Ode to Turn-play

[PaskinsP]

After repeatedly seeing comments on the forum, and lastly seeing how the big first tournament was arranged, I have a question/complaint to do make to the M44 community:

I just don"t get how people are so in love with real-time mode.

If I had such a chunk of time on my hands... I'd play more often with friends Face to Face!

Turn-based is precisely the "match-made-in-heaven" mode for platforms such as BGA.

Personally I enjoy it immensely when opening up BGA on my cellphone, seeing 1 turn or 2 available for me to play, and send out those well-thought out responses.

Real-time is the Covid version of a board game to me.
Turn-based feels like a very different experience, on its own.

How do you see it?

[KeLian05]

Every one have is own opinion happily !

For me, playing in a game where there is possible opponant reaction (ambush, retreat, commissar) is painful and it doesn't reward quick thinking. I can't even play all my turn in one move due to reaction. And if my opponants have 20 turn based games at the same time...

Real time is pretty much how everyone play IRL. But some dont have time to play it IRL but want the same conditions in Online games. Some (like me) have IRL time but cant face some players due to geographic restrictions.. so we can face each other Online in the same conditions as normal games !

There is already tournaments and players on turn based games for Memoir 44, i think everyone can find what they are looking for here

[jeroenh]

I am a turn-based enthusiast as well. I like being able to think about my game, and being able to play every once in a while between tasks. And sometimes you both happen to be at the table and you can get a couple of moves in quickly.

I’m also a big fan of 18xx games which are also really suited to turn based gaming, as are many other games here on BGA.

I wish I had more time to play real-time, but with work and family, that’s just not possible. Then its great to have the turn-based option

[PaskinsP]

With the influx of so many new players, I understand many of them coming over from the old DOW website, wanted to bring this subject up again, and see the perspective on real-time / turn-based.

I understand there was a strong emphasis on real-time over there.
So... how do you see it?

[Col Rosenberg]

I don't want to give my life over to it. Sometimes I just want to sit and enjoy a game or two. When I'm playing in real-time, I am more connected to the game and my opponent...I know things. Turn-base is no fun for me at all! After two or three days I lose interest. If you wanted to play a game of M44, you played in real-time...It's all we had. I would not be bringing my A game onto the field if it were Turn-based stretched out over days, weeks, months. I joined a Tournament and it kind of sucks...having to give my life over to this game and the computer for who knows how long.

It is not fun for me coming into BGA, seeing I have one or two available turns to do, just to find out it's a simple retreat move. I get really excited when executing a well thought out plan...If I'm in a game that takes 4-7 hrs. my excitement remains, after having a break in the game all excitement is lost.

DoW was wonderful - BGA (M44) not so wonderful. It's like when somebody buys a well-established restaurant. Best food in Town! New owner will always implement his Idea...Why, WHY! DoW had a good thing going - should have left it alone. I'm grateful BGA is at the helm. I just don't know how much longer I can continue with them, having to wait 70 min for a (random - yuk) game is just too much.

[Tisaac]

I don't want to give my life over to it. Sometimes I just want to sit and enjoy a game or two. When I'm playing in real-time, I am more connected to the game and my opponent...I know things. Turn-base is no fun for me at all! After two or three days I lose interest. If you wanted to play a game of M44, you played in real-time...It's all we had. I would not be bringing my A game onto the field if it were Turn-based stretched out over days, weeks, months. I joined a Tournament and it kind of sucks...having to give my life over to this game and the computer for who knows how long.

It is not fun for me coming into BGA, seeing I have one or two available turns to do, just to find out it's a simple retreat move. I get really excited when executing a well thought out plan...If I'm in a game that takes 4-7 hrs. my excitement remains, after having a break in the game all excitement is lost.

DoW was wonderful - BGA (M44) not so wonderful. It's like when somebody buys a well-established restaurant. Best food in Town! New owner will always implement his Idea...Why, WHY! DoW had a good thing going - should have left it alone. I'm grateful BGA is at the helm. I just don't know how much longer I can continue with them, having to wait 70 min for a (random - yuk) game is just too much.

