So in todays tournament I was a poor sport to my opponent (a long time friend) and I'm really unhappy with myself about it. I gave him the 10-0 at the end (he won anyway, but I wanted to apologize and it was only a three person tournament so I didn't feel I was upsetting the rankings much), but I want to take steps to cure myself of that kind of behavior in the future.

If you catch yourself doing bad sportsmanship things, or having had sportsmanship thoughts, etc. What do you do? How do you bring yourself under control in the heat of the moment?

I'm curious, OP, what did you do that you consider to be poor sportsmanship?

I, myself, have a tendency to be particularly overdramatic in my response to enemy moves that I didn't see coming, loudly proclaiming my surprise and expressing comical frustration. So far I haven't gotten the impression that it bothers anyone ( get plenty of game offers) but I do feel that it isn't the sort of player I want to be so I try to keep it reined in.

When it comes to moments where we can't decide if something is at a particular range, or if two squadrons are engaged, and some major points are on the line, I have a policy of simply saying "I'm biased, and I want to win, so I'll let you decide"

In this way, I'm always certain that whatever the outcome, I didn't claim any unfair advantage (even if my opponent might have erred on his own side, but I gave them the choice to do that and can't hold it against them), and it's a reminder to not let games come down to so close a measurement if I can at all help it.

I don't understand. You apologized for what? Throwing the match? Or were you like a jerk to him after he walloped you?

Either way, we all have our bad moments. For myself, I try to think before I act, or speak, if I notice that my emotions have started to run hot. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. All you can do when you fail is to own up to your mistake, apologize to those you've wronged, learn from it and try to do better next time.

I find that I am a better sportsman when I don't take the game too seriously. When I play to have fun I am a better sportsman than when I play to win. Interestingly I also play the game better when I am playing for fun and normally place better at the end of the day.

I think it is about your mentality when the game starts. Rather than thinking "I need x points to place third," for example, think "if I start losing than I am going to study my opponents moves and figure out why." When playing with the first idea in my head I find myself being concerned with precise range measurements, not allowing take-backsies for minor things, and dice rolls (not the way you win a game). When playing with the second idea in my head I find myself concerned with overall strategy (the way you do win a game) making me a better player and allowing me to enjoy myself more.

Also you could try baking just before a comp. Offer each opponent a slice of cake and suddenly the two of you are close friends, making the game more casual and fun.

I find that I am a better sportsman when I don't take the game too seriously. When I play to have fun I am a better sportsman than when I play to win. Interestingly I also play the game better when I am playing for fun and normally place better at the end of the day.

I think it is about your mentality when the game starts. Rather than thinking "I need x points to place third," for example, think "if I start losing than I am going to study my opponents moves and figure out why." When playing with the first idea in my head I find myself being concerned with precise range measurements, not allowing take-backsies for minor things, and dice rolls (not the way you win a game). When playing with the second idea in my head I find myself concerned with overall strategy (the way you do win a game) making me a better player and allowing me to enjoy myself more.

Also you could try baking just before a comp. Offer each opponent a slice of cake and suddenly the two of you are close friends, making the game more casual and fun.

I think Qark just wants people to bring cookies.

I'm curious, OP, what did you do that you consider to be poor sportsmanship?

I, myself, have a tendency to be particularly overdramatic in my response to enemy moves that I didn't see coming, loudly proclaiming my surprise and expressing comical frustration. So far I haven't gotten the impression that it bothers anyone ( get plenty of game offers) but I do feel that it isn't the sort of player I want to be so I try to keep it reined in.

When it comes to moments where we can't decide if something is at a particular range, or if two squadrons are engaged, and some major points are on the line, I have a policy of simply saying "I'm biased, and I want to win, so I'll let you decide"

In this way, I'm always certain that whatever the outcome, I didn't claim any unfair advantage (even if my opponent might have erred on his own side, but I gave them the choice to do that and can't hold it against them), and it's a reminder to not let games come down to so close a measurement if I can at all help it.

Round...three I think, maybe two, but likely three, I was too far out of range to activate the plethora of bombers (2 X's, 2 B's, Y, Scurrg, Jan) that was sitting on my opponents VSD. During his movement both GSD's sped in from the sides in a pincer manuever with the Demolisher (seriously, you've no idea the depth of loathing I have for that card) set up to double arc my MC80 on the side. Frustrated with myself and angry in general, I just said "I give up, I concede."

There was no reason to call it in that early at all, and why take away any pleasure he might have gained from a solid successful manuever by reacting like that? It was just me being a poor sport.

