by Bruce Gray -Casual Encounters
If you are anything like me you have fond memories of the Original Super Nintendo. What a classic gem that was! It was easy to play, had cheesy graphics, terrible music…and some truly iconic games of the video gaming era. I still maintain that Super Mario Brothers 3 was by far and away the best video game ever made as it found a healthy balance between challenging levels and fun interactions. You are free to disagree, but SNES was and will forever be an amazing way to play video games.
However, since the days of the SNES things have changed. Gaming is no longer a thing for children. No, it is full on adults at play who game…and game lots. Now, I have no problem with gaming and I’m in fact quite glad that people still enjoy these products. I think everyone deserves some time to relax and wind down and if sitting down and playing at your favorite game console does it for you, then by all means enjoy it. No, the issue is that some people take it to excess…but that happens with EVERYTHING. Moderation is grand, but excess is problematic.
In the 20 years or more since the SNES was all the gaming rage something has happened. Yes, it is no longer for kids…but it has also exploded into the mainstream as a 100% legitimate form of entertainment. That’s actually very remarkable to have seen this societal trend to allow something like video games into the realm of the totally acceptable forms of diversion. No longer do you need to hide your console, tuck away your controllers, and stuff those games in that sock drawer…no, they are all displayed neatly, but with a high degree of prominence in a TV room. My, how things have changed.
What does playing video games have to do with playing Magic you ask? Quite simply this. If gaming can move from the shadows of societies acceptable activities to being a totally legitimate acceptable form of diversion, why is it that Magic players still been a degree of shame for THEIR diversion? Oh, you don’t believe me that Magic players feel shame? Ask around a local high school, college or place of employment and see if anyone openly admits to actually playing Magic. The answer is likely no…but if you pry a little deeper, you might be surprised to see who actually plays or has played in the past. However, without fail most of these people admit to such things discreetly because they don’t want other people to know about their “dirty little secret”.
First off, there is nothing dirty about playing Magic, and frankly, being the father of a young child, I would rather see my child play Magic instead of taking up video games. Why you ask? Here’s why. I am a teacher by trade and routinely overhear my students talking about their latest video game exploits. My students range in age from 7 to 10 years old and yet they are discussing matters such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, or Assassins Creed. I am not one to critique the parenting choices of some families, but I know that personally I am not a fan of letting my young child see shooting, killing and the generally more risqué material of these games until they are older. No, I would rather have my son play with cards and use his imagination to try and visualize the sequence of events rather than blowing up a car full of zombies in the latest video game. The distinction may be minor to some, but to me the lack of actual violence and relying on fantasy and adventure to spark the imagination of my son seems far more appealing to me than any video game I have seen.
Now, there are some people who don’t like the idea of fantasy and adventure that can be found in Magic, and I totally understand that point of view. It is difficult to believe that in a world far away that dragons, vampires, and other creatures roam the wilds and occasionally do battle with each other. That can be a stretch for the old grey matter for sure. However, in the next breath hundreds of millions of people attended the Lord of The Rings trilogy, Harry Potter is among the most celebrated young adolescent book series ever, and Bella, Jacob, and Edward won international acclaim for their books and movies. No, people are prepared and generally able to accept that such things exist, or at least willing to suspend their disbelief long enough to enjoy such things. A little imagination never hurt anyone.
Then there are people out there in society that don’t much care for card games. They find games like Bridge, Rummy, and Euchre difficult to understand, hard to play, and largely boring. These are also the same people who love to play Poker…not for the cards, but for the gamesmanship and the thrill of betting. However, let me remind you, playing cards in an age old social activity that gathers people together to enjoy in a mutual experience. Whether you play card games like Bridge or Euchre or Magic you are continuing that age old tradition of meeting with friends and playing a game to relax. At its core Magic is simply that. It is a social convention used to relax. To those who want to play for the thrill and gamesmanship, all that is built in to Magic already WITHOUT the huge gambling issue. Besides, many of the top players in Magic are also top Poker players and not without coincidence.
