Board Game Arena

I would like to propose a change to how ELO system works. I think that it's a great system, although I feel too many points are lost when someone loses. Therefore, either minimal points are lost, or none at all. I just played a game and lost 10, even though we were close in points. Either I'm misunderstanding or overthinking. But I feel it's a little crazy.

Lucan 2 wrote: ↑18 August 2025, 05:48 even though we were close in points

When you say close in "points," do you mean your ELO rating was close, or the game was close? If the latter, how "close" the game was does not matter for ELO. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. A tie is a tie.

See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system

And elo is elo, and it's supposed to evaluate your skill at a game, not to give you a feeling of accomplishment.

Lucan 2 wrote: ↑18 August 2025, 05:48 I would like to propose a change to how ELO system works. I think that it's a great system, although I feel too many points are lost when someone loses. Therefore, either minimal points are lost, or none at all. I just played a game and lost 10, even though we were close in points. Either I'm misunderstanding or overthinking. But I feel it's a little crazy.

Elo is a predictive tool for guessing who will win a given matchup. It's not a trophy system.

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑18 August 2025, 06:27

Lucan 2 wrote: ↑18 August 2025, 05:48 even though we were close in points

When you say close in "points," do you mean your ELO rating was close, or the game was close? If the latter, how "close" the game was does not matter for ELO. A win is a win. A loss is a loss. A tie is a tie.

See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system

Isn't ELO how you're able to play people though? Because it's your skill level, right? So if you don't have enough, you can't play every person correct?

Lucan 2 wrote: ↑20 August 2025, 17:49 Isn't ELO how you're able to play people though? Because it's your skill level, right? So if you don't have enough, you can't play every person correct?

That is absolutely incorrect. I could literally have 0 ELO in a game and play the player with the highest ELO in that game. Whether that person accepts the match is up to them, but there is nothing prohibiting it. Unless you put a filter on your search for games, BGA's match making system does not try to pair people with similar ELOs.

There is a restriction that you need 100 ELO to play in Arena or to enter an open tournament, but the Tournament Host can still invite you if you're under 100 ELO. Also, once you reach 100 you can never fall below that.