TheBattlehammer

OK gentle readers, I’ll admit I may have set myself up for a fall with such a daring title but hear me out. Sometimes you forget to do this most important of gaming things. It happens when you get bored during an extended painting run. Or when you get really competitive and shout at your dice (not that it makes any difference, they’re only plastic…it’s the dice gods you should worry about). Sometimes it can happen when you’ve been playing the same campaign for what seems like forever. You forget to have fun. I know, that seems anti-climactic. Seriously though, gaming is supposed to be fun and if it isn’t, you should probably do something about it.

We’ve all played games of any kind and realised, for whatever reason, that we’re just not having any fun. A little while ago I was playing Destiny on the XBOX and it occurred to me that I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore but I still had the compulsion to try to level up. For no pleasurable reason whatsoever. Bah. On the flip side of this, I played Star Wars: Armada against Mr Straw the other day and lost. But it was some of the most fun I could have had. There were some great moments, a close game and the imaginings of my Rebel fleet soaring across the board destroying every last TIE fighter. Why can’t all games be like this? There are lots of reasons; the dice aren’t on your side, real life gets in the way, sometimes you’re just not in the mood. I think the main one is that we just forget. We game so much that it just becomes the thing we do in our spare time. I’ve never been to Tokyo but if I went for a couple of weeks I’m sure I’d have an amazing time enjoying the cultural differences, the food and the fact that karaoke is the norm. Of course, if I lived there I’d end up going to the same noodle bar time-after-time and everything exotic would slowly become mundane (I’d still freakin’ love karaoke though, hell yeah).

In a sense, the same applies to gaming. If you kill a dragon every week, eventually you’re going to run out of dragons…or something. And if the people you’re gaming with see you sitting there writing a shopping list in your mind, they’ll do the same and then you’ll really be bored. Engage with the game, be enthusiastic and everyone else will be lifted a little too. Gaming is a social experience and by turning up we’ve made a social contract to play a game. The clue’s in the question, games are designed for the purpose of having fun. Sure, sometimes you won’t feel like it but a little effort in this most glorious of hobbies will go a long way. Try to remember why you’re there, with those dice in your hand. Real life is boring, don’t make gaming boring too.

Feel free to leave something in the comments. How do you make sure you have fun gaming? What drags you down? Is there something more important in gaming? The best comment wins the good feeling of increasing fun in other people’s gaming experience (no cash value, deal with it).

Until next time gentle readers.