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        Arimaa >> General Discussion >> Retention Statistic
        
(Message started by: Fritzlein on Aug 16^th, 2009, 7:43pm)

Title: Retention Statistic
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 16^th, 2009, 7:43pm

I just did a quick query on my database of games through July. There have been 4654 unique human accounts that have played at least one game of Arimaa. Of those accounts, 175 of them have played one hundred or more games. That's 3.76%.

Think about that for a minute. Do three percent of all the people who play at least one game of Settlers of Catan go on to play over a hundred games of it? I personally have played Settlers a couple dozen times, and I don't know anyone who has played over a hundred. How about Blokus, a recent abstract game that has hit the big time?

To me it looks like Arimaa has an incredibly high retention rate, which bodes very well for its long-term success. It seems the statistics support what I often say: Arimaa just doesn't get old.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by omar on Aug 19^th, 2009, 6:41pm

I had looked at similar stats also earlier this year. At the time this is what the numbers were:

1 4119
2 2659
5 1605
10 1126
20 710
50 314
100 153
200 82
500 35
1000 12

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 19^th, 2009, 7:15pm

That's interesting that the ratio has held pretty much constant. I wonder if the new players that find us because of the boxed set release will follow the same trend.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Fritzlein on Mar 10^th, 2010, 3:37pm

Updated statistics, through February 2010:

1 5531
2 3574
5 2182
10 1551
20 964
50 407
100 204
200 115
500 46
1000 17

The headline statistic, i.e. the proportion of people who stick around for 100 games, is now 3.69%. I had expected that it would drop given an influx of new players due to the publication of physical sets. Perhaps the Arimaa gameroom is now reaching a broader, less dedicated audience than before? But no, the ratio remains essentially constant. We have a whole new crop of addicts on our hands! :D

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Arimabuff on Mar 11^th, 2010, 4:24am

It's funny that Chessandgo one of the two best Arimaa players to date has only played 714 games so far.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by omar on Mar 11^th, 2010, 9:08am

on 03/11/10 at 04:24:51, Arimabuff wrote:

It's funny that Chessandgo one of the two best Arimaa players to date has only played 714 games so far.

Think about what that says for his ability to quickly master a subject. It's quite incredible.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by docreason on Mar 16^th, 2010, 2:57pm

If Arimaa joins the rotation of games a large numbers of people play (even casually), Arimaa will be in good shape. I believe a game grows more if it is played by a lot of people more casually, than if it has a core group of fanatics that play it extensively, and not too many others play it. The large numbers means, following how human network work, that each of these people share the rules with others.

Once you get large enough, then you can create a professional class of players who can make a living doing this. This last bit is a challenge, as even chess now has difficulties (a lot of good players took up poker to be able to pay the bills). However, in Asia, the likes of Go supports professional players.

The professional class is important to a game's success. With it, you get players who you can market, who can get endorsement deals, who then get the name of the game out among the public. You then produce a Michael Jordan, Pele, or Tiger Woods, who go beyond the games. The last player in mindsports we had who fit this level is Bobby Fischer. Omar Sharif also I believe was a top bridge and backgammon player and had some pull.

I would say IF we can produce a player like that, who opens up abstract strategy games AS A CATEGORY, we would be in a real good position. The problem a single game boom does (rather than a genre) is that it doesn't get you a permanent foothold in the media, the way physical sports has.

We also do have room for getting celebrities involved. Check this write up on Backgammon:
http://www.pokerplayer.co.uk/sports-betting/news/193/backgammon.html

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Fritzlein on Jun 10^th, 2011, 4:33pm

Updated statistics, through May 2011:

1 7284
2 4765
5 2933
10 2058
20 1275
50 539
100 267
200 144
500 64
1000 24

The headline statistic, i.e. the proportion of people who stick around for 100 games, is now 3.67%, essentially flat from the last measurement a fifteen months ago. Just taking the differences, there are 1753 new human accounts and 63 new players above the 100-game mark, a rate of 3.59%, which is what pulled our average down just a titch.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Boo on Jul 25^th, 2011, 9:26am

Hm I think it would be interesting to see statistics of how many human-human games on average are played on server per year.

Title: Re: Retention Statistic
Post by Fritzlein on Jul 25^th, 2011, 2:28pm

on 07/25/11 at 09:26:59, Boo wrote:

Hm I think it would be interesting to see statistics of how many human-human games on average are played on server per year.

2002 64
2003 282
2004 225
2005 876
2006 1385
2007 1114
2008 1378
2009 1199
2010 1547
2011 860 through May