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ELO Rank

At papergames.io, we're committed to providing an engaging and competitive gaming experience for players worldwide. To enhance the accuracy and fairness of our game ratings, we've migrated from the traditional ELO rating system to the more advanced Glicko-2 system. This transition ensures that player ratings are more precise, dynamic, and reflective of their true skill levels.

For convenience and to avoid confusion, on our platform, we still refer to the ratings as "ELO" for simplicity, even though we're using the Glicko-2 system under the hood.

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ELO ranks have been migrated under the hood. Your current rating reflects your current relative skill level and is greater than your previous ELO.

Why We Migrated from ELO to Glicko-2​

The ELO rating system, developed by Arpad Elo, has been a staple in competitive gaming and sports for many years. However, it comes with some limitations:

  • Lack of Reliability Measure: ELO doesn't account for the consistency of player performance.
  • Static Nature: ELO ratings change at a fixed rate, not reflecting the varying confidence in a player's rating.
  • Stagnation: Infrequent players' ratings remain static, which can distort the rating pool over time.

To address these limitations and enhance the accuracy of player ratings, we migrated to the Glicko-2 rating system. Here are the key benefits that Glicko-2 offers:

  • Rating Deviation (RD): Glicko-2 introduces a measure of the reliability of a player's rating, allowing for adjustments based on the certainty of performance.
  • Dynamic Rating Adjustments: Ratings change more significantly when there's high uncertainty and less so when there's low uncertainty.
  • Volatility: This parameter measures how much a player's rating varies over time, providing a deeper understanding of their performance consistency.

Understanding the Glicko-2 System​

The Glicko-2 system, developed by Mark Glickman, builds upon the foundations of the ELO system but introduces additional parameters to improve rating accuracy.

Key Components of Glicko-2:​

The start rating is 1500, the start RD is 350, and the start volatility is 0.06.

  1. Rating (r): Similar to ELO, it represents a player's skill level.
  2. Rating Deviation (RD): Indicates the confidence in a player's rating. A lower RD means higher confidence.
  3. Volatility (σ): Reflects the consistency of a player's performance. Higher volatility indicates more variable performance.

How It Works:​

  1. Initial Rating: Players start with an initial rating, RD, and volatility.
  2. Match Results: After each game, the system updates the player's rating, RD, and volatility based on the outcome and the ratings of the opponents.
  3. Dynamic Adjustments: Glicko-2 adjusts ratings more for players with high RD (less certainty) and less for those with low RD (more certainty).

This dynamic approach ensures that active and consistently performing players are rated more accurately, while also allowing for more significant adjustments when there is less certainty about a player's skill level.

Conclusion​

By migrating to the Glicko-2 rating system, papergames.io aims to provide a more precise and fair representation of player skills. Whether you're a casual player or a competitive enthusiast, this system ensures your ratings better reflect your performance and improvement over time. So, dive into your favorite games on papergames.io and experience the enhanced rating system firsthand!

Happy gaming!

Play your favorite games like Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect 4, Gomoku, Chess, and Battleship on papergames.io today!