limit simultaneous daily games, adjusted for flagging

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djconnel

When players flag in daily games, it creates a variety of downsides:

  1. it artificially suppresses their ELO, causing them to become under-rated for games they manage to complete. So they get matched against weaker opponents, and those players have a skewed ELO for the game, if the player prone to flagging manages to complete the game.
  2. If they flag in a game, their opponent, who has invested a lot of time in the game, is deprived a good game. Sure, the player gets a win, but it's a shallow victory, and increases their ELO without representing an increase in skill, so the player may get matched against stronger opponents, or be denied entry in tournaments with ELO limits which are nevertheless suitable for that player's skill.
  3. in a tournament, it adds a big dose of luck, as often flaggers will flag some games, while complete others, putting players on the winning side of the flag at an advantage in the standings, due simply to luck. Tournaments should be about the best players advancing, not the lucky players.

So we want to avoid daily players flagging.

One way to do this is to implement a rule on simultaneous games. For example the following is one proposal:

  1. Players start with a limit of 10 simultaneous games.
  2. Players who successfuly complete a daily game get an additional 0.5 games added to the limit. So for every 2 games completed, your limit increases by 1 game. If you play 100 daily games, your limit is now 60 simultaneous games.
  3. When a player flags in a daily game, the limit is reduced by 4 games, to a lower limit of 1 game. This implies to sustain a current game limit, you need to complete at least 7/8 games started.
  4. Active tournaments count as their maximum number of simultaneous games, whether or not the player is actively playing this many games at this moment. This is to address the issue that tourment rounds can start suddenly. So players need to be able to play all active tournaments simultaneously within the player's limit, even if that player is between rounds on some tournaments.
  5. Players can not start new games (or tournaments) if they would push the player past the player's limit, although players are always able to continue games (or tournaments) in progress.

At present, the only downside to flagging daily games (or tournament games) is that the player loses ELO. But this is not a deterrent to many players. Indeed, some consider it an advantage, as keeping ELO down tends to result in easier opponents, or entry into tournaments with ELO limits which the player has a higher chance to win. But a reduction in number of simultaneous games is undesirable to everyone.