Fencer, awhile back I suggested to make a “basic” game page that should help speed up page load, and I would like to suggest it again. This is a game site, and the majority of the time – I like to concentrate on the game and not about all the “extra” junk (which is a nice addition – but not needed most of the time.)

Basic game page:

Main Page (link back to main page)
Game name (link to game rules) (don’t need separate wording)
Opponent name (link to profile)
Points (backgammon and such)
Score / Match (backgammon and such)
Captured pieces (chess, checkers and such)
Game Board
Captured pieces (chess, checkers and such)
Points (backgammon and such)
Submit / Draw / Resign – along with input box for in-game chat & notes

That is all. (I might be missing something since some games have different information - but there is A LOT of information that is not needed to play the game that can be removed.)

What we don’t need:

Separate link to game rules (just make the tournament name a link)
Links to discussion boards – along with the need to have it check the database to see if there are any unread messages
Flags & (news) links for either player
Pawn/rook icon
Mailbox next to name (I can click on name to go to profile or just leave an in-game chat)
Player icons – nice, but not needed
Last move by either player
Information about myself – I know who I am, why list it?
Tournament info with link & scroll-over information
Expected BKR change – along with the need to have it check the database for this info
Finished games between players
Time per move
if it is a public game
if it is a rated game
layout change
board size
weekend days change shortcut

Also make it so the submit button will be ABOVE the board (so for large board & small screens, you won’t need to scroll down to hit submit. I have this working using my own .css file, but would be nice to the “basic” board also.)

Then have the addition of 1 more link: “Expanded game page” – which takes you out of “basic” and back to the expanded page if you need some more information which is not included in the basic page.