Board Game Arena

Recently I've had at least one player running out of time in almost every (turn-based) game I played.
Not a single one of them apologized or gave a reason as to why they couldn't play, which I find rather impolite.

Now I could skip them, but I also want to complete the games regularly, which we usually do.

How do you guys handle this? Do you skip or just wait?

I had taken a break from BGA for several months, before that was not a problem, but now, someone running out of time seems rather common. Is it just me or are you experiencing the same?

Boot them, red thumb, try again. Of course this depends on if you are playing real-time or turn based. I have no patience for someone who has used up 24+ hours of their time bank.

I've found some games are worse for this than others. My suspicion is that this is more common in premium games that are less populated, as non-premium players will join any game that's available and not necessarily pay attention to the game speed.

I've found that playing in arena significantly reduces the frequency of this. You don't have to be trying to rank up for arena to be worth while, it's just a slightly more competitive space so players are actually going to be focused on the game and not timing out.

In a two player game, do what you want.

In a >2 player game, do NOT boot them and ruin everyone's game, coz that makes you the impolite one, to put it very mildly.

Godsmurf wrote: ↑22 May 2026, 20:08 In a two player game, do what you want.

In a >2 player game, do NOT boot them and ruin everyone's game, coz that makes you the impolite one, to put it very mildly.

The time bank is 3 times longer than the turn time. If the table says "2 moves per day" and they haven't taken a turn for 2 days (or more often: taken 20+ hours to make their move for the past several days) I am not the rude one by enforcing the rules of the table.

This is why BGA needs a setting at table creation to "automatically remove players who are out of time". It shouldn't be up to the users to enforce the rules, and it's absurd to blame those who are following the rules everyone agreed to at table creation for not wanting to continue playing with someone who isn't following them.

I usually prefer 8 or 12 turn a day, so the players "only" have 12 hours. Don't they read that before they join?
And I prefer games with 3+ players, so booting someone also affects the other player(s).

Curulin wrote: ↑22 May 2026, 22:26 Don't they read that before they join?

No. They in fact often do not, which is the root of many complaints about "unfair" time zones and the like. There is currently another thread on the front page of Discussions--"How do timezones affect timing out?"--that probably stems from this.

There is a suggestion in the bugs/suggestions system to force people to acknowledge a warning about the playing hours before they join a fast turn-based game: https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=57379

Cile wrote: ↑22 May 2026, 20:25

Godsmurf wrote: ↑22 May 2026, 20:08 In a two player game, do what you want.

In a >2 player game, do NOT boot them and ruin everyone's game, coz that makes you the impolite one, to put it very mildly.

The time bank is 3 times longer than the turn time. If the table says "2 moves per day" and they haven't taken a turn for 2 days (or more often: taken 20+ hours to make their move for the past several days) I am not the rude one by enforcing the rules of the table.

This is why BGA needs a setting at table creation to "automatically remove players who are out of time". It shouldn't be up to the users to enforce the rules, and it's absurd to blame those who are following the rules everyone agreed to at table creation for not wanting to continue playing with someone who isn't following them.

If that option existed, it would be straight up machiavellian for a tournament organizer to use it for multiplayer tournaments. This isn't the Hunger Games, so no thanks.

tbhp wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 05:27 If that option existed, it would be straight up machiavellian for a tournament organizer to use it for multiplayer tournaments. This isn't the Hunger Games, so no thanks.

???? No one forces anyone to play tournament games, and no one forces anyone to use that setting (if it existed) or to join games with that setting.

Jellby wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 08:04

tbhp wrote: ↑23 May 2026, 05:27 If that option existed, it would be straight up machiavellian for a tournament organizer to use it for multiplayer tournaments. This isn't the Hunger Games, so no thanks.

???? No one forces anyone to play tournament games, and no one forces anyone to use that setting (if it existed) or to join games with that setting.

You think people who join such a tournament would think it's a good idea to be eliminated the moment someone else goes out of time? Just because they aren't forced doesn't mean they agree with it.

So much like the options for 12 hour playing periods, the ability to kick or not, or the inclusion of a particular expansion, don't choose to play tournaments with that (hypothetical) setting. I probably wouldn't join them either, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who wouldn't prefer it and shouldn't be able to have that option (in fact, proposing as an option for tournaments is quite reasonable, compared to having it forced on every game everywhere on the site, as others would prefer).