Concede

[Kralik]

Am I the only player on Gemp who finds it extremely disappointing when opponents Concede games? I've had cases where an otherwise healthy Fellowship concedes when I play a shadow card that will damage them somewhat such as Shotgun Enquea or Wormtongue. We all know there are bad matchups here and there, but part of the fun is in seeing how the game plays out. We didn't have this "problem" (as I see it) on GCCG.

I admit I have conceded once, when my fellowship was very wounded at site 4-5 and my opponent had doubled through 6 without a scratch and a full companion lineup. My opponent's response? "Awww... I wanted to see what your Shadow was like..."  

Incidentally my opponent's fellowship was running Lady Redeemed, which made my shadow impossible. The same player once told me, "if you don't like LR, just concede when the game starts."

[sgtdraino]

Your opponent most certainly knows their own deck better than you do. Perhaps they know that the action taken will cripple them to the point where continuing to play would simply be drawing out the inevitable, a waste of time. I often concede when I know there is no way that I can win. At that point, it's no longer really a game. IMO, the sensible thing is to waste no more time, concede, and move on to a new game.

There are also people who just dislike playing against certain strategies. It's simply not fun for them. One of the objectives of the game is to have fun, so why keep playing if you're not having fun?

I have no problem with anyone conceding, for any reason they want.

[Kralik]

I've had games where my Free Peoples has been crippled almost to the point of death, but my Shadow pulls through and wins unexpectedly.

Even if one thinks it's a "waste of time," what about one's opponent's enjoyment in seeing their strategies work? There are plenty of games where I can see from the outset that it is extremely unlikely that I will win just due to bad matchups yet it's still worth playing them through.

I find it more disappointing when my opponent concedes and then immediately leaves without chatting or responding to my chat messages. In my opinion GCCG players had a sort of camaraderie which I'm not seeing as much on Gemp.

EDIT: Note that I'm not saying Conceding is "bad" or should be done away with, and it's certainly better than ragequitting. I just personally find it disappointing. Imagine a sport, like basketball, football, soccer, etc. where one team decides to walk away at half-time because they are down points and they've given up.

[Not a Zombie]

I agree Kralik, I don't like conceding or when people concede. Pretty much the only time I do is when I play my shadow at site 9 and its obviously not enough. It did seem like GCCG had better camaraderie, probably partially because the chat was better and was actually necessary without having rules enforcement. Plus it was certainly a smaller community back then.

[Eukalyptus]

I'm only conceding when I see absolutely no chance of winning or something important in RL comes up.

[sgtdraino]

I agree Kralik, I don't like conceding or when people concede. Pretty much the only time I do is when I play my shadow at site 9 and its obviously not enough.

Heck, a site 9 concession is about the only one that bugs me a little. What, you couldn't wait through one last turn to give someone the satisfaction of a normal victory?

[ramolnar]

Heck, a site 9 concession is about the only one that bugs me a little. What, you couldn't wait through one last turn to give someone the satisfaction of a normal victory?

To the contrary, that's my favorite concession. Once I see that I can't win, I want to let my opponent move on.

[sgtdraino]

To the contrary, that's my favorite concession. Once I see that I can't win, I want to let my opponent move on.

That's my rationale for conceding early in the game, because it saves time. But if you're at site 9, I really don't see the point of conceding.

[Not a Zombie]

I kinda find it annoying when someone plays 2 minions vs my 5 companions at site 9 and makes me play out the rest of it as a formality. But each to his own

[ket_the_jet]

I will admit that I concede sometimes...that's generally when the minions outnumber my companions and I don't have the events to survive the turn. Oh yeah, another stipulation is not wearing Such a Weight to Carry or Answer to All Riddles for self-corruption.

But yeah, I've had a few guys [or gals?] concede in the past few games I've played solely over bad matchups. I killed someone's Third Marshal of Riddermark and we didn't play through the end of the turn...I just don't see the fun in that.
-wtk

[Kralik]

OK, I've loosened up a bit on my feelings regarding Concede, but I've been disappointed to find that with one of my decks (DH Hobbits/Easterlings), three out of my last five games were a Concession at site 2 or 3. None of those three involved losing key companions... the opponent just didn't like the matchup and decided they weren't up to a challenge. I consider that poor sportsmanship.

I don't like Lady Redeemed or the plethora of LR/Cirdan+Ninja Gollum deck combos I see in Movie, but I certainly don't concede immediately just because the odds are stacked against me. I feel like the opponent is saying, "It's not worth my time to play a difficult match and I don't care about your ability to enjoy winning."

One opponent's quote: "I have time for 1 game... and I want to play a Good Game." Conceded at site 2 with one Easterling in play; nobody would have died.

Le sigh...