Players joining turn based games with speed they never intend to keep up with

[mikkashar]

I could have sworn at some point I set my game speed preferences (I prefer to play at X moves per day, I'm okay with playing at Y moves per day, I never want to play Z moves per day) but for the life of me I can't find where. Perhaps another user remembers where those preferences are?

On the "play now" page -- https://boardgamearena.com/lobby -- if you select "arena" as the game type, each game for which you've reached 100 ELO has a gear icon on it, which brings up the settings for that game, including the range of speeds and playing hours you find acceptable.

If there are comparable settings available for arena games from the individual game pages, I have yet to find them. All of the turn-based speeds are on a single slider, so you can pick a single speed, or flexible, which covers everything from one move per two days to 24 moves per day.

[Meeplelowda]

I could have sworn at some point I set my game speed preferences (I prefer to play at X moves per day, I'm okay with playing at Y moves per day, I never want to play Z moves per day) but for the life of me I can't find where. Perhaps another user remembers where those preferences are?

You can get to them using the gear symbol on the Play Now lobby (and probably in other lobbies, too). It will always appear if the lobby is in Arena mode. If it is in Simple Game mode the matching mode must be set to "Automatic" in order to see the gear.

The issue is that they have to be set for each game. There's no global setting.

[Magdalenquigley]

It's likely a combination of players failing to observe the setting (does the new lobby adhere to it? I'm uncertain) and players assuming they can manage it without realizing they're in different time zones (is there a feature to view time zones, particularly within the new plinko lobby?).

[ChiefPointThief]

It's likely a combination of players failing to observe the setting (does the new lobby adhere to it? I'm uncertain) and players assuming they can manage it without realizing they're in different time zones (is there a feature to view time zones, particularly within the new lobby?).

This problem existed before the new lobby but some non premiums probably join premium games with settings they don't prefer.

[ErikLevin]

It's not just you. Happens all the time.
I set all my turn-based tables to the highest possible karma limits (usually >75%, but sometimes 85% is available for whatever reason). Helps a bit but not fully. Players with 100% karma still log in and play once or twice in the first day and then instantly run out of time.

Playing in Arena helps a lot more, but yeah, that's not possible/desirable for all games.

I have had the following policy for a while:
- When I see someone in the red, I send them a polite direct message, telling them they are out of time and asking if they are able to play soon.
- If they don't respond, I kick after 12 hours if still in the red.
- If they do respond and seem to make an attempt to fix it, I give them 24 hours to get into the green and remain there.

The results have been... mixed.
The majority don't respond and don't speed up.
The next block of players are those that do respond with something like "Sorry" or "Yes"... And then don't speed up anyway and keep going more and more over time...
Then there are the precious few who actually do speed up and keep time after being reminded. One actually used a time joker - that's a really good move when entering a too fast / wrong hours game by mistake. That's completely fair game.
I have never had someone explicitly say as an explanation, that they didn't see the playing speed, or hours, or entered a fast game by mistake. The closest I've had was the chap who used the time joker who said something like "bad time zone", so I guess that could mean they were unaware when joining. So I don't know how much we can blame the interface here, if it was a huge UX problem that people entered unwanted game settings by mistake you'd think more people would say so? Like "Oh *, is the pace set to 24 moves/day? I didn't notice, sorry, could we abandon?". Never had anyone say that.

I'm thinking of stopping with this messaging policy, however, as I'm not sure the results are good enough that it's worth the mental energy.

*Moderator edit: please refrain from swearing on BGA, this is a family-friendly platform.

[ChiefPointThief]

One actually used a time joker - that's a really good move when entering a too fast / wrong hours game by mistake. That's completely fair game.
I have never had someone explicitly say as an explanation, that they didn't see the playing speed, or hours, or entered a fast game by mistake. The closest I've had was the chap who used the time joker who said something like "bad time zone", so I guess that could mean they were unaware when joining. So I don't know how much we can blame the interface here, if it was a huge UX problem that people entered unwanted game settings by mistake you'd think more people would say so? Like "Oh crap, is the pace set to 24 moves/day? I didn't notice, sorry, could we abandon?". Never had anyone say that.

I'm thinking of stopping with this messaging policy, however, as I'm not sure the results are good enough that it's worth the mental energy.

Using a time joker isn't fair game at all I've had a few people do that to me as well at the start of the game. At most the time joker should only be 24hrs. I set my game to that speed for a reason. Why should someone be able to join my fast game and immediately use a time joker?

I tried the messaging policy as well and came to the same conclusion that it isn't worth the mental energy.

[Meeplelowda]

I have never had someone explicitly say as an explanation, that they didn't see the playing speed, or hours, or entered a fast game by mistake. The closest I've had was the chap who used the time joker who said something like "bad time zone", so I guess that could mean they were unaware when joining.

I suggested in another thread that there should be an explicit opt-in button if a game has playing hours. This has been proposed (and not implemented) for tournaments ("Warn if turn based tournament has playing hours"), but I think it should apply to regular turn-based games as well.

[Jellby]

Using a time joker isn't fair game at all I've had a few people do that to me as well at the start of the game. At most the time joker should only be 24hrs. I set my game to that speed for a reason.

Then upvote https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=67850

[ErikLevin]

Using a time joker isn't fair game at all I've had a few people do that to me as well at the start of the game. At most the time joker should only be 24hrs. I set my game to that speed for a reason. Why should someone be able to join my fast game and immediately use a time joker?

My thinking is that it's within the rules of the system. You get 4 time jokers and you can use them when you want. You only get four so notorious time-outers can't use them all the time.
I could also see a logic for thinking that time jokers shouldn't exist. People should simply not join games they can't complete. But while they exist, hard to fault people from using them.
Either way, I do agree with the suggestion linked above, that it would be nice to let other players abandon the game if someone uses one.