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fragglerox

I played at a convention with a person who instituted this for Project L, she said it worked great for any "each player gets X actions". Took 3 of the unused pieces -- we weren't playing the expansion, so we used 3 black pieces -- to count as our actions. The current player holds the 3 pieces. As they take each action, they pass a piece to the left, so when that player has 3 pieces, it's their turn. Worked pretty well, made it snappy.


rutgerdad

**A la carte** comes with three spoons/spatulas for exactly this purpose


TastesLikeCoconut

Stealing this, such a good idea!


Bookz22

Nice


Ulsif2

After playing it once ProjetL, if I buy it I am also getting an time 2 min. People take too long for such a simple game.


RevRagnarok

Since there's not a _ton_ of interaction, you should've thought of at least two of the three actions before your turn. _Maybe_ there's some new options in the market.


TheCosmicJester

My favorite anti-dawdling mechanism is in the learning game of Galaxy Trucker. Quoth the rulebook: “… anyone who is unreasonably slow can be persuaded to finish by gently thumping the box lid against their head.”


dns12999

That is an awesome rule that I would certainly utilize!


treegrass

Galaxy trucker rulebook is so good. Whenever I teach I always mostly just read from the rulebook, cus it's hilarious


LimpDragonfruit3952

We don't actually use the sand timer for building our ships, though.... right?


TheCosmicJester

There is no time limit in the learning game.


HellbentHoundoom

My sister’s copy of Exploding Kittens has a “cone of shame”; a giant pet cone that you have to wear every time you forget whose turn it is and have to ask the table. I’ve been coned a couple times. It’s uncomfortable and stupid looking…and I pay way more attention to other people’s turns now.


saotomesan

That's a good idea. Though, at our table we tend to use that question as a polite way to get people to focus and realize that it's their turn. I.e. we usually already know the answer to the question when it's asked or we see that there's some ambiguity as to whether player X is done or not.


crochetingPotter

My husband really doesn't like the cone of shame, and does anything to avoid it. My brother in law received the cone very quickly (because he's always the one who's not paying attention to who's turn it is) and wore it proudly the rest of the night, and refused to give it up. There's no shame to the cone of the person is shameless lol


ManiacalShen

If I lose track of whose turn it is and ask, it's because someone is taking too long, so a new turn hasn't started in a bit. Half the time, the person whose turn it is doesn't know we're waiting on them! I would be upset if someone tried to put a cone on me for helping the game move along.


__harder__

This is the way.


gameryamen

My group has a few small behaviors for this. The first is that we always announce "That's the end of my turn" followed by "Sam it's your turn" (using the next player's name, of course). This alone helped a lot with the classic issue of someone not realizing their turn had started. But it wasn't fool-proof, so we added another layer to it. Whenever any of us here "it's your turn", we'll silently, quickly point at the player who's turn it is now. Anytime someone is looking around the table with curious eyes to figure out whose turn it is, we'll just repeat the same pointing gesture without interrupting anything to ask. We assume the default question is "Whose turn is it?" to the extent that it can be asked without any words. It takes a little getting used to, but it gets out of the way of table talk very easily, and once everyone is making a habit of pointing, everyone keeps better track for themselves too.


icymallard

Glad you clarified. It was going to be weird calling everyone Sam


gypsyjackson

You get used to it, Sam.


DrastabTar

I just call everyone by the wrong name, it keeps them from getting too chummy. To keep it easier for me I will call all the males Dave and all the females Debbie. Unless her name really is Debbie, then its Slagathor.


aluckybrokenleg

His name was Robert Paulson


Yellwsub

His name was Sam Samson


B0Boman

Yeah, another great reason to narrate your turn, which I usually do anyway since someone at the table is learning so often. Until I also narrate my whole strategy... really need to stop doing that


Glum-Bus-4799

You'd make a great supervillain


darkapplepolisher

Better turn narration is a good habit in general anyway. Ensures proper/legal play is afoot and informs everybody across the board exactly what's happening in case they miss it visually.


happlepie

Blows my mind that this isn't common practice. I'm thankful that when I was teaching my current group of friends to play Magic, I got them so used to declaring every action and reading the whole card when they played one, since I was doing that to teach them, and it just stuck. Sure, you could say it slows things down, but in another way it speeds things up and makes games run smoother. It doesn't totally eliminate people wanting to read other player's cards for themselves, but it does reduce it, especially once we get used to the deck.