As you can see, there is no good reason for anyone trying to disguise their interest in playing Magic, and in fact it is a healthy and perfectly acceptable form of diversion and mental relaxation. It has subject material that can be perfectly acceptable for a younger audience, slides into a segment of society that is already hotly sought after if recent movie releases are any indication, and can genuinely allow for an honest social experience with friends as you share a common interest. Of course, moderation is the key for most of us. Very few players will ever achieve the status of Luis Scott Vargas, Brian Kibler, or Patrick Chapin who are among the most recognizable names and faces on the Pro Tour, and that is just fine. We can still enjoy our interest and past time without and enjoy the benefits afforded from the game so long as we don’t let the game become bigger than it ought to be.
Currently it is estimated that there are roughly 12 million people who play Magic worldwide. My first impression was “wow…that seems very high!”. But then I stopped and thought about it. That’s actually far lower than to really ought to be. If video gaming can somehow have hundreds of millions of players worldwide, and movies like the Hobbit can have several hundreds of millions of people pay to come and watch it, and Poker can somehow manage to find primetime on ESPN and the like, then surely Magic can carve out a larger niche. I wager that there are actually more than 12 million players, but there are a certain number that don’t like to admit to what they perceive is a Stigma attached to playing Magic. Others quit years ago for fear of that same Stigma. However, my point today is that stigma, whether it is real or just perceived, should not actually be something we worry about as Magic players. We occupy the same space as video games, movies, and poker…all of which are perfectly acceptable activities…and by consequence Magic is just as acceptable.
Am I suggesting that you go and make a banner claiming for all to see that “I PLAY MAGIC!”? No, but there is no good reason why the average person should feel any shame or stigma attached to their hobby of choice, namely playing Magic. I bet that many of you reading this have already come to grips with this, but there are players out there…somewhere…that miss out on the experience, the enjoyment, and the diversion of playing Magic. There are potential players who don’t ever crack a pack because they are worried what “others” are going to think of them . There are casual playgroups that fall apart for lack of players simply because we don’t know that they are out there…despite the fact that they may be around the corner or live in the house next door. This is why the Stigma needs to be something that the players who are already tied to the community should be working to dispel. You are no less of a student, employee, mother, father, friend, or anything else in society because you opt to play Magic as a diversion. That stigma needs to go…and once it does we will all be much better off for it.
Well, there we have it. If you have your own thoughts on the “stigma” of playing Magic, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe I’m way of base. Perhaps the Stigma is even larger than I perceived. Whatever the case, I’d be happy to hear what you have to say. Shoot me a tweet and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks for reading again this week…and remember keep it fun, keep it safe…keep it casual.
Bruce Gray
Usually I sit down to write about cards, or decks, or other fun parts of Magic. However every once in a while I experience something that I can only describe as being “wrong” and it sets me off. So, today I’m going to take that rant and run with it. This past weekend my brother and his roommate went off to the Local Game Shop to play in a Sunday afternoon draft. Their experience can only be described as being “suboptimal” and not because they made mistakes, but because other players very seriously overstepped the bounds of what is acceptable conduct. Let me explain.
My brother sent me a message saying that the player he was facing in round 1 of the draft had spent most of the actual drafting process gloating about how he and his friend were going to meet in the finals because everyone else at the draft table were “noobs”. My brother bit his tongue, and sat down and played the guy. Throughout the entire match the same sorts of comments continued to come out my brother’s opponent to the point where my brother was very annoyed. In the end my brother, the “noob”, mopped the floor with this other guy and sent him off to pout.
