While I am very sympathetic with people who want a game to move along at a decent pace and I believe the 'allotted time' provided in most games is reasonable, I believe there has to be an alternative. I recognize that 'turn-based' games are designed to alleviate this Impatience Initiative and for the most part, do it well. But here, let me give you an example of a recent encounter with the ticking clock that I found to be annoying.
The game was Thurn and Taxis. Now one of the issues that I have with BGA's Thurn and Taxis is that you can't see the whole board and your own private display of cards in your route without scrolling. I don't know about anybody else, but I can forget how my route is progressing within the amount of time it takes an opponent to take his turn and even though I scroll (on BGA) while my opponent is at work, when it comes time for me to take my turn, I have to scroll and coordinate thinking across three elements; main board, the array of cards available and my own route of cards, and I CAN'T SEE THEM ALL AT A SINGLE GLANCE. This takes time. And God forbid that I'm being faced with some occasionally difficult decisions and I'd like to take some time thinking about the options. That clock just keeps hammering away and to make matters worse, the language of its alerts is pretty rude; like (but not exactly) Get your * in gear or we're going to boot you out of the room.
Is it a) really necessary?
and b) do the associated penalties really fit the crime? A prosecutor has to determine 'malice aforethought' before he can charge someone with murder
What if someone has to go to the bathroom? What if someone, like myself, who was engaged in a game at a generally free time with no expected interruption, received a phone call that I HAD to take. I attempted to communicate via chat screen with my opponent and got no response.
It would appear that there are a LOT of VERY FAST players playing a lot of games out here. But do we all need to be such VERY FAST players. Can't there be something in-between playing so slow that it's annoying and playing like you're late for a bus?
I wonder whether there could be an acceptable 'pause' command or button that players might use to alert other players of an unexpected interruption? Or maybe a category that would be between Real TIme with its annoying clock and turn-based, at which some people seem to think it's fine to not take a turn for a month?
Perhaps people who want to play Terra Mystica in 15 minutes can have a way of letting people know this. Or perhaps when selecting a Game Mode, one could have a category outside of Real Time and Turn-Based, like Casual (real-time with no clock or penalties). I think one might be surprised how many people enjoy playing Terra Mystica who'd just as soon not have someone hovering over their shoulder with a ticking clock demanding that they hurry things along. Or maybe just a FAST PLAYER category, explained as a place where you can get that Terra Mystica game done in 20 minutes, complete with ticking clock, which maybe the faster players would actually like to add sound to.
The pace that is often expected of people in Real Time games here is unrealistic. Suits the FAST PLAYERS for sure, even though in my experience, many of them are not only fast, but RUDE about it. I get that some people want to sit down and NEVER play a game with someone who, on occasion, has to think about what they're going to do on their turn and with a lot of games, you can't start thinking about what you're going to do until it's actually your turn (Thurn and Taxis being one of them).
Nothing against FAST PLAYERS, but can't we find a place to put them in the 'Arena' where they can only annoy each other and not the rest of us, who would prefer not being confined to playing FAST, or else. .
Would like to hear other thoughts on this. . .
*Moderator edit: please remember BGA is a family-friendly platform and cursing is not permitted
The game was Thurn and Taxis. Now one of the issues that I have with BGA's Thurn and Taxis is that you can't see the whole board and your own private display of cards in your route without scrolling. I don't know about anybody else, but I can forget how my route is progressing within the amount of time it takes an opponent to take his turn and even though I scroll (on BGA) while my opponent is at work, when it comes time for me to take my turn, I have to scroll and coordinate thinking across three elements; main board, the array of cards available and my own route of cards, and I CAN'T SEE THEM ALL AT A SINGLE GLANCE. This takes time. And God forbid that I'm being faced with some occasionally difficult decisions and I'd like to take some time thinking about the options. That clock just keeps hammering away and to make matters worse, the language of its alerts is pretty rude; like (but not exactly) Get your * in gear or we're going to boot you out of the room.
Is it a) really necessary?
and b) do the associated penalties really fit the crime? A prosecutor has to determine 'malice aforethought' before he can charge someone with murder
What if someone has to go to the bathroom? What if someone, like myself, who was engaged in a game at a generally free time with no expected interruption, received a phone call that I HAD to take. I attempted to communicate via chat screen with my opponent and got no response.
It would appear that there are a LOT of VERY FAST players playing a lot of games out here. But do we all need to be such VERY FAST players. Can't there be something in-between playing so slow that it's annoying and playing like you're late for a bus?
I wonder whether there could be an acceptable 'pause' command or button that players might use to alert other players of an unexpected interruption? Or maybe a category that would be between Real TIme with its annoying clock and turn-based, at which some people seem to think it's fine to not take a turn for a month?
Perhaps people who want to play Terra Mystica in 15 minutes can have a way of letting people know this. Or perhaps when selecting a Game Mode, one could have a category outside of Real Time and Turn-Based, like Casual (real-time with no clock or penalties). I think one might be surprised how many people enjoy playing Terra Mystica who'd just as soon not have someone hovering over their shoulder with a ticking clock demanding that they hurry things along. Or maybe just a FAST PLAYER category, explained as a place where you can get that Terra Mystica game done in 20 minutes, complete with ticking clock, which maybe the faster players would actually like to add sound to.
The pace that is often expected of people in Real Time games here is unrealistic. Suits the FAST PLAYERS for sure, even though in my experience, many of them are not only fast, but RUDE about it. I get that some people want to sit down and NEVER play a game with someone who, on occasion, has to think about what they're going to do on their turn and with a lot of games, you can't start thinking about what you're going to do until it's actually your turn (Thurn and Taxis being one of them).
Nothing against FAST PLAYERS, but can't we find a place to put them in the 'Arena' where they can only annoy each other and not the rest of us, who would prefer not being confined to playing FAST, or else. .
Would like to hear other thoughts on this. . .
*Moderator edit: please remember BGA is a family-friendly platform and cursing is not permitted
