Tournaments FAQ

[BananaHarambe]

I don’t have any insight to the early tournament starting issue. I haven’t encountered it before.

[Florrible]

I recently played a tournament (Swiss system) where one player in all their games strategically kicked others to be the winner. This was before the new option was introduced where players are not allowed to kick. The player took advantage of a time zone difference, it was nighttime for me and when I logged on the next morning I had been kicked.

This happened on the last game of the round for me but looking at previous games I noticed that players had been kicked from those tables as well whenever this player was involved. I contacted the tournament creator, who had also been kicked in a previous game, but they did not respond to my message.

I thought about reporting the player officially but this scenario is not in the list of violations that you should report to BGA. Is there anything else that I can do in this situation? I have thumbsed down the player but this will not affect future tournaments and I don't want to play any more tournaments involving this player because I feel like they are not playing fair they are just wanting to come first.

Should I be reporting it under "this player is playing so that someone specific wins" with the someone specific being themselves? I'm confused that there is no scenario under "report this player" that fits the situation.

[Mathew5000]

I recently played a tournament (Swiss system) where one player in all their games strategically kicked others to be the winner. This was before the new option was introduced where players are not allowed to kick. The player took advantage of a time zone difference, it was nighttime for me and when I logged on the next morning I had been kicked.

The player did not contravene any BGA rules. You say that the player "took advantage of a time zone difference" but think of it from their perspective, just playing when it's convenient for them to play, and getting annoyed at you for frequently taking a long time to move.

When you enter tournaments in future you might want to carefully consider the time allotted, and whether you will be able to play all your moves within that time. You can also look for tournaments with "playing hours" set for when you will be online. Also of course, look for tournaments with the "no-kick" option, but even then, you should attempt to complete each game without your clock going into the red.

[Meeplelowda]

This was before the new option was introduced where players are not allowed to kick.

You seem to acknowledge that it is an option. This means that both before and now, when the option is not enabled kicking is perfectly within site policies. It may be "mean" or "unsportsmanlike," but it's violating no rule.

The player took advantage of a time zone difference, it was nighttime for me and when I logged on the next morning I had been kicked.

This player signed up for the same tournament as you did which either had specified playing hours or allowed the clock to run 24/7. They only had a responsibility to make sure those hours worked for them. They had no responsibility to inquire about or even care whether those hours worked for the other players in the game. Those other players had the responsibility to make sure those hours work for them and not enter the tournament if they didn't.

I contacted the tournament creator, who had also been kicked in a previous game, but they did not respond to my message.

The tournament creator is just another BGA user. Any Premium member can create a tournament. Creating a tournament just sets it in motion with certain settings. Once anyone joins the tournament, even before it starts, the tournament creator can't change anything about it other than cancelling it. They cannot kick someone out of the tournament or anything like that.

I thought about reporting the player officially but this scenario is not in the list of violations that you should report to BGA. Is there anything else that I can do in this situation? I have thumbsed down the player but this will not affect future tournaments and I don't want to play any more tournaments involving this player because I feel like they are not playing fair they are just wanting to come first.

Should I be reporting it under "this player is playing so that someone specific wins" with the someone specific being themselves? I'm confused that there is no scenario under "report this player" that fits the situation.

It's not among the violations because they haven't violated any rule. On BGA you are allowed to kick someone who is out of time at your own discretion for any reason. Period. The defense against being expelled is not running out of time. I know that sounds harsh because most people don't intend to run out of time. But many people also don't closely look at the time settings in tournaments and evaluate whether they make sense. Like I said, any random Premium member can create a tournament. That's the only qualification for doing it. So as a consequence there is no guarantee the time settings they choose make any sense.

[Florrible]

When you enter tournaments in future you might want to carefully consider the time allotted, and whether you will be able to play all your moves within that time. You can also look for tournaments with "playing hours" set for when you will be online. Also of course, look for tournaments with the "no-kick" option, but even then, you should attempt to complete each game without your clock going into the red.

Well, yes, I don't think anyone sets out to intentionally send their clock into the red, although I do know that there is the occasional time-wasting player I do think it's a rare occurrence.
I'd never really had this issue before, I come on BGA several times throughout the day and in the absolute worst case scenario can still play 2 moves per day as a minimum, in reality it's a lot more. This was the last game of the round and I'd gone through 4 other games previously with no issue at all.

It's not among the violations because they haven't violated any rule. On BGA you are allowed to kick someone who is out of time at your own discretion for any reason. Period. The defense against being expelled is not running out of time. I know that sounds harsh because most people don't intend to run out of time. But many people also don't closely look at the time settings in tournaments and evaluate whether they make sense. Like I said, any random Premium member can create a tournament. That's the only qualification for doing it. So as a consequence there is no guarantee the time settings they choose make any sense.

There was nothing unusual about the settings of this tournament compared to any other that I've played. If there really was an issue with my playing style, I'd have been kicked out of every game in the tournament or just in general I'd be kicked very frequently from tournaments which is not the case. It's not really a "me" problem because the player did this with 4 out of 5 tables they played in that round, so other players suffered from this behaviour as well. What are the odds that every single one of these players who got kicked hadn't paid enough attention to the time settings when they registered? I feel like the chances of that are slim, compared to the chances that we've come across a player that only plays to win instead of playing for the enjoyment and the challenge they get from playing. "Unsportsmanlike" is an excellent definition for this.

I also think as someone who started organising tournaments only a few months ago that getting the time settings right is really difficult and it's the thing I have struggled with the most, but I also don't think it's fair to blame it on the organiser and assume they must have chosen nonsensical settings, I'm sure some do, but nothing really stood out to me in the case of this tournament's time settings or it would have put me off registering.

[Un_Barbu]

Hello,

Some games like Quarto can ends by a nul game ( or draw ). there is no winner of the game.
In case of direct elimination mode in a tournament, BGA selects one of the two players to continue.
I am searching the rule used by BGA to select the player selected.

Can you explain the rule or method ( random ? ) used ?

Thanks.

Un Barbu

[Mathew5000]

Some games like Quarto can ends by a nul game ( or draw ). there is no winner of the game.
In case of direct elimination mode in a tournament, BGA selects one of the two players to continue.
I am searching the rule used by BGA to select the player selected.

Regarding ties in single-elimination tournaments, see viewtopic.php?t=41794 and the threads referred to therein.

[Un_Barbu]

I have read largely the thread regarding ties in single-elimination tournaments, see viewtopic.php?t=41794 and the threads referred to therein.

I have not find clear answer.
What seems the most realistic and not confirm, nor infirmed is based on time left. The player with less reflexion time used goes to next step, which seems a good approach.
Can you confirm ?

[Mathew5000]

I have read largely the thread regarding ties in single-elimination tournaments, see viewtopic.php?t=41794 and the threads referred to therein.

I have not find clear answer.

As I said in that thread, it seems that for single-elimination tournaments, the tiebreaker is a coin toss (i.e. a random function with each player having a 0.5 probability of advancing). BGA has not confirmed that, as far as I know.

What seems the most realistic and not confirm, nor infirmed is based on time left. The player with less reflexion time used goes to next step, which seems a good approach.

No, that's a bad approach in my opinion, because then as the end of the game approaches, the player with more time remaining can play for a draw instead of trying to win.

[Un_Barbu]

Thank you Mathew 5000 for your answer.