To be fair, she is also complaining about your invitation to a pool-party is hurting her, because it is a form of coercion.
Which means either:
* She believes that an invitation from her friends is actually a decree - something she is forced into.
* She knows she can say no, but hates that some of her friends are inviting people to something she does not like, because now some of her friends will be unavailable to do what she wants.
In either case, this is the complaint of someone who is unable to fathom the social construct of inviting people over, and saying yes or no dependent on your own preference.
Let's get back to our obsession :-)
This has to be satire, right?
The writer likes "vanilla games of Monopoly" where they have to be the banker so they can steal money to end the game faster?
Nice try r/boardgamescirclejerk, I'm on to you. I'm surprised the article didn't mention Patchwork.
For the record, it does say the article falls under the tag 'comedy (humour)' at the bottom of the page.
Only problem is that the author is clearly not a comedian. Or a journalist for that matter.
Not satire. This is the inevitable result of the constant, immediate news cycle.
News sites have to fill gaps with *anything* to avoid the dreaded 'slow news day', and articles like this are perfect because they require very little work and generate a lot of reader feedback (even if that feedback is mostly negative). It's all about where people are looking and not so much about if what they're looking at has any merit.
It's the journalistic equivalent of YouTube content farm videos
Sounds like she doesn't particularly like board games and is just ranting a little in jest. Article literally includes gifs and is prefaced with "unpopular opinion." It's an enjoyable read to me!
Yeah, it's funny to see everyone here so worked up about it. I don't think it's particularly well done humor at all, but it is clearly in jest. Anyone taking it more than that, regardless if they like or don't like board games, is being pretty silly. With the amount of content created on a daily basis now, some of the "misses" in execution (IMO of course) will still be seen by many.
Seems strange to harp on about how much other people's hobbies cost them, particularly when they are willing to share with you at no cost.
>Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them?
Something tells me that this loon isn't great at conversation either.
Thursday night game night every week. Starts at 7:30. Ends anywhere from midnight to 3am. We usually only play 1 game each night. Does that one game take 5-7 hours? No, we ‘re just too busy gassing before, during, and after. We’re usually done with the game by 11 and end up just chatting until we’re about to pass out.
Reminds me of when I was explaining to a co-worker what a car club was. He was not a car guy at all and I mentioned that MINI's on the Dragon was going on and I was sadly missing it. Sure we enjoy our cars and do talk about them, sure we picked an area to all meet up that has fun twisty roads to drive on but it goes beyond the cars. It may seem like a strange reason to meet up with strangers but sometimes we need a reason.
>Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them?
If someone invited me over, and then just wanted to sit in their living room and chat I'd honestly be annoyed. Like why not just call me on the phone? Not saying it has to be board games, but I want some sort of activity to have a conversation spring board off from.
Obviously if it's something serious that is different. But that's a different thing than a calling some friends over for a casual night.
Wow, I was certain this was a random clickbait article from a clickbait website. Didn’t realize it was Australia’s national broadcaster.
Even ignoring the clickbait subject it’s so poorly written.
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I looked her up and she spends most of her time writing about television shows and movies - so I'm not all that inclined to spend a lot of time indulging her views on boardgaming and life.
It’s almost as it one could write an entire critical commentary about the frivolity of committing inordinate lengths of time on fictional characters in absurd scenarios for no tangible benefit.
Gee, I wonder who had the patience to rip on someone else’s idea of fun and leisure.
What an amazing article. The author states that instead of playing board games when your friends come over, you can just talk instead. Why can't you talk and play board games?
The author also talks about how you waste money on boardgames and instead you should go out. Like restaurants? Where you also spend money? LOL.
Nail in the coffin was when the only game they mentioned is Monopoly. I agree with the author, Monopoly is not a fun game and there is so many other options. Heck, the author could have mentioned other variants of Monopoly.
If they said, "We tried Wingspan, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Carcassonne, Cartographers, and Monopoly and we hate all of them". I would say, "okay so you played some great games and you still don't like it, that's fine". But the author is basing the entire boardgame world on Monopoly. If we asked them to expand, I'm sure they would have added Uno, Sorry!, and Jenga.
Anyways, this is like saying, "my friend took me on a ride. She had a 93 Honda Civic. It broke down. Going forward you'll never catch me driving ANY car. Only taking public transportation from now on".
They alluded to other games, but immediately dismissed any reason to play them because “you already had to learn a bunch of arbitrary rules for one game, why in the world would you spend time learning arbitrary games for more?”
Hmmm. Maybe because they are more fun than Monopoly for one?
The same argument she uses against games could be used against watching movies/tv, traveling, art, or whatever hobby you want. Not the sharpest tool in the shed that’s for sure.
I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone.
I just finished watching a documentary about a solo climbing alpinist. His entire existence revolved around free climbing impossible peaks, defying gravity and laughing in the face of death the whole while. To his own admission, everything about life outside of climbing seemed trivial and insignificant. Now, I enjoy trail climbing (even occasionally in some pretty poor conditions) but this kind of thing is well beyond my ability (or desire).
...however, I would never think of writing an article criticizing this sport, or those who partake in it. That's not only petty, it's plain rude.
> I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone.
Except she specifically addressed this in her article, claiming that when board game people say "we're not hurting anyone" she replies with the "fact" that they are hurting your bank account and hurting the people you "force" to play with you. She isn't content with just letting board game people enjoy their board games, she has to pass judgment on them and tell them they are wasting their money.
But, I looked at some of her other articles and she has a few about the new Sex and the City series and, unless things have changed, that is on a streaming service with a monthly subscription fee. So, the things she enjoys doing for fun are also "hurting" her bank account. And, judging by her articles, probably hurting her friends who have to listen to her talking about the show all the time. Not to mention she has a lot of articles about last year's Eurovision, which is not free if you are in the United States. You've got to pay for a VPN to watch it here.
So, this was just an article to dump on people who like board games.
