I just started playing team matches ten days ago and then tried hosting them. In both cases, I noticed that there is a large population of people who sign up to play and then abandon the game for whatever reason. It happens enough that I am willing to ascribe bad motive to many of them. They signed up to play, but not to lose. So they ran. I have taken to not accepting players in games that I host who do not have at least an 85% completion rate. And, I post this message at the start of play: Hello! Please note that this is a short match. Leaving a match in the middle except for a real emergency is incredibly rude and disruptive. All of you have been selected because you have over an 85% tournament completion rate. Please have fun. Enjoy! I still get a few runners, but not as many, and the game is far more enjoyable for those of us who love bridge. I hope that all people who volunteer to host team matches follow similar guidelines soon --- and let the runners work their way back to playing by hosting team matches, and not leaving them.
