Board Game Arena

1) Hide moves history
Many games simply dont fit well with a moves history available to anyone in any moment. I am thinking about cards games in which remembering which cards are still available in the deck is part of the skill f.e., and it would also help to make the virtual game experience more similar to real table experience, but it could be applied to any game and meet the tastes of many users. An option for the table host to switch off moves history or to limit it to the very last round/turn/move I think could be a valid improvement

2) Alternative Elo rankings
This has been already requested for some games but I think It could be a nice options for every table to let the host choose between the current Elo points assignment or an alternative assignment in which only the winner is rewarded as winner and all the other are considered the losing side. I think this could be an optional choice which could help improving the experience for some users and some games

1) Hide moves history
Somebody invented pen and paper, so everyone can just write down a "do-it-yourself moves history" (or make a screen shot) infront of your anonym pc screen. There is no guard controlling what people do at home infront of their screen.

2) Alternative Elo ranking
An Alternative Elo ranking can not be mixed up with the original Elo ranking, that would be absurd.
So there would be a need for two parallel Elo's, thats just not practical. Also, why stop at 2 Systems? so why not let the table creator give out random points however he/she want?

1)Apart the unnecessary and not funny sarcasm, having the log of every move It Is not like having to write down every move for obvious reasons of time and efforts involved

2)The proposal Is just about having an option to choose between the actual ranking points assignment and "One wins all the others lose", no need for any other "system". Absurd Is the unnecessarily caustic and tranchant tone of your answer

And both are intended to be OPTIONAL

1) It would create the false illusion that there is no move memory for everybody involved, when in fact people can safe the moves in an simple .txt file with no effort

2) You really cannot mix the two systems, that does not make any sense, and here is why:

So one Player uses the original Elo, his Elo is 250,
Another player uses the original Elo, and mixes it up with another Elo System, his Elo is 250,

How exactly do these two Numbers (250 and 250) relate to each other? It becomes completely meaningless, and the declared reason to have an Elo System is to be comparable.
Two players should be able to compare their numbers and should, from this number, gain information about their skill level.
Comparing two numbers that do not originate from the same Elo system is completely meaningless, and this is the definition of absurd.
Sorry if you didnt understood what i ment, i hope this clarifies it.

(but English is a second language for me, so the possibility exists that you interpreting it in a way that was not intended by me, I am simply pointing out facts...)

1) you could do the same observations regarding the restrictions about using the same ip ( i could avoid the detection using my phone and PC, or PC and vpn at the same time), obviously making the things less easy has sense. Second, if you play fast pace games i think you dont even have the real possibility to use pen and paper without going out of time, and this is the case for the games in which this option could be more appreciable (fast paced games especially card games in which remembering the cards is often an important skill)

2)I dont understand what are you trying to say. The elo system actually applied compares points in pairings of winner/loser and then gives points according to its formula, so if the final ranking is A,B,C , the actual settings compute 3 matches: A vs B and A wins, A vs C and A wins and B vs C and B wins. With the optional setting "One winner", It would be just A wins against B and A wins against C (the pairings without the winner are not considered)

1) if you make it less easy, you only give advantage to people who have the means because it is easy for them.

Make it harder and only tech savy people will benefit, keep it open and everybody has the same conditions and chances.
It does not matter if it is open, as long as it is open to everybody, would not be a problem if it would be closed for everybody (like in casinos, because their are securities that control this things).
What you are suggesting is to close it just for some people, and some other people could count cards -> this results in unequal conditions for everybody and thus is not fair for everybody by definition

2) you just can not mix two different ways to calculate elo values.
You could have both systems independently.
You could have just your way of calculating the Elo value.
Or just the original way.
But you can not on a game-to-game basis decide how your Elo Value is calculated.
I explaned it in the previous posting.
If one game, has the possibility to result in different Elo Outcomes depending what Elo-calculate-System is used, the overall Elo values of all users on BGA would become uncomparable and mathematically meaningless.

Take as an example a formular one Championship:
Max Verstappen decides that the first Car finishing the Race wins.
Lando Norris is opting that the Car with the fastest Lap wins.
Charles Leclerc calculates his Elo (winning) by how much tire the car has left.
How do you compare this? EVERYBODY must have the same System to calculate the winner. Otherwise the Championship Points (Elo) become absurd meaningless.

1)I have played in other websites without any moves log, none every felt It was and advantage for anyone and as I told you pen and paper is impossible to use with fast games. Anyway It would be optional if you dont like or if you really think It would be an advantage for anyone you simply dont use it

2)you dont mix anything. Every table is a game, It starts and ends there, It makes absolutely no difference if another table use one or the other option. There Is no advantage in one way or the other, winner takes the same points, the others have no advantage in being second and are less penalized if they are last. The balance of points Is the same, It Is just an agreement between players prematch and It would be optional, they just agree to battle for first place and not for placement, thats the only real change and It Is about the way the game Is played

FabWolf wrote: ↑13 March 2025, 01:38 you dont mix anything. Every table is a game, It starts and ends there, It makes absolutely no difference if another table use one or the other option.

That would only be true if the Elo value would be reset to zero after every game. If you cary the Elo value from one game to another, it is mixing. The information of every game you play is stored inside the Elo value, the only reason to have an elo value is to have a compareable number, so that players can compare their numbers with each other. You clearly cannot or dont want to understand this. I explaned it in many different ways here, everybody can read it. I used analogies and examples. Its on you, not on me.

One thing these “there should be no game log” suggestions seem to overlook is that a good proportion of games played on this site are turn based. The main reason turn based games are at all viable is due to the game log.

Imagine you are playing a game that consists of multiple actions within a single turn. Your opponent took their turn while you were sleeping. Now that you’ve woken up, you are trying to take your turn. But first, you have to compare the current state of the game table with the “picture” you memorized before bed last night to figure out what your opponent did. After all, there’s no game log for you to review.

wdspider wrote: ↑14 March 2025, 05:04 One thing these “there should be no game log” suggestions seem to overlook is that a good proportion of games played on this site are turn based. The main reason turn based games are at all viable is due to the game log

I am not ignoring that, obviously this would be applied mainly to real time games. I am not suggesting "there should be no game log", I am talking about an optional rules and as I said It could just show the history till the player's last move (so no need to keep the eyes on the screen even for live games) and hide everything before, there is no need to completely hide the log