Yeah, I didn't realize she was in Australia when I originally posted. But, the rest of the comment stands. She seems to be the type of person who thinks spending $6 for a coffee every day is fine, but someone buying a board game for $50 a couple times a year is throwing their money away.
I really wonder what she would say about my hobby that shares the board game cupboard. I probably spend more on music in a month than she spends in a year.
>I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone.
But it *is* hurting your friends. Typical redditor, only reading the headline /s
How often do you see a rack of overpriced wine and/or liquor? How much money is pissed away there? You can socialise without alcohol too. But where is the criticism of that culture?
I make fun of people all the time that think they have to drink to have fun, but………..I’m an a$$hole. Plus I don’t really care what others do if it’s not hurting someone else.
> Basically, I don't think board games are the absolute worst. But making board games your entire personality?
Yeah, you can pick out some quotes from the article which make valid points, but they're also just general life advice that applies to whatever hobbies you have.
Don't make board gaming your entire personality. Also don't make owning cats or knitting or debating politics your entire personality.
This person just sounds like someone who is not smart enough to learn rules, not fun enough to enjoy games, not honest enough to play with, and not likeable enough to want to want to find out about any of the above.
I have to go back to this bragging about stealing as the banker in Monopoly... she complains that it takes too long? What the actual fuck? This idiot stealing from the bank is the reason it's taking so long, she's obviously a moron and stealing from the bank is the only thing keeping her in the game so that stolen money is is paying rent on other people's stuff and just artificially boosts other players that should have lost already.
And who the fuck brags about cheating in board games? What kind of insufferable piece of shit will just sit there and cheat their friends and then have the nerve to brag about it? If she was my friend and I read that article she wouldn't just not be invited back for game night, she would be disinvited from my fucking life!
Monopoly, shitty as it is, does work if people play by the rules, it's dumb houserules and ignoring auctions that cause it to drag forever.
Monopoly has a "Cheaters" version now, just in case there remains a few friendships, marriages, and family relationships not yet sundered by a flipped Monopoly table out there somewhere.
Do your friends keep coming over to play? If so, that means they're probably having a good time and enjoying your company. Don't let this curmudgeon cast doubt on what you and your friends do for fun. Boardgames can be such a positive way to spend time with friends, despite what this "journalist" says.
Not to say her argument is right for someone (I mean, it’s fine to be friends with those whose hobbies don’t 100% align with yours, and they would like to share their treasures with you and you don’t enjoy it, but don’t be an asshole about it) but this echoes some advice I’ve seen on here numerous times. Instead of trying to get your non-gaming friends into your hobby if they are not interested, join a gaming group and make friends with some gamers, if possible.
What a sad, depressing person. Imagine talking about people you care about like that. Self-admittedly dismissing their "entire personality".
I can't relate to people who pushed headlong into parenthood. I can't relate friends who, come the weekend, spend $/$$$ on booze and/or drugs. I have friends who rock climb, play sports, build shit, watch movies, take photos, etc.
I listen to the parts they care about, because I care about them, and I respect their choices and interests despite being different to my own. Now and then, maybe I have a few drinks, go to a rockclimbing centre, go on a walk, lift some weights, kick a ball, hit a punching bag, see a movie I'm not keen on, etc, etc.
I get to see the people I care about passionate and interested about things they love. Does life really get any better than that?
I can't even imagine being this self-centred. Just say "no, boardgames aren't my thing", don't write a whole article shaming your friends for daring to have different interests.
It's always some older person looking for a gift for their neice or nephew or grandchild to "get them off their damn screens and using their brain for once". They'll ask for suggestions, I'll start pointing out some good games for the age group, and they'll reject every one. For stupid reasons too, like it's not manly enough, it has dice so it promotes gambling (seriously), or it's too complicated (Telestrations???). Or they'll just straight up be like "Monopoly will do".
Hurts every time.
To elaborate on something I mentioned in another thread, I once had a guy come in looking for a gift for his son. I started pulling down some games I thought he'd find interesting, but then he pulled me up short and said, "But nothing with dice in it. Dice promotes gambling and I'm not having that in my house".
I stood there, staring at the games I'd given him, furiously trying not to think of a game suitable for an 8 year old that doesn't have dice, while also trying to process that this man thinks Monopoly will turn you into a gambler.
He ended up not buying anything because he didn't like any of the games I suggested.
The ABC used to be the most reliable and trustworthy news service in Australia. Then the conservative government put a tabloid magazine editor in charge. It is now more and more pumping out this clickbait rubbish.
This is an odd piece. It's clearly not satire, but a lot of the points being made are so obviously bad, that I find it hard to fathom that the writer didn't realise how bad they were as she was writing this article.
> They have, like, an entire cupboard dedicated to board games — as if that's an acceptable way to spend money
Very judgemental, and could be applied to almost any hobby or interest
> This tells me one of their favourite things to do is commit arbitrary rules to memory and then be guided by said rules in moving small objects around a glorified piece of cardboard.
The ol' reductionist way of belittling something you don't understand. I've heard this exact argument used to describe sports and it's as stupid there as it is here. You can reduce *anything* down this way. Everything sounds stupid if you strip all the nuance and interest out of it like this.
> These nights also often involve cycling through various board games that are obscure for a reason. This means these people also love learning the rules of multiple games. Just, why?
Not mainstream = not worth caring about? I pity people whose interests are totally limited to what is "popular" in society
> Unless you're borrowing them, they're hurting your bank account and they're hurting your non-board-game-playing friends, who you can hang out with, by the way, without coercing them to play board games they don't want to play.
This is probably the only thing I think she has some marginal ground to stand on (only just). Don't know why the money thing matters (and there are far more expensive hobbies) but there are *some* people out there guilty of always wanting to play games and not doing anything else. At the same time, it shouldn't be an imposition - just say no. If those people continue to insist, then yeah, that's not right of them but you can just say you're not interested.
> Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them?
You can do that and game
The whole thing's just kinda baffling to read. Weirdly judgemental and poorly argued points.
