What grinds your gears in games?

[Harley]

Sometimes when you play random people for pick up games at the FLGS you run into shenanigans, the unexpected or things that for whatever reason, just don't sit right with you. How do you deal with them?

One thing that drives me crazy are the way some players move their flyers. Recently in a game against 2 Plague Drones and 1 Heldrake, the player kept rotating them 90-120 degrees before moving, or adjusted their rotation after moving, just slightly, to get that 45 degree arc of fire in line... Because you usually measure, the pick it up and move it by eyeball, their movement is really easy to finagle.

The other one is, when a player is obviously using certain dice to roll high (saves, to hit) and different dice to roll low (leadership etc). These dice might even be different manufacture or size/style and the player insists it's just luck.

So how do you deal with this in a friendly pick up game situation? It feels like bringing it up is accusing the player of cheating, which it is, and then the friendly atmosphere is stifled. I've considered saying "Those dice seem to be rolling really well, would you mind if I use them also?"

As far as flyers go, I'm at a loss. It seems their prowess combined with the loose 'measure, pick up and place' mechanics are just ripe for exploitation.

[DarkLink]

You should read up on the Flyer rules. You're explicitly supposed to pivot up to 90 degrees in place, and no more, then move in a straight line 18-36", and stop (if they have vector dancer, then at the end of their movement they get a second 90 degree pivot.

[Eldar_Atog]

The other one is, when a player is obviously using certain dice to roll high (saves, to hit) and different dice to roll low (leadership etc). These dice might even be different manufacture or size/style and the player insists it's just luck.

I have a few dice that I only use for leadership/psyker tests. It's probably just superstition on my part but those dice always screw me on everything but leadership tests. If you test them, they will show that they are not loaded... but the Laughing One help you if you try to use them for anything but a leadership/psyker test.

For me, it's rules lawyering. I tend to be pretty easy going about things.. " Oh, you forgot to make your deep strike test? No worries, doing it during the middle of your move phase is ok". That all ends when you start nit picking every little thing. I will make the game as miserable for you as you are making it for me.

[Tyrendian]

for me it's when my opponent gets distracted all the time... I know a few guys who will literally pull out their smartphone and look at nothing but that for my entire turn, and I have to poke them everytime I need them to roll something

[Lord Krungharr]

At BeakyCon 2012 I had the misfortune of playing the 1st game against the dude who was in fact using loaded dice, he eventually got tossed out. There's never any fun or a good excuse for that. But using certain dice for certain things is okay if they're not loaded (like my sparkly ones for plasma guns, tiny black ones for bolters for example).

However, even in non-tournament games, I really hate when people use larger or oversized dice, especially the sharp edged ones, and roll them off their fingers like an inch or two above the table, in effect just flipping them easily to control what comes up. I vote for Vegas rolling, which is at least what, 6" or 8" off the table? Have some sport.

The not paying attention is annoying too, but mainly because if they opponent misses something they can't give me their best challenge, which is the most fun I think.

Excessive proxies are also tough to manage, as nobody seems to remember everything correctly and consistently. For a friendly match, just use whatcha got, and augment it with proper models for the paid tournies, or get some magnets or even sticky-tack putty. Qtip missile launchers, no problem, but easier to see and know than another lasgun with a gold tip instead of a silver tip.

[SquigBrain]

For me, what annoys me most is an opponent who believes the game is Serious Business.

This is a hobby, it's meant to be relaxing fun. If you are grinding your teeth and desperate to win, you are (IMNSHO) doing it wrong.

[Harley]

You should read up on the Flyer rules. You're explicitly supposed to pivot up to 90 degrees in place, and no more, then move in a straight line 18-36", and stop (if they have vector dancer, then at the end of their movement they get a second 90 degree pivot.

If you reread the OP, you will see this is what I'm referring to. Myself, being very familiar with these rules, gets annoyed when they are constantly annoying and players often move their flyers >90 degrees... usually somewhere around 100-120. They there is the little nudge at the end that usually happens. But calling them out, it just saps the fun out of it.

[Quaade]

Slow players, those rattle me more than anything else. A cheater is just someone whose ego is so brittle they have to resort to anything to get the win so they can feel good about themselves.

Someone who's slow on the other hand... He's just wasting everyones time and it gets me really -really- angry.

Even looking at a table with a slow player can make my blood boil.

[ElectricPaladin]

There's one guy at my FLGS who combines my least favorite gamer qualities: selective sloppiness and random slurs. He plays Tau, and while he's extremely precise about the ranges of his guns or whether or not I make it into assault, he'll do things like, in a special mission where victory points is measured in number of surviving models in a central ruin, ask to fudge move-through-terrain rolls.

Additionally, it is a pain to hear him constantly utter random slurs. I have never before played with a grown man who actually snarled "gay!" whenever a model failed to hit with an important shot or it turned out that a rule was not as he remembered it.

Similarly, there's a guy who talks smack to a ridiculous degree. Every time his IG removed one of my buddy's Sisters of Battle (team game) he would say "oh yeah, take that, get that ***** out of there!" It was non-stop.

[YorkNecromancer]

Additionally, it is a pain to hear him constantly utter random slurs. I have never before played with a grown man who actually snarled "gay!" whenever a model failed to hit with an important shot or it turned out that a rule was not as he remembered it.

Similarly, there's a guy who talks smack to a ridiculous degree. Every time his IG removed one of my buddy's Sisters of Battle (team game) he would say "oh yeah, take that, get that ***** out of there!" It was non-stop.

This +1, only topped by the guys who get offended when you call them out on it, like you're restricting their freedom of speech by drawing attention to the fact that what they're saying is ignorant, offensive, and frankly just uncreative. It's like, grow some basic ****ing humanity, you fool.