Tournament elimination via timeout

[Rukus McUallas]

I'm currently in a tournament where a number of games were ended due to timeout of a player. Two out of four players enter the next round. The thing is, that due to the timeout all players end up with "1 point". I've tried to figure out the tiebreaker, but it seems to be inconsistent or random. Money (like in the normal game) is not the tiebreaker, (gained) ELO also doesn't do the trick, and even turn order (fortunately!) is determining the unfortunate third. So, does anybody know how this is done? Is it just random luck?

I'm not here to discuss the timeout itself, it's just about how the winner and runner up in this case are determined in a tournament situation. Is there any rule, if so, what is it? Even if it's random, it would be good to know. Maybe it's worth looking into it and figure out a fair way to deal with it. I don't think it's good, when you play well, but get kicked out of a tournament, because some other player's time runs out. But of cause, in order to figure out how to handle it, we need to understand the mechanism.

Any thoughts or insight? Thanks!


Disclaimer: No, I did not get kicked out. Just for those who might assume I'm here to complain because of that.

[Neanesis]

Hello,
I agree, I should been eliminated, but instead I'm second...

to understand more the issue, here is the game with the issue : https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=511963208

You can see that I have 51 PV (I'm last) and the others have 70 PV and more, but in the tournament I'm considered second.

It's not fair for Krofna who should be considered winner.

Same with other party like this one: https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=511969208&nr

[Yahyra]

This issue keeps ongoing; I don't know why the simple fix of just having players timed out/ quit be zombies who are skipped and letting the game play out is not pursued... BGA I will take any currency in royalty payments for this awesome idea. Best wishes.

[ErikLevin]

This issue is not unique to TM, it is the same for all games.

When a multiplayer elimination match has a player quit (including being "skipped" by another player after their clock has run out), the oldest BGA accounts advance, the newest account(s) (other than the one that quit) are eliminated.

When a player has quit, no in-game scoring or tie-breakers matter. The game result is voided with the quit player in last and the others in a shared "1st" place.

See the tournament forum: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 for many threads about this issue, many with links to suggestions in the bug tracker.
For example:
- https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35946
- https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36116

[Rukus McUallas]

This issue is not unique to TM, it is the same for all games.

When a multiplayer elimination match has a player quit (including being "skipped" by another player after their clock has run out), the oldest BGA accounts advance, the newest account(s) (other than the one that quit) are eliminated.

When a player has quit, no in-game scoring or tie-breakers matter. The game result is voided with the quit player in last and the others in a shared "1st" place.

See the tournament forum: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 for many threads about this issue, many with links to suggestions in the bug tracker.
For example:
- https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35946
- https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36116

Thanks for the clarification.

Not that this is something exploitable ...

[brh2113]

Apparently it works as above for multiplayer games (wtf???), but for 1v1 games, in a tournament game:

- If one player runs out of time, the other player can choose to eliminate them immediately and win. Or opt to keep playing.
- If they opt to keep playing, and the game reaches its maximum time, then the player with more remaining time on their clock wins.

This is a fair system that is not easily exploitable, generally, since if you drag it out and refuse to play you will lose eventually.

[HappyMeaI]

Two things.

1st - Draft should never be enabled for TFM tournaments because it consumes far too much time.
2nd - No player should ever have the ability to expel another from their game in a tournament, it should be automatic (not sure if it is already)

Logic: This actually affects all players in the tournament, not just those in the game. What if a player runs out of time in one game, gets expelled but in another game a different player is allowed to continue. This player might go on to win the tournament. It’s simply a conflict of interest to allow players this option and unfair for everyone in the tournament. So if it’s not automatic, it should be. Draft also is just dumb to have enabled in a format where during the Draft Phase other players can manipulate the way the clocks run out by timing their picks. When a majority of games end by the clock, this is a big issue and ruins the game imo. The clock was never meant for this purpose.