Damn spell check.

I've been here for 4 years, mostly as a standard member, typically with 10 games on the go and I don't think this situation has occurred to me once. At most I'd say one player on vacation has held up 2 or 3 games.

Xrayjay wrote:

I've been here for 4 years, mostly as a standard member, typically with 10 games on the go and I don't think this situation has occurred to me once. At most I'd say one player on vacation has held up 2 or 3 games.

I float about 15 games on average and I've see 2 or 3 games held up at least a dozen times  - probably closer to a couple dozen. It may be the circle of players who play the boards I play, but..

It's most frustrating when it's a 7+ day vacation. - and even more frustrating when it's part of a tournament - and holding up more than just that single game.  Come to think of it, there have been just as many times where a tournament has been held up by players on vacation in games I'm not even in..  And that's only counting those I've noticed because I happened to be looking at other games in the tournament.

The whole concept here is to play an asynchronous game with people from anywhere in a variety of conditions. 

Given that requirement, I don't think a 7 day hold up is actually that unreasonable. I mean, it's not great, I check in at least everyday... but I don't think it's unreasonable.

ratsy wrote:

The whole concept here is to play an asynchronous game with people from anywhere in a variety of conditions. 

Given that requirement, I don't think a 7 day hold up is actually that unreasonable. I mean, it's not great, I check in at least everyday... but I don't think it's unreasonable.

The expectations associated with asynchronous play are morphing somewhat, wouldn't you say? Only a handful of decades ago play-by mail-meant a game of chess could last months, so taking an extra 7-days to make a move wasn't as impactful. Of course, the post moved slower than today's electrons. A handful of decades ago asynchronous games by and large only had two players, not 5, 10 or even 15,  And perhaps most importantly, a handful of decades ago players had to set up and have access to a physical chess board, writing accoutrements, and even had to find time to make a trip to the post.  Access is the key here.  And there's plenty of it everywhere you go these days.  As every month passes, lack of access becomes less and less a deterrent to play. I get the impression that most players take vacations not because they don't have access, but because they have time.

I agree with you M57. 

I think the key here is managing our own expectations, and keeping it real.

Given the medium, it's pretty impressive that sometimes games happen relatively fast. 

ratsy wrote:

I think the key here is managing our own expectations, and keeping it real.

A little incentive wouldn't hurt..

http://www.wargear.net/forum/showthread/4139/Vacation_By_Game_Idea