Timeouts in tournaments

One way to get people to play faster is if more play groups would start too play with 2 hour time limits in some of there casual games to get used to it.

Pagan wrote: Changing the length of games will not change timeouts either. All you're going to do is make tournaments take even longer and see the same number of timeouts as deck building changes to allow even slower decks to survive.

What data do you have to support this conclusion? Or is that just your opinion?

It is my opinion that most timeouts would be resolved with another 10-15 minutes. Or at least further resolved with 1+vps being awarded in that timeframe.

It's a horizon. Increasing the length of a tournament game simply moves the horizon. At some point we'll have to stop and face the real problems. How? I dunno!

Can always try shortening the time limit. While the key to getting people not to play to time is to get them to stop wasting it or manipulating it, there is another aspect - deck construction. Shortening a time limit might work for changing play behavior if done in casual play but not tournament play but doesn't seem all that likely if you just shorten the time limit all of the time any more than lengthening the time limit all of the time changes the behavior of playing to the time limit. But, what it does do is force people to build aggressive decks that can reasonably win in an hour. A table full of "one hour" decks is much more likely to finish in two hours than a table with decks that can't reasonably win within an hour.

talonz wrote:

Pagan wrote: Changing the length of games will not change timeouts either. All you're going to do is make tournaments take even longer and see the same number of timeouts as deck building changes to allow even slower decks to survive.

What data do you have to support this conclusion? Or is that just your opinion?

I don't know what your definition of "data" is, but I can tell you what I personally do. Every time that I ever play in a game that is longer than three hours, I make every attempt to lengthen the game, no matter what deck I'm playing, because either I'm going to get the GW in plenty of time, I'll need that extra time to secure the GW, or I'm going to be on the losing end of things and need that extra time to be spent so that I can get 0.5vp for the timeout.

talonz wrote: It is my opinion that most timeouts would be resolved with another 10-15 minutes. Or at least further resolved with 1+vps being awarded in that timeframe.

Why not run all your tournament rounds from now on as 2:15 and see what happens? Then compare them to your former tournaments and you'll have some data.

I have a gut feeling that I Helsinki tournaments the time outs might've increased a bit.

The atmosphere is generaly as relaxed as previously; plenty of friendly BSing and banter during the games as well as not necessarily that centered on tier 1 decks.


Might be wrong on this but I feel that the additional bloat afforded by Villein is probably the root of this. Lilith's Blessing hasn't really helped.


Yesterday's tournament had 4 tables and three rounds.
During the prelim rounds there was only six gamewins (did any of those come from timeouted tables). So at least half of the tables timeouted.

The finals timeouted just basrely, but the winner got 3,5 VP so it wasn't that bad...