The ranking system is an ELO style system, with a few tweaks to
accomodate networked play. The main parameters are:
the center of the system is 1500. The average ranking of
all active players should always be close to 1500. One of the
tweaks is that a few bonus points are awarded to every game to
continuously rebalance the system; so if players leave, or stop
playing, the ranks of all the other players are gradually adjusted to
bring the system back into balance.
The most that can be gained or lost in a single game is
approximately 20 points, in a game between players of equal rank.
The stake is less proportional to the difference in rank, up to about
900 points where the higher ranked player can't gain points and the
lower ranked player can't lose points. New players have less
influence on the change in rankings, so it is hard to gain or lose
points by playing beginners.
Cheating: anyone
suspected of playing games against themselves, or against shill
players, or against the villiage idiot, for the purpose of
inflating their rankings will be summarily disciplined. Likewise,
anyone using any program not provided by this site to assist during a
game, or using any tool or device not also used by his opponent, or
.... you get the idea. Play fair. If you want to experiment, play
unranked games.
When enough players have accumulated, additional rankings for different
types of games may be added. Keeping score is very important. :)
