Board Game Arena

From the FAQ:

"When your rank is "Strong" or higher, and you don't play for an extended period, your ELO score will decrease over time."

I assume this refers to the actual Elo, not Arena score, since I do not see the word "Arena" anywhere in that sentence.
But I have seen people say no such Elo loss has occurred. I tend to focus on one or two games at a time and then not play some games for a while. Can anyone clarify this matter? "Extended period" is not a quantified length of time, and if there is goi to be a rating decrease, this should be quantified.

Also, there should be a warning a few days prior to the actual Elo decrease.

Additionally, this seems unnecessary for players 300+. Maybe for players 500+, or who are in the top 50 of any game, but if someone wants to sit on a 310 ELo in 1654th place, who cares?

All I know is I haven't seen it happening. The last game I played of Egocentric World was almost 3 years ago (2022/04/24), I was at 350 elo after that. I'm still listed as 350. I don't appear in the "all time" ranking" because that's not really all time, but that's a different matter.

Jellby wrote: ↑02 April 2025, 19:24 All I know is I haven't seen it happening. The last game I played of Egocentric World was almost 3 years ago (2022/04/24), I was at 350 elo after that. I'm still listed as 350. I don't appear in the "all time" ranking" because that's not really all time, but that's a different matter.

I actually saw your post in a different thread in which you said that.

And to my complete NON-surprise, a certain toxic and abrasive individual responded rather rudely to you and insisted that it does happen. SO, I figured I would start an updated thread.

From what I have seen across various threads, you are a veteran here and know the ins and outs of this site, so I am inclined to think you are correct here, since you have an actual example of NON-decay, and no one has provided an example of actual rating decay.

FrankJones wrote: ↑02 April 2025, 19:32 since you have an actual example of NON-decay, and no one has provided an example of actual rating decay.

I am never surprised how often people on here claim something happens with no basis other than "I think I remember seeing this happen once."

Very true.

Okay, unrelated, but I don't have time to start a new thread and think one or both of you probably know the answer to this.

Can I use a vacation joker but still play moves in some turn-based games, or in real-time games?

I wish to stall one turn-based game because I am about to forfeit on time, and it's unlikely my bug report will be addressed in time.

Meeplelowda, it seems you have experiemnted and naswered this question already

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... r&start=10

So, I can activate a joker and add 96 hours to all my games (I only have 2).

But that would not preclude me from still playing?

FrankJones wrote: ↑02 April 2025, 22:10 Meeplelowda, it seems you have experiemnted and naswered this question already

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... r&start=10

So, I can activate a joker and add 96 hours to all my games (I only have 2).

But that would not preclude me from still playing?

Correct. Note that time does not get added to tournament games. Not sure about arena games, but I think that applies to those as well.

Thanks

I ended up making a move. I want to save my jokers.
Playing a Beta version comes with risks, and multiple times now I have had to wriggle my way out of a jam because of either a bug or an unclear rule.
It adds to the challenge!

FrankJones wrote: ↑02 April 2025, 19:06 From the FAQ:

"When your rank is "Strong" or higher, and you don't play for an extended period, your ELO score will decrease over time."

This was planned when ELO rules were changed some years ago (e.g. elo gains are now capped if you win too often against same opponent). But it was never implemented! I can confirm that in those days the issue was discussed heavily in the forums and was then dismissed by BGA staff.

I only see the german version of the FAQ and there it clearly says (in brackets): "planned but dismissed change" (my translation). I quote the german text here:

Wenn deine Spielstärke „Stark“ oder höher ist und du über einen längeren Zeitraum nicht spielst, sinkt dein Elo-Wert mit der Zeit (geplante, aber verworfene Änderung).

Many thanks

And as a math lover, I appreciate your username.
(In the U.S., we say "math" instead of "maths". I have no idea why)