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At my uni's wargaming club, there is a massive issue with hygiene...

Most of those that go are rocker types, long hair, beards, baggy trousers with chains etc (in stark contrast to my conventional geekiness).

Anyway, almost all of them smell horrid... primarily of whizz.

As people they seem intelligent and actually quite fun to be around, a few of them get me laughing quite easily.

So what I ask is this: Why are quite clearly "normal" people so smelly? Is it common amongst wargamers? I'm relatively sure I don't smell...

I was prompted to make this thread because I saw someone whining about the same thing in the GW experiences 'un

Anyone else have smelly wargamers at their clubs?

Or could it literally be because they're rockers?

This gets me too. I would never go out smelling like some people do. It confuses me that people who seem so normal in other ways can go out like this.

Henners91 wrote:Most of those that go are rocker types, long hair, beards, baggy trousers with chains etc...Or could it literally be because they're rockers?

Well they already don't shave, cut their hair or bother with their appearance. Not washing is just a natural progression of that attitude for them.

I wouldn't put a steroetypical stink to wargames in genral, and certainly not all so called "normal people."

One year at Games a friend and myself literally had to walk away from a pre-reg game because of how bad some of the players smelled. No underarm, no showers... it was horrid.

When I used to play at the Sydney Battlebunker in summer, the aroma had its own nickname. It was a rank, combination of stale gym sweat and general reek.

"The funk of 40,000 years" (thank you, Thriller.).

It's not uncommon - but it's not normal either.

I think it has a lot to do with those guys only having/wearing one set of clothes. They have one pair of pale and torn jeans (the source of the whizz smell) and then their favourite Blind Guardian shirt. Even if you shower dail, those clothes are going to smell like gak in a months time.

I have only ever encountered smelly gamers maybe once or twice, but then again, I keep a close gaming circle (don't attend tournaments etc).

I know what you mean and I feel your pain. There should be a ban for smelly gamers. To the world we already have a sterotype, we don't need it ruining with smelly gamers, it's wrong and there's just no excuse for it. I'm quite a pain when it comes to this too, 'cos if someone smells I say so, why should I, who showers every day, and wears nice clean clothes, have to put up with smelly people, I don't take any other abuse, so why should I put up with a bad smell. Anyway rant over, thanks for making a long outstanding issue known, hopefully it will prompt some hygene

whatwhat wrote:

Henners91 wrote:Most of those that go are rocker types, long hair, beards, baggy trousers with chains etc...Or could it literally be because they're rockers?

Well they already don't shave, cut their hair or bother with their appearance. Not washing is just a natural progression of that attitude for them.

I wouldn't put a steroetypical stink to wargames in genral, and certainly not all so called "normal people."

Well, I wouldn't make such a generalisation. Long hair, beards and rock 'attire' probably means they care a great deal about their appearance. I've known plenty of rockers who smell fine, and I've encountered shaven gamers in regular t-shirts with short hair who really reek!

Anyway, to make even MORE generalisations, there's certainly a 'gamer stereotype' of a big fat guy who spends all day eating junk food, sitting on a sofa and playing computer games. Lots of large people with bad diets in the same little room?

Are wargamers smellier than other geeky gamers?

Personally, I agree with most of the comments above. Anyone with hygiene problems should be banned from the club until they grow up...

This is one thing that I've noticed more in this hobby than in others.

We always complain that there aren't enough women in to GW's hobby.

Every time my other half goes near a GW she's nearly over come by the smell of stale sweat.

I think a memo should get posted down from head office saying all GW's mmust be clean and smelling nice.

Someone stinks - you're out!!!

Unless there is some sort of medical condition to explain it.

Aww man, you mean we could've had chicks in our clubs?

Dagnabbit.

Actually girls go to the wargaming society but they don't play 40k... they sit in the corner playing goofy card games, lolz...

ArbitorIan wrote:Anyway, to make even MORE generalisations, there's certainly a 'gamer stereotype' of a big fat guy who spends all day eating junk food, sitting on a sofa and playing computer games. Lots of large people with bad diets in the same little room?

Are wargamers smellier than other geeky gamers?

Personally, I agree with most of the comments above. Anyone with hygiene problems should be banned from the club until they grow up...

My experience of smelly gamers has not been the older gamers but younger ones, who are going through puberty but have recieved no adult instruction or advisement that bathing once per week may have worked as a kid, but once you're producing hormones and unpleasant bodily fluids, you need to start showering at least once per day, using deodorant and soap and making sure you change your clothes on a daily basis.

The ones that haven't had that advice reek of a mix of ammonia and scampi fry crisps that makes your eyes water.

We don't know if wargamers smell worse than many geeky types, since WoW etc is played in the comfort of your own home.

As to 'if you stink, you're out', has anyone just tried the terrifying option of taking the person to one side and explaining it to them and asking them to clean up their act? It might work a lot better than 'oi, you, you stink, leave!'

