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Author Topic: When do you call a game?  (Read 4137 times)

thecommandtent

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on: March 28, 2021, 03:36:39 PM
Curious about the general consensus as to when/if it is appropriate to call a game? It can be a tabletop wargame or a computer game but is it good sportsmanship to call it when the writing is on the wall or do you make your opponent, winning or losing, play to the bitter end? Are there other mitigating factors/reasons?

More specifically when do you call it when you play a game solo? (Paging BBMike)

What brings this all up is,  I'm currently playing my Ardennes '44 game and the Germans are going to meet one of the victory conditions in the next 2 turns and I don't see anything the Allies can do about. I could call the game now for the Germans but I feel a bit guilty not playing it out given how much time I've invested in setting it up, learning it and slowly taking turns these past few months.  But if I call it and clean it up I can get another game from the 'need to play' pile on the table.



judgedredd

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Reply #1 on: March 28, 2021, 03:53:23 PM
Solo, I would call a game of there was no way to change the outcome AND I felt OK about it...perhaps I want to go onto another game...or I just feel fine doing it. Point is,  solo is your call.

Multiplayer I would say taking to your opponent is required... and not from your perspective. So I'd say that the conclusion was imminent and would they like to continue...so I wouldn't say it in a way that made them think I wanted to end it.

That's how I'd view that



bob48

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Reply #2 on: March 28, 2021, 04:00:37 PM
In my experience, we have always recognised the point in a game where to continue would be of no benefit, unless we wish to explore some specific aspect of the game / situation I should explain that in general terms, I, and the people I do play against, are usually more interested in what a game has to offer either for its entertainment value or as a learning tool rather than as something that must be won at all costs, although there is also often a spirit of competitiveness present that is inherent with gaming in general,

“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”

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Steelie

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Reply #3 on: March 28, 2021, 05:08:02 PM
Great question! I agree with both bawb and jd but mostly I just wanted to say "great question".   :bigthumb:

Somewhere, somehow, I woke up in the wrong timeline. I'm pretty sure this isn't even my dimension.


bbmike

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Reply #4 on: March 28, 2021, 05:29:06 PM
I agree with JD, when you play solo (and it's one of the many reason to play solo) you can quit whenever you like and not have to worry about offending anyone. I usually try to play to the end, though. Doing so can help with learning the game rules.

Now my wife, on the other hand, hates it when I want to stop a game we are playing because the outcome is clear (no matter who is winning). She wants to continue playing to the end no matter what.  :D

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
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mcguire

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Reply #5 on: March 28, 2021, 06:02:04 PM
When my opponent starts crying. Of course, I always play solo, so it's not that big of a social faux pas.

"Man...knowing how to use the cards properly certainly changes how I play the game" -- judgedredd


trailrunner

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Reply #6 on: March 28, 2021, 06:11:27 PM
As others have noted, when playing solo, the standard is set a bit lower.  If the endgame is, say, 90 percent certain, and I'm tired of the game and don't feeling like grinding the game out for another turn or two, then I have no guilt about cleaning up and moving on to another game.

When I'm playing someone else, I will rarely call a game unless it's a mathematical impossibility for someone to win.  I've seen some ASL games turn around dramatically with a good or bad sequence of rolls.

One of my friends is a bit of a defeatist, and there have been a couple of times when he has given up and conceded too soon.  Perhaps the chances of him winning were not looking good, but IMO he gives up too easy.  I try to encourage him to hang in there and finish the game, but I'm not going to beg him.  I figure that if he's convinced that he can't win, then at that point he's not enjoying the game any more.  If I insist of playing, I'm concerned that he may think that I'm piling on and kicking him when he's down.

I’ve spent half my life’s earning on wargames, women, and drink. The rest I wasted.


Bison

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Reply #7 on: March 28, 2021, 07:14:14 PM
I prefer to play it out to the end especially if there is any chance to change the outcome. And yes there are times where the game (or opponent) over stays it’s welcome at the table in such cases pack it up and move on.



thecommandtent

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Reply #8 on: March 29, 2021, 08:03:08 PM
Thanks for the responses guys!



Marc Gacy

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Reply #9 on: April 02, 2021, 04:29:49 PM
I feel like I have WAAY too many games and too little time to continue playing a game to completion for no other reason than the notion that you play games until the end. I do it with books and movies too. If the opponents still want to play, I will, but I won't like it. The ROI is too low.

- Marc