Hi all, I know this issue has sort of been touched upon before but I thought it might be cool if we could make it competitive .

So the other day I was in GW and had just finished a very satisfying 4 games. As I was packing up and getting ready to go home I started to talk to the guy next to me and the conversation quickly went to an Eldar army I was starting. I discovered that he was a veteran Eldar player. I asked him for a few simple tips and he then went into a 1 hour monologue discussing Eldar math hammer which one; I did not understand and two; related to warhammer 3rd edition and three; showed him as the most cheesiest player I have ever encountered. One hour of him telling me about every game he has ever played and how in each game his luck was very bad and his opponent un-sporting but his list brought him through.

So as I am fairly new to playing warhammer - I just realised that I had my first encounter with “that guy” and I am just glad that I meet him outside of a game.

So I thought I would get you guys to talk about your encounters with “that guy” and see who has had the worst encounter with said guy.

Hmm... I don't know if you'd count this as much "one-upmanship", as I would have probably gifted that man with a swift kick to the sternum, but here's my latest:

I went up to the shop and was immediately pressured to play a game, as there was somebody who wanted see what the "sport" was all about. I had my own marines present, and was asked to split them 50/50 with another gent in the shop. I declined, as I consider it bad ju-ju to pit my own armies against themselves, not to mention how confusing it would be to removed casualties etc.
So, the guy that i'm playing against (he's a veteran. The noob is just watching) dives into the store's lockers and returns with 4 cases filled with the manager's old SM army. Like your story, it came down to list making.
My list was a balanced, fair list, featuring weapons and squads that showcase what the marine army and game rules are all about.

This guy's army? This guy's army is using the NEW codex to build the min-maxed list from hell (combat squads), with DSing Terminators, Dread, and Assault Marines. The game was pretty much ended by turn 3.

The worst part is that I had to keep a smiling face, so that the kid thought that the game was an enjoyable experience. That's what got me the most: I wasn't able to chastise this guy at all. That, and the fact that he ALWAYS uses Tournament-Grade lists even when he says he'll take it easy.

You can be gracious by looking at your watch and telling him, "thanks for all of the tips, I'd love to stay and talk with you longer, but I have to pick up my kids by X:00 [insert excuse here]. Would you mind if I bounce some ideas off of you later, as I work on my army list?"

That way, you have an external excuse to go, but have stroked his ego by telling him you would have loved to stay and chat, but someone else is making you leave.

ooo a bad one... yeah so to my post, i walk into a GW and within 5 seconds i am having a converstion with a young v.enthusiastic guy i talked with him about the new dark elf corsair models and was shown one, (v nice i love the cloaks) after that i thanked him and drifted over to the Waarhammer section with the conversation definitly ended, while glancing at a slann mage priest i heard a voice behind me " aha so you are a Lizardmen player eh?" i confirmed this and was immediately challenged to a match i only had 1 hour before i had to head home and explained this to him but he would let the subject go, i finally agreed and we started playing, i did well as he only got an MV but we had finished 10 minutes too late. I realised this and as i turned to go was accosted by him again inquiring whether i wanted a painting lesson as he couldnt help but notice that my models looked terrible... :freaked-out:no-one calls my painting terrible. i told the man that i was proud of my efforts and wasn't trying to win a golden demon but as i again turned to go he offered me the lesson again, i explained that i was late and with my army case in my hand turned to go, halfway through the door i heard the mans voice in my ear, "are you sure? Do you know how to drybrush?" ignoring this final comment i walked out of the shop and havent been back since. i use my other local one, does anyone have any tips on how to shake off an extremely annoying and determined warhammer fanatic?!?

Tell them you only use the models for playing Dungeons and Dragons.

That tends to work for me :)

I am ''that guy''!

No, kidding... if i was i think id kill myself :P But i have met a few of them in my time... unfortunately.

I think this applies to most areas of life, some folks really have only one point of conversation whether it’s GW, football, politics, whatever, eventually you want to reach for the gun and it’s only a toss up between whether you do them or yourself.

Generally I make my excuses and walk away, or avoid the “obvious” ones. I don’t know there seems to be an aura given off by your hard core warhammer fanatic. I was actually stopped in the toilet of Warhammer World once by some bloke who saw me buying IG stuff, I was actually at the urinal and he wanted to talk about IG! Needless to say I was off like a shot. I’m not George Michael, strange men in bogs isn’t my thing.

The staff you expect to drone on about 40K or FB because it’s their job and they genuinely are enthusiastic. Some are alright, some you want to slap, one chap didn’t speak to you if you didn’t play his particular army.

First time bringing my army to the local game-shop to play a game with my roomate (I was fielding my crons) a man approaches me and notes my use of the "old" immortals. Goes on about how he started necrons pre-codex. Then asks me where my Monolith is. I tell him I don't have one as they are expensive. He snorts and says "Necrons can't win without a monolith." Also there's a kid there who's been playing a tourney style tau list for the 5 months he's played and talks trash like I just couldn't believe. Fortunately the staff and other patrons are cool enough that I feel safe going back.

