New LOEG player ratings including the results from Season 7
Please note that these ratings reflect the performance of a player over the last 4 seasons in the competition – that is over Seasons 4,5, 6 and 7 – and that the scores for Season 3 have now dropped out of the calculations. Players need to complete at least 30 LOEG matches to feature in these ratings.
1. pantherboy 9.07
2. ericdoman1 7.96
3. davouthojo 6.84
4. ianiow 6.38
5. hidde 6.11
6. CheAhn 6.07
7. Lysimachos 5.84
8. med 4.96
9. Triarius 4.63
10. dazzam 4.57
11. stockwellpete 4.48
12. batesmotel 4.31
13. nikolax 4.30
14. todd645 4.26
15. claymore 4.25
16. iandavidmith 4.19
17. The Gray Mouser 3.95
18. cavehobbit 3.84
19. cytus 3.72
20. jimcrowley 3.72
21. massina-nz 3.67
22. Steve-h8 3.67
23. Demetrios 3.66
24. Fedem 3.66
25. CharlesRobinson 3.61
26. babyshark 3.59
27. jonno 3.49
28. Morbio 3.36
29. jzimmie 3.19
30. gazxtrix 3.11
31. RussProv 3.08
32. petran1978 3.03
33. razorback77 2.94
34. Finir 2.55
35. CheerfullyInsane 2.36
36. Ironclad 2.32
37. Sailing Guy 2.25
38. jimcdaw 2.24
39. zumheuriger 2.22
40. rexhurley 2.19
41. epos 2.15
42. Archie 2.08
43. Scubaduck 1.64
44. tofman04 1.62
45. Rom1944 1.61
46. mesadon 1.00
Furthermore, over the past six months or so I have been working on developing a handicapping system for FOG that players could use in tournaments or friendly matches if they wanted to. The purpose of the handicap is not only to make competitions “more competitive”, but also to allow new, or less skilful players, to challenge more experienced players and play in a friendly match where they do actually have a chance of getting an exciting game and maybe they will even win once in a while!
The handicap is not actually set at a particularly generous level as we found out recently when I organised two medieval invitation events in which a team of “peasants” played against a team of “nobles”. In the first tournament the handicap was 50 army points in a 500pt DAG match and in the second tournament the handicap was increased to 75pts. In both tournaments, despite the handicap, the nobles emerged as the clear winners.
The two competition threads are here (and the debate gets quite heated at times!
) . . .viewtopic.php?f=95&t=32438
viewtopic.php?f=95&t=33161
The results of these matches and others that were played before them suggests to me that the following handicapping system will ensure a much more even game between people of different skill levels.
For players who have a current LOEG rating (see chart above)
A LOEG rating difference of 1.00 between two players is equivalent to 25 army points difference in the DAG in a 500pt match. So the full scale would be -
Less than 1.00 difference = no handicap
1.00 difference = 25 points
2.00 difference = 50pts
3.00 difference = 75pts
4.00 difference = 100pts (maximum)
So to give an example – if I challenge my good friend Anders (hidde) to a handicapped game at 500pts we would first of all look at our LOEG rating. Mine is 4.48 and his is 6.11 so the difference between us is 1.63. The nearest point on the handicap scale is therefore at 2.00 so the handicap should be 50pts.
And if you are playing a sequence of games against the same opponent like this then you can adjust the handicap by +10 or –10 depending on the result of your last game. So if I beat Anders in the first game, the handicap would be reduced to 40pts for the next game, but if he beat me in the first game then the handicap would increase by +10 to 60pts. In this way two players of differing skill levels should be able to play a more even series of matches against each other than would be possible without the handicap. It is also my view that you can learn much more from playing a better player if you can stay in the game longer - and obviously the handicap will help you do this.
Obviously these values will need to be adjusted proportionately if the armies are significantly larger or smaller than 500pts.
For example, a 600pt army scale would be . . .
1.00 difference = 30points
2.00 difference = 60pts
3.00 difference = 90pts
4.00 difference = 120pts (maximum)
or a 400pt scale would be . . .
1.00 difference = 20points
2.00 difference = 40pts
3.00 difference = 60pts
4.00 difference = 80pts (maximum)
Some questions that might arise.
What do I do if I do not enter LOEG and therefore do not have a rating?
Just look at the chart and see if some of your regular opponents are there. If they are, just be honest about your own skill level in relation to theirs and you can give yourself a "provisional" rating that is about right. For example, say you play regularly against me and beat me 2 times out of 3 on average, but the games are generally quite close - my rating is 4.48 so you might surmise that your rating would roughly be about 4.75, something like that anyway.
What if I am a relatively new player to FOG?
I would suggest that for the time being you assume a default LOEG rating of 2.00 so that you can begin to use the handicap if you want to.
A final word from me.
If you really don’t like the idea of using a handicapping system then you don’t have to - this is just for those that do.
