My brother said our game nights are too competitive and it got me thinking

Honestly, we were setting up for our usual Saturday game of Terraforming Mars last week and he just said, 'Can we play something without a score this time?' Ngl, I always thought the whole point was to win. He said he missed just hanging out and talking, not just calculating moves. It hit different because he's usually the most competitive one. Has anyone else had a group shift from hardcore strategy to more casual nights?

4 comments

4 Comments

nathan_palmer1mo ago

He said that? The most competitive one?

wells.christopher14d ago

Nah, I gotta push back on that "most competitive" thing. I think being competitive is more about how you act when things go sideways. My brother says he hates losing too but he's the guy who'll flip the board in Settlers of Catan when someone cuts off his road. That's not competitive, that's just being a sore loser. Real competition is about shaking hands after getting crushed and trying again, not acting like the game owes you something. The people who can lose gracefully are the ones I actually respect as competitive.

lee181mo ago

Board games turn people into monsters. It's the mix of luck and skill that makes losing feel personal. That's why families get so intense about them.

brian_taylor151mo ago

My brother called me the most competitive person he knows last week. Honestly, I just really hate losing at board games.