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The intention of this thread is to present and fine tune a simplified rule set for players to use chess clocks in timed tournament games of 40k. Please share any questions that came up during real games or any constructive feedback that you may have.

Basic rules for using chess clocks in Warhammer 40k.

When does time start:.

Time starts when the first pregame action or dice roll happens. Depending on the tournament this might be deciding sides, placing objectives etc.

Rules:

1.The player is responsible for their own time. It is the players right but not their obligation to make sure that their time is being handled properly. A player can always pass a phase, action or even a turn.

2. Any major rule discrepancies result’s in a paused time scenario. The time is to remain paused until a formal judge is called to the table and hears the argument. It is then the judges call whose time is started while the dispute is resolved.

3. If a player’s time runs out during a unit’s action, the player can finish that unit’s action only. (moving, shooting, charging etc.)

4. If a player runs out of time he can no longer do any voluntary actions.

a. This includes drawing maelstrom cards, rolling for reserves, rolling to rally, moving, casting psychic powers, denying psychic powers, shooting, taking look out sirs, running in any form (flat out, turbo boosting, jump pack moves etc.), charging, swinging in close combat and consolidating.

5. A timed out player may do involuntary actions including;

a. Involuntary moves to keep them one inch from the enemy such as moving from tank shock, pile in moves, taking saving throws and scoring objectives of any sort that they already hold.

So that’s it five basic rules is all you need to use chess clocks in tournaments and solve all time issues. The most important rule is rule number 1. This is most important because it puts time in your control and solves the issue of both players interacting in most phases of the game. It is the players right to pass the time to his opponent whenever it’s not his action.

Some examples of this are as follows:

1. You put 20 wounds on a unit containing multiple ic’s and models with different saving throws. Pass the clock to your opponent so he can make his look out sir rolls and saving throws.

2. Your opponent has to make 3 ld tests after the shooting phase is over. Pass the clock the clock to you opponent while he makes these ld tests and the resulting moves if some units fail.

3. You destroy a vehicle and your opponent has a large squad inside that he wants positioned just right. Pass the clock to him while he arranges his models.

4. You do 5 power fist wounds and 5 regular wounds to a unit that contains IC’s that might be effected by instant death. Pass the clock to your opponent while he decides what saves to take on which models.

These examples are limited but should show the basic concept. You manage your own time and it is up to you to pass the clock. If you burn your own time it is not your opponents fault.

When does the game end.

Games end naturally depending on random game length rolls or at the start of a new turn when neither player has greater then (xxx) time left on the clock to start as new turn. I suggest five minutes but can be anything.

think passing the clock for each series of rolls for your opponent is going to be pretty awkward in practice...

These rules are from the result of practice and game testing and work really well. Remember you control your own time and you do not have to pass the clock. In reality you usually only pass it when your opponent has a large pool of saving throws to take and not just a single one.

Yeah, chess clocks are the sort of idea that sounds great on paper, but would just be awkward and irritating in practice, and really, really open to abuse.

How do you account for the time taken when an opponent questions an action you are in the middle of taking, or when smaller rules discussions ensue? A determined opponent could very easily just whittle away at your time in small bites.

These rules are from play testing. Remember you control your own time, if you allow your opponent to waste it you only have yourself to blame. Also, you can always pause time and call a judge. This makes rules abuse really obvious.

Chess clocks work in chess, where both sides have equal armies in every respect outside of first turn.

40k has very unequal armies, in terms of power, model count, phases they need to participate in, # of dice needed to participate, ect ect.

I agree completely this is the beauty of chess clocks everyone has equal time regardless of what army they bring.

If you think you got slow played, tell a TO, time clocks simply add another action into a game where you have less then 4 seconds per turn per model to do everything you need to do.

In my experience this never works and only plays in to the hands of the offender. Anyway under a chess clock system you won't have to worry about slow play because it's not possible. The slow player will only be able to waste their own time.
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It's mainly the incredible awkwardness of passing time back and forth for tiny subphases that tears it down for me. Like after your every initiative step in melee.

The amount of time passes also seems pretty staggering. It wouldn't surprise me if by the end of the game, both players had spent 10 minutes each messing with the clock. They could've just had 20 extra game minutes right there instead.

The first few games are awkward but then it becomes second nature and works smoothly.

The big problem most of us are talking about is games being too big to finish naturally, through no real fault of the players.

I am not sure I agree with this but its your opinion and you are entitled to it. From what I have experienced, under a timed system you really see who is spending the time and for what reasons.

But in any case the clocks make all timed tournament games end fairly and naturally.

I posted these rules as a solution to a problem that obviously exists in timed tournament games. I should have mentioned in the previous post that I intended this thread as a place where people can share their real game experiences so that we can tweak the rule set and make it complete.

While everyone is entitled to their opinion, I ask that you please try the rules and then provide constructive feed back from your games in this thread.

On a final note please remember rule number 1, that you control your own time you will see that the system works very well in timed tournament games.

The intention of this thread is to present and fine tune a simplified rule set for players to use chess clocks in timed tournament games of 40k. Please share any questions that came up during real games or any constructive feedback that you may have.

There are some interesting opinions being expressed here and while I value them I think that they are better suited in an opinion thread debating when to use chess clocks.

I am going to edit the original post to better reflect the intention of this thread.