Now, the first point here is that you can never underestimate your opponent, regardless of format, and to assume that you will be in the finals because you are facing less experienced players is a grave error. You simply can’t assume to be familiar with the playing background of the players around you just because you don’t recognize them as local regulars. In the case of my brother, who is a doctor and spends extensive amounts of time at local area hospitals, he doesn’t get an opportunity to play at the store very often, but he’s hardly inexperienced. He plays plenty of Magic online, drafts with me and my friends regularly enough, and has been playing Magic on and off again since he was 12 years old. He’s no “noob” and to assume that he is a “noob” is asking for a humbling experience. That lesson extends from your local FNM to the highest level events. Magic is a terrific game and with any series of games almost anyone can win. Yes, experience helps, but you can’t assume you will win. You need to still play the games and play to the best of your abilities or else you will end up getting beaten more often than not.
Next, while you may be the more experienced player and you may have the superior deck, it still doesn’t give you license to gloat about how you win almost every match. Let’s remind people why we play Magic. Yes, it’s fun to win, but at its core people enjoy the experience of PLAYING regardless of whether they win or lose. We, as a community of Magic players, should be looking to make that experience as positive as possible for everyone. This doesn’t mean you need to try and prop up the guy who finishes last at your FNM, or drafts junk at side event of a PTQ just so he doesn’t feel bad. However, what it does mean is that you at least need to be courteous to the other players at the event and allow them to have as much fun as they can. In my career as a teacher, we repeatedly talk to the students about treating others the way they would like to be treated, and this same lesson applies here. In the my brother’s experience this other player could only be described as a jerk and in my personal opinion got what he deserved when he got wiped all over the table. However, any player shouldn’t have to put up with a guy boasting like that and spoiling the fun of others.
Thirdly, what IF you are playing an inexperienced player? My brother could handle himself just fine, but I’ve been to enough drafts where there are players that are drafting for the first time. They make poor card selections, play things incorrectly, and generally aren’t real sure of what to do and when. I feel like it is the job of more experienced players to try and help these newer players learn how to improve their skills. All it takes is a moment to stop play and explain what a card does, or suggest that they target the real problem on the board because they may have misidentified or misunderstood what is happening. However, when players boast and gloat about their relative abilities and prospects of winning, I find it difficult to believe that in the next breath they will be willing to sit down and help a newer player to learn. We want to encourage more people to enjoy the game, and that means having them come out to play at different events, but by acting in a way that intimidates or spoils their experience then we end up further discouraging players and turning players off of our great game. That really isn’t optimal for the long term health of Magic.
Now, by no means am I trying to paint all Magic players with the same brush. My experiences have been exactly the opposite of what my brother witnessed and for that I am thankful. Many of the players I have played with when I venture to the Local Game Shop have been very friendly and willing to answer questions, give a quiet tip here or there, and just generally be sociable. I can think of numerous examples of very helpful opponents who have gone out of their way to help me and I can only try to repay the favor. Some players aren’t overly sociable and willing to talk about cards, or lines of play, or really anything, but at least they are usually courteous. We play our game, somebody wins and somebody loses, and we both move on with life. I can live with that and really expect nothing more from my opponent.
If you can live up to that simple expectation then you too play the game with what I can simply term “class”, and really that is all I can ask. Some players play with more class than others, and that’s fine. The issue becomes when players have forgotten that their opponent has taken time out of their busy life to try and play a little Magic and have some fun, and they opt instead to be play the game without any class and act like a jerk.
What can we really do about it? Well, nothing. I can’t give anyone the moral high ground to walk around their favorite game shops and be the “class” police. However, what we can do is to sit back, be somewhat reflective, and think about how we treat other players when we head out to the shop to play. I’m not saying to quash genuine emotion, or to make the game cold and calculating, but I am asking players to come to the table and play in such a way as to treat your opponents with the respect they are due. It seems like such common sense and easy to do, but a wiser man than I once said “common sense isn’t all that common”. How true, indeed.
So, when you head out to your Local Game Shop for FNM, a pre-release, or casually with your friends in a basement, remember you never know who you’re playing against, so consider how you would like to be treated and then play your game of Magic with all the class you can muster. Your opponent deserves at least that much.
Ok…rant over.
Thanks very much, and until next time keep it fun, keep it safe…keep it casual.
Bruce Gray
