But if you're not actually going to play on normal days, its in bad taste to only show when their are prizes. That's not a love of the game, or a love of competition. That's greed if you want the prizes, or a burning need for validation.

On the other hand, why would someone travel for hours to go somewhere that might only be attended by half a dozen people, four of whom might already have pre-arranged a game together? That's the reason I don't drive to another county to different clubs.

That and I have to specifically book days off work 6 weeks in advance, so can't really do it for a random 3 hour drive each way to attend a club that only runs from 6-10pm.

My local store championship had 4 players that travelled a fair distance to be there. No locals had ever seen them before, and I'd be highly surprised if we ever did again before the next store championship tournament (if at all). Now 2 of them were quite nice, and obviously just wanted to play more X-Wing so they made the trip. The other two ... well, I overheard them talking about how bad the local players were, and how they had already been to 3 other championships and walked away with a win each.

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Militant casuals are ruining From Software's Souls series!

j/k, Bloodborne is amazeballs.

Not if you hear the shouting and carrying on from my room mate downstairs it ain't.....

Tell him to git gud.

I have yet to play my first game of X-wing, never mind a store event. Not that we really seem to have those around these parts.

However, my son and I have travelled to parts further afield to play Dicemasters. Not be cause we're any good but rather because there just aren't enough games closer to home. I appreciate that this isn't exactly the same issue but it may be one of the motivations as to why people travel.

We also like to consider ourselves as ambassadors of gaming too. Activity attracts attentions from outsiders and who knows, maybe some more people get converted to the fun of games.

We also have the reverse situation. There are two players at one of the places we travel to that seem to believe that they have the right to win everything. I'd say to the point that a game outcome between the two of them is decided without them even taking their game pieces out of their bags.

And they design teams to specifically 'beat' the teams my son and I bring. Not that that works particularly well as we change teams every week. On the plus side for the local store, they spent a small fortune chasing the characters the needed to beat whatever we had the week prior.

Back on topic. Yeah, I thinnk prize sniping is unpleasant if nothing is given back. And it is worse if the newcomers are douches. But I guess that the big fish in the little pond can be just as unpleasant.

Beating a less experienced meta is a strategy in itself. In MtG, we called it "clubbing baby seals" because there'd be prizes such as promos and credit on the line to get what we wanted. Once prizes are involved, there is nothing wrong with this kind of mentality.

You call it "clubbing baby seals" and you don't see anything wrong with it?

To be honest, as with all things in X-wing tournaments it's only a problem to be solved if the TO sees it as a problem. If the TO agrees that "prize predators" coming to your town to roflstomp you because they can't deal with the competition in their town is a problem they can do stuff to stop it, if not, then they're not going to work to actively reduce their tournament attendance.

Again, I don't believe there is nothing wrong with this kind of mentality in a tournament setting, especially when prizes are involved. It is, for the most part, a phrase used when beating a known local, inexperienced meta. The kids who aren't able to drop money on their decks (due to it being a CCG vs. an LCG) or people who only play for fun every other full moon or two. Most people congregating at a Grand Prix or SCG Open who travel to Los Angeles to play 8+ rounds of Magic aren't going there to simply have fun or "fly casual" with the game. They're there to win that $1,500 or score points for their career record etc. Point is, the incentives there are enough for people with competitive, cutthroat mentalities to attend, and sometimes that trickles over to local stores.

My friends and I would attend Game Days to win the Top 8 promo cards and the promo playmat. Some Game Days at popular and dedicated card shops had 30 to 40+ people attending. Some were just small town comic shops with casual crowds. Admittedly, we'd travel sometimes to those shops for the purpose of winning promos and mats. Are we jerks towards the local players? I certainly don't think so, and I do know for a fact we do our best to enjoy the game and make the game enjoyable for our opponents, whether they're novices or not. Are we jerks for "prize sniping" or "clubbing baby seals"? Definitely not, because the prizes were there as incentives for us to be there in the first place.

TIEpilot nailed it, though. Tournament attendance and prize distribution is up to the TO's discretion. Why people find it hard to believe that certain levels of prizing breeds certain levels of competitiveness is what I'm trying to wrap my head around. Store champs had MAJOR incentives to attend, a freakin' bye to Regionals (which potentially leads to a bye at nationals, which leads to a bye at worlds..), a badass plaque, bags, tokens, of course you're gonna get some jerks coming out of the concrete jungle/wood works/mountains/suburbs travelling to win these things. I mean, if people want to pull some exclusivity bs and have a "locals only" mentality towards the game, whatever store hosting the tournament is gonna suffer.

Definitely not, because the prizes were there as incentives for us to be there in the first place.

No, they weren't.

Definitely not, because the prizes were there as incentives for us to be there in the first place.

No, they weren't.

What, then, were the prizes for?

I told myself I wouldn't come back, but it seems like people are still arguing over little things that each other have said, or are being defensive and pointing out that they aren't 'prize snipers'. So I present: How to Tell if You Are a Prize Sniper at a Store.


Do you regularly attend events at this store even when there are no prizes being handed out?
If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper
If No: Continue to next question

Is this store the closest one to you that is holding a tournament?
If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper
If No: Continue to next question

Which of the following best describes you?