You seems to forget a very important details : the online app was going to get stopped at some point, no mater what. The app had no new version for ten years, no one at dow know anything about the code or how it works, and even some serveur access were completely lost. So we it's not buying a well established restaurant but rather a business on the verge of immediate ceise of activity.
As for the waiting time, my guess is that the more players from dow will come here, the shorter it will get. The app will stay online for couple more months, and then the playbase will be forced to switch to bga, which will increase the m44 playbase here and thus decrease waiting time.

[Jeronimon]

As Tisaac said DoW online was on heavy life support.

Here we have the same type of play we had on the online (but with more programmed into it and more to come) AND we have turn based games.
So more than we had and better.

And on top of that we have reached a whole new group of players with this wonderful game and community. Yes, they are going through the “it’s a luck game with the cards and dice phase” but in the end they will learn this is a great tactical and strategical game that can be played more quickly than a lot of other tactical and strategical games.

The future is bright and BGA has helped make it brighter.

[Col Rosenberg]

Real-time is fading fast. I just don't know how DoW site was so popular (never more than 5 min wait) and now real-time has gone by the wayside.

You have two real-time game modes that are virtually the same...increasing the wait time for those of us who thrive on real-time play.

I have tried to play turn base - it is horribly painful. I mistakenly joined a turn base tournament game...absolutely hate it.
I play for the fun of it. I don't like playing slave to a game...not my idea of fun. Trying to play a scenario I enjoy, yah that's gonna happen (not).
5 min wait has turned into two hours now, and still no takers.

You seem to treat it all like a popcorn snack "gimme gimme".
I enjoy more the slowfood served when time is ready.

I don't go to the Movies looking to eat a slow cooked meal.


I'll come back for a visit next fall.

[Jeronimon]

Real-time is fading fast. I just don't know how DoW site was so popular (never more than 5 min wait) and now real-time has gone by the wayside.

You have two real-time game modes that are virtually the same...increasing the wait time for those of us who thrive on real-time play.

I have tried to play turn base - it is horribly painful. I mistakenly joined a turn base tournament game...absolutely hate it.
I play for the fun of it. I don't like playing slave to a game...not my idea of fun. Trying to play a scenario I enjoy, yah that's gonna happen (not).
5 min wait has turned into two hours now, and still no takers.

You seem to treat it all like a popcorn snack "gimme gimme".
I enjoy more the slowfood served when time is ready.

I don't go to the Movies looking to eat a slow cooked meal.


I'll come back for a visit next fall.

I don’t agree with your complaints. I have looked at the numbers frequently and I see that real-time games are about as numerous as they were on the old online (at this moment 5 real time games) and next to that we have an enormous number of turn based games (3163 at this moment). In my experience the number of real time games for my time frames match up with what we played on the old online.

So if we add to that several thousand extra games we play because of the new platform that is a win in my book.

Then you say you cannot play interesting scenarios. You can pick and choose from what’s already here (yes we need more scenarios in that list and people are working on that) and you can upload m44 files for the specific scenarios you want to play. And with more rules implemented than on the online before.

What more do you want?
I guess people to hang around 24/7 do you can play on whatever whim you decide to play.

As stated I disagree with your complaints and conclusions and feel we have made several steps forward. The main one for me being: we have reached a whole new group of players to introduce into our community, thousands of them. And in chatting with them (hello time penalties ) introduced them to basic strategy and tactics and pointed them towards forums and Facebook groups so they can join in and benefit from the community as well.

Hopefully we will not only see them online but across tables in real life too (if geographically possible, of course)

[Col Rosenberg]

Waiting one or two hrs to play - it's just not worth the wait.

I have looked at the numbers frequently and I see that real-time games are about as numerous

this is Arena (about half the wait time, then base game).

Turn-based is precisely the "match-made-in-heaven" mode for platforms such as BGA

It seems to be the case. Have at it.