Phoenix you are too "that guy." don't lie to us.

You just sound like a young little unapreciative rude kid....

I went to a local gaming store (not GW) seeking a 1750 40k game. "That guy" approached me and asked what I was playing. I said Chaos, and he then said "oh I play chaos too" and I was like "cool, close combat bloodbath time". He thenasked if it was ok to proxy most of his army. I was like whatever i just wanted to play.
He then puts down two commisars and says they are slanesh sorcerers with LOS. He deploys two squads of guardsmen and says they are 1k sons. then 2 very large squads of loyalist marines and says the are raptors with mark of khorne and flamers
I got pretty wiped that game, as his army was about as meq-killy as you can get but what really got me was that every time he lashed, he would put his own grubby paws all over my models without asking. After the game we got into a (very short) conversation about where to get food. He very snootily informed me that he wouldnt go to jack in the box he only ever ate at McDonalds :loser:

I tend to just explain to them that I am not interested in playing their way. I don't play 40k at all which might help matters as where I play most people who are fantasy players tend to be more normal, reasonable people.
Having said that my friends had the misfortune to play a chap at this years fantasy doubles who was pretty close to being "that guy." They were playing with brets and wood elves, a very competitive mix and against an empire/high husband/wife elf team. Apparently the wife was cool about everything but he was a real pain - measuring things for my friends, talking about how his build was mathematically very competitive, picking up their models without asking, wandering off when it wasn't his turn etc.
At the end of the game when tallying VP's he actually demanded to see their army list because he couldn't believe how much he had lost by.
I know tournaments are competitive but really, if you get beaten you should own up to a good game by your opponent and shake hands. This guy just stormed off.

You just sound like a young little unapreciative rude kid....

If you're kidding about that, then it's pretty funny, but you should make that clear, so we can all have a laugh instead of merely wondering.

If you're not kidding... yeah, we'll need to have a chat.

I was actually stopped in the toilet of Warhammer World once by some bloke who saw me buying IG stuff, I was actually at the urinal and he wanted to talk about IG!

Wow anyone can get annoying but that's just plain creepy.

Ah, "that guy"... Well I just wanted to inject some positive vibes into this thread by saying that not all people who play harsh armies have a matching personality. The resident cheesy-beards at my FLGS are actually really nice people who just happen to play really evil lists, but are otherwise pretty much normal. Really pleasant to play against. I've also gone to tournaments where I got absolutely battered (there was this one Necron player...) but afterwards we just laughed it off and they didn't fault me for bringing a less-than-competitive army to a tournament, just as long as I realised I was probably going to lose. So, all hope is not lost, there are many people out there who are just naturally competitive but still know how to have fun in the spirit of the hobby.

Ditto.

So, all hope is not lost, there are many people out there who are just naturally competitive but still know how to have fun in the spirit of the hobby.

I second that, sure there are jerks who play this game (check whine&bitchseer if you want to chat to one of them) but thats like all other hobbies and intrests. Can you imagine what hard core train spotters are like? So like everything we have to take the good with the bad. But don't let one or two of them guys put you off the hobby.

- Boomer.

Oh agreed that largely warhammer players are decent, agreeable people. The point of this thread is not to say ALL gamers are overzealous fanatics. It's just sharing experiences with people we thought were a little over-the top.

I think it's such a shame when people get so uptight and obnoxious about what could, and should, be a pleasant hobby experience for anyone involved. My friend played his Neccies in a Chelmsford Games Workshop for a while, and more or less everyone there was simply downright rude; the sort who are overvbearingly anal about the slightest rule, win really badly, lose even more badly - essentially just BO-ridden prats devoid of any personality or sense of social interaction. What gets me is that they pervade the image a lot of people hold about the game, which gives it a bad name, when more often than not it's nice to have a hobby you can share with people.

It happened when the aforementioned friend was in the aforementioned store with his brother. The brother commented that they should make a 40k flick, and someone within earshot went on a huge monologue about how they'd be unable to simulate the effects of bolter rounds exploding underneath ork flesh. That was it.

Gah, I hate "that guy." I was down GW Portsmouth once, at teh start of the Medusa V campaign, and I had a full battle company with me, and there was a mega battle happening. I got to field my full company for the first time ever. I had awesome fun, but this was when I was still fairly new at 40K and didn't know all the rules/what various weapons did. After the mega game, an older guy challenges me to a 2000pt game. I agree, and proceed to write up a list. I told him I was still a 40K newb and he said "Ok, that's fine." He then proceeded to trounce me soundly, and when ever I questioned a dice roll because I was confused/whatever, he looked at me like I was from a different planet. By the middle of turn 3, he had blatantly won. We shook hands, but I was a bit bummed about being beaten by that much.

