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Fair pairing wait time in Arena

Toscani

Players who join early, play quickly, or face opponents who resign quickly can receive more pairings simply because of luck and timing, rather than skill. This can artificially inflate their final scores compared with players who spend significant portions of the tournament waiting to be paired.

We already have lag compensation during games, and I think we should also consider wait-time compensation between games. The idea is simply to adjust the timing of future pairing offers.

My approach would be to track each player's pairing wait time and use it to throttle re-pairings. For example, if a player's average wait per pairing is significantly lower than the median of the other participants, they could be held back until their wait time gets closer to that median. The goal is to prevent differences in pairing lag from affecting the final standings.

In an arena, the total number of games is what counts, and network lag between moves is compensated; pairing lag between games is not. Lag compensation restores lost move time; pairing compensation restores lost game opportunities. Both should neutralize delays that are outside the player's control.

Players who join early, play quickly, or face opponents who resign quickly can receive more pairings simply because of luck and timing, rather than skill. This can artificially inflate their final scores compared with players who spend significant portions of the tournament waiting to be paired. We already have lag compensation during games, and I think we should also consider wait-time compensation between games. The idea is simply to adjust the timing of future pairing offers. My approach would be to track each player's pairing wait time and use it to throttle re-pairings. For example, if a player's average wait per pairing is significantly lower than the median of the other participants, they could be held back until their wait time gets closer to that median. The goal is to prevent differences in pairing lag from affecting the final standings. In an arena, the total number of games is what counts, and network lag between moves is compensated; pairing lag between games is not. Lag compensation restores lost move time; pairing compensation restores lost game opportunities. Both should neutralize delays that are outside the player's control.
AquilaReale64

Interesting idea, but is arena fairy competiotion? I see it as just a fun way to pass the time, a way to get my adrenaline pumping. It’s satisfying to earn a rating boost when a strong player go berserk and loses, or to lose in a sloppy way—out of haste and exhaustion—to some newbie. Some people get high rated opponent, some people get much lower rated opponent. How arena can be fairy in general?

Interesting idea, but is arena fairy competiotion? I see it as just a fun way to pass the time, a way to get my adrenaline pumping. It’s satisfying to earn a rating boost when a strong player go berserk and loses, or to lose in a sloppy way—out of haste and exhaustion—to some newbie. Some people get high rated opponent, some people get much lower rated opponent. How arena can be fairy in general?
IamNOTamod

@Toscani said ^

Players who join early, play quickly, or face opponents who resign quickly can receive more pairings simply because of luck and timing, rather than skill. This can artificially inflate their final scores

I humbly disagree. It seems to me that players who play at a faster pace end up losing due to using less time than their opponent. No inflation there. And wouldn't you say that all types of pairings (round robins not withstanding) have an element of luck, or am I misunderstanding something here?

@Toscani said [^](/forum/redirect/post/Pr6nUzq7) > Players who join early, play quickly, or face opponents who resign quickly can receive more pairings simply because of luck and timing, rather than skill. This can artificially inflate their final scores I humbly disagree. It seems to me that players who play at a faster pace end up losing due to using less time than their opponent. No inflation there. And wouldn't you say that all types of pairings (round robins not withstanding) have an element of luck, or am I misunderstanding something here?