Backgammon Online

09-Apr-2014
05:31 PDT

Purposely delaying games when you're at a disadvantage, taking holidays to further delay and shattering your opponents' nerves to the point that they don't know which end is up - leave alone remember how to play backgammon - is NOT sportsmanlike.
In football, a player delaying a game, or committing any unsportsmanlike conduct, gets yellow-carded.

Something similar should be done here, as well.  

09-Apr-2014
06:02 PDT

In football (soccer for any Americans reading this), time wasting is unsporting and against the rules because it gives the opponent less time to score an equaliser or winning goal. In backgammon it may be unsporting to deliberately delay a game (if that is indeed what people are doing) however there is no disadvantage for the opponent whose move will be next regardless.

Why exactly are you in such a hurry to complete a game anyway?

My advice is don't let it get on your nerves - just continue with your other games and forget about it until it's your move.

If you don't like the rules ask for a rule change. Yellow cards in backgammon - you're having a laugh!

09-Apr-2014
07:54 PDT

Some people on this site are beyond a joke.

"shattering your opponents' nerves" Get a grip of yourself!!!!! Anyone suffering from "shattered nerves" caused by the time another player takes to play a game needs urgent mental treatment.

09-Apr-2014
08:02 PDT

I see points from both sides. I like this rule from Gameknot (for chess players)... Thought it would be useful for our tournaments here at ZE.... (copied and pasted)

The first 2 rounds will be considered finished when 99% of all games in the corresponding tournament section have been completed. The remaining 1% of games that are still in progress will be automatically adjudicated, and the likely outcome (using a computer engine evaluation) will be recorded in the tournament table as the final result. The games will remain active and can be finished normally, affecting players ratings and stats accordingly at the time they are completed, however such games will no longer affect the tournament table/results. Starting with the 3rd round on, all games have to be completed in the same tournament section before the next round can be started.

Your thoughts?

09-Apr-2014
08:14 PDT

How about people just accept that some players have more important things in their lives than spending more time on ZE. Perhaps if someones playing withing the rules the rest of you should just stop moaning and get on with it.

09-Apr-2014
09:32 PDT

What Steelerhead says is right. Gameknot does not allow a single player to hold up an entire tournament and neither should Zooescape.

@Stylas: we are talking two months - 63 days - for straightforward games. Hardly "hurry" material.

@Peter Hill: I'll ignore your insults, I'd probably talk the same way if my team was relegated.

09-Apr-2014
11:17 PDT

Yes, 8-9 weeks for a game of backgammon is ridiculous. I'm sure we all have more important things going on, but it's just ridiculous to string people along like that. The 3 day limit is supposed to be just that, a limit and not a target for average time between moves. And I see no reason at all why anybody would take a 2 week holiday, can they really not get any access to the site at all in that time? Backgammon is a good way to relax on holiday anyway.

Why play so fast? Backgammon is a game of strategy and it is difficult to have a cohesive one if you are playing so intermittently.

I can only play one tournament of each type at a time, so I suppose the subscribers will tell me I should pay, but again you would just lose track of where you were in each tournament. I've said before that even subscribers should be restricted, which might focus the minds of some of the slower players a bit.

Anyway, my team looks doomed too, and I'm not going to get abusive.

09-Apr-2014
12:31 PDT

@steelerhead - finally someone with something constructive to say. This would stop the moaning without any bans or yellow cards.

@yiannakos - you say hardly "hurry" material as though you're quoting me. I've never used the word "hurry" in either of my previous posts so what are you referring to?

@guthers - you're joking when you say you see no reason anyone would take a 2 week holiday..

@David Cool - this whole post is based on some games you had against Cuisineworks. His games with you were almost the last games he ever completed on this site before timing out on all games. He could have stopped playing for any reason - we don't know what happened to him but it appears to me he was not time wasting.

09-Apr-2014
13:46 PDT

Did you deliberately misunderstand?

Perhaps I should have said "set 2 week vacation mode".

I honestly believe the problem would be reduced if the number of tournaments allowed per user at one time was restricted, to 2 of each type perhaps for subscribers, 1 for the rest.

09-Apr-2014
13:57 PDT

You'll ignore my posts..,by commenting on them? O.K. Very good!

I think I'll just leave you with your shattered nerves.