As he was packing his stuff away, I heard him say that he hated playing people who didn't play tournaments. I was a bit "Wtf, mate?"

Gah, I hate "that guy."

We shook hands, but I was a bit bummed about being beaten by that much.

As he was packing his stuff away, I heard him say that he hated playing people who didn't play tournaments. I was a bit "Wtf, mate?"

Don't hate him... pity him.

You will be, but shrug it off... means nothing, and it doesn't make you a bad player in any sense.

As i said, pity... people like that will find opponents amongst their own type, i.e only at big tourneys, but they will never have a good game, or one they enjoy, and will lose friendly gamers fast.

Quite right. Playing with grace and humility is one of the greatest traits a hobbyist can have. You may lose the battle, but you win at life :)

I've been playing 40K a lot more recently, and I've become a fairly acomplished player. Now when I play, I will play to the best of my ability, but most of my opponents are about the same level as me, so I don't win by miles. If I do, its awesome, if not, that's still awesome, because it'll be a fun game. Grace and Humility are the Watchwords of any good player :act-up:

Gah, I hate "that guy." I was down GW Portsmouth once, at teh start of the Medusa V campaign, and I had a full battle company with me, and there was a mega battle happening. I got to field my full company for the first time ever. I had awesome fun, but this was when I was still fairly new at 40K and didn't know all the rules/what various weapons did. After the mega game, an older guy challenges me to a 2000pt game. I agree, and proceed to write up a list. I told him I was still a 40K newb and he said "Ok, that's fine." He then proceeded to trounce me soundly, and when ever I questioned a dice roll because I was confused/whatever, he looked at me like I was from a different planet. By the middle of turn 3, he had blatantly won. We shook hands, but I was a bit bummed about being beaten by that much.

As he was packing his stuff away, I heard him say that he hated playing people who didn't play tournaments. I was a bit "Wtf, mate?"

Ive been in that situation when i first started playing warhammer - hated it

myself and a few veterans in the store we frequent (ok two of us and one staff member) who have a personal gripe against power gamers have seen this before. So what do we do we go over onto the newbs side (unlike some people we still realise that we were all new to the game once) and tell him how to do it, which unit is best for doing this that and the other. Oh and also step up and challenge the powergamers dice rolls including getthim to slow down his dice rolls so we can all see and he doesnt "accidently" pick up a two when hes hitting on threes. Seems to help the game stay a lot more even and fun. If "that guy" is like that ask one of the other gamers (preferably an older one no offence to the younger guys) if thier in the store to help you. Most are only to happy to

After reading this stuff, I guess- at times- I can almost be "that guy".

I alway try to make very competetive lists. If there is something that I can do to win, I'm going to make sure that it's done. I don't cheat- I'm not WAAC, but I will admit that I am very competetive. I have a capacity for being mean- and sometimes is shows against the types of people that you've listed: those who proxy a whole army, those who talk too much smack, or those who are so socially inept that I want to get away from table without capitulating.

I follow 3 rituals though that keep people friendly, and always have them coming back for more:

1- always maintain friendly banter over the table. Talk about anything; weekend plans, sports, news, cars, it doesn't have to be related to the game. Just pick a mutual interest you have.

2- always shake hands after the game, and tell them they did a good job. High School sports teams still do it, and it's just reassuring that although you lost, you're still liked. Call it winning with humility, or whatever you want.

3- if you value the opponent, and they seem a little down and out, you might be able to help. If it was a close game, chalk it up to luck for the benefit. I actually did this in a campaign, and told the guy that I felt so bad for his bad luck, that I'd forget we ever fought that battle and promised him another go some other time. Or, if they seem open to it, give them a sandwich (praise, criticism, praise). Tell them something good that they did, help them with ONE bad thing that they did, and then tell them something good that they did.
"Moving that devastator squad up to get an overwatch was really good, but you should have used Run to get that squad out of the line of fire, instead of just going to ground. I understand why you kept them there, and it was good thinking trying to save your general like that, I thought I wasn't going to be able to get him".

Argh, I just played two games against a rather boisterous version of "that guy".

My current situation is that I'm in the process of 'getting back into 40k' after taking about a 6 year reprieve, so I haven't had the time or to "read and master" any codices other then my own.

After walking in my FLGS in a vain attempt to find any 'olde IG blisters' we strike up a brief conversation on how I'm "that Guard guy" who had an epic friendly battle some days before with an Orc player and we decide to attempt a 2v2 team game. His Grey Knights & another fellows smurfs, vs my IG and rather young player with an Eldar army that kept wandering off whenever it wasn't his turn.

