Checker playing site.

[tommyc]

Msn Kings room was my choice John, i wonder why they done away w/ it!

But i guess we should give GT a chance see wat happens./The stumbling block may be the $50 entry tho/

[Patrick Parker]

heya.....vog is a great site......but its dead
they did make an acf room....i dont know if its still listed but it was
there at one time....dont know what details werent worked out with it...
i am playing at gold token......guess badger set it so i could .......
the website has a real clean look......

[Mary Strazicich]

To answer everyones questions, let me start with GoldToken's outlook.

GoldToken is a site that has been making continual advancements to stay on the cutting edge. I like to call it forward thinking. If you look in GoldToken's site news, we always are working on some new improvement. We are trying hard to not take short cuts while anticipating player needs. Since I have purchased the site, I have literaly reinvested every penny back into GoldToken and will continue to do so for some years to come. The sky is the limit.

I wish our site a bright future.

Thank you Alex. And you have it right. GoldToken is definately our site and together, we will make it a gamesite we will all be proud of!

Gold Token strictly bans the use of programs.

Yes, GoldToken does ban the use of programs (computer engines). But we do allow the use of a database whether personal or online.

Regarding the use of a database to play checkers: Whether you use a book or a computerized database, there is little difference, except the computerized database is likely to be much faster, very much more complete, and in general more accurate. However in principle it is the same thing: you are looking something up, not having an evaluation calculated based on a given position.

So I distinguish the difference between the use of computer engines --- a no-no for sure --- and the use of computer databases --- perfectly fair game which in essence uses the computer as a passive lookup device, not as an active calculator or evaluator. And any online database (again, consulted in a passive lookup fashion) is fair game and fair play.

What good will it be if it's turn-based only?

Turn-based games have a strong following and take every bit the same intelectual ability as one on one games. The main difference is this method of play allows someone with time restrictions to play who otherwise would not be able.

Turn-based gaming aside, you will indeed find GoldToken is a progressive site. Our site was not set up to limit our future growth and our programmers are not limited in any coding ability. Anything is possible! Like noted before, I would love to share the details, but have agreed to keep the suprizes under wraps until they are released. Regardless, everyone, from slow to fast play, will be most pleased!

Finally, if you want a faster speed, there is nothing to prevent you from agreeing to play quickly.

Very good point Pedro! And many of our players do this! And as Roberto L Ernest noted:

It can be a more serious form of the game.

how you control (if any) usage of programs on your site ? Or this is just a "Code of Ethics" which everyone has to sign when register ?

It is a code of ethics. GoldToken has made arrangements for a team of ACF members to revue questionable games against a checker engine that have been turned into management. We have similar teams like this too, for backgammon, chess and all our other games. But questionable games do need to be turned in to our management to be caught. This is taken from GoldToken's info page regarding cheating:

To be honest, we don't have enough time to examine every move in every game on this site. Much of the gaming here is done on the honor system. So if you feel compelled to stoop to cheating in order to give others a false sense of what a bright and wonderful individual you are, chances are that you may not get caught. However, if your cheating ends up being successful enough to place you near the top of one of the best players lists, your games may suddenly come under more intense scrutiny. It is easy to determine if you play daily with the exception of your tournament, ladder or club games, even delaying such games while taking on new ones. All the more reason not to do it.

In other words, ineffective cheating is unlikely to be caught, but then, if it is ineffective, why bother? And effective cheating is more likely to be caught, resulting in your rating being dropped, banned from playing tournaments, your membership forfeit or your account being summarily dismissed from this site, so again, why bother? But if you want to take the risk, consider yourself warned.

there is a option for.... if your opponent can refuse to move........ what does this mean exactly....i huff or blow his piece?

Certainly in serious or even semi-serious checkers (and chess), the idea of missing a turn doesn't make sense on a timeout. However, that is an option for casual play. When setting up a game, "loss of game" can (and should) be selected by the more serious player. This makes the problem completely disappear.

GoldToken does enforce "loss of game" for tournament and ladder play.

In "real time" or "near real time" play (not yet options on GoldToken but stay tuned), move-by-move time restrictions don't usually apply (unless we're talking about something like a 0/4 game in chess). But violation of time controls in live play certainly have to lead to loss of game.

For leisurely turn-based play, GoldToken has always provided a loss of turn option. But its use is completely optional!

I have signed up but as you all see you will have a membership fee

GoldToken offers five levels of membership you can choose from depending on your needs. And our guest membership is free. It offers you 15 standard games that can be played concurrently. You can also join 1 ladder and one tournament at a time.

The choice is always yours from free to our top membership level...which is the icing on the cake when it comes to fancy features. With this type of membership set up, you do not pay for everyone elses fancy features you have no interest in. Just what you use.

Honestly, I would love to be able to give away free memberships to everyone and do hand out many each and every month to those who are not able to afford one. But the truth is, GoldToken costs money for hosting and bandwidth, money to program new games. As noted above, everything has gone back into GoldToken. GoldToken's paid memberships are reasonably priced starting at $10 and go up to $50.

Aside from all this, you may be interested to know that I will be happy to give you a free two month silver membership just for joining GoldToken and secondly, that part of my agreement with the ACF is to give an automatic free upgrade to all ACF members during this first year. So, if you join up with a wood membership, and note that you belong to the ACF, you will find yourself with a silver membership. So fora most reasonable $15.00 you can play 60 games concurrentlyplus:
* Up to 15 tournaments and 10 ladders, Full participation in our
* Discussion Boards. Full participation in the Wiki Web
* Ability to join a Club
* Ability to turn off banner and pop-under ads except on wikis

~~Mary

[Alex_Moiseyev]

to review questionable games against a checker engine that have been turned into management.

Be kind on me I already checked in the past my statistics and some other volunteers did. When I have enough time and don't play 3/2 at 2 AM , my moves are matching to perfect play in average 70%-75%, and sometimes over 90%

I also continue to learn and memorize from major programs opening books, and when I don't forget things - my matching maybe 100%

Alex

[Mary Strazicich]

lol....the only problem is we wouldn't expect anything less from you!

[Mary Strazicich]

....but I guess that is what you get for being the best!

[Mr. Checkers]

Mary will ACF members be able just to sign onto your website to watch games being played? If so will there be a charge for this? Not all ACF members, like myself, are checker players. "Inky"

[Mary Strazicich]

:lol: Mary will ACF members be able just to sign onto your website to watch games being played? If so will there be a charge for this? Not all ACF members, like myself, are checker players. "Inky"

Yes you will Ms. Becky. But you will need an account to do so. And guest accounts are free.