Asbestos101

We developed a knock or tap on the table to pass go in our big mp mtg games.


blond-max

I play with different groups and explain often enough that narrating my turn came in naturally. I noticed many starting to do that as well during pandemic tts play, but they've since reverted back


RichLather

"That's the end of my turn" is something my spouse insists upon, because I'm terrible about not saying when I'm done, and even when I do sometimes there's way too many instances where I say "oh wait, I forgot--" and have to complete a step I didn't take or a bonus I didn't collect. It's maddening, but I'm trying to improve.


pinkmeanie

Someone in my group had a "longest turn" tile in the style of Catan's Longest Road worth -2 points. Depending on the game this could be embarrassing or devastating.


AbacusWizard

In **Scythe**, there’s an official optional rule that if everyone else at the table agrees that you’re wasting too much time estimating your score (or whatever) during your turn and stalling the game, then you *lose Popularity points in-game*. This is not merely symbolic: your Popularity level strongly influences end-game scoring!


coatisabrownishcolor

We have a giant Robber figure. It's about 5 inches tall. It's actually too cumbersome for our board, but I love it anyway so we use it as an active player token. We use the deck of event cards, so we can't just pass the dice. We would frequently forget whose turn it was, especially with a special build phase with 5 to 6 players.


Nflickner

Was a timer used to keep track?


BetaZoupe

Not needed, it's always Sam.


Supersquigi

No Mr frodo! Gollum's trying to trick you!


ofcbrooks

Fricken’ Sam!


Hautamaki

This would certainly come in handy for Five Tribes!


iterationnull

A great trick to reduce that “oh is it my turn?” Is to not have mobile devices at the table.


Supersquigi

I can't believe this is even something that has to be said, but I guess I was born before cellular phones.


AbacusWizard

It’s amazing how much difference this makes. Focus on the game!


iterationnull

Your next turn starts the moment your last turn finished.


a22e

My solution is to build a 300lbs gaming table with RGB LEDs (and sound) built in to track player turns. Trying it out for the first time this weekend. Wish me luck. If we still can't keep track of turns my wife might leave me.


goddessofthewinds

That's cool! Making a homemade light device that can be put in front of each player and light up to indicate the active player would be nice! There could even be a flashing mode to wake up the player whose turn it just became. Now I want to built it.


kickbut101

let me know how it goes! I'm genuinely interested


goddessofthewinds

Haha, I will try to look into it when I get back home in a few months. I was looking into getting in that kind of stuff so I will certainly try. If I do get something working, I will certainly post it.


KillerOrca

I've advocated that every game needs the "do something" pawn from Magic Maze.


pocketbookashtray

Or the Big Paws from Snow Tails.


silverfiregames

\*begins furiously tapping and grunting\*


The_Lawn_Ninja

Nope, but now I'm certainly going to try this. My group tends to combine game night with a dinner party and beers/buds, so we're all quite merry and it's not hard to get sidetracked and forget whose turn it is. Having a "Current Player Idol" may indeed alleviate this issue.


AbacusWizard

Holding a large book (especially this book) in one’s hand while being the active player is very wizardly. I approve.


xywa

outjerked again


JohnStamosAsABear

The trick is getting something heavy in your hand first.


Elite_AI

le out le jerked legain


taraliznor

We started saying Choo choo with ticket to ride to signal you were finished your turn. Then we started doing pew pew or mew mew or whatever was thematic to the game we were playing. Now it’s come full circle and we just say choo choo again. I use it without thinking whenever I play with new people and they usually end up adopting it afterwards


Thadrach

Also apt for Colt Express! Of course, so is "pew pew"...


