Report • Board Game Arena

Dec 25th 2022 09:59 • cigma • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

As sourisdudesert has described here boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28186&start=40 there was a problem with people get stuck in no time limit games and complained about it. That's why the feature of "no time limit" was put off.

To solve this problem, block the possibility to play no time limit "realtime" games, so nobody gets stuck. Then reopen the feature of no time limit + friends only a so many of the community have asked you for.

Dec 25th 2022 10:04 • cigma • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Sorry, wrong link. This is the other topic "No Time Limit shouldn't mean Training Mode": boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28186

Jan 4th 2023 03:51 • jchate6 • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Having a "real time" no time limit is vital for a casual game among friends without the pressure of a ticking clock. Please restore this feature.

Jan 4th 2023 17:57 • dralkyr • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

This change is truly unacceptable. I cannot imagine that enough people were having real issue with this problem to take it away globally. We bought BGA premium BECAUSE of this option and have played with it on every game for years. Give it back. This is stupid.

Jan 5th 2023 01:09 • jakeqz • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

It seems the programmers have historically conflated "no time limit" into two separate categories: realtime; and turn-based. There are still two "no time limit" options in the list, neither of which can now be selected.

The site, reasonably, prevents you playing multiple realtime games simultaneously. So it never made sense for "no time limit" to be an option for realtime games, which has led to people being "stuck in a game".

But they have now thrown the baby out with the bathwater. There's no reason I can see to remove "no time limit" from the turn-based category.

Furthermore, there is now an issue with changing game options after players have joined. When I set up a game with friends, I now have to ask them not to accept the invite until I've set the game options up as desired. This may be the subject of a separate bug report, though will invite feedback here first on that specific issue - it seems to have been another retrograde change made at the same time, but I am not sure.

Jan 5th 2023 01:46 • jakeqz • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

If some players might be concerned about inflated ELOs from those playing only with a group of friends, a solution can perhaps be taken from the Chess world. Chess has 4-5 separate ELO ratings, from blitz to correspondence. If ELO pollution is a concern, perhaps BGA could similarly have separate ELO ratings catagories (turn-based and realtime would be an obvious start).

Jan 8th 2023 21:22 • OneRandomGeek • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I almost exclusively play with friends on the "no time limit" option. Usually, we make our moves every day, but from time to time, work and other obligations get in the way and we can't get to the table, so we always use "no time limit". We love being able to see our ELO rankings for each game (only possible in ranked games, not training games) because we can see who excels at what games, and where we are more evenly matched. Losing this function/option has had a huge negative impact on our experience.

Jan 9th 2023 02:19 • Philoupino • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

138 votes for one bug report in less than 2 weeks, I guess that's an all-time record!

Jan 10th 2023 13:28 • MrXuma • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

The reasoning for this change makes no sense, and it affects all casual gamers that enjoy to play with friends. Most of them are probably Premium. Really mind boggling why changing what isn't broken..

Jan 10th 2023 23:29 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

We are all wanting No Time Limit to come back....we are emailing you, we are starting up different threads, we are pestering you on Social Media....PLEASE FIX THIS!

Do no tell us to use Training Mode...that is not what we want...we want Normal Mode with No Time Limit. We have had this for years, we like it and we want it back!

I teach games through BGA at my Public Library and we need NORMAL MODE~NO TIME LIMIT.

If people are getting stuck, they are not reading. The warnings are clear. Do not to start a game in Normal Mode with No Time Limit unless you are playing with friends.
Don't punish the rest of us for this ridiculous issue.

Jan 27th 2023 05:50 • Subscribenstein • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Had a game set to No Time Limit end due to 'no turns taken in a long time'.

As a user, I would expect No Time Limit to have a timeout duration of at least 24hours. A good quality of life feature would be if there was some sort of warning about the game's timer running out as well.

Jan 30th 2023 08:24 • Rogue461 • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Restore no time limit in both turn-based and real-time! My IRL friends and I play real-time with voice chatting via discord and we also talk and socialize like you would face-to-face so sometimes turns can take a bit. We still enjoy playing rated games but do not appreciate the hits to our reputation due to "time-outs". Find a better solution to the problem than removing the ability to choose rated with no time limits.

Feb 5th 2023 18:41 • TVivD • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Agree with the others who want No Time Limit without having to use Training Mode. I'm trying to play games with friends and family in different time zones, with busy schedules, and various states of health. My elderly mother may not be able to get back to the game for a few days; that doesn't mean that we don't want a competitive game. Tired of getting penalties while trying to use real-time trying to work around the issue.

