- An extra "bank" of time that can be used in Speed Games when a turn takes longer than the round length.
Specifics/Details:
- Years ago when I joined, 5 minute speed games were all that we had. When shorter round lengths were suggested, many were in favor, since that sped up the real-time aspect of the game. I have found that shorter round length fixes some concerns, but causes some different problems, especially when playing large escalating games (my favorite), as the short round lengths make it very difficult to plan and execute complex eliminations to clear the map. As such, I no longer play speed games, unless for a guilty pleasure ass-doodle or something, where I leave my fate and my points up to the dice and the drop.
- Most turns in a game take a few seconds from beginning to end. For those turns, a minute is plenty. However, during the elimination attempt, more time is often needed. Because you will eventually need the time in future rounds, the only current solution is to do 4, or 5 minute rounds, to prepare for that eventuality.
- Longer round times cause people to become impatient, especially in games with numerous opponents, so people start new games, or get distracted doing whatever it is people do. This causes people to delay taking their turn when their turn is ready, miss turns, make mistakes, not pay attention, etc., which makes these strategy games frustrating.
- The ideal format would be to have selectable round lengths, as we do now, but with a time bank that can be automatically depleted when a turn is active and the player runs out of time. Maybe a 5 minute bank option, with a Yes/No checkbox in the create game screen. Then, when you need to go over your 1 minute round length, as long as you are playing your turn, it will activate the time bank and begin depleting the 5 minutes. When you end, the depletion stops, and the remaining balance is left over for a future turn. If you deplete the entire bank, you are "out of time" as you are today.
How this will benefit the site and/or other comments:
- Part of the reason I first got premium was the idea that I could sit down and play a "virtual" game of world domination in real time, which sounds incredibly alluring when you're a freemium. It sounds like it would work the same way it does at your kitchen table - one person ends their turn, another immediately starts playing. In reality, what you get is a group of people all playing 5 different games simultaneously, so when one person ends, the next person takes 2 minutes to start their turn, if at all. People aren't paying attention to the strategy of the game, they're just hopping from window to window to take their turn. This is why most speed games are freestyle 1v1, or Luxembourg assassin with 6 players, or something else that is conducive to very short turns, lots of drop and dice luck, and little to no brain capacity required to plan and strategize your turn.
- Having short round lengths, and a time bank that only activates if you are already playing your turn, would increase the likelihood that they'll remain on that game, paying attention and ready to take their turn. Many people enjoy playing a half dozen games at once, so this option wouldn't be ideal for them, which is why it will have to be optional. Other people, like myself, prefer to play one game at a time, have it move along quickly, and banter in the chat box with the people I'm playing with.
