Add a concede option in multiplayer games

[maxillov]

Dear BGA,
I wish there was an option that let me concede in multiplayer games.
There should be a middle ground between collectively abandon game and just quitting.
I don't want to quit the game and rob people of their victory points. They beat me. I am happy to give them their points for defeating me. I just don't wanna sit for the next half an hour to watch them beat me.
I still think it should be something that other players need to agree to, but if I have no path to victory, I'd like the option to politely bow out, give them my points, and move on with my life

[RobertBr]

There is a concede option.

If you want to apply it to multiplayer games then explain to us how you would adjudicate the results of those games. At present you have the option of quitting, at which point the other players jointly win and you lose. Most people do not like that outcome, which is why it comes with a penalty. So what resolution would you prefer for the other players when you quit?

[maxillov]

Collectively Abandon game = no karma loss no points exchanged
Quit = karma loss no points exchanged (or maybe I lose points as well, but I don't think you gain points from someone quitting)

What I propose is concede = No Karma Loss but Points exchanged
It's a friendly middle ground
I congenially admit defeat, the other player(s) accept my defeat, and they get my points but I don't lose karma

[RicardoRix]

For 2-player games that is what concede does.

Unfortunately for multi-player games the game needs to be able to execute without the presence of a player (zombie-mode), which is somewhat flakey at best and normally just doesn't work for most games. Normally, the game gets stuck and everyone just quits the game from there.

You need to understand that if you agree to a multiplayer game, that all the other players are expecting you to participate faithfully to the end. Otherwise they'd rather play with someone else. It's a community website.
You're not wasting your time, you are learning from your mistakes.

[maxillov]

I agree wholeheartedly. A multiplayer game is a commitment. That's why I say people should have to agree. If folks want to play it out, then I either have to sit through it or lose karma

But, as it is, there is no way to concede in a multiplayer game without either
A- Quitting and Losing Karma
or
B- Collectively abandoning the game, and denying people the points they earned by defeating me

There should be a concede option in multiplayer games, to effectively say, "Hey guys, I have clearly lost. This is no longer any fun for me. Can we call it quits? I will lose points. You will gain points proportional to how badly you are beating me."

Maybe people will not accept this option and will want to play it out to the end, in which case I'm back to my original options.
But maybe people will accept the option and either
want to end the game with the points they've earned
or
play it out to the end with a bot running my hand (i.e. zombie mode)

I'm just saying this option is currently not available in multiplayer games, and it is not an unreasonable option to have.
People might be OK with quitting the game, but don't want to miss out on the points they've earned.
There is currently no way within the system to handle this situation in a mutliplayer game
I would be willing to bet that, if this option was added, it would be used often and amiably, and a lot more people would have way better karma.

[RicardoRix]

You can raise suggestions here:
https://boardgamearena.com/bugs

[maxillov]

Thanks Ricardo!
I've posted it there!

[Romain672]

So let's said your concede button in multiplayer ask for others to concede, and if all 'losers' agree, the game end.

What happen next, how do you define the ranking?
You can't use stars in the top right because many games don't have a good ranking at the middle of the game.
If you put yourself last, then that mean only the last player could concede, which isn't great.

I think the only way would be for you to define the order of players. Like saying on that 4 players games, I'm third, X player would be forth, Y player would be second, and Z player would win.

But now, how often would that be accepted?


An alternative would be to skip all of your turns, so already it shouldn't be possible in most games, but in a good part of it, that's still a fine option.
Now let's said you need to pick a card between 4, the cards give you: +5pts, +3pts, +1pt, +0pt. You then ask to skip your turn. So now others players need first to calculate if it's beneficial to them or not. And if it's not, that person need to either let you leave, or be in worst position. You could said this person should just not accept, but still that's annoying. You could said that the option should not be available on that game, but that reduces again the amount of games where this is possible.
But on games where that work (Yahtzee per example), you still need everyone to agree.


Overall it seem a lot of work for not a big upside.

[RobertBr]

Collectively Abandon game = no karma loss no points exchanged
Quit = karma loss no points exchanged (or maybe I lose points as well, but I don't think you gain points from someone quitting)

Pretty sure you are wrong about how this works which might be why you don't understand the problem. If you quit I believe it treats you the same as it does when you time out (if it doesn't you could always choose to time out, so the option would still be there), so you lose points and the other players gain points (factored by proportion of game played). Since that is identical with what you are then suggesting, other than the karma penalty, the site already does the thing you are asking for.

To solve this problem you need to address how to resolve the game and assign results when you concede. Which is why I raised that and why two other people immediately raised the same point.

[Shivaware]

Here is the link to the created suggestion:
https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=149869

I'm certainly not against the idea, but it probably wouldn't get the required agreement very often.