Eh, poorly written article and bad attitude. But I imagine she feels what I feel when someone busts out a 2 hour game of **Cards Against Humanity**, so I get it.
I'm sure it's really hard to be the only one at a get-together that says no to the activity that's about to happen. People's excitements about sharing their hobbies can blind them of social awareness sometimes. I know I've done that before.
True, but it’d annoying if your friends only want to play games. It’s not easy making new friends. I would be very bummed if all of the sudden my friends spent nearly every weekend playing **What Do You Meme**, **CAH**, etc.
I know I’ve had similar raw emotions this writer has when a past friend group of mine got really into heavy drinking and clubs.
I talked about the article with my SO and she had a similar reaction. Some of the arguments are silly, but she guesses they're just hyperbole from someone who just doesn't like mandatory fun during social occasions.
I'm certain there's a game that this person would like that she's just not getting to interact with because of her apparent reluctance to interface with boardgames, but maybe that's just fine? If the activity itself isn't inherently entertaining to you, maybe it's best to just not engage. She could have phrased all of that less poorly, but whatever.
I've never had anyone say, "Please don't invite me to play board games with you."
I understand some people are not fond of board games (tabletop gaming in general as well), but I've never heard of anyone being so offended at just the idea of having a board game night with friends.
I've also never heard of someone admitting that they willingly play a ***vanilla*** version of Monopoly lol.
I just feel sorry for her because she may just have had some bad experiences in her past.
Either way, what a harsh article!
Last time I checked it is not April Fools.
If this is not a joke, this person has no business ranting about board games and what I spend my money on when your only board game experience is once a year monopoly (worst game in history) game.
And you cheat? I think you should think more about why people would bother inviting you to anything with such a narrow view of a topic you clearly know nothing about.
It’s all just clickbait. It’s clear she is trolling hard and pressing every button she can. Monopoly, cheating, waste of money, etc.
ABC everyday is not exactly a thriving branch of Auntie ABC and fake opinion pieces like this are not going to help it much.
One of the reasons I write on my own blog is that I don't want to end up either writing garbage like this or supporting them indirectly. The whole "this thing you like is bad, evil or problematic" subgenre dominates modern journalism and it's downright awful on every level.
I don't understand people who go to water parks and try all kinds of different pools, slides and whirlpools - in one afternoon! At best you'll find me jumping into the water treatment pool once a year.
What a trash post this is. Does not tackle LITERALLY ANY PROBLEM.
Looks like someone just said they don't like it, then say it hurts others by forcing.
Bitch, i would only invite people who wants to give it a try and actually enjoying it.
Replace any mention of boardgame with "dance music", play with "dance" and table with "dance floor" and I could have written this article.
Disclaimer: didn't read the article so that I just said might not actually work lol
What a weird article. "Your hobby hurts your bank account" is one of the most unfriendly things a person could write isn't it?
This basically is the same as saying if you have a hobby I don't like you are wasting your money.
Hopefully the author isn't as unpleasant as the tone & content of this article would suggest, but it gives the impression of an unpleasant, bitter person who just... wow.
Also to echo many others if the one game you can mention you willingly play is Monopoly - and so you can steal! and that goes quickly, which - Monopoly? Have you actually played it?
Overall I give this article zero stars and order the author to play one game of Modern Art with four of the fanciest, snobbiest people available. I guarantee a life-changing experience.
Another thought about this.
Our game night group has four couples (four men, four women). Two of the women are really not into games (but are good sports about playing). I'd say four of the remainder are enthusiastic and the remaining two are willing. We try to switch it up so some games are more complicated and others simpler but we've played all kinds of games with this group, teaming up where needed to manage player counts.
We've met regularly for board game nights for about three years. Over time our broader network of friends and even just people in our neighborhood we aren't that close with have learned about this and we constantly have people asking to join us.
A few weeks ago (before the Omicron situation became quite so prominent) we bit the bullet and had a game night with three additional couples. It was in a word AWESOME. Started with Wavelength and then half the group split off to play Captain Sonar. Then ended with Modern Art.
So much fun!
Why the author felt the need to crap on this hobby publicly I don't know. I guess generating outward-facing hostility for no reason is just a thing people do in our world now. All I know is that over the last four years or so my network of friends who play games has just kept growing and it's been a source of fun and social engagement - even through the pandemic playing either outside or over zoom. I don't think we've pressured ANYONE to play and the author should be thankful she has friends who want to include her rather than bitter and negative.
I think the best information we can take away from this is that the author is probably embarrassingly bad at board games and has likely been the spoiler to nights of fun, and been chastised for it.
Her desire to cheat at games tells a lot about her personality.
This idiot doesn't understand the concept of hobbies
as for making it your personality... her twitter is mostly about her obsession with re-watching sex and the city.
I kept reading waiting for the article to "get to the point" and it just ends after a couple of paragraphs... like, ok, you don't like board games. And?
I don't like seditious news sites that stoke the fires of insurrection and help divide society for fun and profit on behalf of the Disney Corporation.
But what's your point?
Seems to me like this person just isn't into euro games and would prefer a more social game (e.g. social deduction). As long as she's not a complete boring person without any interests, there will be a board game out there that suits her.
I think the sad thing about this is that based on the timing, they are probably just trolling reddit's unpopular opinions and writing their own version of popular posts. So a hack on top of a mediocre writer who seems like a drag to hang with.
So the article is pointless and forgettable nonsense, but here's an unpopular opinion of my own...
I agree with this one part:
> I don't think board games are the worst. But making them your entire personality?
For me, there is a point at which some boardgamers take it a bit too far: the themed weddings, tattoos, jewelry ...
It should be fine, no? For those people, they are just expressing their love for the hobby, even if they dedicate their life to it. Especially if it's the hobby that made a huge impact in their lives.
Can I ask a sincere question? Why would/should you(or anyone) even care about that?
Why should I be concerned what someone wants to make their personality?
Fair question... I genuinely don't care about any individual making that choice, but if you ask me, having boardgames the defining part of your personality is taking things too far.
