conceeding

[sandyk]

how do players do this and why?

[Jest Phulin]

With any 2 player game, once a game is past 50% completion an option becomes available to concede the game. It is under the "gear" menu in (last time I checked) the upper right corner of the screen, "wave the white flag." Clicking on that wil bring up a confirmation dialogue, and will have the player taking that option lose the game (and therefore the other player win).

That's the how.

As to the why:

In many games (not just Yahtzee), there can be a point where it is clear that one person will win. Rather than waste both players' time continuing the game to a known outcome, the losing player has a chance to end the game early. ELO/rank calculations are exactly the same as if the game had continued to the end (score doesn't affect this ranking), win/loss ratios are adjusted, everything is the same as if the game had continued. It just doesn't take time to finish making the last moves. The concede option is in place to save time.

And, the side note: there are other discussions about the etiquette of conceding. The general consensus is "Don't be a sore winner." Once someone has agreed that you've beaten them, there's nothing to be gained by trying to make them continue the game.