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BGonline.org Forums
13-second delay and 2 Dice Always
Posted By: Dorn Bishop In Response To: It's about time to change these rules (mamabear)
Date: Friday, 27 November 2015, at 11:38 p.m.
Less than a 12-second delay strikes me as nuts. Every player should be able to shake, make a cocked roll, shake again, roll again, and a make routine play comfortably without concern about it cutting into their reserve time. The game is not intended to reward fast play, folks, unless maybe it's a speed-gammon event. Even then, I see no legitimate grounds for reducing delay time.
For several years, Pat Gibson has used a 13-second delay at his clock-mandatory LA tournaments. How much time is "lost" as a result of that extra second? Only the sum total of all those 1-second increments when a move was not completed between second 12 and second 13. And how many of those are there in a match: 10? 20? Even if 30 for each player, that amounts to only one additional minute! In exchange, the added second helps out the poor home board-roller whose dice keep landing on top of those infernal cupped checkers. (And here you were wondering why the opponent had set up the board that way before you started.)
So I encourage all directors to give the 13-second delay a try.
And even for novice/advanced divisions, have them play with only two dice and a clock but without any time constraints. In other words, have less experienced players use the clock for the limited purpose of ending their move. That will eliminate confusion about turn completion and, more importantly, will get them comfortable with the mechanics involved in clocked play. They will neither be as disadvantaged nor as intimidated when they eventually play in the Open division.
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