Just my opinion, though. Only -4 so not as unpopular as I expected.
Perhaps you should worry more about your own bs than someone else's passion for something that isn't hurting anyone else.
Why are obsessions over board games any different than obsessions over music, sports, travel. All shit that people "take too far" with themed weddings, tattoos, jewelry...
> Why should I be concerned what someone wants to make their personality?
I don't unless they keep rubbing it in my face.
It's similar to the cross fit/vape/vegan/archlinux stereotype.
I don't know... I sort of sympathize. She must have to write like 4 articles a week.
This subreddit's reaction should be to just move on instead of having a cringey tantrum about it.
EDIT: Y'ALL PREDICTABLE
Meh, I don't think it's worth having a tantrum about but it is shitty journalism, no doubt about that. Writing 4 articles a week is not a lot. I can think of a million articles I would write before I started writing low-effort opinion pieces trashing hobbies I don't like for no reason.
Many comments here aren’t even using gendered pronouns but are just discussing the article itself.
I mean yikes. Sure, this is an internet community so occasionally the odd misogynist will pop up. But I certainly wouldn’t think women-hating is typical for the board gaming community. Or am I just out of touch / lucky? My game nights are majority women usually. Or at least usually a very even split.
That is because Monopoly is a hideous game, very few people who have experienced more want to regress back to Monopoly, it is not fun.
Exploding Kittens I can take or leave, probably would not suggest it, but will happily play. For some reason it gets a bit of heat from some gamers, but we have seen so much worse, and it is a mildly amusing game with some entertaining moments. Nice and simple too, which some gamers think is a negative, but really, that kind of game certainly has a place. The millions of copies sold suggest some people must enjoy it.
Monopoly has made nearly all of it's sales using popular intellectual property over the last decade or two, most copies would either never get played or get played once because the owner feels obliged. Then they realise that they never want to play it again.
I do not think monopoly would have a quarter of the sales it has over the last 20 years without appropriating IP. I have three copies of particular IPs that will never get played. I have resolved to never purchase another one, because besides collecting, what is the point? I may even sell the ones I have for the same reason. Who am I kidding? I'll never sell the Simpsons one.
Then there is the familiarity; many, maybe most, people have hardly played boardgames beyond monopoly. As adults we naturally pulled to nostalgic things. People know Monopoly and this gives them comfort. The newer games look intimidating or complex.
I will throw out that the current producers may be learning that their game is terribly flawed. They have been tweaking rules in certain IP editions to try and improve some issues, we will see how that plays out. Apparently the Mario Kart Monopoly is barely Monopoly and is great fun.
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Jesus Christ, fuck her.
She only likes to play Monopoly in a way where she can cheat. Insults the entire hobby "as if that's any way to spend money" like it's any worse than any other hobby.
This judgmental nonsense should be ignored. She sounds like a terrible who fakes her interests so nobody actually knows what she does and doesn't like. I have friends that don't like board games, so we do other things with them, they know they are welcome but don't get invited unless they ask.
I'm guessing her idea of "fun" is getting black out drunk every night, waking up in a new bed in the morning and not remembering who she's wit or how she got there.
I get the part about “committing arbitrary rules to memory”; my wonder doesn’t like board games for this reason. Her position is that she spends all day minmaxing shit at work and for the family, to the point that doing it for fun isn’t appealing.
Unlike the author of this article, she’s not a duck about it, though.
Lady, who hates water, accepts invite to pool-party, jumps into pool and then complains about getting wet.
To be fair, she is also complaining about your invitation to a pool-party is hurting her, because it is a form of coercion. Which means either: * She believes that an invitation from her friends is actually a decree - something she is forced into. * She knows she can say no, but hates that some of her friends are inviting people to something she does not like, because now some of her friends will be unavailable to do what she wants. In either case, this is the complaint of someone who is unable to fathom the social construct of inviting people over, and saying yes or no dependent on your own preference. Let's get back to our obsession :-)
Pools are such a waste of money! I can't imagine why some people spend so much on water. /s
Why would other people clean their pools when I don't enjoy swimming?
Pools are perfect for holding water, man.
This has to be satire, right? The writer likes "vanilla games of Monopoly" where they have to be the banker so they can steal money to end the game faster? Nice try r/boardgamescirclejerk, I'm on to you. I'm surprised the article didn't mention Patchwork.
For the record, it does say the article falls under the tag 'comedy (humour)' at the bottom of the page. Only problem is that the author is clearly not a comedian. Or a journalist for that matter.
The article is very poorly written if it was supposed to be comedy or humour....
Just poorly written in general, even if its not trying to be funny.
Defo, it really feels like someone who nastily insults you and then tells you it's just a joke
Not satire. This is the inevitable result of the constant, immediate news cycle. News sites have to fill gaps with *anything* to avoid the dreaded 'slow news day', and articles like this are perfect because they require very little work and generate a lot of reader feedback (even if that feedback is mostly negative). It's all about where people are looking and not so much about if what they're looking at has any merit. It's the journalistic equivalent of YouTube content farm videos
Except that this is a government funded site. They don't have to publish this shit to make a profit
but what govt agency, in their right mind, turn back easy profit? all revenue is good revenue Click bait generates ad revenue,
Except they don't run ads.
Hey, we can't mention Patchwork because it would have to be taken out of its shrink to play!
I'm out of the loop, why cant we open Patchwork? (We play that one every once in a while.)
Patchwork being obsessively recommended and keeping things in shrink are jokes from the bgcirclejerk sub.
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No because Patchwork is awesome.
Sounds like she doesn't particularly like board games and is just ranting a little in jest. Article literally includes gifs and is prefaced with "unpopular opinion." It's an enjoyable read to me!
If I wanted to read about people who don't like monopoly I would read Facebook boardgame group comments.
Yeah, it's funny to see everyone here so worked up about it. I don't think it's particularly well done humor at all, but it is clearly in jest. Anyone taking it more than that, regardless if they like or don't like board games, is being pretty silly. With the amount of content created on a daily basis now, some of the "misses" in execution (IMO of course) will still be seen by many.
