tonyh: I find your attitude about the ratings and your enjoyment of a game most distressing and inconsistant. If you truly think the ratings aren't worth anything, then why worry about them? Just play the game and have fun. You're the same person that won't let me play in Dark Chess tournaments that you organize. Unfortunately for me, my rating was so much higher than anyone else's all you had to do was set the limit at 2100 and I was more or less the only one that couldn't play. Ratings, smatings, the truth of the matter is you don't like losing and you're being a poor sport. Ponds is a hard game to win, but it's an easy game to play and understand. I haven't even come close to winning a game of it, but you don't hear me complaining about other people's ratings. Who cares how high they're rated. You either win the game, or you don't. Win or lose, I'll be playing on occasion because it's a different kind of game and it's fun to play.