Timeouts and elimination tournaments: potential solutions

[JoysJoy]

Tournament advancement and game tie breakers do not work the same way.

This thread is not about tie- breakers but time-outs or people who take so long to play the game ends before someone wins.

[GeraldineMerida]

The discussion was about how it is decided which tied players advance to the next round in tournaments with elimination. So the tiebreaking for Swiss system tournaments where everyone advances to the next round is not really relevant.

Actually, here is the first sentence on this thread:

Hi BGA community,

I love BGA immensely, however, one of my biggest complain about tournaments is how timeouts are handled, especially in elimination tournaments.

So my comment on how another type of tournament may suit OP better is a good response. And my comment was not about tie-breaking but dealing with timeouts, which is the original topic of this thread, and I said nothing about moving forward in tie-breaking Swiss Rounds. Not sure why you thought otherwise?

My comment is that OP could start his own tournaments using another type to get different options for timeouts. The title is clearly asking for solutions to the OP's frustration. And the answer could be to start their own tournaments and avoid the elimination system altogether.

Or the solution could be for BGA to improve the way timeouts are handled in the kind of tournaments the OP already enjoys playing. But, I recognise that is very optimistic!

[JoysJoy]

Or the solution could be for BGA to improve the way timeouts are handled in the kind of tournaments the OP already enjoys playing. But, I recognise that is very optimistic!

Unfortunately BGA has other plans for their limited resources. It is up to us to find ways to work with what they have given us.

[miklomike]

But it would be nice to KNOW what their rules are, so that we can factor that into our play decisions. Nothing is published regarding ties for games with no tie breakers, time penalty kicked, or game times out.

[BiglyStewdios]

This happened to me yesterday because of timezone differences I was behind in time even though I log on regularly. So last turn of the game someone kicks me out and I lose, despite my score being in first place. I feel that someone abuses the system to gain an advantage. They could of kicked me or the other players much earlier in the game too, so why wait until the last turn?

My thoughts would be to simply put in a no kicking on the last 2-3 turns of a game.

Or a sleep mode, where time is deducted slower between certain times (when you're typically asleep).

Super frustrating either way, but glad i'm not the only one

[RobertBr]

Or a sleep mode, where time is deducted slower between certain times (when you're typically asleep).

A system of this type already exists.

[Two-Sheds]

Some ideas:

1) "In a multi-player game, when a player has timed-out on their turn, require a majority consensus [or perhaps unanimous?] decision by the remaining players whether or not to "Skip" the player's turn" https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=35239 --- A single player shouldn't be able to kill the game on their own (unless it's a 2-player game of course.)

2) Some multiplayer games could still continue after a player has dropped out or been kicked out. For these games, play should continue until the game is over or the overall game time limit has been reached.

3) If a game does ultimately time out before completion, we need a better way of deciding who advances. For games where some players have already reached a finish line or a target score, those players should advance based on their finishing order. Otherwise, base it on the players' current scores at the time the game was aborted. Or, allow the tournament admin to examine the game and determine who should advance. In any case, players who have already left or been kicked out of the game should not be eligible for advancement.

[skoki]

Does any mod actually take part or read this discussion so it more than just tongue dance?
Here is a bug report which directs the problem briefly. https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=35289

And I am backing up everything Two-Sheds wrote above. We both get through the same situation with the difference that he had been unfairly eliminated (because draw random of not kicked players didn't like him), and I was lucky to be lucky loser (but not the one who kicked out timed-out player, when the winners were theoretically decided)

[yodamus]

All i know is that this issue needs to be fixed asap. I just started playing turn based tourneys. May never again. Completly unacceptable to have players that timeout advance over those that play and finish. To me. Easy fix. Timeout. No advance. How hard as that to do.? Ruins all tourneys this issue. Why play. Spend days playing to get kick out after winning a round. Why play. Waste of time and effort. Pleas BGA. Fix tgis now

[DebbieMJ]

This happened to me yesterday because of timezone differences I was behind in time even though I log on regularly. So last turn of the game someone kicks me out and I lose, despite my score being in first place. I feel that someone abuses the system to gain an advantage. They could of kicked me or the other players much earlier in the game too, so why wait until the last turn?

My thoughts would be to simply put in a no kicking on the last 2-3 turns of a game.

Or a sleep mode, where time is deducted slower between certain times (when you're typically asleep).

Super frustrating either way, but glad i'm not the only one

There seem to be too many players 'gaming' the system by kicking players out. I log in regularly - but do have to sleep (who knew) and work, so sometimes I do run out of time, especially with players in different time zones. I've started looking at game logs recently when I've been kicked out of a game and today the other player kicked me out literally 2 minutes after I played my previous turn. If that's the only way they can advance in a tournament then they must lead very sad lives. Tournaments time out themselves so why do people feel the need to kick people out unnecessarily?