Resources
Elo started as a way to rank chess players and ended up ranking almost everything else — footballers, esports teams, and now the six people who turn up to your Tuesday board game night. These guides explain how it works, how it compares with the other rating systems you might have run into, and how to keep a casual competition going once you have one.
None of it assumes you know any maths. The first two pieces are the ones to read if you are deciding how to rank your own group; the comparisons are there for when you have already met another system — Glicko-2 on a chess site, TrueSkill in a game lobby, ree on Rankade — and want to know what the difference actually amounts to.
Everything here is free to read and none of it needs an account.
Start here
- What Is Elo Rating?
Where Elo came from, how the maths works, and why it beats counting wins.
- Elo vs Simple Ranking Systems
Win tallies, points ladders and Elo compared — and when each one is the right call.
Elo compared with other systems
- Elo vs Glicko-2
What rating deviation buys you, and why it matters less to a small group.
- Elo vs TrueSkill
Microsoft's team-and-multiplayer rating system, and how Elo handles the same job.
- Elo vs Ree
Rankade's proprietary rating explained, and how an open formula differs.
- Elo vs DUPR
A sport-wide standard against a general-purpose rating, and who each is for.
Running your group
- How to Run a Friendly League
Formats, admin burden and the five things that keep a casual league alive.
Put it into practice
Create a Game, add the names of everyone who plays, and log your first result. Every rating on this page's guides is calculated for you from there.
Create a Game Free