We (E and I) were fortunate enough this week to catch up with some friends we have known for many years but we don’t so often anymore due to life and kids. They are great friends and it’s always welcome to see them. The husband is a former tabletop gamer (who used to play games with me almost every week!) that now spends more time on the PC gaming but his wife is a non-gamer in the tabletop sense.
I give this preface as we got the opportunity to play a couple of board games with them the last couple of times we caught up – and not monopoly or other off the shelf games at a department store – but games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride and… it was great fun for all!
This is what gamers do – bring people together to have fun. The games can be anything that everyone enjoys. Board games, card games, table top games… all can be fun! Uno and Jenga are just as valid to play and enjoy as any of the major tabletop games.
This got me thinking about the negativity the community at large has around tabletop games – especially when it’s not the game of choice for the player (or players) in question. All too often you see negative comments about one system or another – how players should come play X game because the game they play – Y – is rubbish. I know I am guilty of this myself – and I suspect that there would be no gamer around who could claim they were innocent.
Don’t be a Grinch!
If you don’t enjoy a game that’s completely your call and what’s more – it’s completely acceptable. There are a couple of tabletop games I have tried which just never grabbed me and I did not enjoy playing – so I don’t play them. If it’s not fun that’s the best reason not to play. You don’t have to justify it to anyone either – it’s your personal tastes and feelings here and no one has the right to say that you are wrong in that.
The flip side of this is simple – you shouldn’t feel the need to berate others about the games they choose to play and find fun. It’s a personal choice and it’s ok if their choice is different to yours. I often find the negative comments about which ever game is in the firing lines, to come across as rants about how the player in question is wrong for playing the game and they should play something else that the commenter agrees with.
Encourage Variety in Games
Rather than bagging out the player in question – offer to play a game with them of your game of choice! Encourage variety in the community so that we have plenty of players and EVERYONE can play games when and where they like. This makes the community more robust and adds variety to the mix of players and forces.
Ultimately there is no right or wrong answer to which games you like and which is ‘best’ – but in 2017, if we all choose to encourage gaming regardless of system, we should all see the benefits in community and our own gaming experience.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Objective Secured and have a safe and happy new year!
