party and saying how bad it is. Don’t come if all you’re going to do is complain about the OP and anyone who agrees with them.

I can play whatever game I like so please don’t try to dictate what games I can or cannot play or even how I play them. I don’t feel the need to create/join a special group. I can just red thumb players who block maliciously so that I never have to play against them again. Problem solved. And don’t worry, I have already given you a red thumb in the past because of your behavior on the forums so we’ll never have to face each other in a game. You’re welcome.

[admitted]

Goal of the game is to score more than your opponent, whether it's by 80-60 or by 140-120. There are games where it's impossible achieve such goal without blocking. For instance, if you keep 3 tickets and draw 2 more tickets immediately, then threaten a city that is useful for multiple destinations like Los Angeles, what am I supposed to do, like let you through LA and score massive potential points on me?

I am sure a lot of high elo players do not come with the mentality to block, because that's not a winning strategy in most games. But it makes sense in certain situations and in those situations, blocking is the only strategy that will result in a win.

Also it's hard to define one person's strategy with one or two games. I see blocking opportunities and I will block when it's completely necessary to win. But when I do, I just want to score more than you do - I certainly don't have malicious intentions there.

[thg0724]

I certainly don't have malicious intentions there.

Some believe that blocking is always malicious when intentional. It doesn't seem malicious to me--imagine thinking I was malicious for putting my chess opponent in check!--but some are rather firm in their opinion otherwise.

[MRomeo99]

The big problem is that in TTR there is a game within a game.

For the vast majority of players, probably 95% or more, TTR is a family friendly fun game. You try to connect a bunch of routes, etc.

At the top level, it's a completely different game. Take a look at the top players, and if you look at what they play and how they play it, it bears little resemblance to the average winner. This game at the top level is absolutely not a route completion game, it's an efficiency game.

Take a look at the statistics of a top player like I show below:



They are playing an almost completely different game than the vast majority of winners. So when you play someone in the 200-400 range, they might win a lot, they are playing a different game.

Here are some things to note.
They are going out in 32 turns when the average winner goes out in 38. If you're trying to build your beautiful routes, and they go out 6 turns before you're ready, you're often toast.
They mostly pick hidden cards, not from the board.
They almost never draw more destinations.
They average over 4 length connections.
The average winner has 57 points from completed destinations, the top players just want to win, and destinations are a side quest.

Because the name of the game is efficiency it's also usually fairly efficient to swing the game 40 points by blocking an East to West route. Top players know all of the routes, you're telegraphing your moves by picking from the board. We'll let you get close to your completion, then force you to pivot by taking a key location. If you're going up the East Coast, I don't really care. I'd rather just fill long routes and not worry about all you 2 routes you have to fill.

I'm not a top player, but I hover around 550-600 ELO. I'm telling you, when you play against someone in those ELO ranges, we just aren't playing the same game you are. My recommendation, just don't play against 500+ ELO players, as it sounds like that style of play frustrates you.

[MRomeo99]

Here's a perfect example. The top two players played some friendly matches a couple of days ago. If you watch how they play, they have very little in common with the way most people play. They aren't specifically trying to block routes other than claiming the long routes before their opponents can.

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=418935808

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=418931441

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=418920807

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=418911442

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=418909975

In fact, just look at Sysyphus's game history, he mostly plays against people at the top. Look at the way he plays, again it just looks WAY different than the way most people think you play TTR.

[detlefchef11]

I'm just having a really hard time getting my head around the notion of dogging the perfectly legal tactics of a player who wins more often than I do.

There's something that gets said in times like there: Scoreboard

And, full disclosure, in my limited experience in this game, I am the type who just tries to mind my own business and build long tracks. I also only seem to win against people who aren't very good at the game. Apparently, if I want to get good, I need to change that. Which is fine because I was beginning to tire of the game.

[Ceaseless]

I hate to play with most players who have a 300-400 ELO because they are NOT good players. They win because they pick the shortest routes possible, usually with very small points and spend their entire game ruining the routes of their opponents. You can’t even really get back at them by doing the same, because they often only have routes that need two or three very small connecting pieces.

It’s the laziest way to play the game and it reminds me of the school yard bully who punts the basketball over the fence because he is not a good player and no one likes him. Those people really make it hard to enjoy a nice, quick game of any kind. I wish there was a way to avoid them permanently, as apparently unsportsmanlike behavior is not an offense worth reporting.
Is it the ELO that they want? Do they need the internets recognition on their “skill” at a board game advertised for 8 years old and up? Do they brag to their friends about who they kick ass at this online game and have a super awesome ELO?

But wait – before you all bash me because blocking is a real strategy – read the paragraphs above again and remember that the objective of the game is to complete the most routes and try to have the longest continuous path. Nothing about the players I described above even remotely resembles the way the game was intended to play. Blocking a route, either accidental or intentional, IS part of the game. Players that are good, adapt and find alternative routes. Lazy players collect cards just to mess with their opponent and it is not fun to play with someone like that.

This is one of the most hate-filled messages I have ever seen on BGA. Not healthy.