Each time my turn comes up and I manage to roll surprisingly good 'flashlight' hits against "that guy" Gk's he flips out even though I rarely get the 5+ required to wound his Gk's and he rarely fails his 2+ save.

But this pales in comparison to when my Bassie drops 'direct hit' ordinance on his HQ about three consecutive times, with my ratlings picking off any survivors with those nice 6's on the wound roll. This guy flips, accuses me of having 'rigged scatterdice' (despite the fact that my nade lauchers haven't even been landing within the playing area for about the whole game), and then threatens to walk away from the game, which is hilarious since it's about turn 5 and most of his stuff is dead aside from some hero of his with a 4+ invuln save and maybe one or two of his retinue.

His teammate, who at this point is as about as sick of him as I am, basically tells him that the game is over despite whatever he does with his surviving Grey Knights since they aren't really holding any objectives with troop choices, "that guy" responds with some sort of "WTF I AM WINNING, my hero super-sekret-supreme-lord-deathknight the XLV has taken the objective", and then proceeds to argue with his team mate on how his HQ unit has somehow taken an objective.

The game pretty much ended right there, that Eldar kid and the Smurf player had somehow managed to destroy each other completely and about 3/4 of my guard are huddled in an objective building trying to kill three GK's with lasguns, GL's and a bassie.


The next day I was drafted into another team 40k game that was promising to be very fun until "that guy" 'invited his way' into the tournament content to avenge his GK's against my pretty default IG army (which one reason why I'm planning on requesting list help after this post).

This time things are a little different as his team mate is a very experienced 40k player who actually calls him out on his wrongdoings and unsportsmanlike behavior. My guard get slightly less lucky this time with rolling those 5's to wound, and he gets very 'lucky' I suppose with his 2 armor saves.

Each time my Ratlings drop a GK he still 'flips' and when my Bassie drops another 'direct hit' on his HQ that takes out half the squad he goes on a tirade for about 5 minutes on how I should 'properly declare my ordinance template targets' and then proceeds to try to remove casualties that aren't beneath the template some four times as his very experienced and proper teammate chastises him for it and makes him remove the correct casualties.

He finally close assaults my IG line and as predicted wipes out most of the troops with flamers and HTH combat.

He declares that he has 'taken my objective' with his HQ choice and then pitches a complete b-fit the next turn when that bassie that he has been ignoring all game wipes out the remainder of his HQ squad even though I let him reroll a 'cocked 4+ invul save roll' (by his loose definition of the term cocked). However the fates chose to reward his asshattery with a 1.

To shorten this long story/rant/whatever you have it, my team legitimately lost that game due to "that guy's" teammate having an excellent and highly mobile play strategy to sweep most objectives on the entire play area. "That guy" was however holding one objective point (the one he put in front of himself) with the remainder of his inquisitorial storm troopers.

However the highlight of this game was two moments when "that guy" kept shouting at my teammate 'WHATS YOUR TOUGHNESS VALUE" across the table because myself and his teammate were attempting to finish an assault from last turn, and the model that he was trying to wound was in fact a Space Marine, yes apparently "that guy" didn't remember the SM statline despite having them within his own forces.

Another gem was when he told me that I needed to "get a codex" despite the fact that I had the codex 'weapons of the imperium' table open all game....

I think I'll finally learn my lesson and better attempt to excuse myself from playing any games with "that guy" again.

ouch sounds like a mega froob. Oh well, just ignore him and play against other people who are good mannered and fun to verse. + Grats on the win.

Argh, I just played two games against a rather boisterous version of "that guy".

My current situation is that I'm in the process of 'getting back into 40k' after taking about a 6 year reprieve, so I haven't had the time or to "read and master" any codices other then my own.

After walking in my FLGS in a vain attempt to find any 'olde IG blisters' we strike up a brief conversation on how I'm "that Guard guy" who had an epic friendly battle some days before with an Orc player and we decide to attempt a 2v2 team game. His Grey Knights & another fellows smurfs, vs my IG and rather young player with an Eldar army that kept wandering off whenever it wasn't his turn.

Each time my turn comes up and I manage to roll surprisingly good 'flashlight' hits against "that guy" Gk's he flips out even though I rarely get the 5+ required to wound his Gk's and he rarely fails his 2+ save.

But this pales in comparison to when my Bassie drops 'direct hit' ordinance on his HQ about three consecutive times, with my ratlings picking off any survivors with those nice 6's on the wound roll. This guy flips, accuses me of having 'rigged scatterdice' (despite the fact that my nade lauchers haven't even been landing within the playing area for about the whole game), and then threatens to walk away from the game, which is hilarious since it's about turn 5 and most of his stuff is dead aside from some hero of his with a 4+ invuln save and maybe one or two of his retinue.