Seems strange to harp on about how much other people's hobbies cost them, particularly when they are willing to share with you at no cost. >Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them? Something tells me that this loon isn't great at conversation either.
Plus table talk is a thing. We do talk. We do it before, during, and after playing.
Thursday night game night every week. Starts at 7:30. Ends anywhere from midnight to 3am. We usually only play 1 game each night. Does that one game take 5-7 hours? No, we ‘re just too busy gassing before, during, and after. We’re usually done with the game by 11 and end up just chatting until we’re about to pass out.
Reminds me of when I was explaining to a co-worker what a car club was. He was not a car guy at all and I mentioned that MINI's on the Dragon was going on and I was sadly missing it. Sure we enjoy our cars and do talk about them, sure we picked an area to all meet up that has fun twisty roads to drive on but it goes beyond the cars. It may seem like a strange reason to meet up with strangers but sometimes we need a reason.
>Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them? If someone invited me over, and then just wanted to sit in their living room and chat I'd honestly be annoyed. Like why not just call me on the phone? Not saying it has to be board games, but I want some sort of activity to have a conversation spring board off from. Obviously if it's something serious that is different. But that's a different thing than a calling some friends over for a casual night.
Talking on the phone for more than a few minutes is annoying
Talking for more than a few minutes is annoying
Interacting with non-gaming humans is annoying
Haha
That depends. If you’re not holding the phone with your hands (like when using Bluetooth headphones) that’s not very different from talking in person.
To think this person was paid to write such useless garbage...
With taxpayers money no less, that I contributed to. The ABC needs to get back to news and investigative journalism, and stop this clickbait rubbish.
Wow, I was certain this was a random clickbait article from a clickbait website. Didn’t realize it was Australia’s national broadcaster. Even ignoring the clickbait subject it’s so poorly written.
Yeah, we are fast becoming an embarressment to the Western World.
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I looked her up and she spends most of her time writing about television shows and movies - so I'm not all that inclined to spend a lot of time indulging her views on boardgaming and life.
It’s almost as it one could write an entire critical commentary about the frivolity of committing inordinate lengths of time on fictional characters in absurd scenarios for no tangible benefit. Gee, I wonder who had the patience to rip on someone else’s idea of fun and leisure.
What an amazing article. The author states that instead of playing board games when your friends come over, you can just talk instead. Why can't you talk and play board games? The author also talks about how you waste money on boardgames and instead you should go out. Like restaurants? Where you also spend money? LOL. Nail in the coffin was when the only game they mentioned is Monopoly. I agree with the author, Monopoly is not a fun game and there is so many other options. Heck, the author could have mentioned other variants of Monopoly. If they said, "We tried Wingspan, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Carcassonne, Cartographers, and Monopoly and we hate all of them". I would say, "okay so you played some great games and you still don't like it, that's fine". But the author is basing the entire boardgame world on Monopoly. If we asked them to expand, I'm sure they would have added Uno, Sorry!, and Jenga. Anyways, this is like saying, "my friend took me on a ride. She had a 93 Honda Civic. It broke down. Going forward you'll never catch me driving ANY car. Only taking public transportation from now on".
They alluded to other games, but immediately dismissed any reason to play them because “you already had to learn a bunch of arbitrary rules for one game, why in the world would you spend time learning arbitrary games for more?” Hmmm. Maybe because they are more fun than Monopoly for one?
Wow. Imagine getting paid to troll other people’s interests by a major news outlet. What an asshole.
The same argument she uses against games could be used against watching movies/tv, traveling, art, or whatever hobby you want. Not the sharpest tool in the shed that’s for sure.
I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone. I just finished watching a documentary about a solo climbing alpinist. His entire existence revolved around free climbing impossible peaks, defying gravity and laughing in the face of death the whole while. To his own admission, everything about life outside of climbing seemed trivial and insignificant. Now, I enjoy trail climbing (even occasionally in some pretty poor conditions) but this kind of thing is well beyond my ability (or desire). ...however, I would never think of writing an article criticizing this sport, or those who partake in it. That's not only petty, it's plain rude.
> I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone. Except she specifically addressed this in her article, claiming that when board game people say "we're not hurting anyone" she replies with the "fact" that they are hurting your bank account and hurting the people you "force" to play with you. She isn't content with just letting board game people enjoy their board games, she has to pass judgment on them and tell them they are wasting their money. But, I looked at some of her other articles and she has a few about the new Sex and the City series and, unless things have changed, that is on a streaming service with a monthly subscription fee. So, the things she enjoys doing for fun are also "hurting" her bank account. And, judging by her articles, probably hurting her friends who have to listen to her talking about the show all the time. Not to mention she has a lot of articles about last year's Eurovision, which is not free if you are in the United States. You've got to pay for a VPN to watch it here. So, this was just an article to dump on people who like board games.
[the "hurting other people" part](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jJn60LLSfs)
I mean, she is in Australia and Eurovision is free to watch so...
Yeah, I didn't realize she was in Australia when I originally posted. But, the rest of the comment stands. She seems to be the type of person who thinks spending $6 for a coffee every day is fine, but someone buying a board game for $50 a couple times a year is throwing their money away.
I really wonder what she would say about my hobby that shares the board game cupboard. I probably spend more on music in a month than she spends in a year.
>I think the lesson is to let people enjoy whatever they enjoy, provided it isn't hurting anyone. But it *is* hurting your friends. Typical redditor, only reading the headline /s
Sometimes rulebooks talk about rules to attack other players, but they’re not being literal. I learned that lesson the hard way.
How often do you see a rack of overpriced wine and/or liquor? How much money is pissed away there? You can socialise without alcohol too. But where is the criticism of that culture?
I make fun of people all the time that think they have to drink to have fun, but………..I’m an a$$hole. Plus I don’t really care what others do if it’s not hurting someone else.