I'm curious, OP, what did you do that you consider to be poor sportsmanship?

I, myself, have a tendency to be particularly overdramatic in my response to enemy moves that I didn't see coming, loudly proclaiming my surprise and expressing comical frustration. So far I haven't gotten the impression that it bothers anyone ( get plenty of game offers) but I do feel that it isn't the sort of player I want to be so I try to keep it reined in.

When it comes to moments where we can't decide if something is at a particular range, or if two squadrons are engaged, and some major points are on the line, I have a policy of simply saying "I'm biased, and I want to win, so I'll let you decide"

In this way, I'm always certain that whatever the outcome, I didn't claim any unfair advantage (even if my opponent might have erred on his own side, but I gave them the choice to do that and can't hold it against them), and it's a reminder to not let games come down to so close a measurement if I can at all help it.

Round...three I think, maybe two, but likely three, I was too far out of range to activate the plethora of bombers (2 X's, 2 B's, Y, Scurrg, Jan) that was sitting on my opponents VSD. During his movement both GSD's sped in from the sides in a pincer manuever with the Demolisher (seriously, you've no idea the depth of loathing I have for that card) set up to double arc my MC80 on the side. Frustrated with myself and angry in general, I just said "I give up, I concede."

There was no reason to call it in that early at all, and why take away any pleasure he might have gained from a solid successful manuever by reacting like that? It was just me being a poor sport.

I think we've all done this at some point, in this game or another.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I'll get this urge from time to time... sometimes you genuinely end up in a board position where there is no question of how things are going to go, and it just becomes a matter of going through the motions. Say, for instance, you have initiative and your last ship has no choice but to fly off the table and is incapable of claiming any points. What's the point, on either side?

In these positions I'll sometimes just say something to the effect of "These are the things that I see happening. You've essentially won, and I'm willing to call it at this point unless you want to keep playing".

I don't personally feel like a calm approach to the subject is poor sportsmanship. I've had others ask me the same, sometimes I'll just call it, others I might want to see how the next few phases will play out, so I'll request to continue.

It sounds like you were calling it more out of frustration than a real inevitability, though, and it is certainly in poorer form in tournament settings than casual. Still, we all get frustrated sometimes. As long as we leave friends and try to do better next time, all is well.

Every time I act rude or snobby I commit Seppuku. Just the once, so far.

I try to be really easy going. I'm OK with losing, so when I know it's happening there's nothing else I can do about it except to play my best. I wouldn't say I'm loaded with good personality traits, but that's one of them, I'm a pretty good loser. It pays off in those games that take unexpected turns, it's not over until the last damage is dealt.

Sometimes I... Might be forceful in suggesting what my opponent does. Not overly, but not than I'd like to be. In those situations I just try to make sure I don't get pushy. It's fine to highlight am option they have that I would prefer they take, and upselling that option is fine so long as I just don't get pushy.

To quote another favourite captain - "How we face death is at least as important as how we face life."

Gaming is a seriously complicated social activity.

We're pushing little bits of plastic around and making pew! pew! noises, so it's about as far from a serious activity as you can get. There are literally NO stakes. If you win, you win nothing. If you lose, you lose nothing. We're all playing just so we can have some fun with our Star Wars ships. On the surface of things, nothing should be simpler. We all have fun, and we always choose to do whatever is the most fun for our opponents, so we can all have the most fun. Not quite sure if he's in range? Give him the shot. A little unclear where your ships or squadrons should go? Put them wherever is the most convenient for your opponent. Easy stuff.

BUT! What is fun for us, and fun for our opponents is different! I want to win! So does he! So I can't just do whatever makes my opponent happy without sacrificing my own happiness, and instead I need to come up with my own metric of 'keep my opponent happy while still making the game fun for both of us'. And this gets doubly complicated when my opponent starts to take liberties. Like, maybe I think he moved his squadrons a little too far, but I couldn't prove it, and now he has a shot he otherwise wouldn't. Maybe I think his ship should have finished up a few millimeters further over, but now he's put it down and has a double arc shot that he wouldn't have otherwise had. Maybe he's starting to ask favours, like the edge of his base is ending up off the table "Oh, you don't mind do you?"

Now my metric of how much 'fun' I should let him have is changing.

When it comes to sportsmanship, it's best to take two steps back and think of things in a more abstract sense, rather than in particulars. Basically, just be excellent to one another.