I first applaud your effort in trying to improve the tournament experience for those who participate in them. The world needs a number of problem solvers equal to the number of problem finders.

Thank you, the idea is to make a concise set of rules for players to use in timed tournament games.

That being said, I did notice that you seem to be of a split mind in your post, if I read it correctly about calling a judge to the table in the event of sandbagging.

Sandbagging is not possible because it is your right to put your opponent on his clock. If real issues of sportsmanship arise, pause the time and call a judge. If this becomes a recurring issue by the same offending player it will be very easy to notice and the TO can describe what penalties those players will face upfront. The clocks make these type of offenses extremely transparent. Play a few games and you will see.

You first suggest pausing time and calling for a judge, which really does nothing for your fast time frame you are trying to accomplish. Judges can be spread pretty thin in tournaments I have attended, and it might take one several minutes to get to you if they are dealing with a group of issues at once.

These are great questions. So time should be paused for any major rule issue. This should not happen that often and if it does consistently happen for the same player the judge should have the power to impose a penalty designated by the TO. Additionally I think there is room for discussion about total time having a pause time buffer added to it. This is very simple to implement because it only effect each players total time and it would be done equally. I would really like to hear some TO's with chess clock experience constructive feed back on this topic.

You then say in another part of this same post that in your experience, calling judges doesn't work and only plays into the hands of the offender. This has me puzzled as to what your real thoughts are on this.

This is in reference to the current tournament system and players who game it by playing slowly. There are several threads and posts about these types of tactics on dakka. However, this is not possible under the proposed rules because they would only be wasting their own time. Remember you control your own time.

Further down, in answer to someone saying it seems awkward, you state it's only awkward for the first few games. Most tournaments I have attended are usually consist of only three of four games. It doesn't sound attractive to slog through three or four awkward games, or for that matter, even two.

I assume people will play these initial games at home fist to prepare themselves for timed tournament games that are using chess clocks. It only takes a few games to get a hang of it if you follow these simple rules.

I think the answer has already been put forward in knocking down the number of points, or if that puts certain armies at a disadvantage, then extending the game length.

I started a different thread to discuss opinions on the pros and cons of using chess clocks. Thank you for your questions, please try the system at home for a few games and post anymore that you might have. Also, I hope that these rules make your future timed tournament game experience's better.

With clocks, there are too many variables that can't be adequately covered.

Please focus one most important variable time and the main rule you need to remember is that you control it.

You should try it, I suggest this clock: http://www.amazon.com/DGT-1001-Digital-Chess-Clock/dp/B016E3WSVA/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1456961976&sr=1-3&keywords=dgt+1001

I switched to it because it does negative time.

Also, one of our FLGS are starting to use chess clocks in their monthly tournaments.

http://draxtargames.com/calendar-events/40k-event-1850-points-2/

They that draw 20-30+ people for each event. If you live in the area you should play in them. They are well run and its a great place to play.

The issue of time exploiting in tournament games has been getting a lot of attention again lately and TO's are already looking into how to best integrate chess clocks into their events. I want to update this thread with a condensed version of the rules to help with that process. TO's who want to use chess clocks to enhance their tournaments and eliminate time exploiting can simply copy and paste the rules below.


When does time start:

Time starts when the first pregame action or dice roll happens.

Rules:

1. The player is responsible for their own time. It is the player’s right but not their obligation to make sure that their time is being handled properly. A player can always pass a phase, action or even a turn.

2. Any major rule discrepancies result’s in a paused time scenario. The time is to remain paused until a formal judge is called to the table and hears the argument. It is then the judge’s call whose time is started while the dispute is resolved.

3. If a player’s time runs out during a unit’s action, the player can finish that unit’s action only. (Moving, Shooting, Charging etc.)

4. If a player runs out of time he can no longer do any voluntary actions including but not limited to;

a. Drawing maelstrom cards, rolling for reserves, rolling to rally, moving, casting psychic powers, denying psychic powers, shooting, taking look out sirs, running in any form (flat out, turbo boosting, jump pack moves etc.), charging, swinging in close combat and consolidating.

5. A timed out player may do involuntary actions including;

a. Involuntary moves to keep them one inch from the enemy such as moving from tank shock, pile in moves, taking saving throws and scoring objectives of any sort that they already hold.

The most important rule is rule number 1. This is most important because it puts time in your control and solves the issue of both players interacting in most phases of the game. It is the players right to pass the time to his opponent whenever it’s not his action.

Some examples of this are as follows:

1. You put 20 wounds on a unit containing multiple ic’s and models with different saving throws. Pass the clock to your opponent so he can make his look out sir rolls and saving throws.

2. Your opponent has to make 3 ld tests after the shooting phase is over. Pass the clock the clock to you opponent while he makes these ld tests and the resulting moves if some units fail.

3. You destroy a vehicle and your opponent has a large squad inside that he wants positioned just right. Pass the clock to him while he arranges his models.

4. You do 5 power fist wounds and 5 regular wounds to a unit that contains IC’s that might be affected by instant death. Pass the clock to your opponent while he decides what saves to take on which models.

These examples are limited but should show the basic concept. You manage your own time and it is up to you to pass the clock. If you burn your own time it is not your opponents fault.

When does the game end.

Games end naturally depending on random game length rolls or at the start of a new turn when neither player has greater than 5:00 minutes of time left on the clock.