His teammate, who at this point is as about as sick of him as I am, basically tells him that the game is over despite whatever he does with his surviving Grey Knights since they aren't really holding any objectives with troop choices, "that guy" responds with some sort of "WTF I AM WINNING, my hero super-sekret-supreme-lord-deathknight the XLV has taken the objective", and then proceeds to argue with his team mate on how his HQ unit has somehow taken an objective.

The game pretty much ended right there, that Eldar kid and the Smurf player had somehow managed to destroy each other completely and about 3/4 of my guard are huddled in an objective building trying to kill three GK's with lasguns, GL's and a bassie.


The next day I was drafted into another team 40k game that was promising to be very fun until "that guy" 'invited his way' into the tournament content to avenge his GK's against my pretty default IG army (which one reason why I'm planning on requesting list help after this post).

This time things are a little different as his team mate is a very experienced 40k player who actually calls him out on his wrongdoings and unsportsmanlike behavior. My guard get slightly less lucky this time with rolling those 5's to wound, and he gets very 'lucky' I suppose with his 2 armor saves.

Each time my Ratlings drop a GK he still 'flips' and when my Bassie drops another 'direct hit' on his HQ that takes out half the squad he goes on a tirade for about 5 minutes on how I should 'properly declare my ordinance template targets' and then proceeds to try to remove casualties that aren't beneath the template some four times as his very experienced and proper teammate chastises him for it and makes him remove the correct casualties.

He finally close assaults my IG line and as predicted wipes out most of the troops with flamers and HTH combat.

He declares that he has 'taken my objective' with his HQ choice and then pitches a complete b-fit the next turn when that bassie that he has been ignoring all game wipes out the remainder of his HQ squad even though I let him reroll a 'cocked 4+ invul save roll' (by his loose definition of the term cocked). However the fates chose to reward his asshattery with a 1.

To shorten this long story/rant/whatever you have it, my team legitimately lost that game due to "that guy's" teammate having an excellent and highly mobile play strategy to sweep most objectives on the entire play area. "That guy" was however holding one objective point (the one he put in front of himself) with the remainder of his inquisitorial storm troopers.

However the highlight of this game was two moments when "that guy" kept shouting at my teammate 'WHATS YOUR TOUGHNESS VALUE" across the table because myself and his teammate were attempting to finish an assault from last turn, and the model that he was trying to wound was in fact a Space Marine, yes apparently "that guy" didn't remember the SM statline despite having them within his own forces.

Another gem was when he told me that I needed to "get a codex" despite the fact that I had the codex 'weapons of the imperium' table open all game....

I think I'll finally learn my lesson and better attempt to excuse myself from playing any games with "that guy" again.

If anyone wants to dispute this, don't, I was there and know the guy personally. It's...funny and sad at the same time...

-K

Eeesh. 'That Guy' is very annoying.

I can be kinda guilty of that-guying sometimes..but thats because I tend to get overly enthusiastic about EVERYTHING. Wanna talk about Guard? I'm all over it. Wanna talk about Tau? I'm fine. Wanna talk about 'Nids? I'm game. Wanna talk about aircraft engine theory and problems? Bring it on!
Aside from that, sometimes I seem that way by showing off my stuff because I like to find out what people think. How can I improve? How can I make a better piece? Is my conversion even worth it? Etc...I just like to know what people think.

But I've run into "That Guy" as well....had this one Eldar player...
His painting was outstanding. Truly amazing. Even if it was a pain to play versus his army, it was still a delight from all the details and beauty of the pieces. But he had a habit of being kinda snobbish about it all sometimes. When he was looking at my very first tank (the Iron Brick (http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm233/ZeeWulfSN/brick2.jpg)) he was commenting on all the excess baggage outside it making it so ugly....
As he was doing so, one of the other players, former US Army, and Armored (Tanks) at that, came over and said "WOW! That looks like our tanks! Thats awesome!"

The guy just kinda wandered off.

If anyone wants to dispute this, don't, I was there and know the guy personally. It's...funny and sad at the same time...

-K

I was a tad dubious, but yeah, fair enough lol.

Hmm.. drop some hints next time for you see him for ths guy to check LO ;)

ah, a long time ago i had a team battle with two of 'those guys', one on each team. as you can imagine, the game slowed to a complete halt. They were only kids and kind of nooby, but they were so, so, so annoying. Disputing everything anyone ever did. my ally moved his tyranids insane distances over the 6", and they both got so pissy whenever something went against them. Once, my necron warriors got asaulted and were utterly screwed, my ally's nids decided not to help and just wander past into a firing lane. Then, when said squad miraculously won, he wanted it to help his tyranids in close combat!

I don't remember the details, just the awful frustration of the endless arguments.


And someone else with eldar, not really bad, but always got rules wrong, and when proven wrong said "yeah, fine, doesn't bother me." that got really annoying, but was a great game anyway.