I had a guy in X Wing today who was a hair annoying. Cursing every time I would negate his attacks. Being a bit over-celebratoy when he did land things. And he technically was running Dash on Dash at 101 points (caught after he beat me).

I dealt with it. Would I have liked to beat him? With a passion that would be rude to admit in public. But in the end it's a game.

I used to be a bad sport. A lot as a kid. But I've mostly grown out of it. Just try to acknowledge your actions and emotions and grow out of it. You probably surrendered too early, but there are times when you'll be full Kobyashi Maru. There is no shame conceding in those cases however.

If all you did was get frustrated and concede I think you are fine. I have been a pretty bad sport in the past. I get flustered and tend to think along a certain line of options. I don't get mad at my opponent just mad at my bad play and mistakes and it comes out onto my opponents by me getting short tempered. . . I am getting better. . . At least I hope I am.

This is just a game. As long as your not cheating don't worry about...sure you'll accidently do things you didn't realize on occasion and just come up with a solution that is close to the outcome as probable once you discover your mistake. The journey is the destination. Playing the game is the fun. Winning should be an after thought. I win if the person I am playing with has fun. Sportsmanship is making that happen. If you weren't so frustrated about winning you would have been able to just concede. There is no reason to prolong someone's punishment. Get together and just play and forget tournament points etc. and root for each other and laugh at your own silly mistakes as well as theirs because you'll all realize you're just pushing ships around and rolling dice instead of being in a bread line etc. Stop playing the tournaments and just get people together to have fun. Just play games for fun. if winning is what makes it so fun, I suggest more reading and less game playing until you discover one of the most important priorities of life: living in the moment and enjoying the people in the moment. You don have to spend a thousand dollars chasing a few upgrade cards and you won't take all this stuff so seriously. The entire tournament thing behind this game is just silly. It is propagated be the desire to win instead of just playing to have fun. forget the meta. Ships get bumped...you do your best and don't take any of this stuff seriously. Surround yourself with these easy going people and let the rest find others to play with. And seriously...save us these sorry public apologies that are self serving at best.

Mostly I think it was my tone and body language that pushed the concede from "Premature surrender" to "Petulant pouting". In the end we played it out, my bombers tore down his VSD Flagship and one GSD, and he tabled me. So I definitely gave it up too fast.

To quote another favourite captain - "How we face death is at least as important as how we face life."

So you cheat?

/kobayashi smobayashi

This is just a game. As long as your not cheating don't worry about...sure you'll accidently do things you didn't realize on occasion and just come up with a solution that is close to the outcome as probable once you discover your mistake. The journey is the destination. Playing the game is the fun. Winning should be an after thought. I win if the person I am playing with has fun. Sportsmanship is making that happen. If you weren't so frustrated about winning you would have been able to just concede. There is no reason to prolong someone's punishment. Get together and just play and forget tournament points etc. and root for each other and laugh at your own silly mistakes as well as theirs because you'll all realize you're just pushing ships around and rolling dice instead of being in a bread line etc. Stop playing the tournaments and just get people together to have fun. Just play games for fun. if winning is what makes it so fun, I suggest more reading and less game playing until you discover one of the most important priorities of life: living in the moment and enjoying the people in the moment. You don have to spend a thousand dollars chasing a few upgrade cards and you won't take all this stuff so seriously. The entire tournament thing behind this game is just silly. It is propagated be the desire to win instead of just playing to have fun. forget the meta. Ships get bumped...you do your best and don't take any of this stuff seriously. Surround yourself with these easy going people and let the rest find others to play with. And seriously...save us these sorry public apologies that are self serving at best.

Aye, if you're both having fun, then you're both winning. I temper myself by remembering we're grown men (and women) playing with cardboard and plastic toys.

And yeah, I couldn't give a flip about the tourney scene. Too much testosterone, too little "pew pew Star Wars weeeeeeee" in some circles.

I may be the odd one out in this thread but I like challenging myself against other opponents and I find that people play harder when a prize they want is on the line.

I play against Mikael Hasselstein often enough to know that when he is serious it is during a tournament he wants to win at while the times he goofs around and tests ideas is during regular game days. This is a common concept I find.

Gaming is a lifelong hobby, winning a tournament is a brief moment in time. Play to make friends first and foremost and with luck and good play the wins come your way.

The true test of sportsmanship is to have people wanting a rematch even though you managed a win against them.

I play to win, but I don't have to win to play.

I may be the odd one out in this thread but I like challenging myself against other opponents and I find that people play harder when a prize they want is on the line.

