Board Game Arena

Hi all,

Can someone explain me how i can have cross :
-Emu456 Elo 672
-Yniulou Elo 691
-Lhuix1 Elo 471
-CapybaraDream Elo 595
-Taboai19 Elo Elo 610
-Taboai19 Elo Elo 610
for my last 6 games in Ark Nova with my 100 Elo...

If you plan to make people stop using the website, keep going...

ELO and Arena have nothing to do with eachother.

Arena doesnt use ELO to make matches.

Arena has its own matchmaking elo that you only get to see when you make platinum (the top tier).

I think OP is asking how come they keep running into high Elo players if the matchmaking is supposed to be random.

Maybe the answer is that high Elo players are more likely to play a lot and therefore make up a big percentage of the people looking for games. Still seems statistically unlikely that they never run into lower rated players though.

All of those players seem to focus exclusively on Ark Nova, so yes, they would seem to play more. I counted 16 tables (of Ark Nova) in a 24 hour period from one of them.

You can filter to only play with people in your tier, but once you reach Elite tier, that's obviously not much help. But as others have said, Elo doesn't determine matchmaking in Arena.

tbhp wrote: ↑24 June 2026, 04:33 I think OP is asking how come they keep running into high Elo players if the matchmaking is supposed to be random.

I think it is completely unclear what they are saying and they should stop expecting us to be mind readers and just come out and say what’s on their mind.

That is, if they ever come back. Too many people jump in here, start a thread, and never return…

This has been one of the biggest criticisms of Arena from its very start. It is supposed to be the "competitive mode", yet you are very likely to meet opponents far away from your skill level (and you can't really avoid it even with the filters available). Because everyone starts at the same tier and then later the tiers don't even discriminate that much between skill levels, you are more prone to random opponents than you would be if you used "normal mode" and filtered properly by Elo levels. This is a complaint that comes back again and again from players in all Elo levels.

Here is some BGA lore: Soon after the Arena system was introduced, they tried to fix this problem by having an Arena schedule so that Arena games would start only every 5 or 10 minutes at fixed times. That way players could accumulate between the slots in the "starting box" so that then enough players are available at every Elo level when the games start. I loved it - you always got opponents close to your own Elo level. It really felt like a competitive mode, however, turns out most people hate to wait for their games to start, even if they get much better fitting opponents for that. BGA received one of their biggest shit storms and Arena traffic went down overall, eventually BGA dropped this system after only 24 hours.

I always hoped that BGA would find some middle ground system to solve the trade-off between low wait times and getting better matches, but they never touched the Arena system again, only very small tweaks here and there.

Also, I have to say, most people seem to care not that much (much less than I thought) to play opponents not matching their skill levels. For me, having a skill-matched opponent is a big part of my enjoyment, particularly when I want to play competitively. but it seems many people are different in that aspect.

Came here to rant about the same question.

If anything, there is nothing pleasant and no opportunity to grow skill when you are wiped by elite players. Same question backways: Is it really fun for top-tier players to nullify an opponent who makes noob mistakes and does not resist your pressure?
Master Jedi vs younglings - the only way to farm skyscraping rating.

What is the problem to add a switch "I want to play with my level - I want to be wiped"?
Ok, realtime pairings are pain in the butt, but what about turn-based?
I am talking about Zenith at the moment. A game with active players base and skill over luck dependancy.
I want to be competitive, but I want to compete in my league.

Mykola wrote: ↑24 June 2026, 16:58 Came here to rant about the same question.

If anything, there is nothing pleasant and no opportunity to grow skill when you are wiped by elite players. Same question backways: Is it really fun for top-tier players to nullify an opponent who makes noob mistakes and does not resist your pressure?
Master Jedi vs younglings - the only way to farm skyscraping rating.

What is the problem to add a switch "I want to play with my level - I want to be wiped"?
Ok, realtime pairings are pain in the butt, but what about turn-based?
I am talking about Zenith at the moment. A game with active players base and skill over luck dependancy.
I want to be competitive, but I want to compete in my league.

You already have that switch in Arena, to play with Arena players at your level, but keep in mind that this is your Arena level, not ELO level.

Maybe Arena is not good place for "making novice mistakes" player, and wanting to play with others at similar level?

How about normal games where you can set table restrictions by ELO levels?
Much better to learn, practice, much bigger chance to get answers and help, even from much more experience players. At least in competitive games you can. Cooperative games are disadvantaged here, and you can't do that.

I don't think anyone in Arena will play on "half a whistle" just because is paired with ELO 100. Arena games doesn't even show players ELO or Arena points.

tarongot wrote: ↑24 June 2026, 17:23

Mykola wrote: ↑24 June 2026, 16:58 Came here to rant about the same question.

If anything, there is nothing pleasant and no opportunity to grow skill when you are wiped by elite players. Same question backways: Is it really fun for top-tier players to nullify an opponent who makes noob mistakes and does not resist your pressure?
Master Jedi vs younglings - the only way to farm skyscraping rating.

What is the problem to add a switch "I want to play with my level - I want to be wiped"?
Ok, realtime pairings are pain in the butt, but what about turn-based?
I am talking about Zenith at the moment. A game with active players base and skill over luck dependancy.
I want to be competitive, but I want to compete in my league.

You already have that switch in Arena, to play with Arena players at your level, but keep in mind that this is your Arena level, not ELO level.

Maybe Arena is not good place for "making novice mistakes" player, and wanting to play with others at similar level?

How about normal games where you can set table restrictions by ELO levels?
Much better to learn, practice, much bigger chance to get answers and help, even from much more experience players. At least in competitive games you can. Cooperative games are disadvantaged here, and you can't do that.

I don't think anyone in Arena will play on "half a whistle" just because is paired with ELO 100. Arena games doesn't even show players ELO or Arena points.

Gees, thanks, because I was going mad.
Just noticed that cogwheel-icon is functional button.