I don't go into my local GW all that often, but there have been occasions where there has been a significant BO forcefield in place almost stopping me from going in.

My wife won't go in to GW at all, but that is because most of the people in there have never seen a girl and the GW staff/other gamers can get clingy.

MeanGreenStompa wrote:We don't know if wargamers smell worse than many geeky types

It's a pretty fair statement to say they don't. PnP gaming cons always have a couple 'catpiss men' whose presence you can detect without visual cues, and any time stories start getting swapped about bad gaming experience, overwhelming BO is going to make a couple of appearances. Anime conventions frequently have signs about, 'gotta wash 'em all,' and how using the shower in your hotel room doesn't cost extra. Some people just don't care about personal hygiene, and others don't see the need to shower. Johnny Depp and his wife never shower, believing that it's more au natural to not constantly remove all the oils and other stuff your body makes - all of his co-stars find it takes a little getting used to.

Bookwrack wrote: Johnny Depp and his wife never shower, believing that it's more au natural to not constantly remove all the oils and other stuff your body makes - all of his co-stars find it takes a little getting used to.

The thing is that he has enough money that he can do that sort of thing. For all us regular poor people, you've got to take a wash every now and then

Perhaps events could just use some (tons) of those plug in air freshners as well.

But yeah, if you're mates with someone who smells like that, have a word with them privately before the poor sod is called out publically.

heh... I shower, shave, and put on deodorant every time I go out to play warhammer... and wear clean clothes.

that said, by the end of the day, I will smell funky. Hot stores, lots of people, not a good combination.

Especially at tournaments... by the end, I might as well be swamp thing. Oh well... at least I started clean. I can't imagine how bad it would be if I started dirty.

Well, my GW smells fine. . I have awesome personal hygiene BTW.

Oh, and also, what is the average age of wargamers? 16-30?

Ugh, this does hit close to home.

I played a game a week ago where I almost did not want to shake my opponents hand. His hand was crusty and he reeked of something fierce.

I'm in my late 20's, married, wear worn out metal t-shirts when I'm not confined to a tie at work. I also abhor the idea that my personal hygiene could bother other people. So I shower and wear clean clothes to be sure I am an acceptable part of society.

If I sneeze, I make a b-line to the rest room to wash up as to not annoy other players.

Could it possibly be that these smelly, gross gamers are just a product of parents abandoning their kids at game stores at a young age? They do not receive the proper socialization a parent would normally prime them with as well as hygiene habits when their time comes.

One point in the OP... this is a University club, right? Impoverished college students that probably spend more on food and drink than on laundry and think Febreeze is a good alternative.

Febreeze is used by the unclean to mask the smell. So you still know the gross is there.

the_trooper wrote:Could it possibly be that these smelly, gross gamers are just a product of parents abandoning their kids at game stores at a young age? They do not receive the proper socialization a parent would normally prime them with as well as hygiene habits when their time comes.

If you only found smelly people at the game store, then there could be some truth to that. Some people literally just don't care, others are quite adamant that if THEY can't smell it, then you're just being overly sensitive, and they're everywhere, not just geekdom.

On days that I don't work and I don't plan to do anything at all I won't shower... but if I plan to go somewhere I always make sure to look as good as I should.

doesn't have anything to do with rocker types, it's just gaming attracts smelly people. go to any con and there's tons of stinkies around, with long hair, short hair or no hair. I've seen some con program booklets that say someting like "please have proper hygene when in the convention areas" or somethng like that.

I think this could be solved by a simple addition to any game store. An in store shower!

I second the above. And get air conditioning, it get's.... stuffy in my local stores.

I think this sums it up for you:

Air conditioning does help, but the sign says it all... We used to call our short-lived high school gaming club the "gamey club".

In my games room we are all washed down first by nubile waifs, showered with Hugo and then sat down with a brandy and cigar as we shovel troops into the meat grinder.

Lingerie models drift by the tables, awarding bonus game-points to the most fragrant.

By the time the rose petals float down from the ceiling, we all laugh at our dirty brethren whose little ruddy noses are pushed up to the window.

- Actually, I just shower and scrub up, like I would any other day. After all, it's not as if I don't have enough to defend already, what with all the toy soldiers!

yes, I shower and dress for a night in public... call me old fashioned, but even in a t-shirt and jeans, I like to be presentable when I am not working in the backyard; I don't go into town looking like I just walked out of the backyard!

I bet if the OP asked them they would all say that they use deoderant. It is only very few that do not.

The reason that students [and indeed most smelly adults] smell is that they do not dry there closes properly. Washing them is easily done but if you are rushing off to that oh so important Warhams game then on goes your lucky Iron Maiden shirt for the third time in a week and you are good to go.

My rugby kit stinks for the same reason, its washed threee times a week, dries for a few hours then its back in the bag for the next session.

They don't realise that they smell because their whole house probably smells like it.