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Have you ever played against someone who tries to rattle you while you are playing by constantly asking you questions about what your army can do, what that unit has, what abilities does this character have, whats the rule on moving over drop pod petals etc?

He has a copy of the rules,your army list, and he has played a billion games...yet always seems to ask these questions while you are playing ( moving, shooting, assaulting...).

The theory is he's rattling you, making you forget to do things, or miss out on a small detail.

Aside from ignoring him, and thus being "rude" and earning a bad sportsmanship score....what else can you do? Just concentrate harder, answer his questions, ask him to wait till you are done?

It's a frickin game, you don't need to pull out the psyops!

Answer, move on.

I might skip something, maybe something important, but I don't want to feel like a douche...

Play fantasy, the answer to every question is "stuff".

Just say - good question, could you look that up in the book while I do this?

That guy's name is Paul here. But he justs asks a lot of questions, and he may not be playing in your game. I like Paul, but questions don't bug me.

for me it depends on the nature of the questions.....

if the kid is new to the game and really wants to learn, I will gladly slow the game down to show him what things are and how they work......

but if it is just someone asking for many clarifications on random things I would toss him my codex and tell him to read it.

Make him swallow a few teeth. That'll clear up his attitude right quick.

avantgarde wrote:Play fantasy, the answer to every question is "stuff".

Hear. Hear. Another answer is "You'll see."

Sometimes people are just curious, but the sad reality of it is that some people do prattle on on purpose to try and throw their opponent off of their game. Just be firm and take control. "Dude, I'm busy at the moment. I'll answer all your questions during YOUR turn." You can always give them a nic-name like "Mr.Talk Radio" or something to get the word out that they're that they just won't shut up. Don't take any guff from these b'stards.

Claim his knuckles as prizes and then make him eat them. Can't ask stupid questions when he's got no hands, can he... no wait... he probably could...

Stupid questions like "Why did you eat my knuckles?!"

At the tourney last Saturday, the guy (Eldar) didn't ask me but his brother at the board nearby how the game wents.
Men, this guy is a sucker.

I never used to mind people talking, to me it was a game in which i had fun.

this kinda happened to me recently...
my opponent pointing at almost every unit i had on the board and asking some obscure or painfully obvious stat about them, i ended up forgetting to move one unit and shoot with another (and that was just in one turn)...
and its obvious that he does it sometimes just to get people side tracked and annoyed, because hes been playing for years, and has even played WITH some of the armies he inquires about...


"whats their bs?"
...their hormagaunts dude. who gives a gak.

"they will go first if the charge that slugga boy unit wont they?"
unless your slugga boys started taking crack, ya, genestealers go before almost anything... just like they did last week and the week before...

"those really come on 60mm bases?"
considering its a carnifex that would be as big as a small house, yes...

What, like deadpool?

I only have an issue when it's a 12 year old and they're interrupting MY game with questions about theirs (mainly because I've already told them all of this stuff, several times that day. I suck as a teacher for kids. Grownups, no problems.)

During my own game, if my opponent has questions, I'll answer them, explaining where necessary.

I'm happy to answer any questions, even those from 12 year olds at another table (sadly the youngest player here is 18). Questions make me feel smart!

if an experienced player is asking me those sort of questions then i just start questioning his ability to play in a competitive environment. Ok maybe its your first tourny and your giddy, but friendly conversation is better then one that goes down the line of "apparently im here and know nothing.."

BoW- John

I find that most people who are asking that many questions are either new to the game or the army. However I do agree that when it is someone not involved in the game who is asking and slowing you down when you are playing a competitive game then there is a problem. My only other pet peeve is when the person seems incredulous over every rule and essentially implies that you are a liar or are in some way trying to cheat.

Sadly I had a situation like this at a doubles tournament this last weekend. One player was a decent chap and you could tell that both of them hadn't been playing long, but somehow they had made it to the top seated table at the tourny going into the final round. Unfortunatly I lost my cool in a very unsportsmanlike way after the fifth or so "what? no that's not how it is... let me see the rulebook" (this time it was over whether or not barrage weapons with LOS subtract their BS). I am honestly sorry for how I handled myself but when you playing for the top spot in a tournament you should have at least a half-way decent grasp of the rules.

Generally, questions are good. Krusty's examples are incredible. I've never encountered someone like that, and I'm sorry to hear about it.