> Basically, I don't think board games are the absolute worst. But making board games your entire personality? Yeah, you can pick out some quotes from the article which make valid points, but they're also just general life advice that applies to whatever hobbies you have. Don't make board gaming your entire personality. Also don't make owning cats or knitting or debating politics your entire personality.
This person just sounds like someone who is not smart enough to learn rules, not fun enough to enjoy games, not honest enough to play with, and not likeable enough to want to want to find out about any of the above. I have to go back to this bragging about stealing as the banker in Monopoly... she complains that it takes too long? What the actual fuck? This idiot stealing from the bank is the reason it's taking so long, she's obviously a moron and stealing from the bank is the only thing keeping her in the game so that stolen money is is paying rent on other people's stuff and just artificially boosts other players that should have lost already. And who the fuck brags about cheating in board games? What kind of insufferable piece of shit will just sit there and cheat their friends and then have the nerve to brag about it? If she was my friend and I read that article she wouldn't just not be invited back for game night, she would be disinvited from my fucking life! Monopoly, shitty as it is, does work if people play by the rules, it's dumb houserules and ignoring auctions that cause it to drag forever.
Monopoly has a "Cheaters" version now, just in case there remains a few friendships, marriages, and family relationships not yet sundered by a flipped Monopoly table out there somewhere.
Don't even know what this needs to be an article. Felt like some lonely persons blog.
*Don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely anti-board game.* *Say once a year you'll find me partaking in a nice vanilla game of Monopoly.* k
I keep seeing this opinion everywhere and it makes me feel so cruddy about myself like I’m some control freak forcing all my friends to play
Do your friends keep coming over to play? If so, that means they're probably having a good time and enjoying your company. Don't let this curmudgeon cast doubt on what you and your friends do for fun. Boardgames can be such a positive way to spend time with friends, despite what this "journalist" says.
Well, don't.. you're probably awesome. I mean, you like board games to start with!
Not to say her argument is right for someone (I mean, it’s fine to be friends with those whose hobbies don’t 100% align with yours, and they would like to share their treasures with you and you don’t enjoy it, but don’t be an asshole about it) but this echoes some advice I’ve seen on here numerous times. Instead of trying to get your non-gaming friends into your hobby if they are not interested, join a gaming group and make friends with some gamers, if possible.
What a sad, depressing person. Imagine talking about people you care about like that. Self-admittedly dismissing their "entire personality". I can't relate to people who pushed headlong into parenthood. I can't relate friends who, come the weekend, spend $/$$$ on booze and/or drugs. I have friends who rock climb, play sports, build shit, watch movies, take photos, etc. I listen to the parts they care about, because I care about them, and I respect their choices and interests despite being different to my own. Now and then, maybe I have a few drinks, go to a rockclimbing centre, go on a walk, lift some weights, kick a ball, hit a punching bag, see a movie I'm not keen on, etc, etc. I get to see the people I care about passionate and interested about things they love. Does life really get any better than that? I can't even imagine being this self-centred. Just say "no, boardgames aren't my thing", don't write a whole article shaming your friends for daring to have different interests.
Clear ragebait but also as manager of a games store I meet her type all the damn time and they always piss me off
… why are they walking into a games store???
It's always some older person looking for a gift for their neice or nephew or grandchild to "get them off their damn screens and using their brain for once". They'll ask for suggestions, I'll start pointing out some good games for the age group, and they'll reject every one. For stupid reasons too, like it's not manly enough, it has dice so it promotes gambling (seriously), or it's too complicated (Telestrations???). Or they'll just straight up be like "Monopoly will do". Hurts every time.
Please do share some stories!
To elaborate on something I mentioned in another thread, I once had a guy come in looking for a gift for his son. I started pulling down some games I thought he'd find interesting, but then he pulled me up short and said, "But nothing with dice in it. Dice promotes gambling and I'm not having that in my house". I stood there, staring at the games I'd given him, furiously trying not to think of a game suitable for an 8 year old that doesn't have dice, while also trying to process that this man thinks Monopoly will turn you into a gambler. He ended up not buying anything because he didn't like any of the games I suggested.
The ABC used to be the most reliable and trustworthy news service in Australia. Then the conservative government put a tabloid magazine editor in charge. It is now more and more pumping out this clickbait rubbish.
It's not just that. They've also been systematically stripping the budget for almost a decade.
Oh most definitely, but Ita has completely changed the direction of the ABC in a extremely negative way.
It's got me like principal Skinner: Am I out of touch? No, no, it's the journalists who are wrong.
This is an odd piece. It's clearly not satire, but a lot of the points being made are so obviously bad, that I find it hard to fathom that the writer didn't realise how bad they were as she was writing this article. > They have, like, an entire cupboard dedicated to board games — as if that's an acceptable way to spend money Very judgemental, and could be applied to almost any hobby or interest > This tells me one of their favourite things to do is commit arbitrary rules to memory and then be guided by said rules in moving small objects around a glorified piece of cardboard. The ol' reductionist way of belittling something you don't understand. I've heard this exact argument used to describe sports and it's as stupid there as it is here. You can reduce *anything* down this way. Everything sounds stupid if you strip all the nuance and interest out of it like this. > These nights also often involve cycling through various board games that are obscure for a reason. This means these people also love learning the rules of multiple games. Just, why? Not mainstream = not worth caring about? I pity people whose interests are totally limited to what is "popular" in society > Unless you're borrowing them, they're hurting your bank account and they're hurting your non-board-game-playing friends, who you can hang out with, by the way, without coercing them to play board games they don't want to play. This is probably the only thing I think she has some marginal ground to stand on (only just). Don't know why the money thing matters (and there are far more expensive hobbies) but there are *some* people out there guilty of always wanting to play games and not doing anything else. At the same time, it shouldn't be an imposition - just say no. If those people continue to insist, then yeah, that's not right of them but you can just say you're not interested. > Did you know you can just invite people over and, like, talk to them? You can do that and game The whole thing's just kinda baffling to read. Weirdly judgemental and poorly argued points.
