Elitism

[Thaisleeze]

It is noticeable in the public game list that only lower ranks, with a few notable exceptions, post singles games and take on all-comers. Is cowardice rife in the upper ranks and protection of one's score paramount? Or is this symptomatic of our scoring system?

[RobinJ]

The problem is that the only way to get a really high rank is to play doubles or triples and, if the better players do play singles, they are mostly against opponents of similar rank so that they can gain decent points and not lose too many either. To be honest, I think it is understandable

[poo-maker]

The problem is that the only way to get a really high rank is to play doubles or triples and, if the better players do play singles, they are mostly against opponents of similar rank so that they can gain decent points and not lose too many either. To be honest, I think it is understandable

seconded,

[Georgerx7di]

I agree with robin. Or what you said, it is a result of the scoring system. If a player does play singles public games he/she cannot become too high a ranked. If I play a game against 4 privates and seargents, and I win one and loose one, I break even. So if I did that all the time, it would be impossible to move up.

[joeyjordison]

It is noticeable in the public game list that only lower ranks, with a few notable exceptions, post singles games and take on all-comers. Is cowardice rife in the upper ranks and protection of one's score paramount? Or is this symptomatic of our scoring system?

i am only playing 6 games at the moment and 5 are pretty much build games but i regularly play 3 player esc games (so they are quick) publically.

as a matter of fact i'm currently getting hammered by a sergeant in 394476

the only problem i have with playing publically is that you can get some real idiots. i don't mind deadbeats because it just slows the game down, nothing else, and i'm prem so thats not a problem. what annoys me is people who over attack a certain player. i've played a few games where i have been excessively attacked because i am percieved as a threat due to my rank. regardless of rank some people r just way too gung ho and ruin games by weakening themselves and 1 other player way too much

[Robinette]

mnnn... those comments (above joey) might be true for some, but for me and other high rankers that don't play many team games, it is about playing quality opponents...

How much fun would it be to be an olympic skier and compete with those still trying to master the snow plow? This has little to do with points, and everything to do with playing challenging games.

[jiminski]

mnnn... those comments (above joey) might be true for some, but for me and other high rankers that don't play many team games, it is about playing quality opponents...

How much fun would it be to be an olympic skier and compete with those still trying to master the snow plow? This has little to do with points, and everything to do with playing challenging games.

I'm not certain that this is completely true for the majority...
although i do like the sentiment!

[Molacole]

It is noticeable in the public game list that only lower ranks, with a few notable exceptions, post singles games and take on all-comers. Is cowardice rife in the upper ranks and protection of one's score paramount? Or is this symptomatic of our scoring system?

It's a little of both. Naturally people are going to want to get the most from their wins and lose the least from their losses. So yeah that's symptomatic,

but there's a lot of cowardice rife in the upper ranks too. People abuse the current scoring system so they can maximize their point increase and avoid playing games just for the sake of playing the game.

Many of the higher ranked people got their by just playing the game for fun (like myself) then realized it's almost impossible to keep your score high if you're playing low ranked players (like myself)...

Eventually you get to a point (for me was around 2500) where you start to get concerned about points. This will make you feel people aren't worthy to play against you because you've earned your points and they just don't offer enough of them if you beat them. Comparing the amount of points you lose to the amount of points you could gaine makes it rather pointless to play them.

UNLESS you're just playing to play the game and have fun. I think too many people lose focus on just having fun and focus on points. I know I sure did and it started to take a lot of the fun out of it and brought a ton more frustration when losing to low ranked ("noobs") players with no strategy or real form of team work, who just got some lucky placement or run of the dice. It's not a big deal when you're only losing around 20 points, but when the most you gain is 10 per win and start losing 40 points per loss it starts to take it's toll on you...

The problem is once you get around 2800 points or so and your teammates are also colonels you'll find yourself winning 4 out of 5 games and breaking even in points or if you win 2 out of 3 then you end up losing around 20 points or so dependant on their rank. so it's not a wise decision to play against lower ranked players IF you're playing for points and not just for fun.

So it's really a bit of both, but I honestly feel the scoring system we have now breeds this type of behavoir. Mix that with competitive attitudes and you've got yourself the main reason why people abuse the scoring system and avoid playing with or against low ranked players.

Standard games are even worse because the worste players will always be ranked low and many times poor decisions of other are the deciding factors of the game. Like that guy in an escilating game who beats up 2 players and doesn't eliminate anybody, but instead leaves them both with next to nothing on the board. Then the next player who goes gets the easy win ruining the game because one player had no clue. It's even worse when you're playing a standard game with somebody who wont challange another person for their bonus while they're the only one in position to break them up! Especially when the odds are in their favor to come out victorious. The list goes on and on, but that's what seems to be the most obvious reasons to me...

