Tournament Time Limits

[Sauron]

As Bernd said, this discussion is just as old as the Nations Cup itself. The original idea about not setting up a time limit in this tournament was that a) its simply not necessary as the players dont play simultanious and the tournament has a long time limit itself (1 week each round) and b) we once thought its nicer to play the games in the casual way which we play every day on gccg. I know, I know, the Nations Cup is much to serious to play in a casual way but if I look at my games in all those years, most of them were normal games in terms of the time they took. May last game took little more than one hour!

Brian, play a fast deck and if your opponent is stalling, just ask him if he could play a little bit faster. Last year we had the discussion after your game vs Trossel and as far as I can tell he is playing way faster than ever (no need to stop the running gags though).

That said I must say that I still agree with you and I would be annoyed, too, if a organisation phase would take 20 minutes. That makes one beer each organisation phase. Too much for me during the week....

I specifically did not name Trossell, because he is not the only one guilty of playing like this. Don't put words into my mouths folks. This is not just about 1 person, but about many people who play like this. It's not about 1 person playing slow and it's not just about online games. In real life I've met numerous players who play like this in tournaments. I believe it has become a strategy to play slow and I don't think it's right.

Are all meccg games considered casual now? Is there no tournament level play anymore? Where do you draw the line? When was the last time you EVER saw someone get a tournament infraction for anything not just stalling?

I personally believe we have become too lax, and maybe it's a sympton of trying to perserve the game, but I enjoy a tough fight. I might win, I might lose, but I enjoy the high level of competition. But I would like for it to be a even playing field in regards to rules and time, but it's not and until something is done about it, I will continue my 1 man protest.

[Alter Tuk]

I specifically did not name Trossell, because he is not the only one guilty of playing like this. Don't put words into my mouths folks.

I didnt. Please read carefully. And I never had your problem. Not with Trossel or with anybody.

[Shapeshifter]

Why not limit the time for each player's turn instead of limiting the whole time for a game.

My proposal:

A player's turn may not last longer than 20 minutes otherwise that player receives -5 MP for each turn he needs more than this time limit and additionally he may not dunk anymore for the rest of the game.

[marcos]

Are all meccg games considered casual now? Is there no tournament level play anymore? Where do you draw the line? When was the last time you EVER saw someone get a tournament infraction for anything not just stalling?

i saw people being DQ from GCCG championships because of silly mistakes.

I also saw games declared 6-0, 0-0 or 3-3 during FWSLC and NC because of not being played before deadline.

[thorondor]

the problem is not time limit or no time limit. the problem is stalling, which can cause a negtive play experience in both systems.
so i dont think we have to change the system. but as soon as someone feels uncomfortable because of an opponents stalling, he should address it and if that doesnt help a judge should be involved (enabled to take consequences).

maybe this last part has been neglected too much in the last years, because all of us play casually most of the times. but: tournament is tournament and needs strict rules.

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something else comes to my mind: what about playing a tourney with a fixed number of rounds? this doesnt solve any of the problems wth time limits, but as an alterative it could be interesting.

[Sauron]

the problem is not time limit or no time limit. the problem is stalling, which can cause a negtive play experience in both systems.
so i dont think we have to change the system. but as soon as someone feels uncomfortable because of an opponents stalling, he should address it and if that doesnt help a judge should be involved (enabled to take consequences).

maybe this last part has been neglected too much in the last years, because all of us play casually most of the times. but: tournament is tournament and needs strict rules.

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something else comes to my mind: what about playing a tourney with a fixed number of rounds? this doesnt solve any of the problems wth time limits, but as an alterative it could be interesting.

I think that's the bigger issue is the non-enforcement. A player should get a warning as outlined in the CoL Tournament policy, and then a direct loss if they continue, I mean the rules are set, they just need to be enforced.