"Best 'Poor Loser' Story?" Topic

Any good stories to share?

A table flipping incident of 40k once.

Playing in a Tournament just after Shieldwall was released. I deployed my Macedonians, he deployed his Hibernians. His army looked skinny…

'HAHAHAHAHAH you are DEAD' he gloats – he has a unit in ambush an inch outside my deployment zone, on my right. It bursts out – a unit of 30 of whatever that army's bodyguard with attitude are, with the General, Army Standard Bearer, Priest and three other Characters making up the whole front rank.

Unit leaps out and conumes the flank – mostly rubbish light troops. But in doing so he positions himself so that nI can charge it in both flanks and the rear. I do so, win by one and he breaks and flees. the VP for the unit is over 1500 points.

At this point he actually starts to cry. I have to baby him into playing turn 2 onward (I need him to – I want the points)

But I felt so NOT sorry for the cheesey sputum head…..

Then in the car on the way home i realise that his unit was subject to hatred and should never have broken at all… hahahahahahahahahah

So I guess _i_ am the worst winner, rather than him the worst loser.

Pat

I saw a screaming and table flip incident at Historicon years back as part of the WRG7th Ancients competition back when they were scattered throughout the venue.

I try to avoid dummy spitters and teddy chuckers. I saw punches thrown during a Vietnam game that I was watching once though

We had one player quit in the middle of a game and walk out. He rolled badly and was very upset that his 'historical' army would NEVER perform that bad in history. He wouldn't accept the results of his bad dice rolls and wanted to change the outcome. I told him , 'Dude… it's a GAME and you rolled bad. What do you expect?' His response was, "That NEVER happened in history!" I said, "Yeah but this isn't history. This is a game and you rolled bad." He packed up his army and walked out never to be seen again… and thank God for that.

What would be great is if all these stories were about the same guy.

Maybe we could just give him a name, for example 'Bob'

"And then Bob says "Look, a VC ambush on a Macedonian Phalanx would NEVER happen like that in history!"

These stories are really funny. Where do these people come from?

Their mother's basement?

Actually, what Bob should have said was

"Look, a VC ambush on a Macedonian Phalanx would NEVER happen like that in history!, and if you don't like it, I'll flip the table and pop you one!"

Oh boy, that Bob, off the handle again…..

I heard of a guy who used to attend our club who picked up the box containing his losing army and threw it against the wall. The same guy also slammed his hand down on his opponent's spear unit during a dispute – this was unwise as the opponent had carefully replaced all the spears with steel needles. Thankfully he stormed out never to return before I joined – he is now only referred to as 'he who shall not be named.'

I saw a Space Marine Dreadnaught get picked up and thrown across the FLGS once during in-store games. Apparently the Dread had missed all of its shots, failed its armor saves, and been destroyed by enemy light troops without causing any damage at all.

Most of the people I game with are long-term friends, so I haven't had many bad experiences myself, but once after I won a tournament game of 7th Sea CCG, I thought my opponent was going to hit me afterwards, he was so upset. Cocky little jerk that he was, after the game he stood up and silently glared at me while making a fist… after a few moments he walked away, but for a second or two I thought he was going to come across the table at me.

-Alex

I played in a American Civil War game at Fort Sam Houston around 1981 or so. Sorry don't remember the rules. I was new and was given a command of a couple rifled artillery batteries and 2 or 3 Reb infantry. I was told to set up on a hill and stay out of the way.

The group was doing a campaign and you could advance a unit from green to average to crack etc. (been a long time). If your unit got wiped out, you had to start at green in the next game.

Anyway the Yankees had a guy with "Custer's Cav" Several units of wonderfully painted 25mm Yankee cav. All of these units had advanced to the point of being "super duper".

As the game progressed I was essentially ignored while the regulars joined battle. Being so far back there was little to do but take it all in. Until . . . Custer's Cav went trotting down a road in road column giving me their flank.

Well boom! boom! Not only was I scoring hits but I was obliterating whole units. A major argument broke out about whether or not some intervening troops screened the cav from my rifled guns which quickly devolved into, "who are you going to support? Me or the new guy?" Uncharacteristically, I said almost nothing. I had never played the rules -- never read the rules. My first game!

When the owner of the cav lost the argument he started throwing his cav at the wall, stormed around yelling for a while and then stomped out of the room vowing never would he return.

The only other matter that even comes close to this was a fist fight that broke out between the Austrian and Russian players on my front lawn after a session of Empires in Arms (redubbed Empires and Arguments).

mjc

ahhh if we are including boardgames… we once sat, stupefied with embarassment as a LTR couple split in a raging torrent of mutual 'you have a tiny cock' 'Well YOU have a muff like an aircraft hanger' 'well your _DAD_ liked it' during a game of ….. Diplomacy.

