I posted some of this in a reply to the Card Packs thread, but I wanted to break this out, so that I can get some feedback from all of you, especially if you actively play tournaments.

First, some background. I have a lesion in my brain. It is growing and impacting my life in significant ways. The most significant, as it pertains to playing this game, is it has destroyed my short term memory. I literally cannot remember things. Sometimes, it is a lengthy conversation I had with you yesterday. Sometimes it is a TV program I just watched an hour ago. Sometimes it literally is something that occurred moments ago.

There is no rhyme or reason. There is no pattern or consistency to the loss. It just is.

I no longer play in tournaments because of this, and it saddens me. The main reason why I find that I can't play, is due to all of the errata'd cards, especially upgrade cards. What inevitably happens is that I find myself up against someone in the tournament who is utilizing ship - pilot - upgrade cards that I am not familiar with. Perhaps I simply haven't flown the combination or used them recently. I find that I have to keep the FAQ on the table, and I have to keep referring to it constantly - like - each and every time he activates the card in question. I constantly have to ask what it does, and verify same via the FAQ.

As you can imagine, this significantly slows the game, and ultimately irritates my opponents to no end.

I should point out that I am completely up front about my condition with each and every opponent, and with the TD (tournament director). Unfortunately, it just doesn't help. While my opponents do their best to be understanding, ultimately, I can see their irritation no matter how much they try to hide it, and it leads to both of us not having much fun.

So, the end result is that I don't play tournaments anymore. I just don't want to be "that guy" that causes issues; after all, many people travel to these events, invest time and money to compete, and they didn't come expecting to have to deal with someone like me.

It's not their fault, and I understand their position. It just saddens me that I can't compete in formal events anymore - I not only miss the competition, but I miss meeting all of the interesting people involved.

I am curious what all of you do if you can't remember what a specific errata'd card does? How its text has changed? Do you keep a copy of the FAQ handy and review it during game time? Has this affected your games any? Do any of you have any suggestions as to how I could return to tournaments while mitigating issues that would arise from my condition?

Thanks in advance for any input/advice you may provide.

I can very easily see why your condition would cause problems at a tournament. The time limit is a pressure factor and it looms in every match but has more impact on your games. I would like to believe I could tolerate the reminders but as time starts to slip away I can see getting irritated. I would however play games anytime with you outside the tournament scene but still have that compedative feeling without the clock. Once that clock is gone we can take all the time you need to feel comfortable with the action going on in the game.

@Osoroshii ... that is exactly what I have found. Playing casually, with friends, there are no issues. I also am not one to take my issues seriously - by that I mean I can take kidding and harassment because of it. And I get plenty from my friends !!!

I do keep a copy of the current FAQ with me. also in your case why not bust out a copy of the particular card in question for reference and keep it handy. Or even easier why not just trust the other player that he or she is doing things correctly??

I do keep a copy of the current FAQ with me. also in your case why not bust out a copy of the particular card in question for reference and keep it handy. Or even easier why not just trust the other player that he or she is doing things correctly??

To be honest, trust is not a factor. Understanding is. I think to fly correctly, and most optimally, you need to UNDERSTAND what a pilot/ship is capable of. Which means that before I can set my dials, I need to review the positions of all of his ships, remember what pilots are with which, remember what upgrades are with which, remember what they all do ... remember, remember, remember ... This is all made worse by the large amount of cards that have been errata'd.

Starting to see the challenge?

Now consider my opponent's position, when I am constantly asking questions as the clock goes tick, tick, tick.

^{The only thing I could think of is as the other player is taking the action, or using the card in question they hand you the card to allow you to read it each time. I don't see a reason for both of you to have to stop and read the card out loud. In casual games or dealing with new releases, this has worked for me to keep the game moving. I hand off the card and take the action, move the next ship, get handed the card back and move on. For new releases it's almost automatic as I don't remember what all of the exact wording is on the card myself.}

^{I do see how a serious player could find this frustrating and stressful.}

As much as I hate to suggest someone fly a certain way, there are things you can do on your end to help out. Yes, asking about certain actions takes a while - especially with errata. But I've played against more than a few people that have had various issues (extreme shakiness, ADD, etc)

Could you fly a strong 2-ship list to cut down the time YOU need significantly? There are many options even now for this kind of list - Decimator+, Outrider+, Falcon+, even a 2 ship bounty hunter list. All are strong lists. Keep the ships as even points wise as possible so you don't have to worry so much about your opponent's strategy and just focus on your own. My nephew has a hard time focusing on certain things, I found that a 2 ship list helped him tons. Its been a double falcon list and he hardly ever knows whats going on with his opponents list. He just navigates the asteroids and keeps focus firing. The best he did was a 3rd place finish at an Imdaar event, but he always has fun. If your ships are pretty even points wise (see the 50/50 falcon/outrider list) you can worry less about what your opponent is doing, and more about focusing down targets you choose as you start your strategy at the beginning.

Also, even though the errata is handy, how about printing up the cards as erratad? Build your opponent's fleet on your side and refer to the erratad cards. With enough experience, you'll know all these interactions off the top of your head.

I know it can be frustrating, but explaining to your opponent is the best thing you can do. If you go to time, its really no big deal. That's what the limit is there for. They may get frustrated, but you have every right to your game too. I say fly (casually, of course)!

Piggybacking off of other suggestions, I think your best bet is to have the FAQ with you at the table. However in order to give you quick access to the relevant sections, I'd create a deck of 3x5 cards. You would print an image of one card in the game per 3x5 card and if it has any errata or FAQ information, add that to the 3x5. Then during the game setup, pull out your 3x5 card that matches each card in your opponent's build. Also pull out the 3x5 cards that match your build.

Then I'd buy a set of colored paper clips and tokens. Use 1 clip to clip 3x5 cards together to match an enemy ship as well as your own ships. Use the token of matching color next to the ship on the board so you can easily match the ship on the board to your 3x5 cards. (One 3x5 might have multiple clips if there are multiple ships of that type.)

I think a TO would be fine with this because this wouldn't give you an unfair advantage at the table and you don't have any information that isn't already allowed during the game. Setup would take you an extra couple of minutes though, but I'll bet most opponents would be ok with that.

Lastly I think you ought to stick to 2-3 ship builds, as someone else suggested.

Firstly, I wish you a sudden, swift recovery. Maybe even yesterday. I have no idea how plausible that is, but wishes don't have to be plausible.

The 3x5 card suggestion is a good one, and I think it might be something tournament organizers should be doing regardless. Getting everyone on the literal same page is useful no matter what the players are doing.

This is especially true for every card that is errattaed or FAQed. It seems like there should be a fair number of players who don't know about rules changes until they show up at an event.

As far as your specific situation: I wonder if the organizers might let you play by rounds, rather than minutes. If most players can fit X rounds in Y time, just let you and your opponent have (X-3) rounds, and roll a die after the set number, to see if you get another round. Or, maybe just let you have an extra 30min per game, to let you think a bit better.

But the 3x5 card thing. That for sure!

I will definitely consider the 3x5 card suggestion. I think it would make specific cards far more accessible. Of course, with anything like this, I will have to speak with TOs about the acceptability of its use.

Love the love I'm seeing in this thread. To add to the 3x5 idea. Have a set of what you are flying ready for your opponent. Then no one can call foul cause they now have the same access to your info as you do to theirs.

+1 to Punning's wish.