Okay, a bit of a rant, so if you don't want to read it just move along. Nothing to see here.

As someone who's been gaming for a very long time (early 70's to be exact) I've noticed a trend in gaming over the last couple of decades. Game play has moved from a relaxed "lets get together and game with friends" to "I'm going to pwn someone at a tournament!" And for me this is very frustrating as I'm a casual gamer. I play to relax, have fun and socialize with my friends. I'm not about worrying about the "meta" or what killer combo can annihilate my opponent on turn one. I don't play games to tweak my tournament list for the next tournament.

Now, don't take this as I'm against tournaments. I have played in a few for a number of different games. But for me the joy of gaming just isn't there while playing a tournament. Maybe I'm just from a different era than the current gamer but for me gaming was always about having a good time and not about the "win". For me - if I put mini's on the table, or sit down with friends at a board - then win or lose the game, I win. Because I'm with people I like the company of and I'm doing something with them we all enjoy. I know a lot of people really like the tournament scene, and that's fine for them, but it's just not me.

Locally the gaming scene is annoying. I post looking for a game - whatever it may be - and the replies are inevitably "Sure, I'll bring my tournament list. I need to see how it works." What is wrong with a game where you just take what you want and not what's the current killer list and just sitting down and PLAYING?! For FUN. NOT for the win.

I guess it's just a reflection of the times where everyone is so competitive nowadays. It still makes me a bit sad though. I remember the long days and nights of playing games with friends and having hours of fun. And no one was worried about who won.

Because we all did.

So does anyone else see this trend? Do you miss a more casual game atmosphere? I'd be interested to hear other peoples take on this. And be polite please.

I'm a big fan of casual games, but that said, no - our local lot are good at having fun games with and without taking 'tournament' lists.

Besides which, people who play with a list they like time and again will often find that they do far better than someone who bounces from list to list chasing 'the meta' or 'that list off the internet'. Uusually accompanied by phrases such as "there's no way that's going to....how the hell did that have space there ?"

I hear you loud and clear. I think we're just old. I personally love scenarios for games like X-wing, Imp Assault and even the old Axis and Allies miniatures game. I like to just hang out and play a themed game, rather than looking for some loop hole where I can team up Han and Darth Vader against Luke and Boba Fett...I mean come on.

On the flip side, I'm glad that kids are still gaming and getting out. I once felt we were a dying breed (not entirely convinced yet), but I see that games are still getting a draw.

I agree completely. I don't play in FLGS, in part, for that reason. I play with a group of personal friends. We try to do a game night once a month. Only problem is that we have to let the wives go shopping. We just did an 11am -11pm day. We have fun, it doesn't matter who wins.

I've seen the "meta" or "Flavor of the Month" in a lot of online games too. Most people are followers. Someone picks a good setup, everyone copies it until someone else finds a setup that beats the first setup. In the x-wing universe it's a people who lack strategy so they let someone else do the thinking for them. They follow a formula that someone else has written up.

I've been gaming since the Travelers black book... So as long as many of the other people here.

They follow a formula that someone else has written up.

That's not always true. Sometimes it's just that someone figures out a very effective combo and so people use it, not because they can't think of anything else, but because there isn't much else that's better.

Even then just because someone is flying a Fat Han & Corran list, doesn't mean it's the same as every other Fat Han & Corran list, or even that someone just copied it off the internet. They may of figured it out on it's own, because there are a limited number of options and it's not that hard to figure out what is really effective and what isn't.

Lastly...

Don't make the assumption that your idea of fun is somehow better than anyone elses idea of fun. People have enjoyed competitive events and games for hundreds if not thousands of years. Chess, Go, Checkers, Poker, ect... All competitive games that people have been playing a lot longer than any of us have been alive, and people have taken those games seriously for just as long.

So the idea that the current generation of competitive gamers is somehow new or unique is deeply flawed, because this kind of thing has been going on for centuries. Just look up the age of some of the books on Chess out there for proof of this.

I love the casual feel. My roommate and I have casual games all the time. There are a couple people we've played with who are super tournament-oriented (for no good reason since there's no tourneys here), but we don't play with them as often. Gets too competitive and less fun.

I'm 31 and I play occasionally at my FLGS, mainly when I have my x-wing fix and have to play. Otherwise, I'd much rather play with my friends. Then you can play really fun stuff like Emon with 3 proton bombs. At the FLGS, while there are a good number of casuals, there are also a good number of people out there playing to win at all costs. Do you know how unfun it is to play against Paul Heaver's fat han list? With only enough time to squeeze in a couple of games, I'd rather not spend it against something like that.

I'm exaggerating how often that actually happens, but when my time is that limited, that potential risk of just having no fun is sometimes too much. I imagine many more people are like me, and likely they're the ones that don't care to post on the forums either. If that's the case, then the FLGS scene would slowly turn more and more competitive just because the casuals play less.

I've just set up a weekly X-Wing night as my FLGS (super friendly, BTW. Was happily surprised). One of the things we've talked about is specifically wanting to keep things casual.

Something that I think helps quite a bit: before people draw up lists, talk about what kind of game you want. One person might be in super competitive tournament prep mode. That's cool! But that person playing the l'il Darth 'n friends (because theme) list is going to be disappointing for both players.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I can find a game where one player runs 5 rookies vs 8 Ties. Just to see if that's actually balanced.

So I do think people are totally willing to play casually, but you have to talk to them ahead of time. Everyone has a list they know will fail, but wants to fly anyway, because it's fun. Tell them to bring _that_ list.

We're playing different games once a week. We all have fun, whether we win or not.

But we play some cooperative games, like Pandemic or Space Alert, so either we all win or we all lose. By playing such games, you can create a more casual atmosphere.

First off i think tournaments are not truely meant to be casual. After all, there is something on the line: Rankings and Prizes. So your average gamer is already a bit more on edge, ready to give it a 110% procent. So I don't think tournamenst will provide the same sort of feel you get from a casual game.

That said I much prefer casual games with friends. Mind you, we do play to win and only rarely do we go easy on someone, but it's ok since we all know one another and what to expect. (Still: we wont take Davids pet dragon in Munchkin Quest anymore. We learned the hard way not to do that. Ouch.)