"Training Mode" option in BGA table setup

[mattlistener]

I'm one of a group of three that may start a game of this soon. We're all gamers though none of us have played it so we'd all be teaching ourselves.

What is Training Mode? That's offered as an option when starting a game of Seasons on BGA. Sounds good but I really want to know what the differences are.

In particular, I'm offput by mentions I've seen in reviews that your main engine of play can be completely broken if made to discard a card of that engine. Does "training mode" involve rule changes or power card availability that prevents that from happening?

Wouldn't feel particularly fun to win a road race by un-wheeling an opponent's vehicle. I'd want to win by driving better (or lose to someone who drove better.)

[Sugs]

Training Mode is a table option for every game on the site, and not specific to Seasons.

It doesn't change anything about the gameplay of the games themselves — it only affects ranking and logistical consequences of the game on player ratings, karma, ability to quit, etc. Specifically (and you may check the FAQ to see if I'm missing anything) it means turns are untimed, there are no karma penalties for quitting the game, there's no way to expel players who quit or take too long to make a move, and your individual Elo rankings are completely unaffected by the results of the game. I think also the game doesn't go into your game history either.

Basically the game will play exactly the same as a normal game — if everybody takes their turns normally you won't notice anything different. However, nobody is compelled to finish it, unlike normal BGA games.

[nansharks]

How do you turn on training mode? I want to try some games in training mode but only option I see is to start a real time or turn based game.

[hardforcash]

How do you turn on training mode? I want to try some games in training mode but only option I see is to start a real time or turn based game.

Did you ever figure this out? I am looking for it now, too...

[bendysan]

When you start a game, there is a page that says "Configuring a new game table".
There is a gray rectangle on the middle of the page, on the left,
that says "Table configuration".
The first line there says "game mode", where you can choose "normal mode"
or "training mode," click on the chevron (down arrow) to choose.

[RI Professor]

Yes, but.. it seems that this cannot be done for every game. Thus far I have only used TRAINING MODE for Troyes Dice, which is great. Are there any other games that this can be done for? It would help so much.

One of the challenges with any new game is that the players are often good, too good. This happens with boardgames like Puerto Rico.. It's almost no fun when the others know every little angle needed to gain a hire score, especially when they take a lot of time to "think".. a lethal combination!

Is there a LIST of TRAINING MODE games available?

Thank you!

[cigma]

Yes, but.. it seems that this cannot be done for every game. Thus far I have only used TRAINING MODE for Troyes Dice, which is great. Are there any other games that this can be done for? It would help so much.
Is there a LIST of TRAINING MODE games available?

As far as I know, every game on BGA can be played in training mode. But if you have any trouble in creating a game table as you want, this is most likely because you use the "automatic" mode. Go to the "Play now" page, select "manual" instead of "automatic" in the top right corner and check if you can create the table as you want.

One of the challenges with any new game is that the players are often good, too good. This happens with boardgames like Puerto Rico.. It's almost no fun when the others know every little angle needed to gain a hire score, especially when they take a lot of time to "think".. a lethal combination!

If you prefer to play with people who have the same experience level as you, you can specify this while creating a table. Choose the game and "Create" a new table. Then you can see a link on the right side (in very small letters) to "Restrict table access", e g. by level, reputation or language.