horrible system still

[ucsd88]

I used to play here a lot, and recently came back to find so many games added.

The problem is that it is so unfriendly to new person. I only tried a few games I knew, but still got stuck on the operations. As a result, I ran overtime a couple of times, and my reputation slid down to the bottom, now I assume no one is willing to play with me.

I agree the reputation system is inherently good system, but the current system simply push people who want to try new games away.

I remember there used to be a new player protection system that allowed first time player double the time, but even that is gone now.

How do you get new comer to stay on the system with this system???

[Kayvon]

It's simple: Choose a timetable that's more appropriate to your preference.

The system is great. Players who commit to play fast then don't meet their commitments should be penalized. They're actively ruining the experience for players who commit to and actually do want to play fast.

Just choose a slower speed. It'll give you more time to take turns and everyone will be happy.

[Meeplelowda]

I remember there used to be a new player protection system that allowed first time player double the time, but even that is gone now.

In addition to what Kayvon said, the extra time for playing a game the first time is still there. The increment is doubled, not the maximum time bank. But that should still be plenty of time. If it isn't enough time, there is turn-based where you only have to move every other day and can accumulate a SIX DAY time bank. Then there is friendly mode (which was called training mode if you haven't played for a really long time) for which there is practically no time limit at all (someone still has to complete a move every 40 days).

So I really don't understand your complaint. You obviously have many options to play at a speed you can keep up with. What do you actually want?

[nik592]

We were all new once. I made mistakes. I joined a tournament with a 12h per player time limit and found myself in negative after my second move. I thought I was joining a 12h per move tournament. I don't recall if I actually got booted, but it was a nasty shock to me. And I'll admit, I know there was some point when I was new and asked for a penalty to be reversed because (I felt) it wasn't my fault. I actually don't remember what I was told, but once you realise a single penalty doesn't hurt your rep at all really, and even two penalties, not that much, it becomes less of an issue. But I know that when I saw that first penalty, I panicked and tried to work out how I could avoid more penalties. You obviously took a different tack. If you're not familiar with a game, you probably don't want to play it at fast speed. But especially when you're already sitting 3 recent bootings.

[Meeplelowda]

We were all new once.

You are far more charitable than I. I wouldn't characterize having an account for almost 10 years with over 3,000 games played being new.

[nik592]

We were all new once.

You are far more charitable than I. I wouldn't characterize having an account for almost 10 years with over 3,000 games played being new.

I didn't look at their profile - they have only one post on the forum and talk about how unfriendly the system is to new players, etc. I guess they say they used to play here a lot, but quite a while ago, and were perceiving themselves as a new player who couldn't get a foothold in the system because they tanked their rep. Looking at their profile does show a big gap where they have games from 6 days ago, and then it jumps back to 5 years ago. So I can concede they might perceive themselves as new to the system again.

Whether they're new or not, their comment is addressing how a new player can work with the reputation system. I agree that mistakes get made by newer players, but it doesn't take much time to figure out how not to keep making those mistakes.

[Cos-]

To answer the question OP asked, if you're trying a new game and the tutorial wasn't enough for you to be able to make your moves in about a minute - which is a pretty long time - then you have several options:

1. Make impulsive moves, more quickly, without fully understanding the game. You'll make the wrong moves, and you'll probably lose, but so what? It's your first or second time trying a new game you don't know yet. You'll learn by playing, and be able to make better moves your next game. And your ELO is already 0 so there's nothing to lose there either, if you care about that.

2. Play turn based. You can think about your move for literally _hours_. The different turn-based speeds are more about how often you check the site to see if it's your move, than they are about how fast you move.

3. Play friendly mode with someone you know, if you know someone else on BGA who wants to try the game with you. That lets you play in real time, but without a time limit at all. And playing with someone you know also lets you get another chat going, on discord or zoom or whatever, where you can talk to each other more easily while playing (BGA's chat feature is awful).

[Exotic Dreams]

That happened to me too and now I play new games that I am learning turn based. Another problem is that some players will block new players for playing badly when learning a new game.

[BarnardsStar]

That happened to me too and now I play new games that I am learning turn based. Another problem is that some players will block new players for playing badly when learning a new game.

Why would you allow sub-100 ELO in your game (or join a game with that configuration) and then block the new players who don’t know the game’s strategy yet? Sometimes people don’t make any sense to me.