TJ's guide to attending a game night

Okay, so Mark & Brian have showed you how to host your own game night.  What if you don’t have a good place to host, or no games?  Or maybe you have no friends and your entire social calendar is based around “When’s the next game night?” (We know who you are).  Here’s a guide to attending a game night that’s sure to make you the #1 guest, and if you’re lucky, you may even get invited back to the next game night!

First of all, RSVP.  It helps the host out when they know more or less who’s going to be there.  If you weren’t invited but you “heard” about the game night (i.e. you hacked into someone else’s facebook account to see what they were up to, and noticed there was a game night) contact the host first.  Sure some people might be cool with just anyone showing up, but sometimes only certain people are invited because there’s a specific game that’s going to be played, or because you’re a bigger buzzkill than Buzz Killington.  The same goes if you want to bring someone along.  Unless the invite says “bring your friends, bring your enemies, bring your mom!” just get a quick okay from the host before you show up at the door with that smelly hobo you just threw a 5-spot so you could show up at the ball with a date.

Before you even set out for game night, make sure you’re dressed appropriately.  Most game nights you’ll probably want something comfortable because you’ll be sitting around playing games all night.  You don’t want to be adjusting your thong every two minutes in the middle of a round of jungle speed (trust me on that one.)  In the same token (or totem) don’t go in your pjs… especially if you sleep nude… unless its a pj party… well okay, don’t come nude even if its a pj party and you sleep nude… unless its one of ‘those’ kind of parties.

Make sure you pay your hosts.  Hosting a game night can get pretty expensive, and all they ask in return is a small donation for food, or for new games.  If you can’t afford it, then don’t just take other people’s food.  But seriously, you should fork over the money, because where else can you get so much entertainment for so little cash?  Most game nights, $5 or $10 is plenty, and if you’re host is asking for more than that, you may want to look for a different game night because they’re probably using all the money they’re taking from the guests to sponsor terrorist cells.

Okay, so you’ve RSVP’d, dressed appropriately, arrived, and paid your dues.  Now the fun begins!  When selecting a game to play, you are certainly allowed an opinion on which one to grab, but remember that everyone’s taste in games is different, and if you whoop people’s butts at Trivial Pursuit: Harry Potter Edition enough times, they’re not going to want to play with you anymore, even if they love the game.  Also, depending on the number of people, there may be several groups playing multiple games, or just one group.  Don’t pick a game that is going to leave one person out when everyone else is in on a game.  Often times, its better to wait a few minutes for another group to finish before starting a new game.  That way you can mix it up, and play with other people, and you’re not stuck with the same group all night.  Make sure you are playing a game that you want to play.  Its no fun when there’s one person who’s not really into the game, so if a group decides on a game that you won’t enjoy, just don’t play.  If this happens to you, be sure to go sit in a corner facing the wall, and curse loudly at the other people so everyone knows that you didn’t get the game you wanted to play.  Actually, don’t do that.  If you get left out of a game, just find a new one with another group, or wait for another group to finish playing.  If you do get stuck in a game that you don’t like, or don’t know, see if you can team up with another player, and have them show you how to play or show you a strategy that you didn’t know.

Once you’re in a game, stick with it until the end.  Even if you’re losing big-time, and there’s no possible chance for you to win, keep playing.  It sucks to be close to the end of the game, and you’re about to win, when the person in last place quits and the game is left unfinished.  Also, if you get screwed in a game, try not to take out your anger on the table/board/other players.  I know I’ve been a culprit of this many times, but it also sucks when you just made a play to put yourself in the lead and someone grabs the board, flings it out the window, and the pieces get scattered all over the place.  Not only does it suck to have to clean it up, it also often prematurely ends the game, and now nobody’s happy because the game is over.

Also, don’t be afraid to try new games.  Sure some games require a half-an-hour rules explanation before playing, but often times those are the most fun. Once you know the rules, the next time you play will be much easier, and you’ll be able to teach other people.

I hope this helps you get to your next game night in style, and helps it be a hit.  Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.  The other half is just battle.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.