Abandoned games in tournaments

[Soetriet]

I’ve noticed an issue with how abandoned games are handled in tournaments. If a game isn’t finished before the next round, the win is awarded to the player with the most remaining thinking time.

Since I’m in a different time zone from most players, I often lose 15+ points in 4-5 player tournaments, even when I’m not the one holding up the game. It seems like the current system favors players who can log in at the same time, rather than reflecting actual gameplay progress.

Eg in this game I lost 15 points because another player ran out of time.

https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=561947031

I’m wondering if there’s a better way to handle this to ensure fairer outcomes. Has anyone else run into this?

Is the only solution not sign up for tournaments with 4-5 players? There is the option of expelling people who are out of time, but that does not seem to be in the spirit of a tournament?

[Mathew5000]

Has anyone else run into this?

Yes, these issues are frequently discussed on these forums; for example:
https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31083

By the way, your title for this thread is not really accurate; an "abandoned game" on BGA occurs when the players have actively chosen to abandon it. You're talking about games not completed within the maximum game duration set by the tournament creator. One thing you can do is look for tournaments where the max game duration is 30 days. But of course you may still experience games that run out of time. For what it's worth, I agree with you that in a turn-based tournament game that runs out of time, it's not ideal to rank the players based on time used.

[RobertBr]

There is the option of expelling people who are out of time, but that does not seem to be in the spirit of a tournament?

That is definitely in the spirit of a tournament. The expel also does not work in an ideal way in multiplayer games (you would draw with all the people other than the one expelled). The problem is not identifying the problem, it is coming up with a solution - which despite many years no-one has (both systems work well in 2-player real time games, but fall down in turn based multi-player games).

[Gwyran]

I think it would be reasonable to give tournament creators several options for handling these cases. To give a couple of examples, in a game like Shogun, which is practically a wargame, following a game from which a player leaves is absurd because it can harm or benefit one player or another in very different ways. On the other hand, in a game like Rallyman, which is a race, the loss of a vehicle is just one more incident on the track and the rest could continue playing quite normally. Of course, the option that the tournament creator chose would be visible in the registration.

I even think that, after a certain time, this could be a clue for BGA administrators to know which is the best option for each game, without having to do an exhaustive study, and implement it in normal turn-based games, perhaps consulting the "gurus" of each game.

[CaptainShreve]

Gwyran point about different games having different abandoned or time-outed affects is a solid point. The Rallyman example in particular is good. For many types of game, simply ignoring the remaining moves of the "out" player and letting others play on without them would not affect who "won" in any significant way.

Other games may need some more nuanced approach. It may be necessary, upon first implementing a new game on BGA, for their be more thought into how to treat abandoned games. Perhaps a simple automaton designed to play "sub-optimally" may be needed to take over for "out" players so other gamers, especially in tournament situations, are not needlessly and unpredictably harmed by this. For instance, in a trick taking game, an automaton could be to just play their lowest card when following suit, and best cards while sloughing. That should "punish" the "out" players sufficiently without significantly changing the other players outcomes. Especially if it is commonly known that is how the "out" players hands will carry out.