Rules of Good Gaming

There are those who think that there is only one simple rule for being a respectful gamer who provides good gaming experiences for fellow game players. While it might seem easy to just say, "don't be a [expletive deleted]" when asked what your personal house rules are, I find that it's often useful to be a little more specific than that.

For example, I have 8 year old twin daughter who are either participating in whatever game is being played, or just out of eyesight (and within earshot) playing Minecraft, whom I would rather didn't even hear the [expletive deleted] part of that statement overly often. But a lack of profanity isn't really the most pressing issue for me when it comes to gaming with friends, not by a long shot. Most people are considerate around 8 year olds. This is why I was glad to see RDigby's Gamer's Guide to Good Behavior on Deviant Art.

The first column of his tidy infographic and the first item of the second column cover the things that really get to me. I really appreciate it when people help me maintain the condition of my board games and rpgs. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to buy a new book/game because someone spilled something on it or lost some pieces (this is particularly true for games like Squad Leader). In these cases, it isn't usually about any person being a [expletive deleted]. Instead, it's about not going out of one's way to be extra-conscientious. I like my gamer friends to be extra-conscientious.

This is why I'm actually very grateful for the group I - too rarely at present - get to play games with. They may tell [expletive deleted] jokes more frequently than I'd like in an ideal state, and come to think of it I might be guilty of this as well, but they are always responsible with my game materials.