Oddly enough I have found in other games what happens is that a player tries too hard when they have never won an award and end up breaking Wheatons' Law of gaming more than someone who isn't quite as caring about winning or losing. They also get flustered and frustrated when things don't go their way, making it even hard to pull off the win.

I may be the odd one out in this thread but I like challenging myself against other opponents and I find that people play harder when a prize they want is on the line.

Oddly enough I have found in other games what happens is that a player tries too hard when they have never won an award and end up breaking Wheatons' Law of gaming more than someone who isn't quite as caring about winning or losing. They also get flustered and frustrated when things don't go their way, making it even hard to pull off the win.

Mikael Hasselstein had what. . . 6 medals and still gives it his all at times. It is a thing I guess

I won a medal finally though buy I am not sure if that will keep me from wanting to win another and try for it as much as my first.

Mikael Hasselstein had what. . . 6 medals and still gives it his all at times. It is a thing I guess

I certainly have my share of prizes - and occasionally I'll wear them! - but I wonder if whatever it was that I did that helped me win them isn't slipping. I may need to become a poor sport in order to appease the Dark Side.

If all you did was get frustrated and concede I think you are fine. I have been a pretty bad sport in the past. I get flustered and tend to think along a certain line of options. I don't get mad at my opponent just mad at my bad play and mistakes and it comes out onto my opponents by me getting short tempered. . . I am getting better. . . At least I hope I am.

Well, now that you have been embraced by the Empire, the anger and hatred that used to flow through you uselessly are now helping you grow stronger and more powerful...

But, more seriously, the outcomes of the matches (win/loss) must be treated secondary to having a good game that is both challenging as well as friendly.

Yes, it's hard sometimes. I got a little grouchy at the Sullust tournament (Lyraeus knows of what I speak), because I was tired and I did have my sights set on that ISD (as well the 'threat' of taking home the MC80). Thankfully, it allowed me to be focused, while he were being the gracious host to all of our onlookers. At the same time, I was focused without being rude (I think).

For myself, I do feel like Armada is more taxing than X-Wing is. I think it is easier to turn to the Grouch Side when you have these long games in which you have to think several moves ahead and face the slow torture of a match going awry. X-Wing seems more dice dependent, and it's easier to outsource your fortunes to the dice and blame them. I know a fellow who is a good guy, and a very competitive player, but he throws a fit when his dice betray him. It's no fun. With Armada, because it seems like your fate is more in your own hands, it makes it harder to outsource the blame.

Anyway, sometimes matches don't go your way. When they start doing so, it is important to laugh it off, and remember that you're a grown man playing with plastic toys. Having tournament medals for this game is not a sign of your prowess as a human being. Being someone people want to play with is a better sign.

I may be the odd one out in this thread but I like challenging myself against other opponents and I find that people play harder when a prize they want is on the line.

I play against Mikael Hasselstein often enough to know that when he is serious it is during a tournament he wants to win at while the times he goofs around and tests ideas is during regular game days. This is a common concept I find.

This is where I fall. Do to scheduling I can't really make casual game night, so it's easier to make tournaments since they are less frequent.

I play to win. I bring competitive (I always hope) builds, but I still have fun. I lament my mistakes but don't get frustrated.

Then again it seems like the overall tournament scene is fairly casual. Even Worlds had some slide. I sucked it up but had fun at what was, by definition, the most competitive event Armada can have.

To quote another favourite captain - "How we face death is at least as important as how we face life."

So you cheat?

/kobayashi smobayashi

No...changed the conditions of the test.

I think there's a point when walking away is the best thing you can do. Sure you may come off as a petulant child, but if you're already at that point, it's unlikely to get better unless you can walk away and cool off.

I mean what's worse, storming off, or sticking around and playing, but getting more and more frustrated. That isn't likely to make for an enjoyable game for either side. I don't think I'm all that different from most and am unlikely to make better decisions when I'm upset...

That quickly can lead to a downward spiral where you get more and more pisssed, because you can't see clearly, and keep making more and more mistakes.

I don't understand why anyone would get to the point where they throw a hissy fit and quit. I mean, let's have some maturity here. Even if you're getting smoked, acting like a baby is never the answer. And with tournament rules, try and salvage some points.

In our sullust, one of the favorites to win it got tabled in the first round by a newbie (me, as it so happened), but he fought on in the next two rounds and ended up in third or fourth, and still walked away with a ship.

But regardless of that, just don't be a ******. Take your lumps like an adult, because otherwise people are not going to want to play with you, and then you can win all you like against yourself because that's the only opponent you'll have.