Board Game Arena

Tyler1986 wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 01:06 But I'm here for fun, not to punish others for having a life outside of online board games.

Others are here for fun too, not to wait and abandon games because others did not check the settings.

It's not about punishing for the sake of punishing, but there needs to be some negative consequence so that you'll pay more attention next time.

Jellby wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 09:04
It's not about punishing for the sake of punishing, but there needs to be some negative consequence so that you'll pay more attention next time.

Thanks, but I'm able to learn without having any negative consequences.

Personally, I think there's a big difference between someone who just doesn't play anymore with no sign of coming back any time soon and a premium player who is playing every day with a perfect reputation being offline for a few hours (anyone who checks my profile can figure that out easily). Therefore, the consequences for running out of time should also be different.

Tyler1986 wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 10:08

Jellby wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 09:04
It's not about punishing for the sake of punishing, but there needs to be some negative consequence so that you'll pay more attention next time.

Thanks, but I'm able to learn without having any negative consequences.

Personally, I think there's a big difference between someone who just doesn't play anymore with no sign of coming back any time soon and a premium player who is playing every day with a perfect reputation being offline for a few hours (anyone who checks my profile can figure that out easily). Therefore, the consequences for running out of time should also be different.

Why not just make your moves within the allotted time?

If your opponent is low on time and makes a hasty and possibly bad move because of not wanting to go over the time limit, how is it fair for you to them go a few hours over the time limit and not expect to get kicked from the game?

Even on fast turn-based settings, we start with plenty of clock. I don't really understand why some players allow the clock to get so low that this even becomes a problem in the first place.

FrankJones wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 10:32
Why not just make your moves within the allotted time?

I do that in 99,9% of all cases. Just missed the playing time between 3am and 1pm.

FrankJones wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 10:32
If your opponent is low on time and makes a hasty and possibly bad move because of not wanting to go over the time limit, how is it fair for you to them go a few hours over the time limit and not expect to get kicked from the game?

There are no hasty moves in turn-based games. I would never kick a player from a turn-based game, because to me that would always be worse than "waiting" (you're not really waiting in a turn-based game, since it's a completely different approach than real-time). I don't even notice when other players are below their time limit, because it doesn't affect me at all.

FrankJones wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 10:32
Even on fast turn-based settings, we start with plenty of clock. I don't really understand why some players allow the clock to get so low that this even becomes a problem in the first place.

When the game started, I had plenty of time for doing my moves, but I waited for the others to play (if you check the stats, you will see that the blue player didn't play for 9 hours). Unfortunately, my next turn started in the worst possible time window.

I got booted last night from a real time game - had to run off and check on my child who was screaming. Got back to my laptop with (-22) seconds left to play my turn. Got booted by 1 player.

Some players on here just seem super keen to kick people off as fast as possible.

Tyler1986 wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 12:12

There are no hasty moves in turn-based games. I would never kick a player from a turn-based game, because to me that would always be worse than "waiting" (you're not really waiting in a turn-based game, since it's a completely different approach than real-time). I don't even notice when other players are below their time limit, because it doesn't affect me at all.

Right, but that's you.

Other players, upon seeing their clock low, will make any move, sometimes a bad one, to avoid going into negative clock. I've done this a few times.

FrankJones wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 10:32 I don't really understand why some players allow the clock to get so low that this even becomes a problem in the first place.

For me it's usually a mix of procrastination and being indecisive about my first few moves. When several days remain on the clock I tend to avoid playing because keeping busy with other things in my life is less mental struggle than focusing on a game and worrying about making a mistake right at the start. When the clock approaches the end, it feels different because at that point I have no choice but to tackle the task at hand. It's pretty much like when you have several weeks to do a school exam, but you can only bring yourself to start it the evening before the final day. I also find that I tend to perform better when there is this adrenaline rush of not having much time left, it feels more like a challenge I guess.

As a result it's common for me to be in tournaments where there is a dozen of games playing at the same time, with several days allotted at the start, where I end up with most of those games having less than 10 hours left and barely even started. But I very rarely run out of time in any of them, and it feels good to accumulate the wins while time is running low everywhere and you feel like you are fighting your opponents on all fronts.

Based on what you described, it sounds as though you don't mind having the clock get low and then focus - and get your moves made on time.

My question was more aimed at people who aren't capable of doing that, but then let the clock run way down anyway, at which point they're going to constantly be in the red.

Charlieboy80 wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 13:36 I got booted last night from a real time game - had to run off and check on my child who was screaming. Got back to my laptop with (-22) seconds left to play my turn. Got booted by 1 player.

Some players on here just seem super keen to kick people off as fast as possible.

I'm not sure whether it is always intended. When you have a game where someone is in the red for a long time (= meaning several moves of all the players) the probability is high that someone else expels him by clicking at the wrong place without actually wanting to do that.

But you're right; some people seem to see themselves as the last guardian against the chaos or might need to compensate for all the misery life throws at them ...

Fuchur wrote: ↑14 January 2026, 20:32
I'm not sure whether it is always intended. When you have a game where someone is in the red for a long time (= meaning several moves of all the players) the probability is high that someone else expels him by clicking at the wrong place without actually wanting to do that.

If someone - unlike Charlieboy80 - is in the red for a long time, it’s probably someone expelling them that had some patience, expecting the slow player to pick up the pace again at some point, then seeing that the slow player will be going slow forever, then expelling them. Totally ok, no need for negative assumptions about people’s lives. You can’t really expel someone by accident as the decision has to be confirmed.