OK I am a geek, I even played Magic The Gathering and Role Playing Game. Still I always dissliked the steriotype that gamers were socially incompetent smelly people. And in UK I only knew one Role Player with a hygene deficiency, so I thought the steriotype unfair.
Saturday I went shopping for games, and so visited a store which was by chance having a MtG tournament. The place smelled of sweat and dirty laundary emminating from the player many of whom were in there 20s or 30s. The smell made me sick, it was all I could do to hold my breath until I could get out of the store into the rarefied atmsphere of the parking lot outside. For fuck sake smelly gamers, have a shower occasionaly, clean your t-shirts if they smell, and don’t congregate in large groups if you have the hygene sence of a rabid skunk with fester sores.
Are you drunk, or do you always spell like this?
And yes, the stereotype is true in my experience. D&D, MtG, most roleplayers are funky and unwashed. I avoid gamers of all types at all costs.
Sam
I’d like to clarify the situation a little:
(1) Some Silicon Valley MTG players do, in fact, stink
(2) Matchplay, which is almost certainly the store to which you refer (it’s in the San Antonion Shopping Center) does in fact have a strong and extremely unpleasant odor
(3) Most Silicon Valley MTG players, including me and many of my friends, have perfectly fine personal hygiene. But adding non-smelly people into a smelly room does not make the room non-smelly
Most importantly, though…
(4) The tournament that was going on on Saturday was a Pro Tour qualifier. And did I mention that it was won by Team Supertaco. And did I mention that Team Supertaco consists of my friend Ian, my friend Bret, and me? Woo-hoo!
I keep telling 'em, there’s a 24 Hour Fitness right around the corner. They should set up a deal with them, and give a certificate for a free shower to every contestant in their tournaments. They can even make it a point to place a notice that free soap is available with each shower.
Not Drunk, dyslexic. I’ve been in Matchplay (I thought it was called Neutral Grounds, but the name may have changed) when it didn’t stink, a mild smell doesn’t worry me, just the smell on saturday was like unwashed gymn socks heald against your nose. I feel for those gamers who were clean, they must have been revolted by the smell, hopefully it didn’t spoil their game play. I’m pitting the funk, because it was saddening to see an unpleasent steriotype getting played out in the extreme.
B.T.W. well donr Max the Vool I wish you could persuade other teams to wash more often. And glad to hear you won dispite the chemical warfare being used against you.
Its name started out as Matchplay, then they changed it to Neutral Ground, then they changed it back to Matchplay, though they may not have changed the sign out front. And I think Wednesday nights are MtG nights, too, so you might wish to avoid going there those evenings.
Thanks, I’ve been in on other game nights which weren’t so smelly. Maybe the rain we had last week made the building smell worse.
Y’know, I’ve noticed that too. Its only about 1 person in ten, usually, but boy do they make up in “quality” what they lack in quantity.
I was wondering why there were piles of MtG cards blowing about in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
I don’t think the store even has a sign out front at this point. On Saturday I had to go into GNC to try to find some pills for our cat and I was actually looking for the sign, and didn’t see one.
I’m amazed how many dopers are at least vaguely familiar with Matchplay… particularly given that I don’t know, off the top of my head, who any of you are.
Any of you who play there regularly probably know me… email me if you’re curious.
Oh, and Bippy: Wednesday night is board game night, and it’s also both a magic league and a magic group draft, but both of those groups are, in general, more mature and hygienic. Although of course the crowding won’t help.
Bord game night sounds like it could be fun. I used to play MtG but gave up some time after Usaga’s (sp) expansion packs. I feel it is a great game, but too expensive if you try to take it seriously. I like that you can get decent strategy games both at Matchplay and the Hobby Store 10 yards away. Makes wasting money very easy with Traider Joes just there as well.