The Dude;1237654 wrote:Having brought this up in another thread, I have been thinking about this subject a bit recently and wanted to get some of everyone else’s experiences with the dreaded “Backseat Gamer”

First, a definition. The way I see it there are many flavours of Backseat gamer. Some may exhibit only one or two of the behaviours outlined below, but they are all subtle layers in the Everlasting Gobstopper that is the Backseater, right down to that horrible little chalky bit in the middle.

The Backseater will usually range from a Level 1 or “Commentator” to the Level 5 or “Usurper”. Each Level of behaviour is usually accompanied by a greater proximity to the person ACTUALLY PLAYING.

Level 1 – Commentator

The Commentator can be found on the periphery of the game, usually on a neutral board edge. They will usually make their “insightful” comments after the fact in an attempt to appear all-seeing. They will often outline the bleeding obvious too. Usually stuff along the lines of:

“Ooh! You shouldn’t have done that!”,
“Man, I could see that coming.” and,
“Yeah, it’s not a good idea to let Meltaguns get that close to your tanks.”

Level 2 – Advisor

The Advisor can be seen looming behind his player of choice, swooping in to offer unwanted tactical advise, math-hammer calculations and range guesses. Their index fingers are their most prominent feature as they are often hovering over the table, pointing out possible moves or targets.

Level 3 – Dice Wrangler

The Dice Wrangler will, with the proficiency of most Idiot-Savants, instantaneously calculate the number of dice needed for each roll, and what score is required for success. They can be seen picking through pieces of terrain for those elusive dice that roll into the nooks and crannies of the battlefield, and piling them up in a little Dragon’s horde of their own, dishing them out as needed to the players, barely letting them show their results before sweeping them back to the pile. They can sometimes even be seen telling the players which colour dice will represent which weapons and so forth.

Level 4 – Model Mover

The Model Mover is found “assisting” the player by “speeding up the movement phase”. This of course consists of them moving the players models for them based on a sort of perceived middle ground between where the player wanted them, and where the Backseater thinks they should go. They may also be seen taking casualties off the board for the unwitting player, often without consultation.

Level 5 - Usurper

The Usurper combines the worst points of the other levels and knocks it up a notch, BAM! They will, over the course of the game, slowly push the player out of the driver’s seat, making dice rolls and making tactical decisions, eventually actually playing the game themselves as the hapless ex-player looks on from the sidelines.


Now these kinds of guys are usually pretty easily handled in 1-on-1 games. Just tell ‘em to piss off, however politely you wish to. But what about group games and mega-battles? One of the worst offences I’ve seen has been of the Usurper eventually taking over one whole side of a mega battle. And this from a guy who started with one mini.

So then. What experiences have you all had with Backseaters? What level would you put them at? How have you handled it?

Edit: Just to clarify, When I talk about Backseat Gamers, I mean people who actively try to paricipate in the game in one way or another despite the lack of invitation.

Helping with rules disputes and friendly comments don't really fit in here, niether does giving advice when requested. It's when they try to in some way insinuate themselves into the game uninvited that people become Backseaters