Feb 8th 2023 12:24 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Why are we still waiting for this? Shouldn’t BGA realize they made a mistake by now? I have emailed them over and over, we have all posted our request to bring it back…what is the hold up?

Feb 19th 2023 02:20 • Philoupino • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Admins ??

Feb 21st 2023 19:05 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

PLEASE FIX THIS !!!!!

Feb 22nd 2023 14:56 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Many of us have offered other options if you can't bring it back to the way it was....how about more long term playing times? Maybe for those of us who do not play (or cannot play due to lack of internet) every day...give us the option for 1 turn per every 7 days?

That would satisfy a lot of these complaints including mine! Of course, I would much rather have it back the way it was, but I am willing to take what I can get...and a 1 turn every 7 days option would sure help.

I teach BGA at my public library, we use it for our weekly gaming programs and none of us want to use Training mode unless we are playing an Alpha game. But since my library is in a rural area, most patrons do not have internet except when they visit the library once a week during programs. We have lost many players due to this, please help us!

Feb 23rd 2023 09:30 • Perpetual_Travel • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Agree with the above. I have friends who won't even play on boardgame area anymore or refuse to start, because they don't enjoy being rushed, especially if it's a game they don't have much experience in. It also ruins the relaxed nature of the game; when i play with friends (online or in person), we often chat while playing, and the speed/flow of the game follows the conversation. Now we aren't able to do so, and it's one of the main reasons why they/we rarely play on BGA, but unless it's a quick game.

It wouldn't be difficult to allow the time limit to be disabled, at least with friends, and worst case scenario, allow people to leave games in which the opponent (friend or not) takes an unreasonable amount of time. As in a pop up appears once someone has taken 3/4/5/6 (or whatever) times the standard amount of time, saying: "your opponent seems to be taking a significant amount of time to decide, would you like to leave the game, penalty free", or maybe first it would say something such as "would you like to inform them that their turn length is becoming an issue for you". Then a pop-up would appear for the other saying: "your opponent has expressed concern over your turn length, please try to make your moves quicker" followed by "unfortunately, your opponent had to leave due to your extended turn lengths".

People have the freedom to take a bit longer, but if it becomes excessive, they understand that their opponent may leave 🤷🏾‍♂️.

Feb 24th 2023 19:05 • OneRandomGeek • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Not renewing my premium membership until this is addressed by BGA. At the very least, a response, or one of the many good alternative suggestions made by the community, needs to happen soon.

Mar 4th 2023 00:00 • sonjita • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I agree with all of the above. I have been a premium member for years, my mum is too, and we have always played with no time limit in normal mode. it is not the same playing in training mode, as everyone has pointed out. i am considering cancelling our memberships.

Mar 5th 2023 00:28 • lovejoypeace • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

this negatively impacts gamers who are disabled and neurodivergent and who play with friends in no time limit turns based games so we can stay in touch during our different disabled journeys.
Please go back to be an inclusive space for us disabled gamers.

Mar 5th 2023 00:56 • captain_frisk • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Adding my voice (and 2 other premium subscribers) who typically prefer strongly to have ELO + no timelimit for all of the reasons stated previously - but summarized:
* Among friends we're comfortable with slow place games - particularly if one or more of us has stressful work / family stuff going on.
* If anyone was ELO spoofing - they'd do it much faster than a "no time limit game"
* Because of the ELO floor of 100 to get entrance into Arena - our group really prefers to get learning credit for our games among friends... instead of needing to then play timed games with randos to get enough ELO to enter arena.
* We end up setting it to 2 days - but when a life event happens in addition to dealing with the life event - its upsetting to have the website you pay money for give you a black mark for a game between friends.
* Agreed in principal re: having unlimited time real time games that could get people stuck. No arguments with not having that be an option.

Mar 13th 2023 00:28 • ulib • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Please bring back the no-time-limit option for turnbased games!
I don't need the no-time-limit option in realtime games since you can play turnbased games as far as you like.
Restrict it to "play with friends" because most people would only use it with friends.

I love to play relaxed games and I am here for the fun not for elo. But especially with cooperative games it is annoying if you can't gain any elo because they mostly show how experienced you are in the game.

Mar 21st 2023 22:10 • lovejoypeace • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

My partner, some of our friends, and I have canceled our premium membership until this bug is addressed for disabled gamers. If you also cancel your membership please note that here.

