Wargames tie gives US victory

[Aufrichtigkeit]

I think this should've ended in a draw?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=735239918

[Benkyo]

For some bizarre reason this was a deliberate decision by Playdek. I hope they change their minds, because an un-flagged major departure from the official rules is a really bad idea.

[bagel4u]

who uses wargames to end the game in a tie?

[Benkyo]

Someone who would otherwise lose, obviously.
It doesn't come up often, but when it happens it's an unpleasant surprise to spring on the USSR player, regardless of who plays it.

[Aufrichtigkeit]

yea, I would've lost if the game had kept going. Err, I guess I did anyway...

[rin]

Originally posted by Benkyo:

I hope they change their minds, because an un-flagged major departure from the official rules is a really bad idea.

The official rules does not state anything about ties. Please quote a source.
However, the 2015 Internet Twilight Struggle League[www.wargameroom.com] do classify them as ties.

[Benkyo]

The rules do state exactly what happens when you tie:

"If the VP marker is on zero, the game ends in a draw."

Of course, this is under "End Game Victory", and the rules don't specifically mention Wargames, which is no doubt the point you want to highlight. However, without any text to the contrary, it is totally counterintuitive to draw when the VP marker is on zero at game end, except when the game ends due to Wargames. No new player is ever going to guess that that is what would happen, based on the rules and the card text.
11 years of tournament play and official responses to rule questions, and the situation has never changed, until now.

If they want to change how the card works, they should add the new condition to the text on the card.

[rin]

Originally posted by Benkyo:

The rules do state exactly what happens when you tie:

"If the VP marker is on zero, the game ends in a draw."

Of course, this is under "End Game Victory", and the rules don't specifically mention Wargames, which is no doubt the point you want to highlight.

If they want to change how the card works, they should add the new condition to the text on the card.

Indeed on 10.3.2. Playdek did specifically mentioned it as a placeholder, but no response on their side. This is something that needs to be addressed quick.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1563845/playdeck-ties-online-version

[Aufrichtigkeit]

Has anyone seen the digital version of TS end in a draw, ever? Maybe Playdek just didn't provide for that possibility, and at this point it would be a major effort due to rankings, profile records, UI artwork...

[Benkyo]

I expect you are right, but even if they are past the point of correcting the bad decision, they need to make this departure from the rules crystal clear - on the Wargames card and as a note on the final scoring display (if indeed a draw is also a US win there - and I suspect it is, given their stated design goal of "no draws").

[Namekujisennin]

Sorry for the necromancy, but looking as there is no draw stats in profiles, can anybody tell me if this is still the case? I was thinking about tieing the game as the US with my current opponent on Turn 9, but if this gives me a default victory, I don't want that.

[Benkyo]

Currently, the player who played Wargames for the event will lose the game if VP = 0 after the event. This is a change from the previous implementation, in which the US always won if VP = 0.

Of course, this still isn't mentioned anywhere in the game or documentation.

[Namekujisennin]

Thank you very much! I will avoid suiciding as well, then. (at least, in that way )

[Aufrichtigkeit]

nice save!