Keith, if there are a lot of questions, and they’re truly inane, I concur with the suggestion to ask your opponent to wait until you’re done. If there’s a small number, even if they seem inane, I suggest just answering cheerfully. Maybe there is some relevance you’re missing at the moment. Maybe he’s trying to form a plan for his turn, and a stat that seems irrelevant now might matter for his turn. Or maybe he’s just curious. But if it gets distracting and eats up a bunch of time, politely asking your opponent to wait a moment while you finish the phase is totally appropriate.

Knuckle sandwiches, while apparently exhilarating for some folks to talk about, are rarely called for. Better to kill your opponent with kindness, and in the sports scores if they’re genuinely acting like a tool. In a friendly game, either don’t play the guy again, or have a polite, adult conversation with him about how unpleasant and distracting the behavior is.

Just use answers like "all 4's" or "kills stuff" eventually they will stop asking.

I'm very surprised at some of the answers here. Not sure I would want to play against some of you.

To answer the original poster... I've played lots of folk. Some talk, some don't. I generally have more fun with people that can carry on a conversation. The RainMan types that just stare at the board, with the occasional grunt of "shooting" or "save" are not so much fun.

This notion of a conversation may be foreign to some socially stunted types so let me explain it... it's when someone talks and you listen, then you talk back to them in a manner related to the topic they talked about and they listen. Repeat this process. It can actually be quite enjoyable.

As long as the person is the one you are playing the game against and has legitimate questions would it kill you to answer them? Or is it just me?

I see your point, but this topic is not about people wanting to have a normal conversation, it is about experienced players asking questions to which they know the answers (probably) very well to confuse their opponent. In the worst case.

I'm planning on compiling ALL of GWARs threads from YMDC into one handy tome,when confronted by the endless question guy I will simply hand him a copy...problem solved.

If you know he's doing it just to get under your skin, tell him all your stuff moves 12", re-rolls to hit and to wound and has 2+ invulnerable saves.

Or you could make up a simple stat sheet with any special rules that apply to your particular list. If he has any questions just point to that sheet you gave him.

The Commissar wrote: My only other pet peeve is when the person seems incredulous over every rule and essentially implies that you are a liar or are in some way trying to cheat.

This seems to happen to me every time I play in my local GW, Not often because i've got to convince 1 of my parents to take me but back to the story, in this example I was doing a massive planetstrike game to celebrate the release and everyone needed to see my rolls I get that that's normal but noone else was even declaring assualts/shooting just saying 5 of them are dead or other but me (I will assume its because I'm either not seen much (although one of them goes to the same club as me) or because I'm 14) at least 3 people have to see me roll which along with the general hecticness of it I only got to move and about 2 shooting phases but I got most of the assault phases though but I seem to be the only on of the ~13ish people there who is going to cheat even though one has been chucked out for cheating before then and because I resented being the only one who had to be watched I had to reroll most of my es into s


and please excuse any spelling mistakes I can't spell to save my life

I have played very few games, and I usally need some help with some of my newer units "vindicator, marine saves and such", but i try to only ask questions when it is absolutly nessesary. I think the only time i would constantly ask questions would be when I use my vehicals with extra rmour. I can never seem to get the rules for that down.

krusty wrote:this kinda happened to me recently...
my opponent pointing at almost every unit i had on the board and asking some obscure or painfully obvious stat about them, i ended up forgetting to move one unit and shoot with another (and that was just in one turn)...
and its obvious that he does it sometimes just to get people side tracked and annoyed, because hes been playing for years, and has even played WITH some of the armies he inquires about...

Asks if he suffers from amnesia .

Yeah, Green Git, I think you're missing the point. The OP's talking about deliberate gamesmanship intended to distract you. No need to call anyone "socially stunted."

My advice is much the same as Mannahnin's...ultimately you kind of have to grit your teeth and get through it. You have those kinds of games sometimes. Losing your cool over it also plays into his hands.

I haven't had anyone try that particular tactic on me, but I've experienced other types of gamesmanship. Unfortunately, I've found that you have to be ready for the game outside the game especially as you approach the top tables at a tournament. Not that everyone will try it on you -- most won't.

But you will get the occasional guy who -- for instance -- very casually says "Y'know, I think this terrain is all out of place. Whaddya say we just pull them off and take turns placing it to spread it out a little better." And then he does something completely wonky -- and obviously premediated -- with said terrain.

Illegal? No. Anything you can do about it? No, because you agreed to it. Did you get "gamed"? Yes. Best course of action? Get the game over with as quickly as possible and move on.

I can't believe no one has said this yet.

I'd punch him in the face!

Nevermind...

Timmah wrote:I can't believe no one has said this yet.

I'd punch him in the face!

2 things.

1) It has been said before.

2) No you wouldn't. And if you did, you'd be a bigger tool than the guy asking the questions.