"What bothers you the most?" Topic

Adam,

Agreed. Like adults, not all children are the same and some are better than most adults. Since Christmas I've run two very large AWI games for my cadets (average age 14) using British Grenadier (the Battles of the Brandywine and Guildford Courthouse), with 8 players on each occasion. I've got two lads who've played Warhammmer before, but the rest of them have never wargamed.

On each occasion, they've been attentive, keen, have picked up the rules extremely quickly and have been an absolute joy to wargame with. OK, they're my cadets, so I do know them, but they are complete novices and yet they've really gotten into it.

One 13 year-old girl, commanding the American left at Guildford, even spent quite a bit of time on her iphone between turns, googling for the historical events and tactical tips. She successfully fought off the British and even put in a counter-attack, eventually mounting a successful fighting withdrawal with her wing, while the American right wng collapsed. She's now a self-taught authority on the campaign. :o)

1. Players that wonder off and you have to go find him to do his turn.

2. Constantly on the phone or playing a video game during the game or surfing the web. Pay attention during the entire game!

3. "When I'm at your House I play by your rules" I hate this, the rules are the rules. Read them. There was a guy we use to game with and he would start every game with questions about hills, LOS etc. I would answer that it is whatever the rules say. Then during the game he asks "can I use helicopters to land Picket's Division behind the Yankees?" Well do the rules cover helicopters? I did not write the rules. Someone else did. If the rules were ambiguous about something then we would all jointly come up with a house rule. Hey, I am not God, I just own a house.

3. Children in a convention game. After all my hard work to get everything right, a seven year old ends up running a unit and the whole game is ruined. I am not a babysitter. This game was the results of months of hard work and research.

4. When a player has to leave a game early and since he is leaving he charges his whole command at the enemy and gets them destroyed and then says good luck and leaves.

5. Shouting "last turn!" Then everyone charges and skews the results.

6. Not a team player. Hey this is team sport would you mind discussing strategy and stick to the plan. Anti-social type.

7. Rules lawyers that didn't read the rules ahead of time. So I have to explain the reason for everything.

8. Teammates who give away information to your opponent and by doing so ruins the game. The GM is unhappy as well because you just screwed up months of work.

9. Someone not even in your game is criticizing your game. Had this happen to me a convention. Didn't like the fact that some of the units were hidden until they were seen. Dude you are not even playing the game! Shut the &*#$ up!

10. Playing to a prearrange time. Like 5:00pm we end no matter what. Okay so one side can win the game just by slowing down play.

11. Cheaters

The flip side to the rules lawyer: The rules moaner. Everyone is having a good time, and yes there are one or two rules that seem a bit odd but everyone is going along with them and accepting them as part of the game…

…except the rules moaner who is never satisfied and compares the game being played with the beloved one (ie, the one they've cracked and can win at) and how much better other games are…until you play those and they'll start moaning (especially if they're losing). Our club can't agree on a single set of either Napoleonic or WW2 rules to play because of a couple of rules moaners.

lol aye.

On one game, some got cross because their Stug didn't do as it would in PBI. The fact that we were playing Rules of Engagement didn't seem to matter.

Forgot to add:

12. People with a dice fetish. "I have to use my own dice." Why exactly do you need to use your own dice? Is there something special about your dice that we should know about as in they are loaded? Use the house dice. This isn't D&D it's historical gaming. You have crossed over into a whole different world.

13. Constantly rolling dice all the time. You don't have to test your dice, trust me they work. Don't roll unless it's your turn. No testing dice before hand. "Gee, that was a practice roll" you mean you have never rolled dice before and your trying it on for size?

14. Picking up your dice after you roll so fast nobody got a good look at what you rolled.

15. The guy who walks out in the middle of a game because he says he doesn't like the scenario or the rules or whatever. Where the real reason he is walking out is that he is losing and can't take it. Grown men actually do this. They just get mad and leave. Amazing!

People who think that we play to win.

In my opinion we play to imagine an adventure. Whoever wins the game is not important. The whole story that has developed on the game table is more fun.

Wrong, it is important. I understand what you are saying but winning or trying to win is important to the game. If you are not in it to win then don't be on my side.

I will try as hard as I can to win. I want the guy on the other side doing the same thing. Otherwise the scenario doesn't work. This isn't little league soccer where everyone gets a prize for showing up. That's part of the fun, why else play? Why is winning such a dirty word?

If I lose the game then I got beat that's the way it is. Try better next time.

Arrigo,
My brother did this to me at my Alamo game: "the brother of the GM who argues with the GM (ok I was not so sure who was right I got the idea they were changing rules just to annoy each other…)."

My apologies for the matter. I told him afterwards that I did not appreciate it.

Patrice
I'm with you. In many of our scenarios we will not always know how balanced it is. As you say its the story and exploring what are the possibilities. I would far rather "lose" and interesting game than win a boring game. While you have to play the scenario; the thing is that both sides should enjoy it. Sometimes the story is all about how you lose. My opinion is that if you are winning obsessed pick another hobby and certainly I won't play you. I want to learn and understand a bit more about what I read. My wargaming helps me, thats why its a simulation.

I detest winners who are obsessed with winning and assume their enjoyment is at the expence of others is justified.

The guy who isnt a team player. Everyone decides on a strategy and then one jerk "does his own thing" and screws up the plan for eveyone else. He was told to hold the left flank, and then charges because he's "bored just sitting there".

Just love those guys. Screw everyone else I am going to do whatever I want. You are suppose to demonstrate in front of the enemy and hold while the flanks develop and then you get to go in for the kill. Then the guy gets bored and off he goes and gets his command shot up.

One time I was in a SYW game and in command of a Prussian force. The French had weak flanks so I had to the two flank commanders attack and envelope the French position while the center brigade holds it's ground and fire artillery at the French center every turn. It required some time to do.

The guy running the game got real flustered with me because I wasn't charging head on. Eventually the French had to pull units from the center to support the flanks and that was my cue to send in the Prussian center force and crush the French.

The GM was actually upset with me. Everyone else just sends in everyone. So I asked how often does the Prussians when this scenario? He said never. I rest my case.