After that awful game night, I let go of being a rule stickler

We were deep into a heavy strategy game, and I was nitpicking every move. The mood went from fun to frustrated in minutes. It hit me that my need to be right was ruining the fun for everyone. Most board game geeks I know swear by playing by the book, but I think that's wrong. Now, I focus on the laughs and stories, not just the rules, and our group is happier for it.

3 comments

3 Comments

jasonf173d ago

That Pandemic example from Claire is exactly the vibe killer. For @martinez.kim, I usually say "let's make a quick call now and check it later" to keep things moving. Do you find yourself bending rules more when teaching new players, or is it an all the time thing now?

claire_gibson4d ago

I once halted a whole game of Pandemic to debate the exact wording on an event card. My friends' faces just went blank, like I'd started reading the terms and conditions out loud. Now I figure if we're all laughing, we're playing it right, even if we technically messed up the supply phase. Hard lesson, but game nights are actually fun now.

martinez.kim4d ago

Love that you figured this out, honestly it took me way too long to learn the same thing. So when someone at the table still wants to stop and look up a rule now, how do you handle it without killing the vibe? Tbh I'd probably get annoyed but your way seems better.