AzracTheFirst

Sir, this is not r/boardgamescirclejerk


kortneebo

My group had the “turn birb” it was a wooden bird shaped first player token from I think Evolution or one it’s spin-offs. Usually with someone going “TURN BIRB” when they passed it.


aslum

If you have any dinosaur games get a large plastic dino from the dollar store. Perfect turn marker (though people will be excited to hold the dino). Space games? Get a rocket ship or something. Maybe a minecraft or other toy sword for more fantastical games.


DoggyDoggy_What_Now

If you own Evolution, you've already got a pretty hefty dinomeeple.


ackmondual

I have a current player marker. Like a mini-bottle or something. When you're done taking your turn, you MUST pass that to the next player. The next player shouldn't move until they have it. This forces players to give a clear cue that it's there turn. I've always NOT been a fan of how you're forced to watch players like a hawk to finally get when they're done. Some people miss those cues (despite paying attention), and these little delays can add up!


JBR1961

One night my family instituted the “go out of turn you lose the turn” rule. Lasted one game. My baby sister lost several turns after impulsively rolling out of turn. Decades later, I can fire her up immediately by saying this. :-)


Kry4Blood

My family has decided to have everyone silently stare at the person whose turn it is. We frequently get comments like “why is everyone being creep….oh, it’s my turn”


mperklin

You've reinvented the "Turn Stick" - an incredibly effective way of keeping BGs moving! The turn stick in my home has taken many forms over the years, and was most-effective as a small stick of wood that players could place between their fingers like a cigarette while using 99% of their two hands to manipulate the game components. Never put the turn stick down lest you get mobbed by the table in unison: "PARTY FOUL!"


bybc345

A lot of games with bags we just pass the bag around


LonePaladin

This is how Roll Player works. It comes with a big bag of dice, whoever has the bag goes first that round. The cleanup phase ends with you passing the bag to the next player.


makeybussines

We use a rather large rubber mallet. Makes the whole table shake when it is placed next to you in case you are not ready to receive. Everyone knows whose turn it is.


Shogun2049

Some games come with a proof of purchase token on the punch board. We keep those and use them. We'll use the Calico proof of purchase token for games with no player marker.


Kitjing

There's nothing wrong with a conch rule to keep the turns considered. I feel more games(for fun) should have a turn token.


ChuckCGN85

Usually paying attention works wonders.


MongooseHistorical16

My group tends to get distracted by conversation when we play and will forget whose turn it is (in the middle of a turn, sometimes - especially difficult to keep track when playing Magic.). I had a rubber duck in my bag and handed it over to use as a visual of whose turn it was - we call it the Duck of Doing and when you finished everything you wanted to do, you ceremoniously handed it to the next player. It really helped the games run more smoothly and now we use it for all our other board games, too.


R2iGames

Before we tried using the book as the turn marker, we also tried a rubber duck that we named the "Turnducken." We abandoned the duck in favor of the book because the duck was too lightweight and people would forget they were still holding it.


Wanderingdragonfly

I can walk out of a store without realizing I’m still holding whatever I was looking at, so I could certainly see this as a potential problem.


TeratoidNecromancy

That's...... Actually really smart.....


mindbird

That's beautiful.


Kavinsky12

I teach players when they finish, to locate the next player, look them in the eye, and tell them it's their turn. Normally I'm the turn keeper. And it requires extra brain power. Better to teach players to have ownership of the turn. Once played a game, years ago, where some newb player finished his turn. And we spent ten minutes after with no one doing anything as he didn't pass it off.


SupaFugDup

This is the way. Typically I'll do a passing off hand gesture when I'm done, and take a few seconds to confirm that they are starting their turn. If not, they get a pleasant "your turn" This works for me super well and even translates to games with weird turn structures like Mystic Vale.


Brock_Savage

Wearing a big hat or sombrero when it's your turn for card games and board games.


R2iGames

I once had a group that used a Burger King crown as an active player marker. It was fun to crown the next person in turn order.


Brock_Savage

Yea it's a great solution and I was surprised at getting downvoted.


guiltybydesign11

Ah yes. The okus.


sigismond0

If you pick up the book when it's handed off, it doesn't really help the biggest problem of people not realizing it's their turn.


Fortytwo42

When my friends and I are done with our turn we put our hands over the middle of the board/table and rotate our hands up and down really quick like when a dealer leaves a table at a casino.


