I don't want to complain too much, but yesterday I played against a guy who did photos of the game all the time. Then he shared the photos in his WhatsApp group where his friends where "watching".

So here is the question: I don't want to be paranoic but it can be that they can give him tactical advices during the game or remind him some forgotten game mechanics. I cannot control what he is doing/writing but I also don't want to stop him from taking pictures.

Does it have a big impact on the game? Can be, but it doesn't have to.

I wouldn't think his friends could tell him too much just from pictures. And if it's a casual game anyway, I don't think I'd worry too much about it from the aspect of giving him advice, but I may be slightly annoyed if it's never ending and I'm trying to play the game with them.

Now, if it were in a tournament, and more than just maybe 1 or 2 pictures taken, then I might say something.

Are they new to the game? Do these friends of their's play? Might just be excited about a new thing if that's the case.

First time he did at regionals somd months ago. So it was a big tournament. I don't want to play chess against 5 people :))

"the only snap shots on the table should be the EPTS!"

In all seriousness, taking a photo of a cool paint scheme or epic moment (nailed the K-turn juuuusssssssttttt right) is fine but the play by play photos uploaded leaves doubt for he might be getting advice.

More concerning is why are they on social media while playing X-wing?! Getting photos cool, taking time to upload to social media sites during the middle of a game? not cool. At least have enough courtesy to not text/message people while playing the game. How does he even find time to do that unless you were playing a 6 ship+ swarm?

Tournament wise, if it becomes to much of a hassle, you could talk to the TO about slow play if it indeed does impede on the progression of the game. This is very different from say "trying to finish an order to jimmy johns in the very first turn of round 4 because hasn't any time for other than a bathroom break since round 1".

I don't think taking photos is bad practice per se, lots of people can't remember turn by turn plays of each match in a tournament so its a memory aid for later. I don't think posting them to a group chat is that bad either, as long as it's take -> send -> play round and they aren't replying to messages during the round. Lots of people keep their friends who couldn't make it to an event updated, so it's not really an issue.

If he's obviously typing on his phone, reading, replying, then setting a dial like he's taking advice, then you might mention it to a judge for slow play. But on it's own, I think it's fine.

My personal practice is to first ask if my opponent minds if I take pictures before the match begins. I generally take one, maybe two after each end phase, unless something funny or horrible happens that demands a photo (2 Y-Wings leaving 2 seismic charges behind them next to an Interceptor pileup comes to mind). I don't upload until after I get home, though.

I think in tournaments like store championships, nationals and world cellulars should be restricted. Turn them off just sake of Fair play. Just to avoid any delay and inconvenience.

I'm a photographer, and many times for big events, I'll bring my huge DSLR and take photos throughout the match. But I always ask my opponent if they mind if I do it before the game. To this day, I haven't had anyone say 'no'.

That said, it's a whole different animal if I were uploading them during the game. I would probably have an issue with it if they were typing and reading replies the whole time, but mostly because of how rude it is at the table.

Making a record of a match should not interfere with the match itself. What you described makes makes it seem like your opponent would have his head pulled out of the game. Not good.

5 hours ago, IG88E said:

First time he did at regionals somd months ago. So it was a big tournament. I don't want to play chess against 5 people :))

Yeah that definitely would not be tolerated. I would have asked politely to cease and if it continued then I would have called for a TO.

6 hours ago, MortalPlague said:

I'm a photographer, and many times for big events, I'll bring my huge DSLR and take photos throughout the match. But I always ask my opponent if they mind if I do it before the game. To this day, I haven't had anyone say 'no'.

That said, it's a whole different animal if I were uploading them during the game. I would probably have an issue with it if they were typing and reading replies the whole time, but mostly because of how rude it is at the table.

No kidding there. Even if your DSLR is wifi-enabled and automatically uploading your pictures you still wouldn't be looking at your phone. Now anyone who is using a two-way communication device during a tournament should be called out as that may not be any different than speaking the spectators standing behind/beside you.

PS. I'm sometime surprised by people who do take offense at someone using a "huge DSLR" to take photos somewhere yet those same people are completely oblivious to someone taking pictures with a cellphone. The DSLR should allow for better pictures but when you're using it anyone who's paying attention should know what's going on; "stealth pictures" with cellphones are pretty common and sometimes very hard to detect because you don't know if that person is holding up their phone to write/read a text or if they're taking a picture with it.

As a habit, I don't take my phone out during a game out of courtesy. I would ask him to refrain and at most snap one photo at the beginning instead.

I occasionally pull out my phone to snap a pic when something crazy happens, but I certainly wouldn't be posting it anywhere or chatting with others during a match.

At Naboo Open, I took one pic of my opponent (for the batrep) and one pic of his list. I always asked permission first to take a picture of my opponent. I took extra pics if something cool happened (like my opponents RAC managed to modify up to 4 crits on his attack roll - which was an awesome roll!) or they had really cool paint jobs or mods on their ships.

I didn't post those pics until I got home. The only time I texted on my phone during the whole event was when my wife texted me (she wanted to know how I was doing). I pulled out my phone, saw it was my wife, and asked my opponent if it would be ok if I responded. Texted her back and that was it for phone communication for the whole rest of the Open.

21 hours ago, StevenO said:

I'm sometimes surprised by people who do take offense at someone using a "huge DSLR" to take photos somewhere yet those same people are completely oblivious to someone taking pictures with a cellphone.

Size really does matter for some people.

I've taken photos during games plenty of times, lots of fun moments happen and it's great to share them with friends.

I wouldn't share the pics during a game though - especially when these games have time limits