Playing with a two hour time limit

Surreal brought up the point that his group doesn't play with two hour time limits and prompted some responses.

Izaak wrote:

Interesting question is if all Vtes games should have time limit by default and is game more balanced with time limit?

Should is a big word. Clearly, the game is designed with the time limit in mind and arguably cards and strategies are developed around that.

I always advocate playing with tournament rules because ultimately it makes you a better player, but groups can do whatever they fell like, obviously.

Lönkka wrote:

Even if you don't use time limit, it dosn't hurt check when the two hour time limit has passed and what the game situation is at that point.

The L.A. playgroup has always played with two hour time limits for the same reasons Izaak points out. I think it has helped me become a better player. I have started to recognize when time is an issue for getting VPs and when I will not have enough time to get a GW. If you aren't playing tournaments then I guess it doesn't matter.

@Lönkka- If decks are not made based upon the idea that you will have a two hour time limit, I'm not sure how much benefit you would get from checking at the two hour mark.

I thought I would make a topic for this, I find it interesting and would like to hear everyone's thoughts.

I believe that even non-tournament player benefit from the 2-hour limit, for three reasons.

* it make easier to discuss deck on forums, because changing a rule change the deck construction rule, exactly like a x4 or x7 limitation would change decks construction

* it make game length more predictable, which is helpful to manage sleep

* it incite people to actually try to oust, and not just defanging everyone on the table and bleed for 1.

Of course, having benefit in doing so does not mean people should feel compelled to do so. If you find 4-hour games more fun, then you are free, just like you are free to play stylish but not very efficient deck.

This is a very interesting question. I actually think the game play aspect benefits from time limits but you lose some social aspects. Vtes is a game for me I play with friends in a bar while having some beers. I don't want to stop the clock when somebody is telling some story or stress about game time while having a discussion. I don't like time limits the way I play Vtes (tournaments are different story). I would be totally ok with turn limit.

TorranceCircle wrote:

@Lönkka- If decks are not made based upon the idea that you will have a two hour time limit, I'm not sure how much benefit you would get from checking at the two hour mark.

By noticing that the game has dragged on for full two hours and, say, no one has been ousted yet/no one has gotten 2+ Victory Points etc. I.e you need to really work on tuning your decks to make them quicker and/or work on playing faster.

Our playgroup is using the 2hr timelimit. We also drink and eat and joke a lot while playing.
However, once 2 hours have passed, we stop the game, no matter how the gamestate is, and start a new one. That way we can play 2-3 different games at our VTES evenings.

We don't time limit per se, but we'll stop a game when it has either obviously passed way too much time or once it is clear what the outcome is likely to be (and if the game took awhile). All in the service of more games per evening, of course.