Dealing With Annoyances

[SotF]

Was playing at the local store earlier. The night is also the weekly board game night the shop sponsors which had most of the in store tables taken up, leaving four of the 16 tables open for other gaming. One of those was taken by someone running a D&D game, one by someone playing the Axis & Allies minis game, and one taken by a group playing Magic.

A friend of mine and I set up the last for a game since he rarely has matching time when I can play as well so we were taking advantage of it. And the store has a monthly tourney system where you can earn points in games scattered about the month with different values for various victory conditions that add up.

We started the game when a couple of the 40k players show up. They tend to be the more obnoxious brats who pop up, with an end result of most of the more calm players tend to have abandoned any of the organized play for it the shop has due to restrictions on limiting certain players from games.

They start throwing a fit.

First that there wasn't an empty table available, then when the guy in charge of the event points out that there were open tables if they got their earlier, or if they wanted a few of the games had open slots.

That didn't go over well, they wanted to play 40K and started sulking.

They decide to glare at my friend and I for a while, until he goes to get a drink from the shop. That leads to them attempting to start stripping the table because "my opponent abandoned the game" which led to my friend yelling at them for a bit.

Then they called the manager over and started ranting about how our game shouldn't be allowed anyway because both of us weren't using all GW models and how that was apparently cheating. The manager tries to get them to shut up, any model is permitted due to it being a store sponsored tournament, and even if it wasn't part of one nothing says other models aren't allowed in a warhammer game other than GW's official stuff.

They grunt and back off for a bit. Then the duo walk off to go get food, leaving the shop to the nearby diner during which time our game winds down and the Axis & Allies players leave and are replaced by another group of warhammer players who showed up, leaving my friend and I each with a new opponent.

Then the brats come back, and explode that they were there first and how dare we take the tables when they were out of the store without any indication that they were even planning on coming back.

The only reason that they haven't been banned from the shop is that they tend to deal primarily with themselves and tend to buy a lot of stuff. They are known to blatantly cheat, they whine and create issues, and tend to just create trouble.

Now I'm just aggravated because the night ended up ruined, the brats got away with more of their usual, and they're just going to do it again the next time they don't get their way.

Has anyone else had problems with that sort of gamer?

 

[Jagged_Dragon]

Problems like that usually don't exist for me as most brats dont like to annoy very large very angry looking canadians.

 

[SotF]

Problems like that usually don't exist for me as most brats dont like to annoy very large very angry looking canadians.

Unfortunately at least one of them has both parents as lawyers, and tend to be the high school tough guys anyway.

The lawyer part came out when someone else organized a 40K tournament and kicked them out for using loaded dice. Parents tried to bully the organizer to ignore their cheating and let him continue despite the fact that he had also been called on messing with his list during the tournament and also on taking far more points (While listing the items as less) than was allowed.

But pretty much anytime a new 40k army gets released, the shop gets several hundred bucks worth of sales with smaller ones in between.

 

[Jagged_Dragon]

If they're really that bad and the organizers/store peoples wont do anything then play elsewhere?


Or just eat one of their models.

 

[maxtoreador]

That's one of the nice things about our shop, dedicated tables for everything. The wargame tables are HUGE, 9 4x6 spaces with 2 4x12 generic tables for overflow. the RP'rs have 2 picnic style tables off in their own little corners, Magic have their own stretch of tables, even the staff have a table if they want a game of something.

 

[SotF]

That's one of the nice things about our shop, dedicated tables for everything. The wargame tables are HUGE, 9 4x6 spaces with 2 4x12 generic tables for overflow. the RP'rs have 2 picnic style tables off in their own little corners, Magic have their own stretch of tables, even the staff have a table if they want a game of something.

Most of the time, the tables are dedicated. It's when there's events or similar that they end up being redistributed to fit the event and leave the remainder as general purpose. Normally, it's Saturday mornings (When there's the tournaments for various specific games) and Wednesday evenings (When it's board/card game night) with Saturday afternoons sometimes being shifted to it if there's a planned event.

There are 16 tables used for gaming, with several painting desks on the main floor that are sometimes arranged with another table placed on top for a far larger one that ends up being used for more display and promo games.

 

[Abbysal]

They do sound like complete and utter dicks, but I have to say that the underlining factor here seems to be communication. Did you apologize for there not being any free tables? Offer to leave your table to them once you are finished? Ask them if they are coming back when they left for food?

Why are Hammer and 40K players different? It's games that need a board.

I do agree about the Host not asserting himself though, why not have stricter rules as in first come first serve and no stacking games thereby making you stop after your original game and freeing up a table?

 

[SotF]

They do sound like complete and utter dicks, but I have to say that the underlining factor here seems to be communication. Did you apologize for there not being any free tables? Offer to leave your table to them once you are finished? Ask them if they are coming back when they left for food?

Why are Hammer and 40K players different? It's games that need a board.

I do agree about the Host not asserting himself though, why not have stricter rules as in first come first serve and no stacking games thereby making you stop after your original game and freeing up a table?

The major reason why 40k players in the store end up being segregated is because a lot of them tend to be in the same crowd as the pests. A lot of us still play, but the shop organized events for 40K are pretty much avoided by most of the gamers because of the brats creating issues both by attitude and the fact that they have tended to cheat whenever they want to and making most of us avoid dealing with them whenever we can.

The only reason I started a second game is because they walked off and out of the store, it's only after they came back an hour later and after getting in the middle of the second game that they showed up again, and the second game was with a different opponent who showed up while they were gone.

They didn't even mention that they were leaving, the tables are in a downstairs room set up for gaming while the entrance is on the main floor, they weren't in the building when we stopped for drinks and neither were their cases.

 

[Count Darvaleth]

First, I would try and find out if anybody else at the store has trouble with these two individuals. Try to be subtle about it or they'll try and pick a bone for some bullshit reason.

After, I would tell the manager in charge of the store that you are finding it very difficult to enjoy yourself whilst these two are making such an awful racket. Try and communicate your displeasure as calmly as possible, and explain that others share your sentiments and that you will not frequent the store as often, if it all, if these two are going to behave like they have been. Hopefully the guy will try and sort them out properly.

 

[Santawraith]

We had a similar issue for a while at our store eventually they were asked to not come back. I play both 40k and fantasy, I use other models in both and have never had a issue with it.

Time will fix the issue it is annoying and aggravating, But eventually everyone tires of people like them. Keep your head cool and bid your time. Though it is possible you can share your displeasure with the store owner.

Another even more mean thing to do is organize the tables being full for a few weeks Sweet sweet revenge?

 

[Sanai]

Over here in Australia I have rarely experienced any troubles in gaming clubs/stores, everyone seems to get along pretty well, kids and adults alike. Sure, the younger kids seem to mostly play orks and just push big piles of plastic boys in a huge heap across the table, but they are generally reasonably well behaved. Maybe its a cultural thing.