Did I say threat? Oh, it’s a threat all right—a threat to civilization as we know it. Slow play doesn’t just create delays in matches once time is called. Oh no. It permeates the entire event, gnawing away at the opponent’s chances, dragging out the rounds, nibbling, nibbling, nibbling away at those precious 40 minutes, pulling the tournament under, and trying to get wins that wouldn’t happen otherwise. It’s a threat to the very integrity of the competition!

All right, it doesn’t rank up there with hurricanes, pandemics, and fraudulent elections, but it really is a problem. Sadly, it’s also one of the more difficult problems to police because it can be so difficult to spot—slow play is often subtle, difficult to detect, and even unintentional, which can make it hard to select an appropriate penalty. You don’t want to penalize the careful player who puts thought into his or her decisions, and you certainly don’t want to hamstring a player who’s running an especially challenging or creative deck. You do want to stop players who are trying to manipulate the clock to their benefit, and you can’t let slow play harm the tournament: unintentional or not, it should never wind up as the deciding factor in a match.

The first step to dealing with this problem is learning to spot it.

Recognizing Slow Play

The definition of slow play is always going to come down to personal interpretations to some degree. With that said, use your common sense to make an educated decision.

Remember to consider the age and experience of the player, and the setting. Is it a very young player, or a beginner, or are they playing in a casual environment? I’ve noticed that “casual” events like League often lead to a relaxed pace of play, since players aren’t really focused on the clock and are inclined to be more social. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it doesn’t hurt to encourage players to learn to play at an appropriate pace, so they can do so when it’s necessary. Younger or beginning players will often take longer to make decisions, and if you can assist them in a casual environment, you will bring their skill levels up to the point where they can keep up with a tournament pace.

Now then, when you’re out on the floor, remember to look for slow play. If there seems to be a lot of pauses at a particular table, stand and watch for a bit. There are general litmus tests that can help you determine if lengthy consideration during a player’s turn is reasonable or unreasonable. The first is pretty simple—look at the decision that the player is taking so much time with. If he or she has multiple cards in hand with several more on the field, then the duel is more complicated and will naturally take more thought. If there are very few (or no) potential moves that the at-risk player could make, then obviously he or she should be spending very little time making decisions. Though it’s certainly legal to bluff (giving the impression that a player may have choices that he or she doesn’t actually possess), this can only be allowed to a certain point. When it stops being a brief mind game and turns into a technical problem for the match, you’re obligated to step in. Often a simple “you need to make a play” lets the player know that he or she needs to hurry up.

The information you gather from analyzing the immediate situation isn’t your only resource. Player history can be extremely valuable in deciding whether or not some sort of call should be made. While a first infraction should be dealt with leniently, a repeated problem warrants escalating correction. Player history generally exists on three levels—the immediate term (the match being played), the short term (this tournament), and the long term (tournaments in the past). If you’ve noticed that one player is playing slowly despite previous warnings in the same match, that’s a problem. If you check the warning history of a slow player in the late rounds of a tournament and find that previous warnings were issued, that’s a problem. If a player has a local reputation for being a constant source of torpidity, then that’s a big problem. It’s all information that you can use to help you make a decision.

Recognize the Scope

The other important factor when addressing an instance of slow play is scope—how damaging is the instance of slow play? Is it five minutes into an early round in the tournament? In that case, slow play might not be a huge problem, though it still warrants correction. On the other hand, if someone is playing slowly with 30 seconds remaining on the match clock in round 8, that’s a totally different ballgame.

It’s important to remember that no matter what the context, excessive slow play shouldn’t be happening. The more chance slow play has of influencing a duel or match outcome, then the tougher you must be on the perpetrator. Don’t be afraid to turn up the heat—a game loss for the deserving party is a more preferable outcome than a defeat for the victimized player.

When you try to decide what sort of penalty to issue a slow player, part of your decision can depend on the impact that the slow play is having. Ask yourself, “Could this determine the match?” Even if it comes from innocence and honest difficulty, the scope of the problem needs to be understood in order for you to make the right call.

Determine Intent

Of course, there are unfortunate instances where slow play isn’t the result of innocence or an honest difficulty making a decision. Determining what is and is not intentional slow play can be challenging, but it’s something you’re going to need to develop the instinct for as a judge. If a player is honestly slow and having trouble with decisions, then repeated warnings and perhaps game losses are warranted. The moment that it becomes intentional, the stakes are raised to the level of unsportsmanlike conduct and cheating. That means match losses and disqualifications.

There are several ways that you can determine whether or not excessive slow play is intentional. Ignorance on behalf of the offending player in regards to excessive warnings is the easiest indicator—has the player been warned earlier in the match? Do you happen to be standing over him or her at that very moment because of concerns raised earlier in the round? Generally, if a player is not stalling intentionally he or she will pick up the pace when you dig in your spurs. While repeated occurrences don’t always mean intent to stall, it sure doesn’t make the slow player look good when it comes time to make a call.

Again, long-term player history is another resource at your disposal. Does this player tend to win on time? Has he perhaps drawn other suspicious penalties or warnings in the past that might indicate an inclination towards sketchiness? These questions can yield valuable answers.

Sometimes the matter can be as simple as checking a decklist. If one player in a match is siding multiple cards for time situations (say, a Ceasefire, three Emergency Provisions cards, and three Wave-Motion Cannon cards), then stalling gives him or her a distinct advantage. If that player then proceeds to incur slow play warnings over the course of the tournament, then you’ve clearly got suspicious behavior and a strong reason to suspect intentional stalling. At that point, the penalties are up to you and the head judge—while the head judge will have final say, you’re the one who’s observed the situation and your input will be welcomed in almost every case.

Administer the Appropriate Penalties

Once you’ve made your assessment of the situation, it’s time to hand out the penalties. This is what scares a lot of judges from ever stepping onto the slippery slope of slow play! It’s part of the job though, so if you’ve been timid about cracking down in the past, it’s time to start afresh. Usually, you’re going to start with a warning—not a bad way to begin, especially if players aren’t used to being called on time. The policy guidelines allow for some flexibility in laying down the law, so don’t be afraid to make use of that flexibility when you feel the situation warrants it. Most penalties issued in Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG events are made with the assumption the players have committed the errors unintentionally, and unless you feel you’ve got grounds to think otherwise, follow the guidelines laid out for such in the policy document. The penalties for intentional stalling are serious, so you want to make sure of your call before handing one of those out—but if you are sure it is warranted, then for goodness sake, do it. Players won’t change their behavior as long as they keep getting away with it, and it’s not right to stand there and allow it to happen.

If you’re a table judge, it gets easier and harder at the same time—you are sitting there watching every move, so it’s easier to track how long a player is taking, but it can be very intimidating to call a player on the length of time the move is taking. Table-judged matches are often surrounded by spectators or covered by a Metagame.com writer, and the spotlight can be uncomfortable if you’re not used to table judging. Keeping track of the time each player is taking to make a move is part of the job, though. If you feel a player is taking too long, begin with verbal prompts to make a decision—“please make a decision” will usually suffice—and move to warnings and any other appropriate penalties if the behavior continues.

We’ve come a long way, haven’t we, judges? We’ve moved past basic enforcement of card rulings at Duelist Kingdom events to getting crowds of 800 or more to sit down at their tables and follow a set tournament procedure. We hit a snag here and there, but as the Organized Play program continues, we keep working away at making things even smoother. If you haven’t put “dealing seriously with slow play” on your list of things to do at your next event, now’s the time. Let’s get those players moving!