Before presenting the details of the point system I would like to explain the concerns I had in mind when making the system. Some of this is based on input from others so by no means is the credit all mine - I only reserve the right for any and all blame.
1) Playing should be encouraged.
This is the single most important issue. This led me to give positive points even for loses at the lower ranks and only consider negative points for the already established players. This not to discourage new players right off the bat.
2) Inflation should be kept in check
It should not be prohibitively hard for a new and excellent player to move up on the ladder. Hence I found it important to curb progression on the ladder by negative points for losing at higher ranks and a monthly 1% reduction to avoid a long time player getting an impossible large lead.
3) Playing someone (much) higher on the ladder should have the potential of given more points and reversely playing someone (much) lower on the ladder should yield fewer points. Still, the risk-vs-reward should not be so low that a higher ranked player will avoid lower ranked players – after all playing should be encouraged.
With these 3 in mind I made the following draft. For the procedure on how to report games, which games are rated etc see my other post (coming soon I hope).
Ladder point system
Rule 1: Each player on the ladder has a score that is a whole number equal to or greater than 0 points.
Rule 2: New players to the ladder start at 0 points.
Rule 3: The ladder has 4 rankings.
Entry level rank is 0 – 99 points
Intermediate level rank is 100 – 249 points
Veteran level rank is 250-499 points
Expert level rank is 500+ points
Rule 4: Two-player games
The number of points awarded for a game depends on the rankings of the two players and the result of the game (Decisive Victory, Marginal Victory, Draw, Marginal Loss, Decisive Loss). It is the rankings of the players at the time the game ends that are used for this purpose
Each cell in the chart below shows the number of points you get for each of the 5 different game results.
Example: Gunther and Ivan decide to play a rated game. Gunther is a veteran while Ivan is still intermediate at the time their game end. When the dust settles Ivan has won a marginal victory though. Consulting the chart Gunther looks down to Veteran and then across to Intermediate. Finally, he looks below "ml" for marginal loss and sees that he will gain 0 points from this game. Ivan on the other hand looks down to Intermediate, across to Veteran and below "mv" (marginal victory) and rejoices as he gains 12 points. If the game had instead ended in a draw Gunther would have gained 3 points and Ivan 8.
Rule 5: Multi-player games
If several players are present on either side then you average the current scores of the players on that side and use that average to determine what rank the side has. Each player on each side then gains the number of points indicated by the chart based on that rank and the result of the game.
Rule 6: At the end of each month every player on the ladder is deducted 1% of his current score. The deduction is rounded down to nearest whole number so Entry level players do not lose anything to this while Expert players lose 5 or more points.
