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Is there a difference between a competitive player and being "that guy"?


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For me to label you "that guy" you have to demonstrate three specific character traits, two of which relate to gaming. Without all three you are just a gamer, and I have yet to meet a gamer without some kinda of personality "tweak."

First, and most importantly, you have to be someone who isn't a positive experience to be around. Whether you are sullen, rude, offensive or just lack social graces, you have to be someone I don't want to be around socially, whether a game is being played or not.

Two, you have to play the game to "Win at all Costs," (WAAC) in which you care nothing about the person across the table from you. You are their to win, win, win, be it through rules interpretations, cheating (less often seen) or any other tweak people can come up with. The give and take of making the game fun for both players is missing from your own game.

Finally, and just as importantly, you have to use one of the strongest armies/crews/selections available in your game system. Whether it is a perceived OP or flat out, you have to be using a force which maximizes it's chance at winning prior to any cards being flipped or dice being rolled,

You can exhibit any two of these and still not be "that guy" to me. You're a competitive jerk, but when you rock M1e Marcus you can never be That Guy. You need all three.

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couple of times ive been that guy once in a game of wfb an opponent who carried rulebooks with him but never seemed to have the one showing the rule that helped you. he'd questioned two rules which I knew the answer to and gotten the shop staff to agree with him when I eventually won I ran around the shop cheering.

then a 40k tourney a gw member of staff was using the new eldar codex which hadn't been released questioned a minor rule again he was wrong but the organiser agreed with him as they were mates the rest of the game I did my best to make sure he didn't enjoy it didn't shake his hand and told him why at the end.

im pretty sporting apart from that I enjoy playing against power gamers as I like working out how to beat them.

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Here's my 2 cents, coming most recently and most frequently from Flames of War.

 

Caring about the rules, their proper interpretation and their effective use is a good way to play. My friend and I often "rules lawyer" one another to keep each other on top of things, and because there are often enough rules that one just forgets. It's good practice for tournaments where the stakes are higher.

A word I've seen a lot of people dancing around but not actually using is "Sportsmanship". Think of pro sports. You can not tell me that those people in a (NA) football game are not trying their absolute hardest to beat the other players on the field. As the saying goes, "from whistle to whistle" they are entirely about doing what needs to be done to stop the other guy. Once the whistle goes? 99% of the time, they'll help each other up, pats on shoulders, etc. That's because they know that, at the end of the day, it's a game.

 

My favourite mantra for gaming is not, actually, the one popularized by Wil Wheaton, but is a WWPD-created one: "At the end of the day, we're adults playing with toy soldiers".

 

What we should really be getting down to is the question of 'Am I being "That guy"?' and here's my way of figuring it: Are you calling out a rule because the other guy is playing it wrong, or because it hurts you? If you've never called out a missed rule to your detriment, perhaps leaning on the wrong side. (On occasion I've reminded a friend of mine that more of his teams can shoot than he thought, or assisted with LoS calls... Sportsmanship, even if it means I suffer a bit.)

 

Unless one is running a demo, there is no point of playing if you are entirely not competitive. Even if the competition is secondary, tertiary, or further below, it's still there. Many in my gaming circle, and I, will intentionally play oddball lists to make it more fun, or intentionally take a list that hampers our chances, but once the dice start rolling, I'm playing to win. I am not just going to give units to his force piecemeal, or intentionally throw the game, because that cheapens it for everyone.

 

(Though an inverse game where people are trying to lose more of their units might be interesting to work out...)

 

Anyway, I think the importance is asking yourself the question often, seriously, and repeatedly. "Am I being "that guy", or is this justifiable?"

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i find that in a tournament setting, where how you place is often determined by how many objective points you earned, you have to expect players to play brutally harsh. I have no problem with that. you can do that and laugh with each other about unlucky dice rolls/bad breaks, and have fun while competing. any player who yells at his models for missing shots(yes this happened in a tournament) or dances around as he kills off your models or throws "bad dice" to the floor when a bad roll happens, those people i cant stand to play. 

 

I really do not like brutally harsh games on a random opponent game at a store. i'm there to just have fun. I'm the type of player that in 40k owns over 4,000 points of an army, so when i show up for a game of 1850 points, people never know what i'm bringing. i never reuse a list unless i'm running late. its just what models catch my eye as im packing them from the display case to the travel foam. I played with a close knit group of guys at someones house for close to 10 years. we all played fluffy, balanced,  have fun lists and ended up with amazing fun back and forth close games. now that i moved the local gaming store does not play that way at all. and because of that i dont make it a priority to pack my stuff up, drive a half hour to the store, and get in a game. 

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The only thing that makes you "That Guy" in my opinion is, to be frank, being a dick. This includes flat-out cheating, being unpleasant to be around or deal with, or accusing me of cheating. 

 

Everything else is just the game. If you insist on really precise measurements and you hold both of us to that, that's fine. You want to cut my deck after I shuffle, no problem. You want to argue the rules? That's fine, I know the rules and we have a book and the FAQ and we can hash it out, and if it hasnt been answered we'll flip a coin and wait for the faq next time. Competitive 'tournament" players who play to win and take the game seriously are fine. You can play that way and still be friendly. You don't have to intentionally play a bad crew to be friendly or casual or have a good time. You do not have to choose between "fluffy" and good. You can do both. 

 

Note that's all referring to M2E. In 1.5? Yes, you were probably That Guy if you played Hamelin or Pandora or pre-errata Dreamer, and that is why I didn't play those crews. No one is that OP in M2E, there aren't that level of "loopholes" to abuse. 

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That Guy will often have a strange mark upon his body which is immune to pain. He will often be accompanied by an animal familiar with whom he conspires constantly.

In order to identify him, we recommend binding his hands and feet and throwing him into a pond. Or simply asking if he has ever owned a Warhammer Fantasy Chaos Demons army.

 

Or played Neverborn in Malifaux 1.5

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