We've all got a bit of that competitive streak in us. I don't know a single person alive who doesn't want to win sometimes. But reading through this thread got me thinking again - I get really annoyed with myself and basically kick myself for the smallest tactical errors, and do some pretty harsh things sometimes, and then sometimes when I ask people whether they had fun they tend to give me these non-committal answers and start evading the question. Sometimes. The problem is, when it's such a deeply ingrained part of your personality it's very hard to change. Does anyone have any tips to prevent people from turning into "that guy"?

NRabbit!? Not you toooo.... :( Dont let it take you! lol.

Erm, ill try and think of some useful tips, check back here for an edit! :) Or ill just make a new post so you can actually see it...

There was this guy at an old gaming store that has since gone out of business. He played Tyranids and it was a very competitive list, very fast and excellent in close combat, usually overran everything by turn 3 or so. The worst part about it though was the dice rolls. He stopped and explained everything in excruciating detail even though he knew I had been playing the game for several years at that point. Then, the worst part, he was convinved that there was a "sweet spot" on the board on which he rolled his dice. Even if current model placement made it incredible akward to roll them there, he did it anyway, actually managed to knock one of his carnifex's onto the ground while doing this at one point and the thing just shattered. I felt bad for the guy but at the same time I was thinking that that was exactly what he deserved.

I went to the local game store, and someone asked me to play a game of 40k. I told him I played Tyranid, and used a hybrid (non-"zilla") but min-maxed and power gaming list. That's just what suits the models I have and the playstyle I pursue.

He said no problem, wanted to play anyway, then spent the entire game talking about how cheesy my army was and what an annoying power gamer I was. I was even making a point of playing "back," since his list was not super "cheesed."

That was my first experience with "that guy." I can't stand people who hold it against others that they choose to play the game a certain way. Let folks have fun with the game however they please, and don't play with them if you don't like how they do it.


My OTHER experience with "that guy" was a kid who didn't like my "unbeatable nid list" (which it isn't, and it has lost games), so he spent the entire game rolling ONE DICE AT A TIME.

what a jackass he rolled one die at a time.

Does anyone have any tips to prevent people from turning into "that guy"?

Electroshock treatment. I'll get the car battery.

We've all got a bit of that competitive streak in us. I don't know a single person alive who doesn't want to win sometimes. But reading through this thread got me thinking again - I get really annoyed with myself and basically kick myself for the smallest tactical errors, and do some pretty harsh things sometimes, and then sometimes when I ask people whether they had fun they tend to give me these non-committal answers and start evading the question. Sometimes. The problem is, when it's such a deeply ingrained part of your personality it's very hard to change. Does anyone have any tips to prevent people from turning into "that guy"?

My lesson on this comes not from 40k, but from Axis & Allies, that great Parker Brothers (I think, or was it Milton Bradley?) board game that simulated WWII. In college, long before I discovered 40k, I had this friend/roommate who was a die-hard fan of warfare, tactics, tacticians, etc. He read books about everybody from Rommel to Patton, Alexander the Great to Robert E. Lee, which is no mean feat considering he was dyslexic. He knew it all, and he was intimately familiar with the rules of the game, having played for years. He even adapted it to a new release of the rules by building and painting a whole new board to play on.

We'd have that set up for days at a time (no time, with classes and all, to play a full game all at once) on our kitchen table, taking an hour or two here and there to blaze away at each other.

Now, I won't bore you all with details of how this game works, but it's one of those deals where a six-turn game is, in reality, usually over by turn 4. If X has happened, the Axis are going to win. If Y, then the Allies will win. Long story, and I won't go into it here, but tactically speaking it's pretty much academic to play out the remaining turns, which can take a few hours, depending on efficiency of play (i.e., veteran players take less time, natch).

Now, when I first started playing, I was, as you can imagine, a little discouraged by this, especially since my friend (through no fault of his own--he was merely a better player than me. That's all) sufficiently whupped me that by turn 4 in many of those first games I knew I was in for a couple hours of witnessing him taking what was left of my forces apart, piece by piece, with nothing I could do about it.

I didn't take it well. It wasn't my opponent -- he was a consummate gentleman, who had fun playing, but NEVER rubbed his win in my face. He was a true sportsman, and I respected him for it. No, I just had a LOT of trouble dealing with the frustration.

One day, I FINALLY managed to stay alive until turn 4, when he, playing the Axis this time, knew he was finished.

Rather than grumble, rant and rave like I usually did, he pulled back all his forces into Japan (the farthest place from any of my lines) and began using his "building" phase (those who play this game will know what I mean) to create literally STACKS of infantry, empty transports in the Sea of Japan, pretty much as much cannon fodder as possible, cocooning himself and lying in wait as I rampaged across the rest of his virtually undefended territory.