Apr 11th 2023 23:05 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

When is this going to be fixed?!? Clearly we are upset about it...fix it

May 2nd 2023 22:57 • LoudLibrarian • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Why are we still SUFFERING with this?!?

Jun 28th 2023 03:06 • lovejoypeace • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Well, it was nice to play games with you all - my family has canceled our premium accounts (~ 8) and we are not returning until efforts are made by BGA to make this more accessible for disabled gamers who were thoughtlessly affected by this recent change that made the game inaccessible. We don't support the ableism displayed by the website designers with this change.

Jul 25th 2023 23:17 • sonjita • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Me and my mum have also cancelled our subscriptions until this is fixed.

Aug 7th 2023 04:57 • Wagruin • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I use this platform to teach friends virtually so we can all be ready in real life. Since I’m teaching the time limit always runs out. We all want the no time limit among friends back please

Dec 10th 2023 23:10 • nopeasaurus • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Bump! No time limit + friends only would be a great feature for teaching new games to friends. We don't like to use training mode for this because we want people to get the points they're earned. And teaching it in turn-based has its own complications for my friends who aren't as familiar with the site as I am.

Dec 25th 2023 12:35 • martiniplu • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Bump! I can't believe this is still not resolve. Please bring back Normal mode with no time limit! Not having this is utterly restricting and the reason I haven't been using BGA in a while, as I'm used to just play with friends.

Mar 18th 2024 15:15 • Livini • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I'm so disappointed that this feature has been removed.

I wanted to teach my dad to play Gaia Project. Turn-based games would be the most fun for this, but I don't think my dad and a time limit would work well, plus it would be more stressful for me when I'm just trying to play a casual game with a family member.

There are so many reasons people may need this feature. Some people have busy lives. Some people get anxiety from time limits. Some people get addicted to the game when there's a time limit, to the point that it can actually hinder their enjoyment. Some people have unpredictable lives or long periods where they can't use BGA. All these people are now unable to play comfortably.

Also, I used it a lot for solo games, setting up games during my month of Premium and then playing them the next month. (These 'no time limit' games all disappeared after 30 days, so it's not like I could have unlimited solo games this way.)

Does anyone know why it was removed?

Apr 22nd 2024 19:20 • Phoxtrot • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

We currently can play with no time limit between friends but I don't see why we are forced to play in "friendly mode" when doing this.

We do like to play for ELO between friends.
We never eject anyone when playing with friends so this is not really important but still, on the principle of it, I think that allowing unlimited time, normal play between friends and possibly with invited people or other restricted groups should be allowed.

Jun 15th 2024 23:01 • quirken • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I can't believe that this has been neither fixed nor even commented on by a representative, after over 1.5 years and hundreds of upvotes, as well as numerous people canceling their memberships over it! There's nobody on here clamoring for them to leave it / NOT bring it back.

Jul 9th 2024 16:43 • Livini • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

What happens if you create a 'no time limit' realtime game and then (in the upper right corner) switch it to turn-based? I just tried it for a solo game, and it's a bit confusing. It shows up as '3 moves a day', and it has the moving hourglass next to my username, but it doesn't say how long I have to take my turn. Have I found a roundabout way to make 'no time limit' turn-based games while we wait for this issue to be fixed? Or have I found a way to lose karma points in solo mode (which should not be possible)?

No idea if this trick would work in multiplayer games though, even if it does fix the solo mode problem (which I'm not sure it does since the labels used are very confusing).

Jul 9th 2024 18:00 • GTSchemer • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

@Livini that's a bug, since what happens is it switches your table to "turn-based friendly mode" but instead of no time limit, it gives you 8 hours per move.

I've reported it to the BGA team (since I'm a developer and it affects one of my games).

Jul 11th 2024 17:47 • Livini • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Update: I did get a red timer, but it didn't show a time penalty in the 'final game situation' part.

@GTSchemer I hope they won't change it so you can't switch it at all. It would be great if we could actually get turn-based friendly mode again.

Sep 10th 2024 03:09 • Stu_1977_SEmelb • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

We already can get turn-based friendly mode, Livini. What this report is about is getting back turn-based untimed games which are not forced to be friendly mode.

Sep 25th 2024 13:01 • Livini • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I thought it was about both? And turn-based friendly mode was definitely gone. I used it a lot so I know it was removed.

