An Investigation of my Friends

An investigation on my friends

“The beauty of print-and-play games lies in their accessibility, creativity and DIY Charm”

Said some game enthusiast.

But let’s be real- no amount of intricate design or cunning game mechanics can salvage a game session if the players around the table are, to put it kindly, suboptimal.

Through an extensive ‘investigation’ (a.k.a few game nights) I have identified the types of people who are capable of transforming a lively game night into a potential disaster.

For the sake of privacy, not that they care though, I am changing their names. You can get an idea about a few of them in my blog (read, rant) of a game night that went wrong.

The Overly Competitive Chad

Do you have a Chad in your group? How do you identify Chad?

Well, Chad doesn’t just want to win; he wants to destroy you. Imagine my state on this winter holiday, where I assembled my friends (including Chad) for a few light-hearted PnP games. After I introduced a little game that I modified (Rock-Paper-Scissors-DYNAMITE) to the circle, I had the sheer dumb luck of playing the very first round with Chad.

And in comes the needless banter on every breath; fast movements, calling foul play on any move that doesn’t go his way, and to top it all- storming out after losing a game, only to come back seconds later to demand a rematch.

Games certainly bring out the worst out of people at times. That, or the real nature. Who knows?

The Over-thinker Olivia

Ah, Olivia. The reason our 40-minute Mini Rogue Microgame (my absolute favorite) turned into a 2-hour existential crisis. Literally, every move of the game required deliberation worthy of a Supreme Court ruling. Should I go to the merchant now? I might be too low on HP, should I focus on that, or increase my gold collection? Only an over-thinker can turn the experience of playing Mini Rogue into something so excruciatingly bitter.

The Rulebook Purist Tom

Sam is an avid fan of sticking to the rules of the game- as if the designer is watching us through the windows. Being a big fan of customization, when I tried out an experimental variant of Ambagibus and One-Card Dungeon, Tom blessed us with his 20-minute lecture on game integrity. A piece on how we should play the games the way they are supposed to be played.  Which was certainly a buzzkill for the group, especially for someone who was really excited to try these variants with friends. Moi!

The Distracted Daisy

Sigh. Why even come to a game night if you are going to spend the entire time on your phone? Imagine missing your turns multiple times in a game for posting a story with the caption ‘Killing it! *dice emoji*’. Well she certainly killed our joy.

The Printer Police Liam

Liam is not here to enjoy playing games with friends. He’s here to judge the built quality of the games. And no, it’s not a game night for Liam; it’s a jury to assess games:

Hmmm…did you run out of ink?
The edges of the cards are not properly cut
Why did you use 150gsm cardstock? There’s 200gsm you know.
These cards are too thin.
I have a leather dice tray. Don’t you have one? Should I just roll dice on the table?
Card sleeves? Plastic? You know they’re not environmentally-friendly, right?
These cards are way too thick

Liam, thank you. Your opinions have successfully ruined my mood.

The Summary

So, what’s the real takeaway from all this? The quality of your game nights doesn’t just depend on the games you have on the table- it’s about assembling a curated group of friends who can have a great time playing with you. And leaving the 5 black sheep that I mentioned on this rant of a blog, I am proud to say that I am blessed to have a handy group who makes the most out of any games we have onboard.

So pick your friends wisely for game nights. And if you’ll excuse me, I need to print a restraining order for Chad and Liam.

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