Developer - thank you so much for the recent updates to the game.  In all, I think most would agree it is much better.

There is one major issue that has not been addressed, and that is the fact that any player who cares about their rating knows that they should not play someone with a lower ranking.

(Yes, I know some people don't care about their ranking, and this doesn't apply to them)

It's no secret that playing someone even a few points lower than you means that you are risking more than you will gain from a win.  

In a game like Backgammon win margins between a good player and a poor player are thin (a good player wins more over time, but will always have losses because of bad luck here and there).

This means that people with the highest ratings are not those who are necessarily the best, but those who adhere to the principle of not playing someone with a lower rating.

All of us do this - enter the lobby wanting to play a game, and being denied games by everyone with a slightly higher rating (why would they want an unfair disadvantage).  Similarly, we feel compelled to deny games to those lower than us (why give the other guy an advantage.)

This is really unfortunate, because the skill level between a 800 ranked player and a 700 ranked player is probably the same.  But the 800 ranked player has a huge incentive to avoid playing the 700 ranked player.

Please consider a revamp of the weights of Backgammon matches between players with different rankings.  Players within a 100 or 150 point spread should be on equal footing.

If you make this change, make sure players are aware of this within the Backgammon rooms.  Suddenly, we will all  be able to play more games because we won't have to worry about the unfair advantage to the lesser rated players.

Back me up on this people!!