Making him the Russians and her the Austro-Hungarians was always a bad idea in retrospect.

Pat

That's gonna be hard to top.

We had a guy named….Bob. That was really his name. Anyhow, he used to stand on this little stool to reach the figures in the middle of the table. We called it "Bob's Launching Pad." When things weren't going well, he'd sputter and yell and get on the stool and jump up and down. We finally stopped inviting him, mostly because he played too slow to ever finish a game, but the kicker was when he started throwing things one day while launching.

Wow.

I was going to talk about the guy who took his figure box and smashed his 25mm Landsknecht Mercenaries into blobs of lead back in the early 80s, or the guy who picked up his Fleet of Romulans at an SFB convention match and threw them out the 4th story hotel window after he was eliminated in the first round, but Sane Max wins.

Diplomacy indeed LOL

Hmmm, 40K it'd have to be. Some tooled up Daemon Prince that was running rough shod over my Tyranid army. He was gloating that his awesome Daemon Prince was sooooo awesome and had never been taken off the table because he was unstoppable, blah, blah, yadda, yadda.
During his turn the Prince hit my Hive Tyrant and fairly splattered the thing as he gloated that my Hive Tyrant sucked and was firmly rubbing my nose in it we came to my turn.
The Daemon Prince was in charge range of a full complement of Genestealers that proceeded to take the Prince to pieces with their rending claws.
He started sulking and removed his Prince from the table and then packed up the rest of his army saying there was no point in continuing play without his Daemon Prince. He sulked away and then left and honestly that was the last game of 40K I played for a couple years until I assembled a new group that takes their drinking more seriously than their games.

Long before my time as a game, but this is legend locally.

Guy was losing a game of ancients, got to the point where he threw all his dice out the window. The club played on the first floor of the building. Said dice landed on a cop car that was driving past at the time!

Guy had to explain to the officers the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

I once saw a divorce occur over a Monpoly game.

I think the worst, yet funniest, incident I've been witness to was a fellow getting so torques during an early war ACW game that he picked up his opponents undeployed troops from the edge of the table, ran up to the front door of the place, then threw them out onto the busy street. His opponent then pointed out that he had just chucked his own Union troops out the door, which had red pants similar to his Confeds that he had lavished so much time on. The angry man then kicked a wall, breaking his foot.

Over the yers, I've heard a lot of stories, and it seems to me the most of the malcontent types seem to gravitate to Nappies and Ancients, and that each has his pet army or unit that they believe should never be beaten.

Vietnam fisticuffs… I sure would like to know what THAT argument was about!

I want eBay-style feedback in real life.

You sit at your computer and anonymously tag everyone you know as good, indifferent, or trouble. People have their positives and negatives visible floating over their heads like hit points in a bad video game.

Pull over the help someone change a tire, coach a soccer team, give a homeless person a couple dollars, email a high school friend on their birthday, you have a big green star over your head. You walk into a job interview with a confident smile.

Cut someone off at a freeway exit, flip a table in front of a roomful of gamers, blast your music at a stop light, talk during a movie, lose your temper with a cashier, forget to leave a tip, the number in the red square over your head increments. Walking down the street people look at you, look above your head, avoid eye contact and steer clear. Now try to get a date.

Now think how people would behave.

Sure, some people would get rebellious, and take pride in their hide red number. Their the bad boys, they don't kowtow to anyone. Fine, at least we can tell who they are, and they won't be allowed in movie theaters.

So look for those green starts before you start a game.

This is why I strongly prefer setting up games or games at the game store with the regulars over convention games. The convention games let me try new games and don't require preparation, but it just takes one of these people to ruin an afternoon.

Andrew

Max… that one was funny I have to admit.

Vietnam fisticuffs… I sure would like to know what THAT argument was about!

I believe a Huey Cobra decimating a VC HQ was involved.

Glad I'm a Rob and not a Bob.

I remember a game of Nappies. Fictional set up: Austrians vs Frenchies. The guy in command of the Austrian gun line couldn't hit a barn at 10 meters and he was increasingly angry. Actually the ruleset sucked and one of his oponents was pulling his leg a little bit too far. Then he lost his patience and got one of the guns and throw it with disdain on the table. Nothing happened to the miniature as he didn't throw it from too high (just one inch) but it happened that the bloke that was rubbing his nose was the actual owner of the Austrian gunners! And then broke a pretty nasty argument that almost finished in a fight! So the angry loser (the Austrian artillery commander) left the club and, afterwards, came less and less until he quited altogether.

The sorry part of the story is that the stupid that took a game a little bit too seriously was me.

Don't beat yourself up basil. I reckon there's a few others on TMP who fall into the 'throbbing vein in the temple' category

We have a local guy who routinely leaves in the middle of a tournaments when is army does not win enough for him. Seems to happen at least once a con.

Still that one of Max's too damn funny.