Katstories21

We have a giant D20 mace that my friend made with his 3D printer. It's cumbersome and if you get tired, thwacking yourself in the head hurts.


TheShiniestLlama

We pass around a 3d printed meeple trophy. Though we do still sometimes forget to pass the trophy. Not letting people put it down is a good idea. We have joked about adding lights or some kind of timer to it.


SaiyanRoyalty22

What would you do for games with simultaneous turns


SaiyanRoyalty22

What would you do for games with simultaneous turns


Cardboard_RJ

Heh, that's actually pretty clever!


YamiNoSenshi

We took the tiny pink plunger from Rise of Queensdale after we were done with the campaign. It stays in my board game go bag and serves as a current player marker. When you're done, you pass it. If it's sitting in front of you, it's your turn. Really great for those games that can have longer, more complicated turns.


orangeRus

I need to institute something like this for games! Must find a good item to pass around the table... For now, the closest thing I have is when my group plays Next Station: London, the conductor says the station symbol out loud, and each player repeats it once they're done, so the conductor knows when to move on without needing to check in with everyone. It works great at 3 players and sounds ridiculous.


godtering

i need to save this.


FlatTransportation64

Related: in the expansion to the Exploding Kittens called Imploding Kittens there's a bunch of cards that reverse the turn order. This must have confused the playtesters so the game designers have come up with an unique solution: the first player who asks "which way we're going now?" gets to wear the [cone of shame](https://hip2save.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Imploding-Kittens.jpg?resize=1024%2C538&strip=all?w=1200&strip=all) for the rest of the game and becomes a reference for the turn order.


CatTaxAuditor

I don't want to yuck your yum, but I've never understood the idea that games should be played as fast as possible. I'd much rather play a few games well with everyone having the time to act deliberately than introduce arbitrary ways to get through more games with less thought.


thehighepopt

There's act deliberately and then there's piddle-fuck around and the line isn't always distinct


Role-Honest

Playing Catan with 2 players (house rules with my wife) made keeping track of who’s turn it actually was confusing as the only player you would trade with was the other person so interaction was present in every turn. We started by “owning” the dice and rolling near you and making a point of passing the dice to the other player when you were done with your turn and ready for the other player to roll but that also got confusing if you rolled a bit too close to the other player or weren’t strict enough with the rule (as the dice are an interactive part of the game). So we ended up using a token piece and passing that across when the turn was up, an idea we took from Acropolis which has a _chief architects_ token. I like the idea of a heavy weight which you must hold although I can imagine that would get annoying for any game you _need_ two hands for like holding and picking cards in catan.


Zaraxeon

Ha, I love this, might be implementing in some of our games! I'm looking around at heavy objects and I think a couple of our baby toys or a frying pan might do the trick 😂


Unban_Jitte

My only gripe with this is that there should be a smaller "next player" idol.


SammyBear

I had a couple games of BSG where complex turns (Lee and executive orders) made it hard to remember whose turn it was. We implemented a rule where the current player only got their cards if they obnoxiously waved the current player token in the face of whoever was in charge of readying the cards.


ToNIX_

I like using a bright orange hockey puck to identify the current player. Back when I was playing poker, this is what we used instead of the small dealer button.


Big_ShinySonofBeer

I tried various different things and our current house rule is basically: Initiative is a single roll for all enemies and a single roll for the players the highest bonus gets added to the respective rolls it decides whether all players act first or all enemies act first. The players act one after the other clockwise around the table.


Medwynd

"we were able to cram 11 games into one day!" That sounds like a miserable experience. Instead of enjoying hanging out with friends and enjoying the game you race to see how many games you can "cram" into a session. No thanks.


Clockehwork

That is a lot of assumptions you're jumping to without a lot or evidence.


zendrix1

The ol' reddit special lol


gypsyjackson

They then went on to circle jerk to make pretty much the same comment.


seeingreality7

This is most of their comment history here. They pop in now and then to toss out judgmental insults, then run over to the circlejerk sub to jerk it in a more welcoming place for people like them. Want to know what *actually* sounds like a miserable experience? THAT does. How empty does someone's life have to be?