Board Game Arena

While I use holiday tokens as rarely as possible I wondered whether four is enough. Four holiday tokens in a year means means around 16 days covered and am not sure about others but I take way more than that and often to some remote places.

Of course I take devices with me when going on holiday, and make my moves whenever possible but often connections are flaky and sometimes there isn't one at all. I've found myself in bizarre situations having to make moves in jungles, on beaches, in some small bar somewhere halfway up a mountain and it's not ideal.

I also try and wind my games down prior to going travelling but sometimes it's not possible to complete all games before going away.

I'm not sure whether this is a topic that's already been discussed or what others think but thought it worth a discussion and wondered what others think about this.

Keep in mind that using them is also a burden for your opponnents because they wanted a game with a specific pace and by someone using the holiday jokers, they don't get that. If you need to cover more than 16 days, you should do that by scheduling your games more wisely. Maybe join fewer games that might reach into your holiday time or use slower time settings which you can fulfill even when away.

I'm with Silene on this one. When you sign up for a game, you are making a commitment to other people to play in a timely manner. Using a joker disrupts that timeliness.

Silene wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 11:19 Keep in mind that using them is also a burden for your opponnents because they wanted a game with a specific pace and by someone using the holiday jokers, they don't get that. If you need to cover more than 16 days, you should do that by scheduling your games more wisely. Maybe join fewer games that might reach into your holiday time or use slower time settings which you can fulfill even when away.

Thanks for joining the conversation,you're absolutely right and make some good points and I do try and do as much as possible to have as few games running when I'm away. As well as previously mentioned holiday time though, I work in a job where I get booked to travel at short notice so it's not always possible to play out all games.

Also as far as I can see most people here on BGA play multiple games when playing assynchronously. It'd be interesting to know what the average is on that. I tend to play between say 10 and 20, some here of course play less and some play more. Personally I don't really notice when one player isn't making a move for a few days unless there is red text or a red icon on the game listing. I do understand that this makes some people angry though but I also don't really care as I have multiple other games going on.

People can be away for all sorts of reasons, a hospital operation, serious illness, a bereavement, a car accident, a new baby or babies, a wedding or honeymoon and many more. Real life does what it does so if someone isn't making their moves it could be because of any of these and other genuine reasons. So I try not and make the assumption that said slow player is being thoughtless about other players but that it's due to something of that nature.

Jest Phulin wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 11:42 I'm with Silene on this one. When you sign up for a game, you are making a commitment to other people to play in a timely manner. Using a joker disrupts that timeliness.

Fair enough, I very much respect your and Silene's opinion. I thought it worth raising and you've been honest in your replies. Like most here, I don't like to let other people down when playing a game but wondered about the possibility of more flexibility with the time tokens due to life stuff. I really do understand that for some though, delaying a game move can be irritating.

Zulu wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 11:52 ... but wondered about the possibility of more flexibility with the time tokens due to life stuff.

Maybe see it like this: The fact that the time jokers even exist IS the "more flexibility due to life stuff". Compared to no time jokers at all.

I fully agree that other life stuff is more important in general. Also I do not judge personally anyone who suddenly disappears or plays slow for whatever reason. But it might annoy me anyway (for example because I sometimes plan ahead my move and when the next move takes 2 weeks I might have forgotten what my plan was).

I think the system of games on BGA should be consistent for what's happening on BGA. Regardless of real life stuff. So when you cannot hold on to the commitment on here and the time jokers are not enough - well then you get penalties.

But really these penalties are not at all important for your real life, so you shouldn't let this get into your real life worries. People don't judge you
personally for your penalties or Karma. It is only karma of your BGA-account - not of you as a person.

In fast turn-based games, I think you get effectively 8 days per joker (+96 hours time, but it only counts 12 hours per day).

On the other hand, in fast games a joker is most disruptive. I think players should be allowed to quit without penalties if a joker is used. If you agree, vote for https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=67850

Silene wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 12:31

Zulu wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 11:52 ... but wondered about the possibility of more flexibility with the time tokens due to life stuff.

Maybe see it like this: The fact that the time jokers even exist IS the "more flexibility due to life stuff". Compared to no time jokers at all.

I fully agree that other life stuff is more important in general. Also I do not judge personally anyone who suddenly disappears or plays slow for whatever reason. But it might annoy me anyway (for example because I sometimes plan ahead my move and when the next move takes 2 weeks I might have forgotten what my plan was).

I think the system of games on BGA should be consistent for what's happening on BGA. Regardless of real life stuff. So when you cannot hold on to the commitment on here and the time jokers are not enough - well then you get penalties.

But really these penalties are not at all important for your real life, so you shouldn't let this get into your real life worries. People don't judge you
personally for your penalties or Karma. It is only karma of your BGA-account - not of you as a person.

You make some good points. I know what you mean about forgetting your plan. I find that happens anyway so use the little notepad feature to make a note of what I plan to do in a sort of shorthand. As mentioned I tend to play 10 or more games at the same time, some play many more, and sometimes the same game.

Also on your point of what happens in BGA being separate from real life, you're correct. Even in the worse case whatever happens on BGA, it doesn't affect real life whatseoever. In some ways BGA is a bubble to which we escape to do something most of us love. I think that's why I raised the subject as the rules here can be changed. Admin could remove time tokens altogether or double the number available.

I suspect there are many here who find any number of time tokens and any disruption irritating and that's fine. I used to play on * and the approach there is much more forgiving, for some that's a plus, for others it's not. I think there are now more better games here on BGA though.

*Moderator edit: please refer to other gaming websites indirectly, using phrases such as "another gaming website" rather than specifically naming them

Jellby wrote: ↑15 July 2022, 15:11 In fast turn-based games, I think you get effectively 8 days per joker (+96 hours time, but it only counts 12 hours per day).

On the other hand, in fast games a joker is most disruptive. I think players should be allowed to quit without penalties if a joker is used. In you agree, vote for https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=67850

That seems fair. For example if a game is set at one turn a day and then this changes subsequently, the ability to leave with no penalty makes sense.

Although I agree with Silene and the others, I think Zulu's proposal is very much worth considering.

There are certain games on here that can take several months to complete on turn-based mode. It would be nice to have a "pause" feature if all players agree to it (like when agreeing to abandon a game collectively) where the timer reconvenes at a certain date. Or the ability to temporarily put it on "No Time Limit" until such a time that players can reconvene after the emergency. Having such a feature would make me much more likely to join or start games with a big commitment factor, such as Unconditional Surrender.

As it is, even if the players agree to wait on the player and continue the game later, if the timer is red they can end it at any time. Even after the player returns. That's fine for tournaments, but not so great for a casual game of Viticulture that started 3 months ago.