Board Game Arena

Hello,
I just played against a player who is smurfing (***). How do I report them?
If you look at all of their Ark Nova games, they all end by conceding or being conceded against. This is because this player is extremely strong and was trouncing me until they conceded just before they officially won. I looked back through all their other matches and they dominate everyone but concede right before they are about to win. The only times they win are when people concede first because the smurfer's lead is so gigantic.

Also I dont know the reason why, but there was another player spectating the entire match who was around 300 ELO - I dont know what the relevance of this was? but they joined immediately and watched the entire match but didnt say anything

Edited by moderator: do not name in any way other players.

is it illegal?

I doubt it is against the rules to concede when winning.

And how exactly is that Smurfing? Smurfing means actually winning and taking Elo away from people. This person is handing out Elo, which is the opposite.

Very weird behavior for sure, but I'm not sure which site rule this would be violating.

Probably alt account of a highly rater player. When you are a non-premium member of a premium game you have to reply on other people to open games for you. If you are 500+ ELO many people will refuse to play with you. So this person might do it to get more games in and practise.

No idea about rules being broken or not though.

k4r wrote: ↑09 September 2026, 19:59is it illegal?

not yet, but only because i think its so uncommon. I've only seen it once and ive played thousands of games. but it's definitely against the spirit of BGA for a 500+ player to fake being 150 so they can maul average players

Frooty_Bazooty wrote: ↑10 September 2026, 05:53

k4r wrote: ↑09 September 2026, 19:59is it illegal?

not yet, but only because i think its so uncommon. I've only seen it once and ive played thousands of games. but it's definitely against the spirit of BGA for a 500+ player to fake being 150 so they can maul average players

But, he's not mauling average players. He's conceding, and therefore losing. His only wins are when the opponent concedes, and if the opponents just played it out instead of conceding, they would end up with a win instead because this odd player apparently always concedes.

EuroGamez wrote: ↑10 September 2026, 02:12 Probably alt account of a highly rater player. When you are a non-premium member of a premium game you have to reply on other people to open games for you. If you are 500+ ELO many people will refuse to play with you. So this person might do it to get more games in and practise.

No idea about rules being broken or not though.

yep definitely 500+ -i checked back through their results and they were even beating 300 players by 40-50 points.
The best player ive ever played, the combos were unreal, the only reason i stayed to the end was because i wanted to see how many points they were going to win by

Maybe,
he she just doesn't care about Elo, or playing against competition. Can imagine someone who have been to much into his Elo and don't want it anymore. Or someone who want play casual, no pressure games. Unfortunately friendly play is very long to wait for.
But she/he is not abusing is high level hidden if he doesn't broke your rating by conceding! I'm I wrong?
And seeing unreal combo is a good way to learn

FrankJones wrote: ↑10 September 2026, 01:28 And how exactly is that Smurfing? Smurfing means actually winning and taking Elo away from people. This person is handing out Elo, which is the opposite.

Maybe they're waiting to be matched with some particular high-elo player, hoping to beat them and make them lose a good chunk.

k4r wrote: ↑09 September 2026, 19:59is it illegal?

The Terms of Service only allow one account for each person. The intention does not matter.