1. I come with a fly casual attitude and am polite and helpful.
2. I come with a fly casual attitude and give out some of my prizes if I already have them.
3. I come with a fly casual attitude and share any prizes I get with my friends and family
4. I come with a fly casual attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
5. I come with a no nonsense attitude but spend some money there as a thank you to the store for doing this
6. I come with a no nonsense attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
7. I come to win as much prize support as possible, and quit if it looks like I am not going to win anything
8. I come and plan to win by any means necessary, even if I have to cheat.

If you answered 1 or 2, I doubt you are a prize sniper, or at a minimum you are pleasant person to play with regardless of your intentions for attending.

If you answered 3, you are probably a prize sniper, but at least you are a nice one.

If you answered 4, you are a prize sniper, but at least you aren't a total ******.

If you answered 5 then you are a prize sniper, but you did your part to support the store, which probably outweighs the negatives.

If you answered 6, you are a prize sniper.

If you answered 7 or 8, then not only are you a prize sniper, you are a ******.

That's all I've got left in me for this one.

(everything)

I think that judging people based on a pretty superficial flowchart is bad for the health of the game.

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

So it is more Regionals than Store Championship? Don't get me wrong I traveled once 40 minutes but when does it become a tourney circuit and sponsors come into play? Fortunately my local store holds monthly tourneys and high number of stores in the area so no issue here but I can see where it can be discouraging for others. Do we want to crush others hopes to prove one is better in a 100 square area or encourage others to be competitive?

I would say if you regularly make top 4 or win 1/3 of the time, decline the prize. You have the knowledge how awesome you are at this battle.

Otherwise I think it is good to travel.

I told myself I wouldn't come back, but it seems like people are still arguing over little things that each other have said, or are being defensive and pointing out that they aren't 'prize snipers'. So I present: How to Tell if You Are a Prize Sniper at a Store.

Do you regularly attend events at this store even when there are no prizes being handed out?

If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper

If No: Continue to next question

Is this store the closest one to you that is holding a tournament?

If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper

If No: Continue to next question

Which of the following best describes you?

• I come with a fly casual attitude and am polite and helpful.
• I come with a fly casual attitude and give out some of my prizes if I already have them.
• I come with a fly casual attitude and share any prizes I get with my friends and family
• I come with a fly casual attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
• I come with a no nonsense attitude but spend some money there as a thank you to the store for doing this
• I come with a no nonsense attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
• I come to win as much prize support as possible, and quit if it looks like I am not going to win anything
• I come and plan to win by any means necessary, even if I have to cheat.

If you answered 1 or 2, I doubt you are a prize sniper, or at a minimum you are pleasant person to play with regardless of your intentions for attending.

If you answered 3, you are probably a prize sniper, but at least you are a nice one.

If you answered 4, you are a prize sniper, but at least you aren't a total ******.

If you answered 5 then you are a prize sniper, but you did your part to support the store, which probably outweighs the negatives.

If you answered 6, you are a prize sniper.

If you answered 7 or 8, then not only are you a prize sniper, you are a ******.

That's all I've got left in me for this one.

You sound angry. Did someone from out of town come to your store and win all the prizes?

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

I think this is where locals get frustrated. For them, the game could be a friendly game that you don't have to spend a lot of time studying to win a local tournament. Next thing you know, out of towners have come in and changed it to one of those games that you need to spend time practicing and studying to win. It can be a sudden shift in seriousness of the game to people who don't see it coming. It can leave people bitter.

Is it wrong? Is it against the rules? No, but it is a big shift in attitude of the game for a local area. It can turn people off from going to tournaments completely. Is that a bad thing? It all depends on who you are.

I would say if you regularly make top 4 or win 1/3 of the time, decline the prize. You have the knowledge how awesome you are at this battle.

I have a few prizes in my possession I received, not because I was better than anyone else that day, but because the one guy who wins all the time does exactly this. Very generous and we all like him. And when we do win, he's our biggest fan. What more needs to be said?

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

I think this is where locals get frustrated. For them, the game could be a friendly game that you don't have to spend a lot of time studying to win a local tournament. Next thing you know, out of towners have come in and changed it to one of those games that you need to spend time practicing and studying to win. It can be a sudden shift in seriousness of the game to people who don't see it coming. It can leave people bitter.

Is it wrong? Is it against the rules? No, but it is a big shift in attitude of the game for a local area. It can turn people off from going to tournaments completely. Is that a bad thing? It all depends on who you are.

So don't have your store sign up for Store Championships. If that kind of thing is something a group doesn't want it's easy to avoid.

I told myself I wouldn't come back, but it seems like people are still arguing over little things that each other have said, or are being defensive and pointing out that they aren't 'prize snipers'. So I present: How to Tell if You Are a Prize Sniper at a Store.

Do you regularly attend events at this store even when there are no prizes being handed out?

If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper

If No: Continue to next question

Is this store the closest one to you that is holding a tournament?

If Yes: You are not a prize Sniper

If No: Continue to next question

Which of the following best describes you?

