Editing Time control (section)

==Methodology==
The exact approach to using a [[game clock]] to regulate games varies considerably.

===Sudden death===
This is the simplest methodology. Each player is assigned a fixed amount of time for the whole game. If a player's main time expires, they generally lose the game.

===Overtime formats===
Here the game time is separated into two basic domains: the main time and the overtime. To switch between the two requires some trigger event, often the expiration of the main time. In [[chess]], reaching a fixed number of moves can trigger the gain of a fixed amount of extra time. This usually occurs in long games after the 40th move: e.g. 120 minutes to complete the first 40 moves, and another 30 minutes added to the leftover 120 minutes to complete the rest of the game.

===Penalty formats===
Such methods exact a points penalty, or fine, on the player who breaches their time limit. One example occurs in Go, where the Ing Rules enforce fines on breaches of main time and overtime periods.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ing's SST Laws of Go|website=American Go Association|url=http://www.usgo.org/resources/KSS.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231074549/http://www.usgo.org/resources/KSS.html|archive-date=2006-12-31|access-date=2006-11-25}}</ref> The rules may also provide for a sudden death time control in addition to the penalty. In tournament [[Scrabble]], the time control is standardized to 25 minutes per side with a 10-point penalty for each minute or part thereof that is used in excess,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/build/rules/rules2.html#r3c2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223812/http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/build/rules/rules2.html|archive-date=2007-09-27|title=NSA Official Tournament Rules|website=National Scrabble Association}}</ref> so that overstepping the allotted time by 61 seconds carries a 20-point penalty; a player who oversteps by 10 minutes automatically loses; in this case, their opponent is given enough additional points to win by one point, if they were not already in the lead at that time.

===Hourglass===
Each player's clock starts with a specified time (such as one minute or ten minutes). While one player is deciding a move, their clock time decreases and their opponent's clock time increases. This is analogous to an [[hourglass]]: sand empties from one container and fills the other. The sum of both clocks always remains the same, and slow moves give extra time to the opponent. There is no maximum amount of time allotted for a game with this timing method; if both players play quickly enough, the game will continue until its natural end.

Use of this time control is uncommon.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}