Automatic Pass for no legal moves

Just a suggestion. It will influence mostly reversi, but maybe it is useful for other games as well.

As the program can recognize legal moves, shouldn't it automatically pass when that is the only legal move ?
Some of the advantages:

1) Quicker ending of games and tournaments
2) No risk of losing a game on time or a vacation day for a moves where there is no choice
3) Less "clutter" in the list of games

Let me know what you think

Basicallly a good idea. E only downside i see is that it would look confusing to some players.

Good idea, I support this suggestion.

There could be a check-box for the players to check if they want their moves to be an automate pass. It could be for a particular game or global for a user, or both.

I love the option of auto-pass, or even auto-play when there's only one possible move (one stone, along the side, for einstein).

Draughts and column checkers games often have unique forced moves too, where an auto-play option might be convenient.

It changes the game for the other player, depriving her of the think time she would have gotten waiting for the auto-passing player to make his move manually.

Yes, Marley.
But if the move is forced, the forcing player can already think about the next move. The whole idea is to expedite the games a bit; usually when I am the "forcing" player I would like the "forced" player to move as fast as possible.

I like na-wspak's suggestion.

There's one point I'd like to raise. If you are playing WYPS, and you are in check, you would be "forced to pass" if there is no word that would save you. Thus, if you are not forced to pass, that means there must be a saving word. That knowledge seems quite important and shouldn't be given away by the computer.

How about a check box as na_wspak suggests, but the server will implement auto-pass for a specific game only if BOTH players have made this choice. That way a player won't have to be deprived of extra time as Marley's Ghost mentions. Not everyone necessarily wants the game to proceed as quickly as possible. And, if you don't want your opponent to automatically know there is a move in WYPS, or worse yet, have the computer automatically make that only move, you won't have to.

Good compromise, David. If it turns out to be popular enough, then perhaps it could be expanded to a ternary "yes"/"don't mind if opponent does it, but not for me"/"no" choice, and any net positive vote would result in the auto moves.

To be honest, I actually get annoyed when I'm being asked to mechanically perform a sequence of clicks about which I have no choice.

And here's a radical idea to oil the cogs - the auto-playing player only gets 35 hours credit, his opponent gets 1 hour. I.e. I'm willing to pay in virtual time for this physical time-saving feature.

I have often wished this in the endgame of DVONN, when one player must pass while the other still has plays. (And the possible argument that it would deprive the opponent of thinking time does not apply in DVONN; once you have no more moves, you will never have more moves.)