Hi, Question: Is a chess clock (so having a time limit for each player of 1 hour) part of the official tournament rules? Or can this be obligated by the organizers of the tournament? Reason: We have a big (local) discussion going on, and I see both sides, 1 player could take all time, and have more turns then the other player (player 1 takes 30min turns, player 2 takes 15 min turns, so player 2 misses his turn of a round when time is called). But some players do not like the pressure of a clock. So whats the official rules in this for official tournaments?
As a personnal feeling I don't like the clock. It bring uncessary pressure on the game. Plus infinity is quite the complex game and rushing an issue because of time give me an bad feeling. Also, we need to remember that it's "always your turn", meaning that one player having longer turn don't always mean it's "his fault". In your example, player 1 take longer turn. It not always mean player 1 is longer to play. In a game where one player 1 as a defensive playstyle and the player 2 an offensive one, player 2 turn will be longer because he will need more time to evaluate is opponent ARO and because there will be more ARO.
We thought about doing this in my group and ultimately decided not to. The decision wasn't made due to the "pressure" of the clock, it's just that as @Arkhos94 mentions, but that it would require players to be hitting the clock constantly since you have to make ARO decisions while it's not your active turn. We've had our tournament organizers make announcements with time suggestions, for example "There is 1 hour and 45 minutes remaining, you should be playing the first turn" and "There is 30 minutes remaining, you should be starting turn 3." Since implementing that I've had 1 game go to time and neither player felt it was unfair.
It is not part of the ITS rules and just a TO decision which is necessary if you consider a schedule and that some people have to get on a train or flight after the tournament. And with a fixed schedule it keeps the match transparent as well as guaranteeing that everyone has the same base to work with. We had some players from abroad at the German Championship who were sceptical about chess clocks as well. In the end it worked out for all of us. Just try it. Get used to it. Start with a 2,5 hours timeframe first, lower it to 2 hours in the end if you are more experienced with the limit.
IMO if you have a timelimit per round, the chess clock is fair. I played my first tournament with the chess clock and I realised, that I'm a verry slow player and i had to hurry to make my last turn. But we kept the timeplan for the tournament.
I have played with chess clocks and have realized that I'm very bad at pushing buttons. Maybe I should switch to Pan-O.
No clock in my local "Paris" meta and games are supposed to be played within 2h. 20 m before the end the TO will go to each table and if turn 2 is not over (or almost over), there is no turn 3. Everybody knows it and play accordingly. I believe they use the same rules in Lyon.
While deathclock is great for other games, there's too much discussion and agreement reaching in Infinity, like checking for LOF. Basically your TO just needs to keep moving between tables and keeping an eye on things making sure players keep the game rolling, not much more you can do about it.
In our play group, we try to simulate tournament play in our casual games by setting a 20 minute turn timer on our phones. It is not a chess clock, just a reminder to keep things moving. By keeping you aware of the time you are spending in practice fun games you can play faster when time comes for the tournament. Doesn't keep your opponent schedule, but I think it is a good practice.
I'm not sure it's ok to expect evry turn to last the same time. Usually, I take 15 to 20 min for deploiement which is the most important phase, 20 min for my first turn, 15 min for second turn and third turn is like 5 minutes because most of the time the outcome and your options are much more clear. But whatever system you enforce as a TO you should make sure everybody have the same number of turns + if there is no turn 3, players should know / expect it when they start they second turn.
I second the notion that timers (not necessarily limits) can be helpful in casual games (assuming you're interesting in improving play speed). I had gotten into the habit of timing my deployment and each of my tuns just to see how long I was taking. After gathering some data that way, I started setting goals for myself where I thought i could be more efficient and then unofficially trying to meet those marks while I was playing. My ultimate goal was and still is to help mitigate choice paralysis.
I'll add to that that running a 18 orders list is more time consuming than running a 10 order list. To be fair the TO would have to allow a time per turn based on each player's list, witch is very diffcult to set IMHO.
It is more time consuming but it was also their choice in list construction, if games are a set time each player should have the same quantity of that time regardless of list. They already have the potential to take a disproportion amount of their opponents time by having more reactions to declare and resolve.
Death clock isn't part of the official rules and I wouldn't participate in an event that tried to use one. I know how long it takes me to make decisions. I know I can setup a table, play a full game and tear down the table in just over 2.5 hours with the right opponent. With the wrong opponent this process can take 4 hours. When I face an opponent who takes 20+ minutes to get through half their order pool I am very vocal about their slow play - if I have time to go check out the games being played around me while you make your order you're doing it wrong. In our last small event I was up against a vet who was playing one of his first games with TAC. Between heavy use of proxies, more than a dozen camo markers and more than 20 orders I knew this was going to be a bad time. 30 minutes and 6 orders into his first turn I had no problem commenting that this player should not be playing this style of list... we have another event this weekend & I know that I'll rather walk away than sit through that kind of tedium again. But all that being said, I'm opposed to death clocks simply due to how little control you have over the flow of your own active turn if your opponent is probe to slow play
@clever handle I agree with you, but keep in mind that a chess clock is made to tap every time you are done with a decision. It shouldn't be possible to slow-play another player's turn because when you've declared your first Short Skill, you tap the clock and their ARO checking and declaration starts ticking their timer even if you own the turn.
indeed, there is a difference between the chess clock meant to be tapped every decision, and the kitchen timer system which you only pause/unpause every player turn.
Many tournaments are played with time restrictions; whether you use a general countdown, chess clocks, or any other method is entirely at the TO's discretion. It's also up to you to determine how you handle a game running to time - is it instant dice down, or do you let people finish the turn or even the round? Whatever you choose, be sure to let your players know in advance, and if there are issues, pay attention to them and figure out how to address them fairly for the next event.
