What do people think of conceding the game?

[karenttrouble]

I prefer people not concede because there is a lot to be learned by the state of the board at end of game and ending the game early limits my ability to learn how my strategy played out. Conversely, I have been playing a lot of backgammon recently and it makes perfect sense there that the norm is to concede once a certain condition is met and rarely do the games go to the real end. It's kind of like there are two possible endings- getting the game to a certain state where the other player resigning is appropriate or actually winning the game. And the latter feels just as much like a win too.

[euklid314]

I have never conceded in Azul because I do not calculate till the end and when I realize that I have no chance of winning anymore, the game is over in a few moves anyway.

That being said, if players realize it earlier that they have lost, why should they not resign? Of course they can resign any time and do not have to ask their opponent! No need to beg: "I have lost to you. Do you accept that you have beaten me in this game?" That seems absurd to me.

[ExaltedAngel]

Couldn’t the concede function be set up as a propose/accept function, such that all players must agree to the game end before it can happen without penalty?

I stronlgy disagree, the opponent is fully winning when I concede, why the hell should I get their approval to do so?

[ruthless1000]

I think there is definitely a personal and cultural component to it. I was raised playing a lot of board games, and one of principles I was taught was to see the game to the end, even if you’re losing. It’s polite to the other player(s), especially if there’s multiple players duking it out for first. Even if they continue playing, quitting will shift the dynamics of the game and may alter the outcome. It also can show a lack of good sportsmanship to give up just because you’re losing. Finally, you may actually surprise yourself and either pull out a win or come closer than you thought

On a personal note, I have found that I can learn a lot from opponents and have changed my strategy on a couple games and gone on to find more success. Some of that you may see from only part of the game, but to fully appreciate their strategy, sometimes you have to play to the end.

I do think it also depends on the game as well. Something like chess, it’s a common practice to concede the game and it’s considered a legitimate form of ending the game.

Perhaps one way to go about conceding a game would be to ask the other player(s). Say something along the lines of this has been a good game, but I can see that I’ve been beat. Are you ok if I concede, or do you want to play it out until the end?

[Jellby]

You can only concede 2-player games, there's no penalty (other than losing the game) and the other player gets full credit.

You can quit any game, but as you say, that disrupts the game when there are more players, and they don't get a full victory, so quitting is punished and not considered OK by anyone.

[Earthboundia]

This isn't just about this game, but boardgames in general. I learned to resign games from playing chess because it's a waste of the other player's time to make them perform a basic checkmate. I've played more than 100 games of Azul and I've conceded many of them because I figure the winner would like to play a new game rather than go through the motions and watch the the points add up, but I've never had anyone concede a game against me in this or other games here.

I'm wondering if it's considered poor etiquette to concede or some such. I'm just trying valuing the other player's time.

For me it depends on the nature of the game. Azul is quite a short game and usually I only know that I've lost if I get a huge point loss or someone is getting far ahead by the second to last round (though people who have played more may see those signs earlier). If it's two player then I get conceding an obvious loss since your opponent probably won't be enjoying the game much either. But also I understand conceding in longer games where you might be playing pointless moves for an hour plus and if it's over BGA then you can't exactly just leave the table and do something else if it's live and if it's turn based then it'll end up becoming a ghost game.

[CaptainKong]

I resign games only when I get to the last round and it is clear the tiles pulled give me no chance at winning. I only get annoyed with people resigning when they still have a chance but honestly that usually never happens. I play through so many blowouts where it just becomes about how much can I beat them by. I am find with anyone conceding as long as they just say good game.

[deebo7of9]

I've had people concede games that they still could have won depending upon what tiles or cards come up next. I think it's rude but I don't hold it against people as I've done it a time or two when supremely frustrated and I think that's the majority of why people concede games.

[smugskull]

On 1v1 it's the most respectfuk you can do to your opponents. Why waste their time in a game that is already decided ?