Tzolkin Undo

[Nytewynd]

Is there a way to undo a move in Tzolkin? We can't find a button for it.

Thanks.

[ivan the tolerable]

Lack of an undo button is an absolute dealbreaker for this game. Between the nature of the game itself, and the board layout, the game is almost unplayable as it is. We really need a button to undo last action (or reset turn if thats easier to code) .

[peca007]

It seems that undo feature still missing. It simply destroy this really nice game. I can't understand "no undo" policy except situation where something new is revealed in game.
I end running session and then quit, 'cos it's rather frustrating than funny. Every misclick or misread leads to "shit! end of turn". I think that it is not funny even for opponents - to play against "such lame" player

[trojanrabbit]

The lack of undo plus the fact that the scores cover up the board when viewing on tablets really subtract from such a great game.

[JonSenn]

I agree with the other posters, this is a huge drawback in general, and pretty much makes the game unplayable on mobile devices.

[veme]

Undo functionality is long overdue for almost all games on here, it has been posted about many many times. I wouldn't hold my breath; it seems to be very low on the admins' list of priorities.

For instance, I hear them talking a lot lately about an automatic match-making system for games - which I don't believe was ever requested by a player/user. But they never talk about adding undo functionality even though it has been requested dozens and dozens of times, and even though not having it disenfranchises people who are playing on small screens or who have a physical disability.

[demiurgsage]

If I don't mistake BGA policy doesn't assume Undo. The logic is Undo equals a confirmation of your move. If you don't need to confirm your moves you don't need Undo.
My opinion is Undo is actually needed in deep strategic games. Undo may be optional in turn-based games because players have enough time to confirm every move. Undo is not needed in simple realtime games.

[veme]

A confirm move button is needed for almost all games, real-time and turn-based, unless maybe if they are extremely simple (Can't Stop), or have a built in mechanic that basically provides you with this functionality already (Jaipur).

If you have a tiny screen or Parkinson's disease, not having a confirm button can basically make it impossible to play a game. And literally anyone can drop a mouse or otherwise misclick and make an unintended move that loses a game. Why is this desirable? It could never happen on a table, yet it is inevitable on here if you play long enough. This should have been a design consideration, and done for all games right from the start.

The only 3 arguments I've ever seen against it are the following, and they don't hold water.

1. It takes too long for people to do their turn if they keep undoing - This is a dumb argument because people can take the same amount of time even without undo. If you want faster turns, use shorter timers.

2. I don't want to have to click confirm every turn - Solved with a player option to turn off/on confirm. Also, it only adds a single click per turn to a game at most, and some games wouldn't even have the one added click.

3. It lets players see the effect of their actions before deciding on a move - It would only let them see the one move, which doesn't seem to me like a huge forecasting advantage. This is also balanced by the fact that all players have the same option. And any advantage from this is further negated by letting the other players see all the moves before they are confirmed or undone (like Tash-Kalar). Obviously a player could never undo any move that revealed hidden information.


I can't imagine a reason why anyone would not want this feature.

[demiurgsage]

Actually a Preview button even more desirable for me than Undo.
As far as I know there is no possibility to implement one Undo button for all games. You should change game logic in every game to do this and you can guess it is not easy at all. It's a hard work for every game.

[veme]

Actually a Preview button even more desirable for me than Undo.

Preview/confirm/undo is the same thing (in my mind anyway) - you make a move and you (and ideally your opponents) see the effects, but can cancel until you press a button confirming your choice. Not sure what distinction you are making, demiurgsage.

As far as I know there is no possibility to implement one Undo button for all games. You should change game logic in every game to do this and you can guess it is not easy at all. It's a hard work for every game.

Yup. I never said it was easy, just necessary. Should have been a design consideration from the start (see pretty much every other online boardgame site), so that it would not be the bugaboo that it has become but - c'est la vie.