I was running a playtest of some science fiction rules years ago and an argument started between two of the players over how well a tanks laser cannon could penetrate sloped frontal armor! The argument got so heated that all of the other players left.

I heard of an argument that started with a steel clipboard being hurled at a player, it stuck in a wooden beam. It was more a clash of personality though, just using the game as an excuse.
I did see a steel tape measure bounce of someones head, during a 15mmACW game. I've always liked Fire&Fury, since then.

Many years ago a couple who played fantasy games had a rather heated argument at our club. Later that day, he took all her very well painted figures, threw them into a large garbage bag and pitched them out the door onto their front lawn.
She was a much better painter than him.
I don't know what the argument was about, but they did get back together.

It was '93 or '94, summer in Fresno, CA. I was at a multi-player 40K game with about 5-other players, 2 of the players were brothers and on opposite sides. 3-quarters of the way through the game, the older of the two brothers (and by older I mean he was in his late 40's) talked some smack to the younger (mid-30's) brother. The talking got heated for a bit and we all had to calm them down to continue playing.

After about 5-minutes of awkward silence, the older brother, having done incredibly well with his die-rolls, looked over at the younger brother with half-a-smirk on his face (having wiped out the younger's terminator squad). It was like two dogs looking at one another; the younger brother picked up a heavy metal folding chair and full-on hit his sibling over the back of the head with it. Then it got ugly – punches, blood, teeth and figures flying all over until the older brother subdued his sibling in a wrestling hold.

I never did play with that group again.

I'm ready to give up this hobby now. You guys are scaring me.

Andrew

a fist fight that broke out between the Austrian and Russian players on my front lawn

Be fair, mjc, the Russians were two weeks late for all of their dice rolls.

I'm ready to give up this hobby now. You guys are scaring me.

Andrew

Aye, it's a proper man's hobby. No holds barred

In the early to mid-80s, I was at a store in Virginia where an Empire Napoleonics games was going. The French versus Russians got through exactly one turn before they started arguing. Eventually, the Russian player through a punch at the French player. Game ended and the Russian player was evicted from the store (the owner was a retired DC police officer).

As poorly as some are with 40K, I must say I have never seen anything as bad as that Napoleonic game.

Erik

OK, here is mine. We were playing AD&D in around 1978. I did not witness this incident and I am glad. I am sure he would have blamed me and I had nothing to do with it.

We had this one player, let's call him Bob, who was not wrapped to tight and took the game a little too serious. He was a pain the hind end to play with. He got in an argument about something with another player. So they were going to make up and the other player told Bob to place his hands together. They were going to do an ancient handshake that would make them friends forever, blah, blah, blah. Well anyway Bob's hand are together and the other Player tells the DM that he is taking his box of disappearance out and placing it over Bobs hand's. Bob kind of goes berserk, he fails all of his saving throws. He then just starts screaming and frothing at the mouth. That was the end of Bob playing with us.

Mike

so…. stay away from 40k guys seems to be a theme here.

Also bad dice always mean a bad day… unless drunk then its funny.

I wrecked a board game once a few years ago by clearing all the pieces to the floor in a giant arm swoop from left to right as my girlfriend knew me a little to well and always knew where I put what on the table, a second later I laughted a bit and said "that was a little immature wasn't it?" she laughted and agreed. We still laught about it today.

I've seen a player in a Bfg tournament fling dice so hard they bounced off another player but he had the good grace to be mortified and apologize.

Years ago we had a guy that would throw a hissy whenever he lost. We simply quit inviting him.

Lets see, 40k, ancient tournaments, and Napoleonics, any other category I missed that one should stay away from?

I played a American Civil War game at a Con – I didn't know the rules but there was an appointed "C-in-C" who was helping out our side (union).

Except that he spent telling everyone *exactly* where to move and how to move and what to do. I didn't care, I was learning and enjoying the spectacle of the game. As the game progressed, he gets more and more angry with the ref's and arguing more and more as the battle gets to the decisive point. He finally gets up and leaves when yet another ruling goes against him.

Except that he was the only union player that really knew the rules – Bob left us in the lurch.

Lay off the Ancients players!
It seems to me that ACW anecdotes here far outnumber Ancients.

(the owner was a retired DC police officer).

I know the store; sadly now out of business and I know the two players! It was quite an eclectic crowd at Mac's store back in the day!

I played in a SYW game with them in the same store; Prussians vs. French and Koenig Krieg. The game quickly digressed to an argument about how long after a unit moved thru a town they stayed disordered! Lots of swearing and shouting, no fistie cuffs but much shrill screaming at each other.

I sold all of my 15mm SYW stuff after that.

This topic is pure gold… If it were published in a book i would buy it for sure.

It is also one reason i like to play games with all players on the same side and the enemy controlled by the rules – makes for much more fun with a lot less aggro.

