Question about tournament etiquette

[TFoote]

I know that when I play games, I get annoyed when players who have complete control of a game don't finish the others off in a reasonable manner, either because they want to wait to lose other games to boost their score, they just don't feel like taking their turns, or they want to rub their dominance in for a little longer. (I know that sentence was a run-on mess. Apologies.)

I'm in a tournament now where I am playing four four-man games against the same three people, with points awarded 3-2-1-0 and the top overall scorer advancing. In one of the games, I've jumped out to an early lead, and I'm dominant to the point where I will quickly be able to decide exactly who gets knocked out when. It is unethical--or even just un-etiquette-al--to allow that game to continue while I wait for the results of the other three games to sort themselves out? By waiting, I could better recognize who I'd need to do poorly, and knock him out first, and so on. Do people think this would be gaming the system, or would this be a right I've earned by virtue of playing well (getting lucky) in that particular game? I don't want to be thought of as a cheater or a poor sport, but I also want to give myself a good chance of doing well in the tournament.

Note that all the players in my section are premium, so I wouldn't be depriving someone of one of their four games. It'd just (presumably) be really boring for them.

Any thoughts? I apologize if the poll options do not properly capture how you feel. Please feel free to comment on the thread itself. Thanks to all who contribute.

Oh, and I'm sorry if this question has been asked before. I'm not a frequent frequenter of these fora.

[Timminz]

If you think it will give you a better chance to win the tourney, I'd say it's fair game. Keep in mind though, that being in a dominant position now, in no way guarantees that you will be able to hold that position forever. The longer you delay, the more time the other players have to bring you back down to their level.

[edbeard]

If I had that position in the final game, I'd look at the scores and see what I needed to do. If you know that you and player X are likely to compete for a moving on spot then take him out early


but

seems like what you're doing is wrong. maybe take a look at the other games and see who you think is going to do well and act accordingly. purposefully waiting to knock people out is quite poor sport. just end it and leave it up to fate and good karma.

[Natewolfman]

im torn on this... tournament gameplay changes alot of aspects

in an 8-way game its ok to basically suicide another member as long as i guarentees you a better finishing spot in the game for tournament advancement, as its all part of the strat. And with this i can see the overall advantage... but it does seem really cheep lol

[blockhead15]

The purpose is to win the tourney. So long as you don't break any of the main site rules, you're within your rights. That being said, I think that tourney rules should outweigh site rules. For instance, there is a tourney where you advance by losing (i.e., throwing games). While in general I do not agree with point dumping, I do think that given the correct controls, having games set up with secret alliances or point dumping is ok so long as everyone knows the rules.