Tom Vasel:  Optimist no more?

I certainly have a reputation for writing positive reviews, and I must confess that I do have a bright outlook on games.  A few years ago, someone mentioned to me that I would eventually become jaded and a curmudgeon about games, and not be so overly enthusiastic about new releases.  Well, I’ve played over 1100 different games now, and written almost half that many reviews, and I was surprised to see a post by someone that I had grown a bit more curmudgeonly and was more jaded.

Hmmm.

So I looked both words up at www.dictionary.com

Curmudgeon - a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

Ouch!  I hope that I’m not any of those qualities, and can only assume that the word has been used in a comparison way with how bright and cheerful I seem to some.

Jaded - dulled or satiated by overindulgence

Now this one I understand more, and indeed is the crux of my blog today.  Does playing more and more games make one more “jadedâ€?, or less easily impressed by new releases?
The initial answer probably is yes.  I’m finding that more and more I compare games to each other in reviews.  Do we really need another area control game?  Why buy this game when you already own (whatever)?

Sometimes this is quite true.  Really, there is no need to buy some smaller games that are inferior to other current games on the market.  And with the wealth of experience that comes from playing many games, it’s hard not to compare them to each other (especially in your own mind).

But I think that there are some reasons to be a little less curmudgeonly when it comes to reviewing games.  First of all, everyone is going to have a different opinion of a game, and just because I don’t enjoy it very much, others may be enthralled by it.  There are some games (CCPP) that I think no one will like, but even then someone – somewhere will enjoy the game.  All I can do in a review is to state my opinion, and who I think might like the game (if any).

Also, even though I come to a game with more experience than many, I have to remember that for some people – this may be the only type of this game that they’ll ever play.  Sure, I think that Memoir ’44 is tremendously better than BattleCry, but what if the player is a Civil War buff?  In every game (with a few horrible exceptions), there is a kernel of fun that someone is going to find and enjoy.

I think that Duel of Ages is The Greatest Game Ever Designed.  However, I’m not such a fool that I think that everyone is going to like it; my wife could care less – and would rather play Ticket to Ride any day.  In fact, she would rather play Rook, a game I rather despise.  But rather than sneer at her for her gaming likes and dislikes, I need to realize that she and I have somewhat differing tastes in gaming.

This was brought into sharp focus for me when a new couple to gaming came over.  After I introduced them to Ticket to Ride (natch!) and a couple other games, they asked if they could teach me a trick-taking game – a great one, they assured me.  So I broke out a Rage deck and removed the extra cards, and they started teaching us the game.  I can’t remember the name of the game, but it was basically Rage, without any of the special cards, and a few minor rules.  Immediately, I started telling them about Rage, and how well it worked – and how there were many other trick-taking games out there.  Halfway through my pontifications, I suddenly realized that I was simply being a pretentious jerk, the kind I’m always preaching against.  I immediately was ready to show them something “betterâ€?, giving them the impression that I was smarter than they.

Now, you know and I know that I probably DO know more about games, and probably DO know a better game.  But for me to rub that in their faces or be arrogant about it was simply stupid.  Much better for me to play and enjoy their game, and then nicely show them some of my collection.  I must actively seek to not become jaded or a curmudgeon.

Because I really do enjoy playing games.  There are plenty of other people who can hang onto their world weary, jaded images.  I prefer to be the optimist, it’s more fun!

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games�
www.tomvasel.com

P.S.  Being an optimist does not mean I am not going to write a negative review, as some seem to think. 

© 2006 Tom Vasel

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Comments:

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I can see where your enthusiasm comes from, and I’m quite surprised that you can actually take a step backward and see that you’re being a ‘pretentious jerk’. For that, bravo! But it’s ok to be like that once awhile, because, it’s just your enthusiatic side showing off. Posted by Heng Aik Yong on Sep 11, 2006 at 06:05 AM | #

As I get older I’ve become more aware of the same thing (finding myself taking away someone else’s joy by describing something “better").  I’m sort of hoping I’m becoming better at being aware of my faux pas rather than having them be actually more frequent.  (Of course, as you say, not every game is perfect for everyone, and what you think might be a better game may not actually be for that couple… particularly since they don’t know the rules for it yet.  Many people dislike learning new games and thus would get more enjoyment out of an “inferior” game since they already know the rules.) Being an optimist does not mean one writes a negative review, however I do think it means one tries to find the good parts of every game.  Perhaps there aren’t many there, and if it is slim pickings to find the good parts, then the game just isn’t that good.  Along those lines, I’d put down that I see you becoming slightly more jaded (less optmistic by my definition) in your reviews lately but that could also be colored by a streak of lesser quality games being reviewed. Posted by Matt J. Carlson on Sep 11, 2006 at 08:40 AM | #

"Do we really need another area control game?” Amen!! Posted by Phil Schwarzmann on Sep 12, 2006 at 01:54 AM | #

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