MadMonkey: Probably easier to implement:
If you timeout all your games in a match you get automatically thrown out, with a message telling you why.

Only exception - you have already retired from the stairs (to prevent the case that you legitimatelly retired for going on holiday or something but had already a game running that you timed out). In that case you get to stay in the Stairs.

MadMonkey: Fencer was already going to impliment taking away of empty stairs, I believe he said monthly, but your suggestion punishes the person who makes it to the top and then wants to wait for someone to catch up, he should not have to play until someone proves worthy

Vikings: hence the alternative I proposed...

actually people who are inactive (either from the site or the stair) will take care of themselves over time, they will fall to the lowest step and the stair will grow well past them, the only real problem is the fact that many people don't like cheap wins

Vikings: Or that new people starting on a stair have no option other to battle those that are already inactive (waiting sometimes almost a month before climbing up and maybe playing a game for real).

Also, with all the inactive players pilling up in the first level, the staircase may grow articially longer than it should be...

pauloaguia: those people tend to run out of vacation days and time out quickly, otherwise they are active and just slow, another problem altogether

Vikings: I did put on the Brainking DB earlier that the script could also check if a person does not have anyone to challenge, then it would not effect them, hence if you are at the top, you stay there, but when a person becomes available you should have to challenge someone after a certain time.

MadMonkey: why should someone at the top have to challange someone 3 steps below them, they have already earned the top spot and only have to defend it when someone reaches them

Vikings: I understand what you are saying, in that case they would have to be an exception to the rule, but they would still be in-active.
There has to be some sort of rule set i think. Maybe they have to challenge if someone is one step below them & available.
Something would have to be there though to check they still are an active player on Brainking.
Until Fencer gives us his views or what he intends to do with the Stairs(if anything) all we can do is come up with ideas lol

I don't like the idea of it punishing someone who does not challenge - for example, myself - I'm not challenging anyone until I get my total number of games down, but I will take any challenge.

I think if a person is not on the site for 1 month, then they should be placed in retirement so no one can challenge them. That would be my vote. (And if the person comes back to the site, they can unretire and continue from where they were at.)

BIG BAD WOLF: agreed, but in my case, I never challange anyone below me, only equal to me, that does not make me inactive, just in waiting for someone who has earned the privillage of the challange, if someone is above me, then I don't expect them to play me, I have to work myself to their level, ladders in reverse

BIG BAD WOLF: I like that idea, i put that in my Brainking DB post. There has to be a time limit somewhere before they are removed or retired. I could not possibly challenge on all the Stairs i am in, although i do try to keep up.
I think that Brainking should still run a script once a week to see what ones you are open for a challenge on. Sometimes i finish a game & go to the Stair in question and there is no one to challenge, but who is to say 2 hours later there wont be ?
To save having to check all the time we could have a message sent to us listing what Stairs we can make/except a challenge on.

MadMonkey: I suggested a year ago or so, having a red number in parentheses next to the Stairs link, that would be clickable. This number would be the number of stairs you are in where you can make a challenge. When clicking on it, it would take you to your personal list of stairs. (The same page you get when clicking "Show me my Stairs Only"), where you would see those you can make a challenge in, in bold.
Obviously, there will be occasions (relatively rare, I imagine) that you click on this number, and there may no longer be a challenge available. I guess that depends on how often that red number can be updated. I imagine pretty quickly, since the other red numbers are updated instantly.

rod03801: There's a link on the Stairs page that displays only the Stairs you're in. If you can make a challenge in any one of them, that Stair is displayed differently...
Or are you talking about fellowships? I wouldn't know how those are displayed, then... :/

pauloaguia: I was talking about how people are saying things about being informed when there are challenges available, without having to go to that list and check.

pauloaguia: Simplest rule of all. Timeout on the bottom step and you're off the Stairs.

playBunny: I second that one

playBunny: thats good

I have somebody on a top stair, who is no longer in my fellowship, how can i remove them?

xmas is soon: on the main page of the fellowship, right under the player list there is a box for removal of members

scratch that, I didn't read it right, the only 2 ways I know to remove them from the stair would be to 1. pm them and ask them to remove themselves. or 2. ask fencer

Vikings: OK i will pm Fencer. The ex-player cant remove himself becasue hhe isnt in the feloowship anymore. Thanks for your advice anyway

xmas is soon: Do you mean me? I will remove myself, no need to run to Fencer...I am sorry about that, you can be on top now

WellyWales: Excuse me, i wasnt and havent gone running to Fencer, i was merely asking how it could be done.

I'm waiting for opponents

Slow Stairs
http://brainking.com/pl/Stairs?trg=3&tri=192
http://brainking.com/pl/Stairs?trg=3&tri=164
http://brainking.com/pl/Stairs?trg=3&tri=193

Standard
http://brainking.com/pl/Stairs?trg=2&tri=116

Fast
http://brainking.com/pl/Stairs?trg=1&tri=43

aaru: I've signed up, but haveny a clue how to play it lol

Fast Stairs
Small Pente
Pente (xmas is soon vs. aaru)
;)
thx

aaru: nooooooo dont display our game, i will get laughed at LOL

Thanks Picasso1012

How come in these stairs Very Fast Fischer's Stairs Andersp cannot invite me to a game?

Czuch Czuckers: I just checked...our last game was finished dec 30..so i guess it should be ok tomorrow

Andersp: 14 days.

Fencer: yup

Andersp: I mean, tomorrow it will be 14 days.

Andersp: No off topic please. This board is about Stairs.

Fencer: sorry, this board should of course be as much on topic as BrainKing.com is

Fencer: What's off topic about "Yup"?

alanback: My "crime" was that i said something about Fencer's autopasspromise..i deleted that post

Could there be 3-wins stairs, please?

whirlybabe: I don't want to create more public stairs but there is a possibility to make any kind of stairs in fellowships.

Why can't I choose any player from my step?

you should be able to challange anyone in your step that isn't currently involved in a stairs match or resigning from the stairs.

Tommes_Pommes: I'm looking at your profile, and don't see you involved in any stairs. Are you currently retired or something?

BIG BAD WOLF: I was in a stair but went out of it when I see. that I can't challenge every player.
But I think the answer before yours is a good help: "...challange anyone in your step that isn't currently involved in a stairs match..."
But thanks for your help!

Hello, if someone invites me to a stair-game - can I say No to the invite or must I accept it?

~Tommes Pommes~: If someone challenges you (which you can only be challenged by 1 person at a time), the game will automatically start - so no, there is no way to decline a stair game.

As you might have noticed, we have recently introduced the auto pass feature for backgammon games. When a player accepts a game invitation, he can choose if he agrees to play with auto pass or not.
However, this system doesn't work with Stairs because there are no invitations to accept/reject. There are two possible solutions of the problem:

• All Stairs games will be played with auto pass by default. Who joins Stairs, must accept this rule.
• Players will be able to specify whether they want to play Stairs games with the auto pass or not. Then, when a new Stairs game is created, it will use the auto pass feature only if both players have this option set to "accept".

Comments?

Fencer: why so complicated?

Instead of an option in the invitation, which makes it difficult for stairs, tournaments, and impossible to change for running games, I suggest:

• An option in the settings for each player: use autopass (yes/no)
  
• In a game show whether the opponent uses autopass
  
• A player can prohibit an opponent's autopass by sending a game message (as already implemented)
  </ul>

Luke Skywalker: Yeah, I agree with Luke here. I had always imagined autopass as a player attribute and not an attribute of a game. After all, how could a player object against his opponent using autopass? From a player's point of view there's no difference between a pass made automatically, or a pass made by a quick player.