[jaybebo]

I would not mind playing a doubles or triples game, but most of the higher ranked players would likely degrade me for being a newbie.

[bigbullyweedave]

I'm currently a major and often just set up 6 player games and see who joins. Rank and points aren't a big deal to me - nice to see myself improve but having fun is the main thing.

However, one such game at the moment has the other lower ranked players agreeing to attack me through the chat purley because I am a major. They assume if they don't keep me weak I'll use my "magical major powers" to win the game. There are at least 2 other players who have always been strong than me but I'm attacked for my rank.

A bit annoying as it has spoiled the game for me. So I'm beginning to understand how the higher ranks can become reluctant to play lower ranks.

[Nephilim]

It is noticeable in the public game list that only lower ranks, with a few notable exceptions, post singles games and take on all-comers. Is cowardice rife in the upper ranks and protection of one's score paramount? Or is this symptomatic of our scoring system?

to chime in: there is no inherent value in "taking on all comers," at least here on CC. here's why i think so: first, games are no fun when they are ruined by bad moves. i've played a ton of rt singles games, and probably the most angry i ever get on CC is when someone makes a foolish move that ruins a game. i think i can speak for a lot of high-rankers and say: the reason we don't start or join a lot of public singles games is they will not be good games. also, we could lose a lot of points, and maybe not even b/c we made a bad move, but b/c someone else did.

second, i don't join a lot of public games b/c there are a hell of a lot of multi's here. you never know if you join a game and 2 players will team up on you. third, the higher your rank, the more people will target you, even if it's not a terminator game. if someone says, "well, you're high ranked, you should still be able to win," i would say: it's not easy to win if people tag-team you, no matter how good you are.

oh, and to Robinj, you don't have to play team games to get high rank, look at Nuke's games, or Robinette's.

[GrazingCattle]

I'm currently a major and often just set up 6 player games and see who joins. Rank and points aren't a big deal to me - nice to see myself improve but having fun is the main thing.

However, one such game at the moment has the other lower ranked players agreeing to attack me through the chat purley because I am a major. They assume if they don't keep me weak I'll use my "magical major powers" "magical major powers" to win the game. There are at least 2 other players who have always been strong than me but I'm attacked for my rank.

A bit annoying as it has spoiled the game for me. So I'm beginning to understand how the higher ranks can become reluctant to play lower ranks.

I play open Terminator games. I always seem to break out on top. I hate it when they team up on you because you are higher points.

LMAO about the "Magical Major Powers"

[joeyjordison]

mnnn... those comments (above joey) might be true for some, but for me and other high rankers that don't play many team games, it is about playing quality opponents...

How much fun would it be to be an olympic skier and compete with those still trying to master the snow plow? This has little to do with points, and everything to do with playing challenging games.

yeh i know what you mean but i find that playing other colonels can get boring. my games often get into stalemates unless they are esc and even then it sometimes happens. its because i play some really good players and then it comes down to luck.

thats why i play public sometimes

[Stopper]

However, one such game at the moment has the other lower ranked players agreeing to attack me through the chat purley because I am a major. They assume if they don't keep me weak I'll use my "magical major powers" "magical major powers" to win the game. There are at least 2 other players who have always been strong than me but I'm attacked for my rank.

A bit annoying as it has spoiled the game for me. So I'm beginning to understand how the higher ranks can become reluctant to play lower ranks.

I play open Terminator games. I always seem to break out on top. I hate it when they team up on you because you are higher points.

LMAO about the "Magical Major Powers"

I'm a major, hovering at around 1800-2000 points last I looked, and the bulk of my games are open, standard, escalating 5/6 player games. (2,000 points seems to be my limit, for whatever reason.)

I don't recommend setting up open terminator games if you're ranked above lieutenant, because at that point, many low-ranked players seem to target you (and sometimes try to wipe you out in unbelievably stupid ways - and usually getting themselves killed in the process.) It's not the loss of points that bothers me, it's that so many games start to become virtually pointless.

But when it comes to standard, it doesn't seem to be so much of a problem.

[IronE.GLE]

I've always just played for fun. That being said, I've been spending my time in tournaments for higher ranked players because it's more challenging. Playing public games against noobs does seem to be difficult as well, but like someone posted earlier, it's because they gang up on you because of rank.

