Conceding: is it bad?

[glaur]

I'm pretty new to this site and have played a few games with random people. A couple of times, the other players have conceded, and I thought, "Oh that's nice, they were going to lose and didn't want to waste my time. How nice of them!" Tonight, I decided to try it for the first time on our last couple of turns, and the other player was a real jerk about it in the chat. Is it considered a bad thing? Is there some kind of quick guide for this site so a new player doesn't get subjected to verbal abuse for an accidental faux pas?

[Sushiyum]

I don't think it's bad, but others might do. There isn't any generally accepted etiquette afaik but somebody being a jerk about it is definitely not good. Either report them if they have broken the rules, or give them a personal red thumb so you don't have to play with them again.

[N_Faker]

Do as you will.

[KongKing123]

Is it considered a bad thing?

Of course not. Conceding is just saying to your opponent "good job, you won, let's go do something else instead of playing out the inevitable".

I don't see why someone would get annoyed by this, unless they somehow get a thrill out of racking up a high score or playing the final move. Imagine Magnus Carlsen throwing a tantrum because his opponent resigned instead of playing the 15 moves that would lead to an unavoidable checkmate...

[CB Droege]

There is never anything wrong with conceding. It's honestly a matter of consent. If I don't want to play anymore because the match result is inevitable (or for any other reason), that must be okay with my opponent. It doesn't matter if they get disappointed by it. I still have the right to my own time. Their disappointment or other feelings about it are irrelevant.

[vigorousRoll]

I don't mind concessions at all in games like Chess or 7 Wonders Duel where the final result of any match is routinely recorded as 1-0.

But there's a certain unfairness about concessions that occur in games in which the results are recorded with a final score. Let's say I'm looking through someone's results in a list of their Race For The Galaxy games and I see listings like 76-51, 42-39, 85 -68, and then I see a 1-0. I say to myself, "Oh, that was a red-clock win....it wasn't a victory that was fully earned." In some red-clock wins, even in a tournament, the opponent doesn't even show up to make a first move. Now, a game that was conceded comes pretty nigh close to being considered as a fully earned victory. But displaying the results of a concession as 1-0 doesn't convey that difference in status versus the 1-0 that you see from a red-clock victory.

[Jest Phulin]

While I respect the opinion of some that there is never a bad time to concede, I must point out that there is one case that is generally considered poor sportsmanship. If a game has a foregone conclusion several moves before the final one and the losing player continues to play, only to concede on the very last possible move. This is especially true on games where making the move takes about the same time as locating the concede button. But, yeah, other than that people complaining about conceding are just sore winners.

Oh, and vigerousRoll, not all conceded games are recorded as 1-0. I just finished a backgammon game, and the score is 12-5, with a concession.

[Imay]

To avoid any problem, i generally say in the chat that i will concede. And with that it is ok i think. never heard complaints about it.

[Wentu]

Honestly, I don't think conceding is nice, because you are depriving the opponent of a victory.
It happened to me a few days ago and I also asked about it here in the forums.
I was going to win, no way for the opponent to reverse the situation in any possible move, so he conceded and.. I didn't get a victory, I didn't get a star.

Now, I play on BGA to... play, I don't care much about ELO ratings and things like that, but it seems like on BGA conceding is like avoiding an official defeat. I didn't make much fuss about it but I can understand that another person that really cares about it could be quite pissed off about a missed victory.

So to me, yes, conceding (they way I understood it works here on BGA, based on replies received here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... tar#p69796) is bad and I honestly would prefer that after player A concedes, then player B gets a victory.
The way it is now, I don't understand conceding.

I ask again here: if my opponent concedes, am I entitled to a victory? am I entitled to a star?
Thanks!

[N_Faker]

The displayed score has no relevance. You still won.