19 replies to this topic

[DavidSWu]

Hi everyone!

My username is DavidSWu and recently I started playing online Stratego. I just found out about the forum today. 

So today I played a game against a significantly higher ranked player and I got into a hopelessly lost position with his colonel and two majors ruling the board.

Then he started hurling insults at me for not quitting the game, although I played quickly, stopping only to reply in the chat. I did not say anything mean to him in return.

Eventually he found my flag and I lost. My question is, do you guys consider it bad etiquette to play out such a hopelessly lost position? If so then I apologize to my opponent, even though I wish he would lighten up on the insults.

[scottrussia]

If your not wasting time then attack away!!!!

 

Likely he/she had an open flag and was worried you'd find a way to get by and capture the flag.

[GaryLShelton]

DavidSWu, it is not bad etiquette to finish out a losing game in and of itself. What becomes poor etiquette/sportsmanship is playing slow (using 15 seconds a turn), attacking your opponent in chat, letting your buffer run down, and disconnecting. If you're not doing these things and are playing as honestly as you can, don't worry about it. There's possible a split decision on this topic site wide, and it may be different for different ranks.

One may quit when he is behind but, in harmony with scottrussia here, you may be surprised if you continue on. If you play long enough, you will undoubtedly create a few stories where you pulled out a sure loss. We all have those types of games. I personally recently won a tournament game I had no business winning. You have to persevere and be tenacious. Don't quit. If you decide to temper that with your own estimation of real chances in any game, that's your choice.

And don't worry too much about mouthy opponents. Just ignore the chat if it ever goes south is my recommendation. Of course, we have a place to report such people, and I encourage that, but don't let them ruin your game. The best antidote to disagreeable people is to beat them. 😊

[DavidSWu]

Thanks for the quick reply!

[Gaius Marius]

lol i had a guy lotto all my pieces but a 9 and this player moved his 10 and 9 deep into my territory to block my pieces.  I could have surrendered but instead I took my 9 which was out of the 10s reach and lottoed 9 peices in his back 2 rows and hit his flag lol.  Always play till the end.

[tomato123456]

I agree it's best to play on until the end. It's never bad etiquette to keep on playing if you stay away from disconnecting, double chasing, delaying the game, etc. Even in a hopeless position I sometimes like to play on to get some more information about that player's style and location of the pieces for our next game. Obviously when you're just tired of it you can always surrender.

[TheOptician]

Sometimes, after a particularly decisive move which looks like I now can't win, my opponent will tell me 'game over' or 'gg' or 'no need to lotto'. 

 

While I don't feel I should necessarily take my opponent's word for it that I can't win, it does occasionally put me in an awkward position, where I am being pressurised to surrender, but in fact may still have a chance to win. (And if I physically can't win, then my opponent should have no issues in me closing out the match). 

 

I would ask the opposite question - Is it bad etiquette to ask your opponent to surrender?

[Morx]

In theory a player who has 3 higher pieces only, can still lose the game. Its difficult but possible. With 4 higher pieces the game is just over when 3 of those are between the lakes.

 

I consider it bad etiquette to ask anyone to surrender, unless they are clearly wasting time and/or have no real chance to win the game.

[Napoleon 1er]

In theory a player who has 3 higher pieces only, can still lose the game. Its difficult but possible.

wish to side with and complete what Morx said ...  if you have at least 3 small pieces from which at least 1 miner left or only 1 scout left you can obtain minimum a draw against such player with only 3 higher pieces .... draw can be obtained if at least 10 minutes elapsed after on player has refused a tie request from his opponent and there was no evolution in the game since. For more info about draws read our rules: http://forum.strateg...rum-rules-2014/

[tobermoryx]

Sometimes, after a particularly decisive move which looks like I now can't win, my opponent will tell me 'game over' or 'gg' or 'no need to lotto'. 

 

 

I think this is bad etiquette on the opponent's part .