That march to Japan took about 15 minutes. The final battle felt like it took more than two hours. I sent wave after wave after wave after wave of men, planes, tanks, boats, you name it from the U.S., Russia, and Great Britain at him. After about the fifth wave of assault, seeing him still garrisoning an impossible amount of infantry, he and I were both just laughing at the sheer stupidity of it. He knew he was going to lose. He knew it at turn 4. He didn't CARE, because it wasn't about winning or losing. He was determined to have FUN, even when losing, by taking as much of my stuff with him as he went down.

I beat him, all right, but it took forever, and we laughed for most of it, and he never, not once, got bitter or sore over it. I've never sweated over losing a game, either of A&A, 40k or anything else, ever again. I owe him for that.

End of lesson, and the point should be pretty obvious.

My encounters with "that guy"? Well, there's this one guy who's incredibly anal about his lists, reinforces the rules with an iron fist, quibbles over the slightest rule breaking/bending endlessly, and wanders over to other peopls' tables to backseat play ("Here, why don't you move your missile launcher.. HERE?" "Why didn't you just engage his Landraider in combat instead of trying to shoot it with your Battle Cannon?") when it's not his turn-

...

Oh wait hahaha that was me.

Okay, seriously -_- I've been to commit the sin of that guy'ing, though that was back when I started and I was some know-it-all teenager. Been a while, done all that, ashamed of it. *hangs head in shame*

I find I tend to enjoy my games a lot more nowadays after a 3 year break from the game, and coming back to an all new edition of the rules and codices. I mean tournament play is all good and fun, heck I love making balanced, themed lists and a bit of light fluff to go along with it, though I find I much prefer casual games where there isn't as much asshattery and elitism happening. I'm a patient guy, and can deal with newbies and people who move their models 3" beyond their normal movement, but I always politely point out their mistake if it's obvious they're new players, not just some ass being sloppy with the rules. *sighs* What I really hate are the people who seem only to have left a portion of their attention to the game at hand, and wander off to watch or chat with other people when it's not their turn. -______-*

As for tips on "that guy" syndrome prevention? Have a handy friend on standby to tell you you're being an asshat, or vice versa. -_- I find this is the easiest, and simplest though hardly subtle way of dealing with it.

In short, "shut up, get over here and leave that poor kid alone." ( *^^)9

Haha david, was this at ringwood because there are a few like that there.

I dislike it when you ask about a unit and they give you an in-depth analysis of their abilities, their stats and of course their fluff and listing 40 different ways it can be used, and then it turns into a conversation about another piece of their army.

Or when the younger kids almost throw a party everytime one of their marines punches through that thick, impenatrable ork armor but you can almost hear the tears as you pull out 60 dice to roll attacks with.

I dislike it when you ask about a unit and they give you an in-depth analysis of their abilities, their stats and of course their fluff and listing 40 different ways it can be used, and then it turns into a conversation about another piece of their army.


That's not so bad, I think. If it's something I'm not familiar with, then I don't mind learning about the fluff in addition to the abilities. Fluff is half the fun. Maybe not the 40 different ways to use them (because I feel like.. 90% of those different ways (36 of 'em) are usually obvious).

You guys just need to remember that most people into things like this (table-top war games) are socially awkward and aren't so well adjusted. Some people just have a hard time carrying on a normal conversation... so, don't judge so harshly.

That being said, it is kind of annoying.

i was playing a game against this guy at a shop. He had nids and loads of genestealers i had a very fast eldar list. He asked me if i minded if he took notes during the match for a magazine he was writing. I cautiously said no. When his unit of 20 genestealers charged my jetbikes he rolled one genestealer a time and then took note of what happened in his book. That one combat took a ridiculously long time and after turn 5 he said he had to go. I was amazed, but kinda happy as he would have wasted the rest of the day.

When your there you just have to pity them , just be pleased your not them!

That's not so bad, I think. If it's something I'm not familiar with, then I don't mind learning about the fluff in addition to the abilities. Fluff is half the fun. Maybe not the 40 different ways to use them (because I feel like.. 90% of those different ways (36 of 'em) are usually obvious).
.

when it gets to the point where hes spouting numbers at me, which I'm not good at then I normally have to interrupt and say "I don't know what that means"

yes omgitsduane it was at Ringwood

I'm sorta that guy. I don't try to be, but I seem to act like I know more then I do (and people probably realize that but don't say anything) and I tend to have a lot of power gamer tendencies and am usually a sore loser unless it was a close game, though all of this is unintentional (and I really do try to change it- I try to use overly cheesey armies even if I like that army a lot, and I try not to be an ass about the rules). I also tend to get overly enthusiastic about anything I'm interested in, ask too many questions, etc.

I try to make a point to shake hands, say good game, and ask the other person if they had fun, and say I had fun in a game even if I didn't (due to getting completely smoked) because I know that usually it lessens a person's fun if the other person said it wasn't fun for them. So I'm that guy, but I'm trying not to be.