But I just checked and turn-based friendly mode is back! That is very good news :)

Dec 18th 2024 19:47 • Aby • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

#603407424
jejouais à la table et le temps moulinais, et je n'arrivais pas à lancer les dés, ni faire aucune action je me suis alors ejectée du jeu car aucune de mes actions n'avaaient d'effet sur le jeu.

Feb 23rd 2025 10:18 • BeverleyM • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

I'm quite sure the lack of the no time limit / friends option is messing up the game time estimates. Since I play every Friday and Saturday night with the same friend, and since we don't play with strangers, we only want to play with the two of us with no time limit. It's too many annoying clicks to set it up that way, so instead I pick "1 turn every 5 days" or whatever the maximum is. And then we play in real time with no time limit -- so the game expects we'll take 6 days but really we take 25 minutes. It was much nicer when I could just easily say I didn't want a time limit and then pick her.

Mar 5th 2025 12:32 • Mitnov • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

trying to figure out how to play a game with a friend and can't finish the game, want to continue next day, but it seems to time out around the 5 hour mark even though we changed to friendly game. Is there a way so we can continue next day as we are in middle of game and get called away or can't continue but want to finish. Says game has ended game duration 5h06.

Apr 10th 2025 21:09 • VikingKing • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

As much as the no time limit feature can be desireable, it has a major draw back in that many players take advantage of this, and then just abandons games especially if they are loosing. And this is not fair to the winner, nor is it practical. For how can BGA have countless of game in limbo forever?

There is no point in have no ACTUAL time limit, because no human being has infinite time to finish games, and it suggest that you could in theory want to play a game for the rest of your life. That makes no sense.

Instead it makes more sense to have a very long time limit for those who might be busy for a extended time, though I still question this. For if you know you will be gone for a extended time, then why start getting involved with a board game. In my experience most real life board games is not played by people if the games last more than 10 to 20 hours. So what exactly is the benefit of starting a board game with no time limit?

I don't see it, and I think if you use such a feature that it should come with BIG OBVIOUS TO SEE warning labels to new players, who might not know or see all feature before getting thrown into such games.

Sure with "friends" it could perhaps have more reason. But no time limit games also seem to exist with people who know nothing about each other. What is the point of that? This is counting on a integrity I have never in my experience known to exist in actuality.

If you have no time limit features, then I suggest that besides having BIG OBVIOUS TO SEE WARNING LABELS, that all players will be given a option of changing the game to a time limit mid-game, if someone suddenly abandons the game, has a accident and die or any other unforseen option which could make the possibility of the game never being finished happen.

I think it is extremely disrespectful not to inform all other players if you are going to take more than 5 days before making a move again. I don't think absense should be rewarded with a no time limit feature, where a game can stan in limbo forever...that makes no sense. You play games with the intent of finishing them, even if you are learning. Otherwise what is the point?

To be so worried about a loss in reputation if you abandon a game, makes no sense. For why should you expect to have a good reputation by abandoning a game by not playing a move for more than 5 days and not telling anything why? This is very poor for and SHOULD damage your reputation. For I would NEVER want to play any games with such a player.

I don't see the sense in no time limit games, friendly mode games makes sense, but no time limit doesn't.

Jun 21st 2025 15:55 • Livini • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Turn-based friendly mode has disappeared again!

I find this very upsetting since:
1. I want to be able to have multiple friendly mode games at the same time.
2. I want to be able to casually play turn-based games with my dad who has other priorities so will not be able to make a move once every two days.
3. I want to be able to take a break in the middle of a solo game to play a real-time game.
4. I want to be able to play solo games without having to finish them the same day.

Earlier this month, turn-based friendly mode was still available. Why have they changed it again? I hope they change it back before my Premium subscription ends, because this is the main thing I use Premium for!

Jul 22nd 2025 04:39 • goldlyn • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

AARGH. We keep complaining but you aren't fixing this stupid time limit. It's supposed to be FUN to play, not add more pressure to our lives. Go back to option for 3 moves a day or whatever, not fast, slow or normal (whatever that is)

Oct 21st 2025 19:58 • dralkyr • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Years later. Nothing. Thanks BGA for showing us how much you care about your players' opinions

Dec 7th 2025 10:06 • FrankJones • This suggestion has not been analyzed by the developers yet:

Almost all my games are turn-based friendly mode, and I've been consistently playing them for the past 6 months.

#78071: "No time limit (friends only): Bring back turn based, block realtime"

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