• I come with a fly casual attitude and am polite and helpful.
• I come with a fly casual attitude and give out some of my prizes if I already have them.
• I come with a fly casual attitude and share any prizes I get with my friends and family
• I come with a fly casual attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
• I come with a no nonsense attitude but spend some money there as a thank you to the store for doing this
• I come with a no nonsense attitude and keep everything I win and/or sell it on ebay
• I come to win as much prize support as possible, and quit if it looks like I am not going to win anything
• I come and plan to win by any means necessary, even if I have to cheat.

If you answered 1 or 2, I doubt you are a prize sniper, or at a minimum you are pleasant person to play with regardless of your intentions for attending.

If you answered 3, you are probably a prize sniper, but at least you are a nice one.

If you answered 4, you are a prize sniper, but at least you aren't a total ******.

If you answered 5 then you are a prize sniper, but you did your part to support the store, which probably outweighs the negatives.

If you answered 6, you are a prize sniper.

If you answered 7 or 8, then not only are you a prize sniper, you are a ******.

That's all I've got left in me for this one.

You sound angry. Did someone from out of town come to your store and win all the prizes?

lol, not at all. I am being more of a failed white knight than anything

I think I have to buy a fedora now or something.

Seriously though, if you think the little flowchart is wrong, please just ignore it. I put it together on a whim because it seemed like there were a lot of people defending their actions, even though I doubt they would be considered a 'sniper'. Wanted them to understand that not everyone who shows up from far away is a sniper.

Definitely not, because the prizes were there as incentives for us to be there in the first place.

No, they weren't.

What, then, were the prizes for?

for winning

Definitely not, because the prizes were there as incentives for us to be there in the first place.

No, they weren't.

What, then, were the prizes for?

for winning

for the taking*

anyway, 16 pages in and I see we still haven't distinguished players who travel and a-holes

look, realistically speaking if you open up a competitive ffg licensed event, you can't up and deny people because they're not from your area

what you want to do, if a player is ruining your X-wing experience, is fetch the T.O.

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

I think this is where locals get frustrated. For them, the game could be a friendly game that you don't have to spend a lot of time studying to win a local tournament. Next thing you know, out of towners have come in and changed it to one of those games that you need to spend time practicing and studying to win. It can be a sudden shift in seriousness of the game to people who don't see it coming. It can leave people bitter.

Is it wrong? Is it against the rules? No, but it is a big shift in attitude of the game for a local area. It can turn people off from going to tournaments completely. Is that a bad thing? It all depends on who you are.

So don't have your store sign up for Store Championships. If that kind of thing is something a group doesn't want it's easy to avoid.

I think it would work great if they got the SC prize package and then didn't advertise it on the FFG site. That would allow the locals to have fun with the type of game they want and still have a chance of prize support.

I think it would work great if they got the SC prize package and then didn't advertise it on the FFG site. That would allow the locals to have fun with the type of game they want and still have a chance of prize support.

At what point does it stop being a "Store Championship" and start being "Store owner buying a bye at regionals for a friend"?

FFG has prize support for the kinds of tournaments you describe; they're the winter/spring/etc. kits.

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

Seriously? A player has already won a store Championship, but then goes on to win more. So now they have multiples of the plaque, the bag, and the tokens. I'm sorry, but if you need multiples of these things then you are the greedy one.

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

Seriously? A player has already won a store Championship, but then goes on to win more. So now they have multiples of the plaque, the bag, and the tokens. I'm sorry, but if you need multiples of these things then you are the greedy one.

At what point does it become your business what a skilled player does with the prizes they've earned?

Love to play or not, I think its poor form to go to more tournaments if you've already taken out a first place.

Seriously? If you want prizes, get better at the game. This is not elitist; it is a fact of life. That guy who wins multiple tournaments has spent many hours studying and practicing. If someone living next door to the shop spent as much time just playing the game as that guy does traveling to events, it would not be long before his skills could compete with those of the “interloper.” It is whiny and greedy to think someone deserves a reward without putting in the work due to the coincidence of their geography, especially when that coincidence has given them an advantage (lack of travel time) they have not utilized.

Seriously? A player has already won a store Championship, but then goes on to win more. So now they have multiples of the plaque, the bag, and the tokens. I'm sorry, but if you need multiples of these things then you are the greedy one.

Multiple plaques are proof of multiple tournament wins which is proof of superior skill. People don't play in a SC to win a piece of wood with a picture on it, they play to prove that they are superior at the game to everyone else that showed up that day. The plaque is not the prize itself, if that's all you care about there's plenty of wood and ink in the world to make one for yourself. The plaque is proof of what was accomplished on that day, and each plaque represents a different accomplishment on a different day.

I am a leftist when it comes to real life (thank the New Testament) but in gaming I am a libertarian zealot (thank the Art of War). Any competitive game where the losers get to tell the winners that they're "winning too much" is a farce and goes against the spirit of competitive play. If you don't want the same people to keep winning, then get better by putting in the same amount of time and work and money they did to be as good as they are. Real life might not be fair, but gaming is, so there's no excuses like there is in real life for why you're not doing as well as somebody else.

At this point we're aiming to get this thread to be longer than the "Why do defenders have such a bad rep?" thread now, right?