I don’t know the Ten Commandments of Gaming (do I look like Moses to you?), but I’m familiar with The Seven Deadly Sins. They’re all annoying, of course. But this week I got to witness a new personal worst slow play, reminiscent of Don Bosley’s Misadventures in Gaming. During a three player game of shadowfist (typical duration 45-75 minutes), one player took ten minutes for a single turn. Number of cards used in any fashion? One. Simply amazing. Slow play, of course, is in the eye of the beholder and the nature of the game. Some games require extended time per turn, others should take a few seconds.
As always, the agonizer made the wrong move (I was apparently defenseless ... in actuality, I was horribly defenseless). I agonize at bridge, and it does me no good whatsoever. This realization has sped up my play on occasion. Later in the game I attacked the agonizer and the third player correctly evaluated the situation: if the attack succeeded, they would be unable to stop my follow on and I’d win. The agonizer pondered, and then made no effort to stop the attack (even with resources already in play). The follow-on attack ended it quickly.
The Deadly Sins of gaming --
Rudeness
Slow play
Distraction (“Is it my turn?”)
Unwarranted Table Talk
There you are. The Seven Deadly Sins. Theologians among you undoubtedly recognize that Unwarranted Table Talk encompasses four distinct sins. Scholars disagree on which four sins; but you know how they are. And you could get lost forever on ordering, venial/mortal distinctions and the like. Ah, how many sessions have been whiled away debating the finer Talmudic points, telling the old stories again and again, and worship.
- Metagaming, including holding grudges, or playing games with the intent to humiliate others.
- Playing flippantly, when others are trying to play seriously, or playing seriously, when others are trying to play a humorous game.
- Playing recklessly chaotic.
- Erratically kingmaking.
- Trash talking or any other obnoxiously rude behaviour that makes the game unenjoyable.
- Trying to "solve" a game with theoreticaly trackable but intentionally hidden elements, such as writing down cards as they are played or positioning your character 5.05 feet from something that has a 5.00 foot range on a battlefield.
- Intentionally delaying a game.
- Impatiently hurrying a game.
- Collusion. Picking on fellow gamers.
- Intentionally misleading advice. Too much advice. Not enough advice to a new player (beating him because he is doing something very stupid).
- Taking back moves. Not letting people take back moves.
Yehuda
Michael
PS: Hope the move went fine, and that you and your family are well.