Board Game Arena

So, my question is, when does 'thinking time' reset? What counts as thinking time?

A group member felt he was active and the other person was playing slowly.

So, I'm thinking it was because the 5 days ended for the round is why they got penalized despite them ahead at the time. I guess I just would like to understand the mechanics.

Can anyone help explain so I know in the future? As far as I know right now I set up the tourney poorly.

Tournament creators set a maximum time for each game in the tournament - as I understand, this is limited to certain periods, the highest two are 15 and 30 days, and I don't really know what the others are, as most tournaments I play use these. Time per player is fixed - each player gets the same amount of time at the start of the game and that is all the time they have for the game, no time is added back during the game. This is determined by dividing max time per game by number of players - eg. 15 day max, 3 players, 5 days per player.

If all players finish within their given time, the game should end before maximum time is reached, but if one (or more) players go into the red, it is possible that the game will reach the maximum time, in which case, the game is abandoned and rankings are awarded based on time remaining. For games with simultaneous play (eg. 7 Wonders), it's possible for several, even all players to go into the red and still finish the game on time, since everyone's clock ticks down at the same time (until they have played their turn each round).

The other point to note is whether playing hours are set - playing hours are a 12 hour time period where time will tick down, while the other 12 hours are considered "off time" (for sleep or whatever) and time does not tick down. If no playing hours are set, all player clocks tick down 24 hours a day when it is that player's turn.

nik592 wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 01:20

Thank you, that helps!

So I set a game max of 5 days.
But, I set a max of time allotted to each player of 2 days. It's a turn based game.

Usually as you play, the time ticks down and resets when you do a turn. Well, at least I thought so...

Would thinking time be affected and count down if you keep the game window open while waiting for the next player to do their turn?
When does "Thinking Time" accrue?

Curious toads want to know!

Cavetoad wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 02:06 Usually as you play, the time ticks down and resets when you do a turn. Well, at least I thought so...

Would thinking time be affected and count down if you keep the game window open while waiting for the next player to do their turn?
When does "Thinking Time" accrue?

Thinking time is when it's your turn, regardless of whether you are online, have the window open, etc. No time is added each time it becomes your turn as it is in standard/arena games.

nik592 wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 01:20 Tournament creators set a maximum time for each game in the tournament - as I understand, this is limited to certain periods, the highest two are 15 and 30 days, and I don't really know what the others are

According to this suggestion, "the options for game maximum duration are: 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, 10 days, 15 days, and 30 days"

Cavetoad wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 02:06 Usually as you play, the time ticks down and resets when you do a turn. Well, at least I thought so...

That is not true of tournament games. In a tournament game, there is a game maximum duration which is a "hard maximum", i.e. when that amount of time has elapsed after the game began, the table is automatically terminated.

In tournament games, time is not ever added to the clock.

Would thinking time be affected and count down if you keep the game window open while waiting for the next player to do their turn?

No.

When does "Thinking Time" accrue?

Keep in mind that a player's individual thinking time is not the same as the game maximum duration. Your own thinking time counts down whenever it is your move. (Notice I specifically said "your move", not "your turn".) In some games, it's possible for the thinking time of two or more players to be counting down simultaneously; for example Ticket to Ride at the start when players are choosing their destinations, or Catan in which after a player has proposed a trade, the other players' clocks tick until they respond.

Mathew5000 wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 02:54

nik592 wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 01:20 Tournament creators set a maximum time for each game in the tournament - as I understand, this is limited to certain periods, the highest two are 15 and 30 days, and I don't really know what the others are

According to this suggestion, "the options for game maximum duration are: 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, 10 days, 15 days, and 30 days"

Cavetoad wrote: ↑23 March 2024, 02:06 Usually as you play, the time ticks down and resets when you do a turn. Well, at least I thought so...

That is not true of tournament games. In a tournament game, there is a game maximum duration which is a "hard maximum", i.e. when that amount of time has elapsed after the game began, the table is automatically terminated.

In tournament games, time is not ever added to the clock.

Would thinking time be affected and count down if you keep the game window open while waiting for the next player to do their turn?

No.

When does "Thinking Time" accrue?

Keep in mind that a player's individual thinking time is not the same as the game maximum duration. Your own thinking time counts down whenever it is your move. (Notice I specifically said "your move", not "your turn".) In some games, it's possible for the thinking game of two or more players to be counting down simultaneously; for example Ticket to Ride at the start when players are choosing their destinations, and Catan when one player has proposed a trade and other players can respond.

That clears things up, thank you for taking the time to respond!