Day 22: Why I Was Reluctant to Play Games

     This post is for those of you who may be strategy gamers but for some reason your significant other isn't. For years Marty played strategy games with his friends but I never joined in. Through the years I have been able to pinpoint specific reasons why I didn't game.Today I am going to tell you some of those reasons. Boy, I wish I had started sooner!

     Reason #1 - The length of some games. Some games are 2 or more hours. The thought of that used to stress me out. I would say that I didn't have time to play a game with him. I had too much to do. I was looking at it at the wrong way though. I would often say we don't talk enough, we need to go a date, etc. You know what couples say. Little did I know that gaming with your spouse for 2 hours is good communication time! We talk, laugh, work through situations in the game. Gaming is a great way to spend time with your spouse! Now it does help if everyone works to make sure that chores etc. are done!

     Reason #2 - Gamers are a secret clique with a secret language. I thought, "They don't want me to play because I don't know what they are talking about.". I was embarrassed to say that I had no idea what they were talking about! They would throw out terms while they were playing and I had no clue. Well, busted! Gamers WANT to tell you what  terms mean and want EVERYONE to play. Just ask! I have never been around a more open and welcoming group. No matter where I go local gaming clubs, local conventions, even national conventions, everyone is friendly and encouraging. As far as the secret language, everything is acronyms. It is too much to constantly say Role Playing Game or Analysis Paralysis (overthinking rules...I do not suffer from this) so RPG and AP are used. Just ask what the acronym means. There are no embarrassing questions in gaming.

     Reason #3 - I am not competitive. I would hear Marty and his friends constantly letting each other have it because somebody put a spell on somebody, took over territory, or fought over a planet. I am not competitive so that was not appealing. Solution, we started playing cooperative games. It just so happens that we really enjoy playing co-op games. I prefer games where I do not have to "attack" someone directly.

    Reason #4 - I didn't understand the rules! Sometimes I couldn't even concentrate when Marty was explaining the rules because it seemed like there were 100 steps and I would say forget it before we even started. For me, and maybe for some others, it is much easier to play a  practice round as we go through the rules. Skip trying to explain every detail and run through a round. Now that I have been playing a while I am better with the rules, but practice rounds are always good. A friend of mine says that the story is what grabs her. So instead of telling the steps of the game tell the story of the game. What are you trying to accomplish and what is needed to accomplish it.

    These are just a few things that may prevent someone from playing. Rolling Dice & Taking Names will post a podcast today and a friend of mine and I will be talking about some of these reasons and more. I want couples and families to game together and some of these ideas may help.Marty and I have shirts that say Couples Who Game Together Stay Together. So true, unless he tries to take my territory. :)