Looking for 4 minute timers

Abator · Post by **Abator** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 3:53 pm

We're starting up the new season for our BBLL league and one of the complains was the duration of some of the games. So I decided to impliment the 4 minute turn rule. Problem is, I don't have 4 minute timers.

I'm looking for several 4 minute hourglasses or something along those lines.

FatherNurgle · Post by **FatherNurgle** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:06 pm

How about using chess-clocks? Although they're probaly not cheap

Daniel

Al the Trowel · Post by **Al the Trowel** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:11 pm

What about egg timers? Or is a 3 minute rule too harsh?

Darkson · Post by **Darkson** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:17 pm

We just used the stop-watch on digital watchs (or mobile phones).

Torpor · Post by **Torpor** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:56 pm

If you have something similar to a Bed, Bath and Beyond nearby go the digital timer route-

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product ... 276&RN=210

Easy to use, easy to reset and can watch your opponent think for 3 minutes then panic as he watches the last seconds tick off as the dice spin.

Reverand Green · Post by **Reverand Green** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:10 am

Actually i think there is a scrabble timer which is set to two minutes, you can use the first two minutes as a reminder and press it again for the final two minutes

Reverand Green · Post by **Reverand Green** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:25 am

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 64164&rd=1

ILDam · Post by **ILDam** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:29 pm

A friend has a Saitek II digital chess clock.

It is very configurable, and the documentation mentions a "bonus timer method" that sounds cool...
I think you get a configurable amount of time for the whole game, plus a free time allowance per turn. So we might have 30 minutes each for the Bloodbowl game, and 3 free minutes each turn (ie: the 30 minute timer doesn't start counting down until you spend longer than 3 minutes on any one turn). You can also choose that any leftover time in a turn is added to the 30 minute "bank" of time.

This means that you can take your time on difficult moves, but still limit the total amount of time for the game.

Haven't used it yet, but will try it for my next Bloodbowl game.

MattShepherd · Post by **MattShepherd** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:02 pm

I have a metronome and I plan to pretend it is a timer, set it to 60 bpm and tell my opponent it is counting down, then turn it on. It makes a VERY loud "tocking" noise.

Then, while he is concentrating on the board, stealthily reach over and slooowwwwlllyy start cranking up the speed.

I figure if I can get it up to 90 bpm over the first two minutes while saying things like "snap it up, snap it up" and "let's go, clock's ticking" he'll have some sort of seizure and I will win by default!

kadu-c · Post by **kadu-c** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 7:35 pm

Reverand Green wrote:Actually i think there is a scrabble timer which is set to two minutes, you can use the first two minutes as a reminder and press it again for the final two minutes

Yep, I've also heard of that stuff. At Scrabble, time per turn is 4 minutes and their timers are set like this... Perfect for BB !

Snew · Post by **Snew** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:36 pm

I use a Sunbeam kitchen timer. It was about $8 and displays hours:minutes:seconds so you can see how much time you have.

I love the 4 minute rule.

Chairface · Post by **Chairface** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:49 am

MattShepherd wrote:I have a metronome and I plan to pretend it is a timer, set it to 60 bpm and tell my opponent it is counting down, then turn it on. It makes a VERY loud "tocking" noise.

Then, while he is concentrating on the board, stealthily reach over and slooowwwwlllyy start cranking up the speed.

I figure if I can get it up to 90 bpm over the first two minutes while saying things like "snap it up, snap it up" and "let's go, clock's ticking" he'll have some sort of seizure and I will win by default!

You bastard! I have to remember that!

coleyeo · Post by **coleyeo** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:19 am

You can often find old copies of scrabble in charity shops, so you may find a timer or two in there. They work perfectly. One of the guys in our league insists on using one.

Shadewe · Post by **Shadewe** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 9:14 pm

CHess clocks are really good for this.

http://www.chessexpressstore.com/chessclocks.html