1. Assessing Slow PlayHow to determine the infraction How to issue the penaltyHow to handle players reaction

2. What does the IPG say ?Definition:A player takes longer than is reasonably required to complete game actions. It is also slow play if a player continues to execute a loop without being able to provide an exact number of iterations and the expected resulting game state.Philosophy:All players have the responsibility to play quickly enough so thattheir opponents are not at a significant disadvantage because of thetime limit. A player may be playing slowly without realizing it.

3. Different Kind of Slow PlayPlayers take more than 3 minuts for the pre-gameproceduresA Player goes to the bathroom in the middle of amatch without asking permission to a judgeA player continues to execute a loop withoutproviding an exact number of iterationsPlayers playing slow

4. How to determine the infraction Some useful criteria A player which has played at a normal speed until now, thinks one minute while resolving a difficult spell (like Gifts Ungiven). Is it Slow Play?No (but you can give him a caution). A player think one minute while declaring attackers. Then in his opponents turn, he thinks again while declaring blockers. Is it slow play?Yes.

5. How to determine the infraction Some useful criteria A player has only one creature on the battlefield, has only land in his hand, and his opponents cards do not require him to take any decision. Still, hes thinking a lot during his turn. Is it Slow Play? A player must face a difficult game situation: the board is full of creature, hes got two spot removal in his hand. Some of his opponents creature have abilities that triggers when they leave the battlefield. Also, his opponent has 3 card in his hand, and both players have low life points. The player takes a huge amount of time to think before declaring attackers. Is it Slow Play?The answer for both questions should be the same: it depends only on the amount of time. The play situation is not a criterion.

6. The Golden Rule"If you think that a player maybe is committing Slow Play, then probably he has already committed it." True or False? TRUE......but there are some exceptions.If you were already at the table to watch for slow play (i.e.: at the end of the round), you realize immediatly when a player is taking some more seconds to think, but we are still far away from a Slow Play infraction.

7. The penaltyHow to issue the penalty. Caution or not?Additional remedies.Players reaction.

8. Caution or not ? In which situation is better to use itWhen one player, or both players are taking an excessive amountof time for pre-game procedures, its ok to give them a caution.("Please, your deck are enough shuffled, you can start playing")When a player is playing slow simply by acting slow (he takes toomuch time shuffling after a search-effect, he takes some secondfor every single play), we can give him/her a caution.("Please, i need you to play a little faster")When a player is doing a loop without a specified number ofiterations, caution is still good.("Im sorry, but you cannot continue your loop indefinitely.")

9. Caution or not ?In which situation is better NOT to use it When a player leave his table for some time without asking permission to a judge (i.e. To consult the tournament standings, or to go to the bathroom), we should issue the penalty without any previous caution. When a player is thinking too much on a single play, is better to not give him a caution: by talking to him, we risk to interrupt him in his thinking process. If we distract him in a crucial moment, we can actually damage him. If he must restart his reasoning from the beginning, losing more time, we have obtained the opposite of what we wanted.Just wait until he makes his play, then give him a caution or directly a warning, if the time exceeded what is reasonable.

10. Additional RemediesFrom the IPG: "An extra turn is awarded for each player, to beapplied if the match exceeds the time limit. If multiple playerson each side are playing the same game (such as in Two-HeadedGiant) only one extra turn is awarded per team."This applies only if we have issued a warning !If the penalty has been issued after the time limit, (duringadditional turns) no extra turns are awarded (but you have toissue the penalty anyway).

11. Players reaction "Judge, but the play situation/my deck is very complicated. You can see it by yourself !"Just keep calm and explain the player that even a complicated play situation must be handled in a reasonable time. Also, you can point him that nobody force him to play a complicated deck. If he cant handle his deck mechanics in a reasonable amount of time, he can always build a simpler deck. "Judge, I was not stalling intentionally !"Most players are NOT aware of the difference between Slow Play and Stalling, so they will think you are punishing an intentional behaviour. Just explain the difference between the two infractions. Also, remind them that stalling is a severe infraction that leads to disqualification.

12. Players reaction"Judge, but we are playing the additional turns/the singleelimination top 8. There is no time limit anymore !"Remember that even if theres no time limit, or if the round isalready over, player still must play at a reasonable speed. If they are playing the additional turns, then remember them that all the people in the tournament are waiting for them. Also for judges, during the additional turns, its even more important to watch out for slow play: you are not protecting the opponent of the slow player anymore, you are protecting the entire tournament. Also if the players are playing the top8, remember that all the people in the venue are waiting for the player to end the tournament.

13. Thanks for the attention Any question?