Same IP Players Now Premium?

[ljlevy]

Yes i am also not a fan of this new rule. I will find other sites and different games else where. We like to play at home to test it over a number of games before buying or bcz we cant buy it in our country.

[sourisdudesert]

Well... each of the 3 reasons explained on previous forum page are individually good enough to justify making "same IP play" premium.

But at the end, when speaking about Premium features, there is no absolute answer about what is "good" or "bad"... we just have to solve the "keep the audience high while getting enough money to run the service" thing. And to do this there is no other way than following our intuition and watch the numbers.

[ChuckTheBeard]

Just registering my disapproval as well.

My wife and I are two users in the same household. Her account is Premium. Mine is not. (You simply don't offer enough benefit for us to justify two full-priced memberships.) Though we often play at the same time, last night, she wasn't playing, and this "Same IP" change became an issue for me.

BGA is a good site. And it's your site. So you're free to develop and charge for it however you like. But taking away previously standard features really feels like a step backward in your attempt to monetize and build membership. And it makes me wonder what other features will be shuffled across into the realm of Premium only.

(And regarding your three "reasons"... you're entitled to follow whatever you logic you want, but they really feel like you've decided your course and you're posting explanations after the fact.

1. We own physical copies of the majority of the games we play here. (Some of which have been purchased because we got to try them here first.) BGA simply allows us to play with friends and family who are too far away to play in person.
2. Hot Seat mode is of negligible value to us, so you're taking away one feature to justify the mis-marketing of a feature we won't use.
3. The "rank cheating" argument just seems ridiculous. If Free members are cheating, stop ranking free players. If Premium members are cheating, your change has no relevance.)

[sourisdudesert]

My wife and I are two users in the same household. We often play at the same time, but last night, she wasn't playing, and this IP change became an issue for me.

If she wasn't playing you should have no issue at all.

If she is playing from another location there is no problem to play on BGA. But playing on BGA together from the same house is not something we want to promote (nor the publishers).

[ChuckTheBeard]

But playing on BGA together from the same house is not something we want to promote (nor the publishers).

That's a very disappointing response.

My wife and I consider board gaming a family activity. We have promoted BGA among friends and family as a way that she and I can both play with them, across distances of hundreds of miles or more. (Living in other cities, away at school, etc.)

We didn't realize that we'd have to take turns doing so.

I'll do my best to not use BGA when she does.

[sourisdudesert]

I'll do my best to not use BGA when she does.

You don't have to. We only restrict players from the same location at the same table. You can totally play on BGA with other players at the same time.

However, the subscription is only €2 / month and you only need one to play together ...

[ChuckTheBeard]

I'll do my best to not use BGA when she does.

You don't have to. We only restrict players from the same location at the same table. You can totally play on BGA with other players at the same time.

However, the subscription is only €2 / month and you only need one to play together ...

Awfully quick to go from "something we don't want to promote" to... "here's how much we charge for it."

[yamzdan]

BGA is a great site, you should earn money on it or at least have sufficient resources to keep it working or develop. But your previous communication was: BGA (service) will be always free. Now it occures not to be true and some people are disappointed. Not true because what was free before is not free any more. I think it would be better to limit future functionalities or access to new games than to limit was was free before. Secondly, it is better to say - we need more money, we have more players, more games and these things require more financial resources. And it is ok. But your arguments about cheating or not buying analogue copies of the games are nonesense. If someone is so determined to pump ranking with cheating - he will find the method to avoid your algorithms. Phisical copies? All games excluding Can't Stop I played on BGA I bought as the result of checking it on BGA. I wouldn't buy it if couldn't check it. And Hanabi - I bought it, but still I definitely prefer to play it online.

[Liallan]

My wife and I are two users in the same household. Her account is Premium. Mine is not. (You simply don't offer enough benefit for us to justify two full-priced memberships.) Though we often play at the same time, last night, she wasn't playing, and this "Same IP" change became an issue for me.

But was this a bug? If he's stating that it should only be restricted if you are playing the same game at the same table, then I'm not seeing why there should be an issue if you're not at the same table, and certainly not if one of you isn't even playing at all. Therefore, this sounds like a bug. And any time something changes, bugs can result because of it. What the OP reported turned out being a bug.

And since one of you is already a premium member, paying the same game together should not be an issue either.

[Liallan]

I want to play with my friend. But I cant because of 'same location', but we have different IP adress. Yes, we are near each other,

As long as you play from the same place one of you must be Premium. This is the case here (as you said, you are near each other). There is no need for both of you to become Premium: only 1 premium member per table is needed.

Now this part does not make sense. Being "near each other" should not have anything to do with it. My neighbor could be a member here for all I know, and even have the same internet provider, but there certainly isn't any reason for either of us to have to become premium. (I seriously doubt either of my neighbors are members here - just making a point.) Trolo28 specifically stated they even have two different providers. It sounds like the problem is because they have at some point played using the same IP, I would assume because one of them was at the other one's house. If that is kept on record, it may be designating these two as being at the same IP, even though they are not. It seems like that could be re-set or something.