[Blitzaholic]

It is noticeable in the public game list that only lower ranks, with a few notable exceptions, post singles games and take on all-comers. Is cowardice rife in the upper ranks and protection of one's score paramount? Or is this symptomatic of our scoring system?

well, I opened up a ton of games of last 6 weeks and lost over 1,400 points, actually I lost 1,428 points unreal.

I do not blame anyone for protecting their rank if they can, I sure can't, sad, and the darn dice really have resented me hard core over this span. I really have NEVER seen anything quite like it.

What goes up, always comes down

[wicked]

Neph, I dare say some of your "elite" games or other games with high ranks have multis in them as well... it's not just the lower ranked players who multi.

And Stopper, I love to play open terminator games... and have won 5 of my last 6 games (all singles). Last week I was a few points away from stripes and now back up to swords. It's streaky like that.

I play a lot of open games now b/c alot of my friends I used to play often have moved on from this site, or are on vacation, or whatever. I love meeting new people in the open games. I tend to get bored in the "build-up-and-block" type games I always seem to get stuck in with the higher ranks.

And as far as stoopid moves go, higher ranks are not immune to that. I could present several examples.

[JOHNNYROCKET24]

i agree. all high rankers are afraid to play low ranked players because they want to preserve points. thats why they dont play me. someday I will get alot of points and show those guys whos really top dog. Until than, I will stick to playing the rest of us low rankers.

[chessplaya]

i agree. all high rankers are afraid to play low ranked players because they want to preserve points. thats why they dont play me. someday I will get alot of points and show those guys whos really top dog. Until than, I will stick to playing the rest of us low rankers.

i do not agree i lost willingly 600+ points in 5 days for playing with noobies and low ranks u dont believe me go ask around of ppl that know me

[dcowboys055]

shut up JR

[RobinJ]

shut up JR

Something like what I was thinking - his post just oozes arrogance!

[Blitzaholic]

i agree. all high rankers are afraid to play low ranked players because they want to preserve points. thats why they dont play me. someday I will get alot of points and show those guys whos really top dog. Until than, I will stick to playing the rest of us low rankers.

i do not agree i lost willingly 600+ points in 5 days for playing with noobies and low ranks u dont believe me go ask around of ppl that know me

I agree with chessplaya here, i mean I got rocked by newbs who are not newbs, they may be to this site, but boy oh boy, some of thme can play and have vast experience prior to signing on here, and some of them are shooting up fast. Well put chessplaya

and jr? you are not considered low rank? you are over 2K or 2500, that is not low.

[JOHNNYROCKET24]

i agree. all high rankers are afraid to play low ranked players because they want to preserve points. thats why they dont play me. someday I will get alot of points and show those guys whos really top dog. Until than, I will stick to playing the rest of us low rankers.

i do not agree i lost willingly 600+ points in 5 days for playing with noobies and low ranks u dont believe me go ask around of ppl that know me

I agree with chessplaya here, i mean I got rocked by newbs who are not newbs, they may be to this site, but boy oh boy, some of thme can play and have vast experience prior to signing on here, and some of them are shooting up fast. Well put chessplaya

and jr? you are not considered low rank? you are over 2K or 2500, that is not low.

that was the sarcastic part of me. it only took 3 post later to catch it

[poo-maker]

i agree. all high rankers are afraid to play low ranked players because they want to preserve points. thats why they dont play me. someday I will get alot of points and show those guys whos really top dog. Until than, I will stick to playing the rest of us low rankers.

i do not agree i lost willingly 600+ points in 5 days for playing with noobies and low ranks u dont believe me go ask around of ppl that know me

you lost 600+ points in 2 weeks, (i checked your scores), and (i think) you tried to win.... But i agree, some of the lower ranks can kick some ass.

[Fireside Poet]

I think with a community of this size that there are going to be different philosophies in game play. Some play (like me) just because they like to play and really doesn't care who they play. I've played against 5 privates at a time and it bites sometimes, but oh well, take your lumps and move on. Others will triple their way up the ladder in an effort to get to whatever goal they want and it seems that the majority of the upper echelon on the scoreboard choose this route. Others will only play colonels/majors or above or whatever for the proven competition.

In my bottomline opinion, I think it is each individual's decision to open what games where and to attack whomever they want in any game they choose (sorry, venting a bit). If you don't like someone's game play, then put them on ignore and find some more people to play against. You will eventually attract people of like mindedness and go on your merry way achieving CC's loftiest goals that are in place.

Yes I'm rambling...