Hello,

Yesterday I played a game on IGS but both my opponent and I have overlooked an open boundary (just worth 1 point) and we were lost in the scoring phase, unable to score it properly or to go back to the game. We tried various things and reseted the coring phase multiple times. I was about to propose to score the game as is, couting as dame a large part of what should have been my territory (hoping that I would win anyway, given that I was ahead by a certain margin), or to call a moderator, but my opponent clicked on the "reset scoring" one more time... and a message explained to us that, after 5 scoring reset, the game was suspended. Since then we were unable to use the chat.
I clicked on the "report to a moderator" button, and then exit the game room.

However :
1. I've lost 50 points (that's not a big deal, but I don't understand)
2. The game does not show in my games archive
3. The game does not appear either in the "suspended games" section

That was a very intense game, with many twists, and I am a little frustrated not to be able to see it anymore. To have it properly scored would be neat, but that's not the main point : I would just like to review it.

Do you know if there a way to resurrect the game, or is it lost for good ?

If the game doesn't show in your game list then one of the following is likely:
1. the game was suspended and you can find the game under suspended games
2. the game was cancelled

In general, when a game is cancelled 50 points will be awarded to the winner and 50 points deducted from the loser. However, the rating displayed on NetSocial does sometimes lag behind the current rating and it is easy to misinterpret the observed changes in rating. The rating changes might not always relate to the last game played.

It does seem unusual that the game isn't listed if it was played to the end. It does happen occasionally that people are unable to finish scoring in time for the system to intervene but those games aren't hidden from the game list. Scoring issues have usually been resolved quickly for myself and I have observed the same thing for others, but it does appear to take longer the lower your rank is. The office will also in certain cases adjudicate games based the position and not merely the circumstances. When the office does adjudicate it is clearly indicated in NetSocial with a stamp like symbol in the game list.

If the game was reported then another possibility is that the game was automatically hidden until the office has had time to investigate. I'm not sure if this can happen but if the game was played to the end and then isn't in the game list, then there should be some reason. You could try to ask about the game with the support forum.

Thank you for this (quick!) reply.


I will assume that's the case, and let some time to see if a moderator adjucate the game in one way or another. If nothing comes in the next few days, I will follow your advice and ask about it in the support forum. Where is this forum however ? I don't find it, the only thing I see is a "report bug" button.

(As for the 50 points, just out of curiosity I double checked and am pretty sure it cannot be anything else. I recently discovered that a game can be cancelled if one doesn't send a greeting within one minute*, but I systematically make one anyway, and am pretty sure I did the same in that game.
If this game was cancelled I find it strange to automatically — the points loss was instant — assume that I am the loser. Maybe with this dame territory? But the scoring phase was cancelled anyway, so I don't know.)


*As we are talking about it, however, I am still confused about that one. Is the result of the game really irrelevant if someone does not send a greeting on time ? Or does he lose 50 points and then can score his game, +100 or -100 according to the result (same thing for the opponent)?

I'm not sure, I always send a greeting and usually there is at least an automatic greeting from the opponent.

The way I understand it it is either:
1. The game is not cancelled and player that doesn't send a greeting loses 50 points and the player that sent a greeting gains 50, but it doesn't matter who won the game.
2. The game is cancelled. Basically, you need to send a greeting or play a move in 1 minute or the game will be cancelled.

This hasn't happened to me recently and I'm not 100% sure but I think it is #1 but maybe #2 makes more sense?

The ranking rules in English are here.

See here: https://pandanet-igs.com/communities/pandanet/384

After greeting your opponent at the beginning of the game, you should play the first move within a minute. The system is set up so that you can’t play your first move if you haven’t sent a greeting. Also, if more than a minute elapses without your sending a greeting or if you are cut off, the game will be counted as a loss for you. In this case, the winner will have 50 points added to their score and the loser will have 50 points deducted.

I red that part, but I would not take it too seriously. I almost always send a greeting after my first move (since I always type a real sentence, instead of just saying "hi"). The system does not block my move because of that, and I never lost 50 points like that, so the sentence I put in bold, if nothing else, is plainly false.
Because of that I can't be sure that "the game will be counted as a loss".

I think it happened once that I forgot for about a minute, and another time when my opponent did not say anything the whole game. I was not aware of this rule by then and did not check the score, but I am pretty sure that we played the games until the end. So when I discovered about this "étiquette", I was just wondering if, in that case, the result of the game counted (if not, that's a bit rude if your are the offended — by not receiving a greeting — AND the winner, earning only 50 points instead of 100).

Thanks for your answers anyway.

By the way, I've had no news about my phantom game. It will remain a mystery...