 

Especially saying 'no need to lotto'  . It puts you in a position where you either surrender (when it may still be possible to win) or you have to effectively admit you don't trust him, which is kind of awkward . 

[sevenseas1]

Not trusting people is part of the game I think.

[tobermoryx]

Yes. It would be awkward if it was someone you knew I guess.

[chefwd76]

Don't waste time but make him earn it.  If he won't attack either and just demands that you surrender then it is a draw in my mind.  Make him physically take the victory.  If you are lucky he may make an error and you may get a man through.  You will find yourself on both sides of the coin.  Sometimes you will win a game that you totally did not deserve to win.  Other times you will make a few silly errors that cost you a game you really should not have lost.

 

Never let your timer run down and waste time.  That is the time to surrender and your opponent will have more respect for you when you do that.  However I say keep playing until you are absolutely sure you are up the creek without a paddle.

[PuzzledTea]

I think it depends on how badly the losing position is. If you are down by several powerful pieces and your opponent has not shown any evidence of lottoing then that would be a time to be polite and surrender.

 

As for me I tend to fight on alot longer in ranked or quick arena games as I am against oppoentns I do not know, and sometimes a bit of stubbornness might give me an edge, assuming I do what I said above already.

 

If a match against someone I know then I'd be alot more willing to surrender earlier on because there'd be nothing to gain from fighting on crazily in a losing situation as ranks are not affected. In fact sometimes I even ask to be sure sometimes as I can be a bit hard-headed at fighting on. But generally the worse my position in a game is, the more likely I'd surrender (as it should be really...)

[Dobby125]

You'll be very surprised at how many times you'll win an "unwinnable game" when you don't quit, remain calm, concentrate and still play with discipline.  Chances are very good your opponent will eventually make a mistake.  IMO, the biggest mistake most players make is giving up and quitting too early.  Even if you don't win, it's good practice to learn how to play when your down top pieces.  Odds are also pretty good your opponent has an open flag, so you can always lotto for a miracle win if things get real ugly.  Remember to use all your scouts and attack every unknown piece before giving up.

[iron_maiden]

I take a view on it - if I'm against a good player who I know understands how to close out games, I'll quit once I'm down 3 pieces but I will normally try and use all my scouts to at least try and find his flag - but I won't expect to against a good player because I'll know he's either got it bombed in or he'll be aware I still have scouts and he'll have ensured he's got it covered to avoid this happening. That's why I'll normally give up here. Against a poor player I will carry on because I'd fancy I might be able to get something through, but you are still then relying on lotto. It helps if you know where his higher ranked pieces are on the board of course. Also if he has run out of miners and your flag is bombed in you can force a draw if you can keep moving a scout around which he can't catch, so I'll always look to see if that's an option. If he only has 1 miner left I would play on and hope he uses it to attack the wrong area, thus giving me a chance of a draw.

 

Of course many times I've won with a lucky scout or by getting a piece through but its rare in these situations. Sometimes its better to just quit and play again rather than dragging out the agony! I've been criticised for giving up too soon as well - some players prefer to play the game out cos they want to find your flag, so no matter what you do you can sometimes get abuse for it!

 

Another reason to give up early and not drag it on is so the opponent doesn't find your flag and learn your set up, as you may re-use it against him another day.

[SaintZ]

What ever you do, no matter how hopeless the situation may be, never surrender! 

[Moriarty]

Often that IS bad etiquete

[Fairway]

What ever you do, no matter how hopeless the situation may be, never surrender! 

THis is the rule I follow. Once in QA I was down a marsh, gen, BOTH MINERS, 1 scout, and a spy. I was pretty tired (literally). But my opponent was like 20-100 so I got his open flag with my last scout. (of course he was a new app player :-D

[Moriarty]

QA is different.

 

If you have no nhope in Full Game, stop wasting your opponent's time. If your down 5 major pieces and have no scouts for example.