Every gaming store has one. You know who I am talking about, that guy who plays miniatures, or card games, who is soooo competitive that it is hardly any fun to play with him.

We have "that guy."

Most of the time, it is fun to just engage in a game, laugh and joke as we go along, and then roll some dice.

No pressure, no cut-throat competition, and absolutely done for the fun of it alone.

But we have this guy we like to call "that guy". You know the type.

Every game is a life or death situation for him. You can't just have a friendly game where each person enjoys the play more than the winning.

Yeah, I know the saying, "If winning isn't important, why do they keep score?"

Well, sometimes, as a professional gamer, so to speak, it is more fun to lose.

Yep, I said it. I like to lose sometimes, well, except when I play "that guy" then it is more fun to totally stomp him into the ground by awesome dice rolls, frustrate him at every turn as he attempts to out-wit me, and basically keep him from winning.

But man, that is hard work. I would rather just roll some dice in a friendly game where we both know most of the rules, and we can concede the rest.

"That guy" uses the rule book as an extension of his army. Throwing it up at various points and referring to an obscure section to either block an attack, or to justify some weird twist he is trying to accomplish.

You can almost hear the "tink" as your attack is deflected by the rule book.

Then, when he does win, it is done without class. Dancing and pointing fingers at you, sometimes it is followed by the statement "HA! I pown'd you!"

What, exactly, is powning?

Is it an act of completely owning someone? It it just an act of stomping your opponent into the ground until there is nothing but a black spot?

How can that be fun?

The most fun I ever have at a miniatures game is when both players are familiar with the rules, and we are evenly matched so that it is somewhat of a challenge, and both players observe courtesy as play goes on smoothly and consistently.

In those games, you feel like you may have learned something, and you have the time to laugh and feel like you performed well.

I played in a WarMachine tournament in Orlando once. The guy who was matched up against me was from Jacksonville, and was one hell of a player.

After some maneuvering, in which I learned some new tactics as I watched, he made a slight suggestion on how to defeat his own army.

WOW! Was I impressed, and the suggestion was completely a new way to look at the game. Not a rules jockey, but a legitimate way to maneuver.

I took his suggestion, and thanked him, and won a small piece of the battle.

As the game progressed, I too made suggestions, some he took and some he politely declined, but we played the whole time in a very competitive format, and we both had loads of fun.

After the round, he shook my hand, and complemented me on my play saying that he learned a lot from me.
I lost that round, but when it was announced that he and I would meet again later, we both said "Cool" at the same time.

For every game I played that tournament, I tried my best to be as good as he was, and tried hard to treat my opponent with the same respect and courtesy.

It was probably the best tournament I had ever played in, and I even walked away with a faction medal, and second overall. He placed first, of course.

That caliber of play is one I have shrived to match ever since in every tournament I played.

Oh, and we both played "that guy" at the tournament, and we both beat him into a black spot on the carpet. LOL

MrEd