I know there are many people who feel that the formula used to calculate BKR, while fine for chess, simply doesn't work for many other games here at BrainKing. In a pure skill game like chess, the better player will win a high percentage, let's say 90%. In backgammon, the better player might win only 65% of the time. Because the formula is expecting chess-like winning percentages it doesn't work so well for Backgammon. In Pente variants, the player who goes first wins 52-57% of the time. This is due to an advantage that Player 1 has. That advantage should be incorporated into the BKR formula. I can't speak about other games, but I'm sure there are more examples.

However, I'm sure Fencer has neither the time nor the interest in developing and implementing formulas for each family of games. On the other hand, I'm sure there are many players (including me) who would enjoy researching and developing some new formulas. Perhaps, like was done with moderators, the job of coming up with the best formula(s) could be passed along to members of the BrainKing community!

So, my feature request is...

Separate BKRs by game type (i.e. one for chess types, one for backgammon types) and committees to review, discuss, and recommend the proper formula to Fencer for each game type. I suppose a formula could be developed for each game individually, but let's take it one step at a time. ;-)

Separate formulas for each game type would at least be a huge step in the right direction. I would be happy to join a committee for both Pente and Backgammon. With the fellowships and discussion boards already in place, this idea could be up and running in no time.