MIB North Extras: Director's Cut: Universal Rule

Director's Cut - Universal Rule

I spend an evening or two each week on BrettSpielWelt. It's an online game interface where you get to play a wide variety of board and card games with opponents from around the world. One of the reasons I enjoy playing there is the civility of the place -- even after the most vicious, city-stealing game of Carcassonne imaginable (and you don't know how nasty Carcassonne can be until you've played the pros at BSW), the game still ends with a round of congratulations and thanks. Almost every game I have played there starts with a “good luck and have fun.”

Let's contrast this with a tournament I was associated with recently. One player -- 1 out of 24 -- managed to poison the atmosphere of the tournament by playing vindictively, confrontationally, and without a shred of consideration for the social experience that a game represents. It was physically uncomfortable to be forced to watch this guy ruin the game for players and spectators alike. (Still, it was a happy ending; he lost, we all sighed with relief, and we moved on to the next round.)

Gaming, like many social interactions, comes with an implied set of rules. A group that comes together to game does so with the expectation that they are going to enjoy the experience. With that expectation comes an obvious responsibility: act in such a way as to let others enjoy the experience. If a person is not contributing to the atmosphere of a good game, the group has the right to either show the person how to conform their behavior to the group zeitgeist or, if necessary, show the person the door.

I run very few tournaments at conventions nowadays, because the enhanced competition a large prize seems to create is often interpreted as permission to engage in odious behavior in the name of “psyching out your opponents.” Game companies have had to create sportsmanship rules for conventions because emotionally stunted little trolls believe that they can improve their position by yelling at opponents, ignoring strategy to destroy a player they don't want to win, or simply being unpleasant as a way of being different. My choice to run smaller, funkier events is a passive way of not having to deal with people that I would love to simply hand a refund and ask to leave. NOW.

What's funny is that games sometimes give us a chance to revel in that kind of behavior. Anyone who has ever played a cheating game of Illuminati knows that being told you have permission to do anything you want to win the game, as long as you're not caught, can make you all tingly inside. Games that let you backstab friends, lie to their face, and kick them when they're down, can be loads of fun, but they're fun because the game defines them as features. Everybody playing is told, “you're allowed to do this,” and since the group has chosen this game to play, it becomes enjoyable for the duration of the game. When the game's over, so is the permission. And, games like this require trust in your opponents that what you're going to do will have a definite start and stop. Taking into account things new players, age-appropriate games, or the venue of the gaming are legitimate limiting factors for how, and even which, games should be played by a group.

As we look for ways to broaden gaming's appeal to those unfamiliar with what we have to offer, the last thing we should be showing them is someone who is not representative of the hobby. I say that without a hint of irony -- the obnoxious gamer that we love to make fun of is NOT the typical gamer. If it were, we would be doing something else with our time. Many of us (myself included) used gaming as a tool to learn how to better interact with people, whether it was permission to be creative with a role-playing game, or meeting other with interests that you believed were unique to you, or the interactions that start at the game table and move to the local restaurant, or bar, or bedroom (hey, it happens). Antisocial behavior at a game table is wrong -- and there's only benefit in looking for ways of reducing or removing harm to our hobby.

Alex Yeager
AlexYeager@yahoo.com
SJ Games North US MIB RD/Cheapass Games Demo Monkey