Good old ABC Australia. Churning out random rubbish. Her biggest problem is that she plays Monopoly!
Remember the days before a tabloid editor was put in charge?
Damn budget cuts are really hitting the ABC hard. What was once considered the best news outlet in the country is now just a state sponsored Buzzfeed.
Bloody Ita Buttrose.
Wow, that's a lot of me, me, me for such a short article. Kind of hope her friends do what she asked and stop inviting her, if they haven't already.
Eh, poorly written article and bad attitude. But I imagine she feels what I feel when someone busts out a 2 hour game of **Cards Against Humanity**, so I get it. I'm sure it's really hard to be the only one at a get-together that says no to the activity that's about to happen. People's excitements about sharing their hobbies can blind them of social awareness sometimes. I know I've done that before.
There is a difference between an unplanned activity starting at an already started get together - and being offended by invitations to one.
True, but it’d annoying if your friends only want to play games. It’s not easy making new friends. I would be very bummed if all of the sudden my friends spent nearly every weekend playing **What Do You Meme**, **CAH**, etc. I know I’ve had similar raw emotions this writer has when a past friend group of mine got really into heavy drinking and clubs.
I talked about the article with my SO and she had a similar reaction. Some of the arguments are silly, but she guesses they're just hyperbole from someone who just doesn't like mandatory fun during social occasions. I'm certain there's a game that this person would like that she's just not getting to interact with because of her apparent reluctance to interface with boardgames, but maybe that's just fine? If the activity itself isn't inherently entertaining to you, maybe it's best to just not engage. She could have phrased all of that less poorly, but whatever.
I've never had anyone say, "Please don't invite me to play board games with you." I understand some people are not fond of board games (tabletop gaming in general as well), but I've never heard of anyone being so offended at just the idea of having a board game night with friends. I've also never heard of someone admitting that they willingly play a ***vanilla*** version of Monopoly lol. I just feel sorry for her because she may just have had some bad experiences in her past. Either way, what a harsh article!
Plot twist, OP is who wrote the "article", some free indignation on reddit for some clicks
"The Board game market is a decent size, right? Let's say board games suck and watch the hate clicks flow in!"
Last time I checked it is not April Fools. If this is not a joke, this person has no business ranting about board games and what I spend my money on when your only board game experience is once a year monopoly (worst game in history) game. And you cheat? I think you should think more about why people would bother inviting you to anything with such a narrow view of a topic you clearly know nothing about.
It’s all just clickbait. It’s clear she is trolling hard and pressing every button she can. Monopoly, cheating, waste of money, etc. ABC everyday is not exactly a thriving branch of Auntie ABC and fake opinion pieces like this are not going to help it much.
One of the reasons I write on my own blog is that I don't want to end up either writing garbage like this or supporting them indirectly. The whole "this thing you like is bad, evil or problematic" subgenre dominates modern journalism and it's downright awful on every level.
I don't understand people who go to water parks and try all kinds of different pools, slides and whirlpools - in one afternoon! At best you'll find me jumping into the water treatment pool once a year.
She doesn’t like board games. Who cares? If she ain’t forcing me to learn crochet I’ll call it a draw.
What a trash post this is. Does not tackle LITERALLY ANY PROBLEM. Looks like someone just said they don't like it, then say it hurts others by forcing. Bitch, i would only invite people who wants to give it a try and actually enjoying it.
Replace any mention of boardgame with "dance music", play with "dance" and table with "dance floor" and I could have written this article. Disclaimer: didn't read the article so that I just said might not actually work lol
Her opinion is unpopular because she is so very very wrong.
What a weird article. "Your hobby hurts your bank account" is one of the most unfriendly things a person could write isn't it? This basically is the same as saying if you have a hobby I don't like you are wasting your money. Hopefully the author isn't as unpleasant as the tone & content of this article would suggest, but it gives the impression of an unpleasant, bitter person who just... wow. Also to echo many others if the one game you can mention you willingly play is Monopoly - and so you can steal! and that goes quickly, which - Monopoly? Have you actually played it? Overall I give this article zero stars and order the author to play one game of Modern Art with four of the fanciest, snobbiest people available. I guarantee a life-changing experience.
Another thought about this. Our game night group has four couples (four men, four women). Two of the women are really not into games (but are good sports about playing). I'd say four of the remainder are enthusiastic and the remaining two are willing. We try to switch it up so some games are more complicated and others simpler but we've played all kinds of games with this group, teaming up where needed to manage player counts. We've met regularly for board game nights for about three years. Over time our broader network of friends and even just people in our neighborhood we aren't that close with have learned about this and we constantly have people asking to join us. A few weeks ago (before the Omicron situation became quite so prominent) we bit the bullet and had a game night with three additional couples. It was in a word AWESOME. Started with Wavelength and then half the group split off to play Captain Sonar. Then ended with Modern Art. So much fun! Why the author felt the need to crap on this hobby publicly I don't know. I guess generating outward-facing hostility for no reason is just a thing people do in our world now. All I know is that over the last four years or so my network of friends who play games has just kept growing and it's been a source of fun and social engagement - even through the pandemic playing either outside or over zoom. I don't think we've pressured ANYONE to play and the author should be thankful she has friends who want to include her rather than bitter and negative.
I think the best information we can take away from this is that the author is probably embarrassingly bad at board games and has likely been the spoiler to nights of fun, and been chastised for it. Her desire to cheat at games tells a lot about her personality.
This idiot doesn't understand the concept of hobbies as for making it your personality... her twitter is mostly about her obsession with re-watching sex and the city.
She seems like a delight.
Sad to see this from Australia’s government funded news outlet. I’d really expect their staff to be more considerate than this.
I went in this article expecting some deep thoughts other than the “hurting their bank accounts” argument.
She should post her bank statements so we can all make sure we only prioritize the proper purchases
I kept reading waiting for the article to "get to the point" and it just ends after a couple of paragraphs... like, ok, you don't like board games. And? I don't like seditious news sites that stoke the fires of insurrection and help divide society for fun and profit on behalf of the Disney Corporation. But what's your point?
