Game etiquette

[Fearless Phil]

I recently joined a two player game with a 5 minute time limit. In my first turn as Japan, I was just completing the combat phase and was kicked from the game by my opponent presumably because I ran over the time limit. I have been in similar circumstances in other games and I always allow the other player to finish if they are actively executing their moves. I felt it was kind of rude for this player to kick me. What do others think?

[The Muffin]

The short timer is there for a reason.

Playing a game with plenty of time to think and click carefully is one thing; playing it when you're under pressure, have little time to think, and must move quickly is something else entirely. It's the difference between Chess and Speed Chess, basically. Same game, two very different experiences.

But yes, I've also been on the receiving end of an unexpected "(Not my) VICTORY!" screen when I'm locked in on making my moves and forgot the timer was burning down. It sucks. Bottom line, if you are worried you won't able to do everything you need to in the time limit prescribed, don't play matches with short timers.

[Fearless Phil]

Well I guess I mistakenly thought that good sportsmanship would play a role in these games>

[Davy_Hall]

I think you will find that sportsmanship and the idea of what is good sportsmanship varies by player. You will find some who never try for a cheap win, and others who try to construct games to get as many cheap wins as possible. There is even a subset of quite skilled players who start games as axis with a computer playing 1 of the allies, guaranteeing that even if 2 quality players end up playing the other allies, the computer will almost certainly force a loss. I can only assume they are trying for some crazy win % in custom games.

Some who love the ultra fast paced games with no time to strategize, and others who play right at the end of a 24 hr timer, using all that time to figure out the exact best move. My recommendation is when you find someone who doesn't match your idea of fair play - note the name, and avoid games with that player, otherwise it can be very frustrating. It will happen in some of your games for sure, but there are plenty of people who will give you a good game so best just to move on and find the next one, or find a group of people you enjoy playing with and join each other's games.

[The Muffin]

Originally posted by Fearless Phil:

Well I guess I mistakenly thought that good sportsmanship would play a role in these games>

To echo the above post, "good sportsmanship" is in the eye of the beholder.

I personally play matches with 3 minute timers because 1) I don't have the attention span to play multi-day games, 2) usually only skilled players will join since they know that short a time limit means they have to know what they're doing, and 3) it's more engaging as you have to actively watch your opponent's moves to know what plays to make in your upcoming turn (so most opponents won't leave to go play another match and forget about yours).

The only "bad sportsmanship" I see in those matches are people who are losing and deliberately run out the clock to the very last second each time in the hopes their opponent will get bored/distracted, forget to check, and then lose by forced forfeit. To be honest, I do briefly REEEEEEE!!!! when I get kicked from my own 3 minute turn games, but not for very long since I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for a quick match and the only person I have to blame for getting kicked out because of taking too long is me.

And BeamDog recently when the server kept glitching me offline and not letting me come back in. REEEEEEEE!!!!!

[rocky1242]

This is a very good topic to talk about. The truth is custom games can be very chaotic, but I still like playing them because I like the idea of finishing a game all at once instead of having to wait up to 24 hours for my opponent to take their turn. I wish they would change the rules so you have a limited number of warnings. The way it works now, whatever you set the timer to, the real time limit is actually double that. If I set a 6 minute time limit, I want you to be able to take your turn in 6 minutes; however, I understand that things happen where you might need longer for multiple reasons and it shouldn't be game over the first time you go over 6 minutes.

[Foxtrot]

Originally posted by The Muffin:

I personally play matches with 3 minute timers because 1) I don't have the attention span to play multi-day games, 2) usually only skilled players will join since they know that short a time limit means they have to know what they're doing, and 3) it's more engaging as you have to actively watch your opponent's moves to know what plays to make in your upcoming turn (so most opponents won't leave to go play another match and forget about yours).

This. Even if you caption something "expert", someone will join a game and I will watch them put themselves in an unwinnable position on round 1 or 2 and then they will take both 5 minute timers every time.... like no im just kicking you sorry, it said fast game expert for a reason. If you are going to join a game, you should be able to complete your turn before the warning timer. IF you make me wait a bunch of times, unless its a good game that went late and things got complex, no way

[Duke of Zork]

Originally posted by Fearless Phil:

Well I guess I mistakenly thought that good sportsmanship would play a role in these games>

Your mistake was in thinking that the time limit was more or less meaningless. If you think chess is unsporting because it has a time limit, you should read about the kind of things that happened when it didn't.

In Axis & Allies, mileage varies, but Turn 1 should be the easiest turn in the game. Some people think that if a player can't finish Turn 1 in time, that that means they're going to drag out EVERY turn. On the other hand, there are times when people don't realize a game has started, especially Russia 1 and Germany 1, and players might take extra time on Turn 1. (By Japan 1 that's probably not an issue).

The time limit is how long you have to finish your turn, not how long you have to start it. If a person isn't dragging it out, I probably won't forfeit them. But I've often played in games with a 20 minute time limit, and faced opponents who sat there doing absolutely nothing for 15 minutes on every turn, and didn't start playing until they had 5 minutes left, or less. I'd probably forfeit someone like that at the first opportunity, not because I'm unsporting, but because they are. Don't keep the other players waiting that way.

I forfeited a partner on Turn 1 once because he was playing so badly that I knew that if I didn't get rid of him, we'd have no chance of winning.