For a long time we have been thinking about how we can make playing online games easier for players in tournaments on Tornelo. In every online event we see problems in the first round with users forgetting sign-in details or using a wrong account. We decided to solve this by allowing players to play online games without an account!
There are many games and web-applications which require interaction between users but don’t want to burden everyone with the sign-in requirement. Apps like Codenames, AmongUs, Scribbl.io, Sli.do and Kahoot are examples.
Online chess tournaments are way more complex. Especially when Tornelo shuns anonymity and uses player profiles with real names and links to external profiles like FIDE ID or National ID and ratings.
Introducing the Secret Player ID
Arbiters can create or view a secret PlayerID for every player. The old “token” system would only work after a player was already signed-in, but the PlayerID takes things one step further.
How does it work?
- Arbiters can view (or reset) the PlayerIDs
- Share the PlayerID as required
- Share a link to your tournament Lobby with players
- The player clicks “I can’t sign in”
- Player enters the secret PlayerID
- Ready to play!
Remember, keep the PlayerID a secret and share it in a secure manner! If someone else has this token, they can impersonate the player.
WHen is this useful?
This functionality is great when:
- A player has no email address!
- A user can’t receive emails
- A player forgot their Sign in details
- A player is not tech-savvy
We found a number of online school events are being run where kids didn’t have an email address at all, or their school emails couldn’t receive emails from outside the school. Now we simply share the PlayerIDs with the Team Captain or Teacher who securely gives them to players to use instead of a sign-in on the day!
Resetting a Player ID
You can reset the PlayerID any time – this will invalidate the previous ID. But it will not kick someone off the site once it has been used.
Once the secret PlayerID has been used you will have no way of forcefully disconnecting someone if you suspect the ID has been misused.
Please use these PlayerIDs carefully and make sure you share them securely, otherwise you won’t have confidence that the player playing games is really who you think they are.
Working on
- Updating our Game Page to make the online games experience better
- Making tables on our pages more mobile friendly
- New data structure for Event Settings, allowing templates to be created
As always, we’re keen to hear your feedback about our user friendly pairing program. How can we make your life as a chess tournament organiser, arbiter or TD, easier!
Kind regards,
DAVID CORDOVER
I apologize for my bad English…Sesquipedal congratulations for the wonderful site, which I am still exploring, but above all for the treasure that is made available to us: you, David, are the wonderful example of how fundamental it is to believe in a idea and making it happen! I am delightfully fascinated by your charisma! Regarding this page, I ask you if registration without email is ALSO possible in tournaments that are classified as private. I await your kind response and wish you all the best!
For a player to register themselves for an event, they must provide an email address.
You, as an arbiter, can enter players into your tournament. No email is needed, only to use a Player ID or their name. Then to play online games, you provide them with a Player ID token for that tournament. The player can come to the event, enter their ID and play games without ever needing to sign-in or provide an email address.
Private tournaments work the same way, the only limitation of a private event is that it cannot be found by searching. You need to provide a direct link to all players for a private tournament.