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#63261: "Timer penalty unfair "

rejected: Developers think that it is not a good idea or that the cost/benefit ratio is too high

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fluxx #259473941

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Suggestion: in my opinion, the following would greatly improve the game implementation

What happened ? Please select from below

Suggestion: in my opinion, the following would greatly improve the game implementation

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If yes, please VOTE for this report. Reports with the most votes are taken care of in PRIORITY!

#	Status	Votes	Game	Type	Title	Last update

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20. Apr 2022 23:40 • goldensmith • This suggestion has not been analyzed by delopers yet:

My last turn (right before the game ended) Was a very long turn…the actions I took caused me to keep drawing & playing cards. I was actively playing the entire turn. I couldn’t have even ended my turn early because of the required turn actions. I was playing fast and reading cards as I received them. Didn’t notice the timer warning on the right side because I was concentrating and playing.

But I received a time out penalty. So frustrating to receive this when the game design (changing rules) caused the turn to be extended. When a player receives more cards or the requirements change, time should be added for the turn.

I contacted BGA support:
Thanks for playing on Board Game Arena.

It sounds like the timer length for this game needs to be rethought. Please consider making a report using our tracker tool boardgamearena.com/bugs with the table number and explanation of the time-out penalty. This way, the developer will be notified directly with all appropriate information. Please give as many details as possible on what happened! It really helps.

I have removed the penalty.

21. Apr 2022 20:27 • wolmot • Developers would like more information about this suggestion:

Hi, I tried to check your game but it looks like the timer issue wasn’t on this table you logged the bug for?
By any chance did you join a game with the table option set to “fast”?

Anyway, extra time is indeed added only at the start of the player turn.
So I do acknowledge that for first time players that need to read all the cards in detail, this might pose challenges with high Draw/Play counts and lot of actions being played.
But on the other hand, with the first few turns with only Draw 1/Play 1 or when you just play a Keeper, there should be plenty of turns that literally only take up 2 seconds so you build a lot of time reserve.

I am afraid that adding extra player time on every rule change or action played or whatever, would also have negative effects.
Players would get way too much time, which could also lead to complaints of other players waiting for long thinking turns - when Fluxx should just be quick and fun.

All in all, this is the first time in more than 200.000 Fluxx games played that we get this comment.
So for the moment, I believe it is best to leave it as it is.

23. Apr 2022 00:46 • goldensmith • Developers would like more information about this suggestion:

Hi @wolmat that links to the correct game.
BGA removed the penalty when I appealed it.
Here are some screenshots from the log that include the time stamps & I added comments on Imgur for some of the screenshots.
Note: max time is 3:18, I’m not sure if that is a normal speed?
imgur.com/a/IolrJJY

23. Apr 2022 03:11 • goldensmith • Developers would like more information about this suggestion:

I don’t understand how the clock works. These are the times I see mentioned when I change a new game setting between slow, normal & fast.

“Game speed" changes to: Real-time • Slow speed:
Slow +1:18, Max 4:54 08:07 PM

"Game speed" changes to: Real-time • Normal speed:
Normal +0:49, Max3:27 08:08 PM

"Game speed" changes to: Real-time • Fast speed:
Fast +0:31, Max 2:33

But the game I linked here shows a max time of 3:18. So that doesn’t seem to match any of the times listed on the game setup screen?

23. Apr 2022 07:52 • wolmot • Developers would like more information about this suggestion:

Ok, my mistake, I don’t know why I didn’t notice the timer penalty remark.

Anyway, your logs indeed show that you had multiple times in that turn where it took 20, 30 or even 40 seconds before deciding the next card to play, which is really extensive.
But like I said, understandable if you are new and need to read many extra cards coming in.
After a few plays, just the card title is enough to recognise what it does.

Developers don’t have control over exactly how long the slow/normal/fast timers are: they start with some value when the game is first released, and afterwards BGA automatically recalculates and adapts the timers based on the average play times over all games played.

So probably the normal speed timer adapted from max 3:18 to 3:22 meanwhile.

21. May 2022 08:18 • jeffwolfe • Developers would like more information about this suggestion:

I had this happen to me quite a few months ago and I actually got booted from the game as I was actively playing, but I didn't bother to report it at the time. I just stopped playing in real time against strangers. I had played Take Another Turn and wondered whether my clock reset for my second turn or if I had to take two turns within the same clock. Anyway, here's the game if you want to look at it:

boardgamearena.com/gamereview?table=185387825

24. Jul 2023 16:10 • wolmot • Developers think that it is not a good idea or that the cost/benefit ratio is too high:

No new info or more votes over a year, closing this now.

9. Aug 2025 19:39 • twistoffate1 • Developers think that it is not a good idea or that the cost/benefit ratio is too high:

Hello! :-)
Upvoting this, and it looks like I might have to open a new one to trigger the system. (On the note of votes, BGA doesn't broadcast "Gurus, have you had X or Y issue as noted in the bugs/suggestions?" Unless someone starts a campaign blasting the report to every player in the game and has a rapport established with many of them--such as Nekonyancer in Tutorials chats, for example--of course it's not going to gain traction. Most people won't take the time because it's inconvenient, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't agree with the issue.)

I regularly have games where the opponent or I get a long turn where LOTS of cards are drawn or swap out (e.g., rotate/trade hands, discard and draw, Draw 5, Jackpot, Recycling) with LOTS of cards to play (e.g, play all/all but one, Draw 2 and Use 'em, Today's Special, Draw 3 and Use 2).

I just finished such a turn and was playing cards frantically but still saw my timer go close to -3:00. And my opponent was maybe above 1:00 but not exactly flush with time either. Often enough we're both under 1:00, sometimes even both negative, which to me indicates a time imbalance.

If this was speed chess, where one is silent and moves as rapidly as possible, then sure, the impatient types would have a point. But it's not. The spirit of Board Game Arena and particularly Fluxx is supposed to be casual fun, low intensity, chat about the chaos. I've played it since the original card game released. It is a social lubricant particularly because people have time to think and enact silly shenanigans with their cards.

I urge you to reconsider. Maybe a bump in time per card drawn, bump for hand swaps, etc.

Thank you, I have always enjoyed this game and want to see our collective joy around it maximized.

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Another table ID / move ID
Did F5 solve the problem?
Did the problem appears several time? Everytime? Randomly?
If you have a screenshot of this bug (good practice), you can use Imgur.com to upload it and copy/paste the link here.

LB_CANCEL Update report

#63261: "Timer penalty unfair "

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