"Guys That Don't Learn the Rules..." Topic

Everyone knows that a newbie needs time to learn the rules of a game. However, it seems like in every group, there's someone who loves to play the game, but he never seems to get a grasp of the rules no matter how often he plays.

Do you get irritated at players like that?

No,. I don't. Because that describes me.

Sadly, I am that Guy.

Naw, more the merrier. And sometimes (but not always) its me.

I confess: it has been me on more than one occasion in the past.

Having all my historical miniatures experience withe DBx rules, I well understand why some people avoid the wrestle.

More appalled at their lack of personal responsibility.

It's only irritating if it's done on purpose, the old selective memory for advantage trick, or they just flat out refuse to get a rule book.

Nope, they make the game interesting

No, I have this problem too. I can barely hold one set of rules in my head much less learn and play scads of them. Dain Bramage does that to us older farts.

Conversely there are those that quote rules erroneously with such conviction it is hard to believe they are making stuff up.

My group uses several rules across different periods, so we take turns being that guy!

I am usually the only one in my group that knows the rules.

That is both myself and everyone I game with at one time or another.

We have one like that and he is very irritating. At least to me. He doesn't try to learn anything about the rules or the history particularly, but then he takes pictures of every game to post on FB and insists on having a background story to go with them. He tries to make stupid additions to the battlefield to add "flavor" for his pictures that are totally historically anachronistic. He also doesn't put any money or effort of any kind into the hobby except for showing up for games and then isn't particularly careful with people's figures either – says they're being oversensitive when they caution him to be careful. I probably am being oversensitive but he drives me nuts.

As a player, it's been me several times, but usually only for the first game or two.

What I hate is when I'm playing a new rules set or era, and the GM welcomes me into the game, only to screw me later during the game because I didn't know some obscure rule or tactic that only a seasoned player would possibly know. "Geeesh! Cut me a little slack, will ya?" Then, the GM simply blows it off as being a part of the Fog of War and my tough luck.

Yeah, that's the way to get me to play your game again!

His name is Steve. We've bern playing D&D 8 months. He is still having problems sorting out Encounter vs. Daily powers, Short vs. Extended rests. Maddening…

I have no problem with them in general. I regularly host walk-in demos on conventions and that attracts mostly players that have never seen the rules before.

The only annoying phenomenon here is someone who will not read the rules even when playing regularly, makes unwise decisions because he doesn´t know the rules and then complains that the rules are unrealistic or unbalanced.

We once had a player in a rpg who could never seem to master rolling dice, you had to take him through what to roll and how to read them every time and it only used D10 and D%.

Robert

I do not hate guys that have difficulties to learn a ruleset. What I hate, in the other hand, are those guys that do NOT care to learn a rule and expect you to know everything and explain it to them again and again, every single game! Rather than annoying they are exhausting!

Are you kidding? We rarely play the same game twice in a row,or not for very long. When its been months or even years with a particular ruleset,NOBODY knows the rules.

I'm okay with folks that pick up little, or less than they should, whether they just suck at learning or don't pay attention. I'm not okay with people who after 5 years of playing say "which of these dice to I roll to hit again?"

I find it's almost impossible for me to learn rules if I'm the sole driving force.

No. The real irritation are those that are certain they know the rules but don't.

x42

Yes

We have one in our group. He learns not the rules, He brings not the figures. He drinks & eats our comestibles.

He is amusing company but I feel he is a weight.

No. And sometimes it's me.

I am a very slow learner. But I do understand the period which I have studied as much as possible and I always try to supply the figures (as a fanatical megalomanic collector I have (or at least want) everything ;-))).
If understanding the period isn't sufficient to play the rules right using only a quick reference sheet, then the rules are insufficient.

x42brwon wrote:

No. The real irritation are those that are certain they know the rules but don't.

Or know a different version of the rules from the one you're actually using.

I know people who've won tournaments like this – they just move their figures around and declare every test they take passed until their opponent objects.

"We once had a player in a rpg who could never seem to master rolling dice…."

Just wanted to finish the quote there.

Jaz
6sided.net – Share Your Gaming Photo's

Soon as I read this I thought, GUILTY.

I'm that guy too, sometimes.

In my defense, though, here's what happens: My schedule for the past couple of years is such that I hardly ever have a chance to play. I think I played maybe 3-4 games last year, and that is not an exaggeration. The year before that was similar. As a result of those long periods of hiatus, I tend to forget the rules so that I'm in a constant state of noobiehood with every game, even the ones I've played for years.

I know it's not an inherent condition, though. A few years ago, I was playing one or sometimes two games a week, and I knew the rules front to back. Hopefully, I'll be able to resume that level of play or close to it. Maybe even this year. Until then, I will just have to ask my opponents to be patient with me, or find another opponent.

In our group, if you know the rules, you are labeled a cheater. Someone who knows the rules has an unfair advantage over the rest of us lazy bumbs who havent had the time, or inclination, to study them…

Still, if someone doesnt pick up the basics, and keeps slowing the game, it can get annoying. I dont expect anyone but the GM to be able to handle complex issues, but if you are constantly screwing up somethign so basic as your movement rates, I do get annoyed…

I've run into a couple gamers who are functional illiterates. One admits it cheerfully (and attributes it to dyslexia), but sticks to playing the Clix games. The other is cagey about admitting it but the pattern is clear once you've been around him a while. Both have decent memory though.

We have another local gamer, a bit older, who went through a period of machine-gun strokes several years ago. Most of them had no obvious effects, but he admits that new rule sets take longer to stick now than they used to.

I have no problem with this generally, and sometimes it is me. But, any game I play regularly I try to know fairly well. We have a guy in our RPG group who has been playing and GMing, at least according to him, for many years. In the campaign I have been running for the last year and a half, he remains clueless not just in terms of rules, but in basic game play as well. Needless to say he dies a lot and I have to keep writing his new character in. Since at least some of his problems are medical I would not think of driving him away, but neither do I give him (much) special consideration.

Every once in a great while it's me, but more commonly it's the few guys around here who refuse to buy the rules, learn them, or play by them. However, they are more than happy to argue about them at great length. Or "make mistakes" which somehow 100% of the time work out in their favor. Just lucky I guess……

guilty as charged, but I do try to learn them…just not successfully. The group usuallyindulges my ignorance even though I can tell it is somewhat annoying

There's a difference between knowing the rules and living the rules. I play a lot of different rules, and don't get to game nearly as much as I like.

For that reason I know I forget things often if I haven't played in a while. Usually, though, I'm up front about it, and my understanding of things, but most of the people I play with are the same way, so it's not a problem.

The only place where it becomes a problem is either:

a) if I'm playing with someone who ONLY plays that ruleset and has no patience

or

b) if I'm playing with some kind of super genius type who seems to know every rule of every game they play by heart. These types mildly exhaust me, so I only typically run into them at convention games, where they seem to annoy everyone else except people from category a.

Sadly, the club only does DBA quarterly so most of those who play need to ask the resident experts for clarification embarrassingly often.

Other than that the interim games are usually run by someone who knows the rules and is quite willing to explain.

I'd rather play with a guy who doesn't know/get the rules over the Rules Lawyer/Know It All any day.

You would be assuming the guy isn't trying to grasp the rules. Might be he's trying his best, but can't seem to get it (or he may think he does). And as some already have pointed out – that guy is ME This especially true with naval games locally played. Most of the guys have played them for years (I think they even conspired to write a few of them); and I really won't take the time to learn them. So, I guess it's wise for me to avoid those games. Dean

I blame speed limits outside schools and compulsory bike helmets.