I once walked out of a monopoly game after spending my first 9 turns in jail I couldn't see any point in continuing when there was nothing on the board left to buy and I still hadn't made it past go once! Thats as exciting as i've seen it get.

Robert

Toaster,

That is classic! My kids will love that story.

mjc

Dang. I'm used to being able to top a story, but durned if I can touch any of THESE.

Worst I've ever seen was two guys who went into an apoplectic fit.

The first one was fighting a VERY close game with his opponent, tooth and nail, NEITHER of them making any mistakes, clawing away at each other for every inch of the table…

…and then, at a crucial point in the endgame, Our Hero rolls snake eyes on 2d6. Whoops. Unit destroyed… and in such a way that will give his opponent the game in two more turns.

Our Hero snatched his hat off his head, flung it to the ground, leaped into the air, and proceeded to curse the air black for not less than 45 seconds without repeating himself ONCE.

The store was dead silent when he finally ran out of breath. All the other tables were still. Everyone was staring at Our Hero with Roger-Rabbit-Eyes.

He then shook his opponent's hand, agreed that the game had been entirely fair, and was quite gracious.

The other situation -- with a different Our Hero -- was totally different. Our Hero began the game by rolling a "1," and continued to roll ones throughout the rest of the game… but ONLY when it mattered. His army was slaughtered. Not one of his troops hit anything. No saves were made. It was a meat grinder, a sad, pathetic waste of time and energy… and solely because of bad rolls. REALLY bad rolls. His strategy was sound. He should have at least been making his opponents pay for their victory… but for all the effect he was having on the game, he might as well have been playing the terrain.

As the game went on, he got redder, and redder, and began seething. He said less and less. A vein began to throb on his temple.

Finally, as one of his stronger units fell, utterly unable to affect the tide of his opponent's troops, he calmly and politely called a time out. He picked up his die -- his main die -- and marched out into the parking lot.

Several of us followed, out of curiosity.

Once in the parking lot, he obtained a ball peen hammer from his car and in a fit of contained, focused fury, smashed the thing to powder.

He then calmly reentered the building, and lost the game with all calm and good grace. Handshakes all around, and we bought him beers afterwards, and lauded his sportsmanship in the face of unfair fate.

We were nervous, you see. He completed the game with that ball peen hammer sticking out of his pocket…

My brother and I got into a fistfight over a game of RISK when we were lads.( I lost!) I was 13 and he was 15. He is a very poor loser with family members. He got it from my mom. My dad took the belt to both of us. Last whippin' I ever got( from my father). Lost several fights since.
When we were in our 20s he was home on leave from the navy and I was home from college for the summer. We were playimg Avalon Hill's Title Bout (boxing). I was Frazier and he was Ali. Ali was winning the early rounds and then hurt one of his hands. Frazier then started to win every round and my brother started to bitch every round! Frazier had the fight won on rounds and Ali knocked him out in the 15th. Then my brother started gloating and we almost got into another fight! My mother broke us up and made us go to bed!
I am an easy going player and do not get mad when I lose but poor losers really irritate me. Funny thing is my brother and I played a ton of backyard sports and never got mad at each other. He was a high school track star ( state champion in 880, mile, 2 mile , and cross country) and I went to a ton of his meets and cheered him on. I would get butterflys before HE ran! He went to my football games and cheered for me. We did play a lot of boardgames when we were kids and only had one fistfight. Hell, if the women hadn't outlawed fistfight there would be less gun-play!

Perhaps not so nasty but more funny than anything else… I went over a friend's house and he was playing a game of Jutland (AH)with his brother. We were all in Jr. High school back then. Anyway… his brother sailed his ships underneath the dinning room table and said that the chair legs provided cover and could not be hit. Well my friend agreed with this and sailed HIS fleet in there. Suddenly you COULDM'T do that and smacked him. Well this started a fight (which they had numerous) under the table and broke a chair and a table leg in the process. Their mother came in and tried to break up the fight. She got knocked over for her troubles and yelled for the Dad. He came running in and chased them both down the block threatening them. At this point I left. I was told the next day in school that both of them got a good whooping that night. The Jutland game was thrown in the garbage too.

It was pretty funny at the time.

"It was pretty funny at the time."

Tell them how much it sells for on eBay now …

This is anecdotal, told to me by a game store owner back home in Greece. So I don't know if it is fully true. A retired colonel of the air-force was playing napoleonics when he lost due to a number of good dice rolls from his opponents a hold regiment/division? of French Guards Calvary. I was told he had a heart attack, which he survived. Scared me off Napoleonics for 5 years.

There are a lot of 40k players that can be sore loosers. I used to be one(more of the whine variety) but slowly I learned to enjoy the game and even my frequent defeats( I am still a sore winner though. It is rare enough that I think I can gloat:))