At some point, a winner will be clear. Someone’s engine comes online or pulls ahead, or someone starts to generate points quickly enough that the rest of the players can’t hope to catch up.

This is especially true in games with no endgame scoring or secret scoring conditions.

In this case, it is the responsibility of the designer to identify a condition when the game is truly over and to end the game at that time. The finish line should be set right as close as possible to the moment when victory is actually achieved.