Learning points:

1: Bringing multiples of models people find cheesey is seen as cheesey, regardless of if the builds are optimised or not. Ex: Taking 3 fexes in 1K pts, one as sniper, one as combo, one as ninja. On the other hand, that guy could have just had a bad game cause I essentially neutralised his uber falcon and killed half his dire avengers when I got the first turn (this was 4rth ed rules). I like carnifexes- them and warriors are my two favorite kinds of nids and I like to be a lot of both of them to any game I play. However, many people still see multiple fexes as cheese even if you try to neuter them first and take a lot of so-called weaker choices (like the warriors I love to take). So should I use multiple fexes and be called a power gamer or leave some of my favorite models at home? Both are sub-optimal options...

2: People with actual power lists (or semi-power lists) seem to take joy in defeating "the guy" even if "the guy" doesn't mean to be "the guy"- or at least thats what I got from personal experience (ex: the d00d that stomped my list of 3 units of 3 warriors, 3 fexes, 2 units of stealers, 2 ravenors, and some gaunts with his 2 uber inq units with plasma cannons, max HB, and some doods to make his shoot better in a high tower he placed on his side of the board, his land raider crusaider, and his nice maxed unit of GK terminators and Grand Master in said crusaider who were essentially untouchable due to the kind of list I took, and a large unit of GK- he seemed pretty proud of killing my army within 3 or 4 turns despite the fact that I was working from what was origionally a 1K point lists with a couple extra spines, stealers, warriors, and ravs and having to use a lot of extra upgrades to make up points simply because I was using 3 fexes and he could pick and choose from his 2K points army. This is a bit of my sore loser-ness and a bit of my going against a rock army when I was using scissors- he'd have needed really really bad rolling in order to have lost with his terminators which may or may not have actually been too big to have fit in the Land Raider Crusaider).

3. This is something I've been thinking myself- tell "the guy" that he's being an asshole if he really is. I don't know about other "the guy"s, but I don't like being an asshole. I like to think I'm a nice person and I try to be one. If someone told me I was being a jerk or a rules lawyer then I would think of what I was doing and try to improve apon it. Maybe I'm just weird as far as "the guy" goes, but telling me that I'm being too overly enthusiastic or if I'm annoying you or whatever will generally hurt me less then me continueing would annoy you- and I might thank you for pointing that out in addition to that.

Edit: This post really doesn't make much sense... but lets see if people can get the gist of what I'm trying to say anyway.

what really got me was that every time he lashed, he would put his own grubby paws all over my models without asking.:

That's against the rules of the store in most places. Around here (NJ) anyway. Don't touch other people's stuff without permission.

I don't mind all that much if someone touches my models, as long as its not something that I've scratchbuilt and I know it will fall apart if its picked up or put down wrong. Or if that person has just given me a bad feeling.

I don't mind all that much if someone touches my models, as long as its not something that I've scratchbuilt and I know it will fall apart if its picked up or put down wrong. Or if that person has just given me a bad feeling.

I've always thought it was patently rude to pick up somebody's models without asking, under any circumstances, especially finished/painted stuff. I always ask if somebody minds before touching ANYTHING.

Back on topic, I think avoiding becoming "that guy" comes down to, as I said before, remembering that it's only a game, and also it's about good old-fashioned good manners, which for most people I think is common sense, even those of us who are deemed "socially awkward." No, we're not all mind readers, but if someone's having a miserable playing experience, you usually don't need to ask. It'll be written all over their face, and if they WERE miserable and you couldn't see it, either they've got a GREAT poker face, or you weren't paying attention. Just try to remember that you're not playing a computer -- it's another human being across the table, and before dancing, gloating, or pumping your fist in the air with an enthusiastic "YES!" you might want to consider -- would you want your opponent doing that in your face, even if he WAS beating the snot out of you?

Make sure you remember that, and you'll be fine. You might even win some sportsmanship awards.

I love 'That Guy', he makes me laugh and feel smug and superior. Then again he probably pities me because I dont know the codeci (codexes?) off by heart, and occassionally have to check on the wound tables as I dont know them off by heart either, so its win win.

I wonder if we have any lurking on LO? Im sure we do, but then again I feel that one of the superior things about LO compared to *other* forums is the lack of complete goits here.

I think this applies to most areas of life, some folks really have only one point of conversation whether it’s GW, football, politics, whatever, eventually you want to reach for the gun and it’s only a toss up between whether you do them or yourself.


This is also very true, the ones I dislike are people that assume because I'm a guy, I live for cars and football, I dislike with a passion the idea of racing cars around a track for hours on end and I don't care how much horsepower or torque or CC or kilowatts it has or how fast it can hit 60... I just don't care. Seriously.

David I can't imagine any Eldar players there at Ringwood besides the one that works there... Maybe I should come up sometime in the future for support and some chaos :)