Board Game Arena

Another idea / suggestion:

Make the no-time-limit (NTL) option a choice that has to be activated (and agreed by all players) once the game has started, like abandoning a game. In addition, once NTL is enabled, allow any player to expel any other player at any time. Of course, this should not happen among friends, but it would prevent getting trapped in NTL, or the mode being abused by ELO cheaters. (If someone expels you from a NTL game, use red thumbs as usual. If this happens after you accept NTL with strangers... you'll be more careful next time.)

Something that may be adding to the distress and concerns here:

The idea that 4 days is a vacation comes across as absurd to people from many societies, including a lot of Western Europe. 4 days is a long weekend or brief city-break, it isn't a vacation. A vacation will be 2, 3 or even 4 weeks of continuous holiday time. Many of the BGA users live in countries that *mandate* a multi-week vacation each year for all workers, and many more live in countries where this practice is strongly recommended.

If the BGA developers/admins persist in believing that we must play our "real" (non-training) games under turn-based time pressure, at their instruction, then we're going to need to be provided with a proper allocation of "vacation" tokens. For example, one that is valid for four weeks, one valid for two weeks and several valid for a week. In each case these should include both the lead-in and lead-out weekends, so 30 days, 16 days and 9 days respectively. And we're going to need a sick-leave system too.

Or perhaps it's worth thinking of the user base as users to be served, rather than employees subject to enforced control?

Fredact wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 00:12I didn't know this work-around would work. I assumed you'd have to keep logging in and out. Does video work, if we set it to turn-based, but actually play in realtime?

That's not at all how it works. I've played "real time" in several turn-based tournament games simply because my opponent and I happened to be logged in at the same time. If you don't leave the table, you see the moves happen right in front of you. Also, if you don't leave the table, you don't get reminder notifications/e-mails that it's your turn. Turn-based sets a ceiling on how often you can move, not a floor. As for video, I've never tried in on a turn-based table, so I don't know if that does or doesn't work.

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 10:00

Fredact wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 00:12I didn't know this work-around would work. I assumed you'd have to keep logging in and out. Does video work, if we set it to turn-based, but actually play in realtime?

Turn-based sets a ceiling on how often you can move, not a floor.

I might be misunderstanding - turn based says you must move X turns in Y days, as a floor, not a ceiling, right?

In other words, you can move as many times per time period as you like (there is no ceiling), but you must move a minimum number of turns per time period (which I think would be the floor).

But I might be misunderstanding your point?

Just to echo - I VERY strongly dislike this change.

I only play with friends. We play asynchronously, and sometimes we have Real Life Things To Do and put games on pause so we always want unlimited time. It's also nice to have rankings to feel like it's a real game. There's no logical reason why this shouldn't be allowed any more?

Windrisen wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 15:24

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 10:00

Fredact wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 00:12I didn't know this work-around would work. I assumed you'd have to keep logging in and out. Does video work, if we set it to turn-based, but actually play in realtime?

Turn-based sets a ceiling on how often you can move, not a floor.

I might be misunderstanding - turn based says you must move X turns in Y days, as a floor, not a ceiling, right?

In other words, you can move as many times per time period as you like (there is no ceiling), but you must move a minimum number of turns per time period (which I think would be the floor).

But I might be misunderstanding your point?

It sets a floor on the number of moves you must make, but a ceiling on how long you have to make said moves. Two sides of the same coin. But the point is that for people who plan to finish a game in real time in one session, the fact that you have two days to make a move is effectively no time limit.

It may not be suitable for players extending their games over multiple days, e.g., because of the notation of time outs on your profile even if you don't take a karma hit for being expelled.

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 17:02 It may not be suitable for players extending their games over multiple days, e.g., because of the notation of time outs on your profile even if you don't take a karma hit for being expelled.

Ah, gotcha - thanks!

Adding my voice to the others who dislike this change and feel it was not well thought through, contrary to the opinion of some. This 10-page-and-growing thread is proof of that.

I am a premium member. Along with expressing my opinion here, I can let it be known with my money, by not renewing.

J'ai cru lire qu'une explication justifiant le retrait des parties illimitées était que des gens s'étaient plains que de mauvais joueurs bloquaient les parties volontairement ou que des parties restaient bloquées ... mais, je trouve incongru que comme réponse à ces remarques on punissent les bons joueurs ... !? Si tant de gens se plaignent. Si tant de gens ont fait remonter ce souci, ce n'est pas parce que ce système était mauvais, au contraire, c'est parce que le système était très apprécié, usité & utile ... alors pourquoi leur répondre par une suppression d'une chose qu'ils demandent & revendiquent ? Il existent largement d'autres moyens d'y remédier, non ? Changer le mode de jeu en cours de partie par exemple ... expulser un joueur inactif depuis vraiment trop longtemps, abandonner la partie, etc ... au lieu de quoi, on pénalise des milliers d'utilisateurs, car de mon groupe d'une trentaine de joueurs, si je suis le seul à m'exprimer ici, TOUS, sans exception, son unanime avec moi pour dire que c'est une calamité cette disparition des parties illimitées ...

Janabis wrote: ↑19 December 2022, 19:51 J'ai cru lire qu'une explication justifiant le retrait des parties illimitées était que des gens s'étaient plains que de mauvais joueurs bloquaient les parties volontairement ou que des parties restaient bloquées ... mais, je trouve incongru que comme réponse à ces remarques on punissent les bons joueurs ... !? Si tant de gens se plaignent. Si tant de gens ont fait remonter ce souci, ce n'est pas parce que ce système était mauvais, au contraire, c'est parce que le système était très apprécié, usité & utile ... alors pourquoi leur répondre par une suppression d'une chose qu'ils demandent & revendiquent ? Il existent largement d'autres moyens d'y remédier, non ? Changer le mode de jeu en cours de partie par exemple ... expulser un joueur inactif depuis vraiment trop longtemps, abandonner la partie, etc ... au lieu de quoi, on pénalise des milliers d'utilisateurs, car de mon groupe d'une trentaine de joueurs, si je suis le seul à m'exprimer ici, TOUS, sans exception, son unanime avec moi pour dire que c'est une calamité cette disparition des parties illimitées ...

It does seem that BGA underestimated the passion that this would trigger. The thread about the war in Ukraine is averaging 1.4 replies per day. This thread is averaging 8.2 replies per day.