No timer / game speed for friends

[LordFB]

Hi
I generally play BGA with friends, either in the same room or remote via a video conference platform.
Recently there had been a change that untimed games need to be in training mode.
Is it possible to reverse this?

I now need to set the timer to "slow" for a game, however if someone needs to go to the loo or get a drink, we are all chatting and want to manage this ourselves. Keen to see non-training games between friends allowed to be untimed please.

Thanks

[Fletcheese]

Keen to see non-training games between friends allowed to be untimed please.

What's wrong with using training mode for games among friends?

[Meeplelowda]

Hi
I generally play BGA with friends, either in the same room or remote via a video conference platform.
Recently there had been a change that untimed games need to be in training mode.
Is it possible to reverse this?

I now need to set the timer to "slow" for a game, however if someone needs to go to the loo or get a drink, we are all chatting and want to manage this ourselves. Keen to see non-training games between friends allowed to be untimed please.

Thanks

It sounds like you are playing the games in one day. You can set them to turn based at one move every two days and you don't have to worry about time, as the site administrators said here:

If you want to want to play with "no time limit", we now encourage you to play using "Training mode" ("infinite sign" in the new lobby), which is the safest way to play this way. >80% of the games without time limit were already played in "Training mode" before we did this change, so a huge majority of players already show their preference for this mode.

If you really want to play with an ELO gain/loss after your game, we now encourage you to create a Turn based game with the slowest speed (1 move every 2 days). If you were used to use "Normal mode + no time limit", it makes practically no difference: even if some of your opponents goes over their time limit (which is pretty high), you are absolutely not forced to expel them. However, the improvement compared to the previous situation is that you still have the possibility to expel a non-playing player in case it is needed.

There is a VERY LONG DISCUSSION THREAD (link above) about this change and the reasons it needs to be undone in some aspects, but you have not raised any of those reasons. It simply doesn't apply to you and you can keep doing what you were doing before by setting your games up as turn-based. If you are playing with friends you can trust that they won't just quit playing and go away for two days.

[LordFB]

Thank you both for your feedback and suggestions.

We play in normal mode due to the achievements - while I agree they are somewhat meaningless, they add a bit of flavour and are a fun aspect, especially fo rthe games we play regularly.

I assume the majority of people play in training mode because that is the default, and rightly so, many people probably don't mind one way or the other. Turn based is fine, however if someone joins too quickly, I can't change the mode to turn based.

This wasn't a huge ask. The options are as rightly pointed out are there, however to some degree could be improved with some quality of life changes. I'll have a deeper review of the longer thread though, so I'm more informed - thank you.

[Meeplelowda]

Turn based is fine, however if someone joins too quickly, I can't change the mode to turn based.

You can set the table to turn-based before you invite anyone if you want.

[RogueGal]

I would also like this option back. I play a lot of games at the same time with friends by mail and we like the ratings, but often leave one game or another hanging for several days. If not unlimited time, why not have a 1 turn/2 weeks option?
Without one of these options, we're pressured into a less satisfactory situation one way or the other.

[_sidh_]

I agree as well, this is the setting I used the most no time limit in normal mode, so if something comes up and we can't finish a game, at least no one is getting penalties and we still get achievements and stats.
I really miss this option.

[cigma]

You can vote on this suggestion https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=78071 to bring no time limit back!