bouncybouncy: Personally I will always say "good game" or something like that at the end of a match.

To do so at the end of a frame in the middle of a match is kind of like shaking hands at the end of the first set in tennis.

Had to jump on this one. I hate the 'gl' thing myself. Not because I don't wish my opponent well but mostly because I like to sit back in my chair with my feet on my desk and my hand on my mouse. When the dreaded 'gl' shows up, I now feel obligated to take my feet _off_ my desk, sit up and type 'u2'!

Now, my real pet peeve is the 15-20% of my opponents that have calcuated that they have indeed won the match and type 'gg'. Wait a minute! Shouldn't the loser congratulate the winner? Are you congratulating yourself or simply rubbing my face in it? I think I would prefer it if my opponent typed 'I WON I WON!!!'

jryden: LOL good point

jryden:  You need a macro program :)



Or, keep a notepad open on your desktop with common phrases that you can cut and paste into the message box ...

jryden:  You need a macro program :)



Or, keep a notepad open on your desktop with common phrases that you can cut and paste into the message box ...

jryden: I agree that the "gg" thing is overdone. In the situation you describe, I usually say "Thanks for the match" or something similar - it highlights that I have won, and "suggests" that perhaps my opponent should resign.

Personally I really dislike "gl" and "gg" - if my opponents can't write out a some real words, I'd rather have silence - though I do make allowances for non-English speakers. And not all games are "gg's": a good game is one which was either close, or had some special interesting feature about it - like dramatic changes in position or fortune - probably less than 50% of games. If one player - and I don't care whether it's me or my opponent - has had two pieces blocked on the bar for a dozen moves, no auoto-pass, and an elapsed week or two against a slow opponent to actually resume "playing", then by no stretch of the imaginagtion could it be called a "gg". Likewise an opponent who strings out a lost game for a dozen unnecessary moves without resigning does not deserve a "gg".

And I like Grenv's tennis match analogy - let's not "shake hands" between individual games in a multi-game match.

i always wish 'have fun :)' and thats what the game should be about .. and what i really wish for my opponent (and myself) :)

if someone wishes me gl though i respond with u2, if someone wishes me 'good luck' then i respond with 'you too', etc :)

i dont think saying 'gg' or 'good game' or 'well played' at the end of a game when you won it is to rub it in .. its to tell the player who lost that he played a good game even though he lost, the dice might have been against him, even though he played well he still did lose due to some other factor, but that doesnt mean i cant tell him that i thought he played well :)

i often dont say 'gg' or anything in individual games in multigame matches though :)

Hrqls: I often times have running commentary through a game or just a conversation that has little to do with the game we're playing. But it had to start with a greeting unless I'm playing someone that I've played many times before in which case we might just gab away. If I get no response to whatever I start a game with. I might type again to this person (not everyone knows about messages on the game pages, especially new members) and see what happens. If nothing, them no more from me except to say that, plus maybe a last comment when the game concludes. Language can be a barrier and I only know one, so I can understand when there's no reply for that reason. During a series of games, I still might say something about the just finished leg at the start of the next game. Something like, "That's one for you. Good luck in next game." But I don't always type anything and it will depend on what has been typed earlier between us.

It is this talking during a game that keeps me from playing hundreds of games, even if I only type in a fraction of my games. It's lots more time consuming to type than it is to find a move, though you might not think that from some of the stuff I actually type. :)

And let us not forget the bug that deletes the invitations and the acceptance message. Someone might have typed to you, but you never got to see it. So you think they're being rude or have some other reason for not saying hi or greeting you and reply in kind. Now the game is started and there's no messages. This is another reason why I usually type a message after the second move and always copy and paste the acceptance message when I play first. Yeah, right, Fencer says it's not a bug, but it'd be nice if all of a game's messages stayed visible.

Walter Montego: *nod* i often repeat my invitation message as first message :)

i often chat, but less when i am in a hurry .. the last 2 weeks were quite busy irl so i had less time to play and did chat little, but will be more again later :)

Walter Montego: we often continue the chat in the message box, the replies simply go to the games notification message :)

Walter Montego: Iagree with Walter. We should see the initial message in the game, it is a bug, and it should be fixed! (Are you here, Fencer?)

But you make a very good point. How can you remember and carry on a meaningful conversation about a game - let alone a multi-game match - if you are playing 100+ games concurrently? I remember the game position of almost every game I play (except for one very boring game - with a fellow countryman - who moves about once every 2 weeks) because I never have more than about 30 or 40 games running concurrently. I think BrainKing is a brilliant site, and love meeting and chatting with people from all over the world, but if all they can say is "gl" and "gg" the I suggest that they get a life, reduce their quantity of games, and concentrate on quality.

pgt: Though I tend to agree with how you approach playing games and this attitude, it is not the only reason for people to play games, nor is it the only way for others to have have fun. Playing lots of games and not communicating with your opponent is not how you or I like to play, but there's plenty of people that do play like that and it stands to reason that it must be fun for them. Maybe they think how you play is a showing that you need a life too. I can see the argument from the other point of view even if I do have trouble understanding why some play in that manner. I've seen this discussion in other places on this site and it generally gets down to name calling and resolves little. To each his own. The similar complaint is speed of play. We may not be able to communicate with opponents as we like, but at least we now have a choice in the speed of the games we play. These "actions points" that some go after are also another game on this site. I don't play them, but some people do. I no longer play Backgammon either, but here I am reading and posting to this board that is still on my favorite list. It is from when I did play Backgammon that I met a few of you and that's one of the reasons I like playing on this site.

As for losing games. I'd rather win every game, but I can have fun even if I lose the game. Especially if it was a good game. Since I only play Chess type games, the nature of a loss is different than in Backgammon. At least in Backgammon you can blame your luck. You can sometimes say that in Dark Chess too, but in the other games I play, it's either your opponent played well, you screwed up, or both, when you lose.

Walter Montego: i like to play games for the games, although i like to chat as well :)

i start some games, and enjoy the playing and chatting, then the next day i come online to play a little .. but i only see games in which its my opponents turn to move .. i then join some more games so i have some to play .. etc. in the end i have enough games going on to keep me busy when i want to, but it requires more games than i could move in all at once .. so when my life gets more busy now and then i might get in a hurry which will hurt my chatting time .. but i will still enjoy the play :)

of course i can also join only fast moving tournaments, but i am slow sometimes as well (due to real life), so thats not a real option .. the only way i can see to give me enough games to make a move in when i want to is to join more :)