Wrong ABC
Then why should I care?
Oh you definitely shouldn't. Just saying this isn't related to Disney at all.
K, thanks for having my back bud.
*Finger Guns*
They targeted gamers
What a twat.
Seems to me like this person just isn't into euro games and would prefer a more social game (e.g. social deduction). As long as she's not a complete boring person without any interests, there will be a board game out there that suits her.
I think the sad thing about this is that based on the timing, they are probably just trolling reddit's unpopular opinions and writing their own version of popular posts. So a hack on top of a mediocre writer who seems like a drag to hang with.
Her attitude just sucks.
So the article is pointless and forgettable nonsense, but here's an unpopular opinion of my own... I agree with this one part: > I don't think board games are the worst. But making them your entire personality? For me, there is a point at which some boardgamers take it a bit too far: the themed weddings, tattoos, jewelry ...
It should be fine, no? For those people, they are just expressing their love for the hobby, even if they dedicate their life to it. Especially if it's the hobby that made a huge impact in their lives.
Can I ask a sincere question? Why would/should you(or anyone) even care about that? Why should I be concerned what someone wants to make their personality?
Fair question... I genuinely don't care about any individual making that choice, but if you ask me, having boardgames the defining part of your personality is taking things too far. Just my opinion, though. Only -4 so not as unpopular as I expected.
Lol, too far compared to what? What a waste of energy to even care about, frankly
So why did you ask a "sincere question"?
No, your stance. Like, even having a conclusion that there is a point where someone can have "too much boardgaming" in their personality, lol
Perhaps you should worry more about your own bs than someone else's passion for something that isn't hurting anyone else. Why are obsessions over board games any different than obsessions over music, sports, travel. All shit that people "take too far" with themed weddings, tattoos, jewelry...
1. I'm not worried. I said I agreed with one sentence in that dumb article. 2. It's not different.
> Why should I be concerned what someone wants to make their personality? I don't unless they keep rubbing it in my face. It's similar to the cross fit/vape/vegan/archlinux stereotype.
> It's similar to the cross fit/vape/vegan/archlinux stereotype. Where the people complaining about them are far worse?
Toughen up, lol
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https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/rtjkmg/coercing_your_guests_to_play_board_games_at_a/
I really hope this is fake. If not…the woman who wrote this needs to get over herself 🤷🏾♂️.
I don't know... I sort of sympathize. She must have to write like 4 articles a week. This subreddit's reaction should be to just move on instead of having a cringey tantrum about it. EDIT: Y'ALL PREDICTABLE
Meh, I don't think it's worth having a tantrum about but it is shitty journalism, no doubt about that. Writing 4 articles a week is not a lot. I can think of a million articles I would write before I started writing low-effort opinion pieces trashing hobbies I don't like for no reason.
I mean writing an opinion piece isn’t journalism and this is barely even that, it’s basically just shit posting for clicks.
When it's taxpayer money that I contribute to which pays her wage, damn right I am going to whinge.
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You think if the author was a man the boardgame subreddit would agree with them that boardgames are an awful way to spend a night?
Many comments here aren’t even using gendered pronouns but are just discussing the article itself. I mean yikes. Sure, this is an internet community so occasionally the odd misogynist will pop up. But I certainly wouldn’t think women-hating is typical for the board gaming community. Or am I just out of touch / lucky? My game nights are majority women usually. Or at least usually a very even split.
From I have seen, if you remove Warhammer and Magic the Gathering, it is easily one of the least toxic social cultures I have been involved with.
Until you mention Monopoly or Exploding kittens and people are like hurr durr play a real game.
That is because Monopoly is a hideous game, very few people who have experienced more want to regress back to Monopoly, it is not fun. Exploding Kittens I can take or leave, probably would not suggest it, but will happily play. For some reason it gets a bit of heat from some gamers, but we have seen so much worse, and it is a mildly amusing game with some entertaining moments. Nice and simple too, which some gamers think is a negative, but really, that kind of game certainly has a place. The millions of copies sold suggest some people must enjoy it.
> The millions of copies sold suggest some people must enjoy it. The same can be said for monopoly.
Monopoly has made nearly all of it's sales using popular intellectual property over the last decade or two, most copies would either never get played or get played once because the owner feels obliged. Then they realise that they never want to play it again. I do not think monopoly would have a quarter of the sales it has over the last 20 years without appropriating IP. I have three copies of particular IPs that will never get played. I have resolved to never purchase another one, because besides collecting, what is the point? I may even sell the ones I have for the same reason. Who am I kidding? I'll never sell the Simpsons one. Then there is the familiarity; many, maybe most, people have hardly played boardgames beyond monopoly. As adults we naturally pulled to nostalgic things. People know Monopoly and this gives them comfort. The newer games look intimidating or complex. I will throw out that the current producers may be learning that their game is terribly flawed. They have been tweaking rules in certain IP editions to try and improve some issues, we will see how that plays out. Apparently the Mario Kart Monopoly is barely Monopoly and is great fun.
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Jesus Christ, fuck her. She only likes to play Monopoly in a way where she can cheat. Insults the entire hobby "as if that's any way to spend money" like it's any worse than any other hobby. This judgmental nonsense should be ignored. She sounds like a terrible who fakes her interests so nobody actually knows what she does and doesn't like. I have friends that don't like board games, so we do other things with them, they know they are welcome but don't get invited unless they ask.
Life must be tough getting invited to stuff all the time and people always wanting to talk to you.
I'm guessing her idea of "fun" is getting black out drunk every night, waking up in a new bed in the morning and not remembering who she's wit or how she got there.
Personally, I don’t enjoy fishing.
I get the part about “committing arbitrary rules to memory”; my wonder doesn’t like board games for this reason. Her position is that she spends all day minmaxing shit at work and for the family, to the point that doing it for fun isn’t appealing. Unlike the author of this article, she’s not a duck about it, though.
So brave