If it were a relatively short game you were playing (e.g. something that usually takes 30 minutes in total), then I’d say play it through to the end. But it’s not worth waiting hours or days to finish something that’s not interesting for one party.
I lose at wordfeud quite often… in fact I just lost a game a few minutes ago by (I just checked) 389 to 273. Challenge to a rematch has been sent and accepted.
This guy I’m playing and I are pretty evenly matched, and it often comes down to luck with letters… if I lose it’s usually by a large margin, and the same if I win. Neither one of us ever resigns just because we’re getting our asses beat. There’s the challenge to see how much ground you can make up before the end.
Another point of honor is not to pass on the first turn, unless you have no possibility of making a word. He just played “ai” for 2 points, and I replied with “gilder” for 18.
This is perfect. If the two of you agree on the “rules” going in, there’ll be no arguing about it later.
My two cents is that you should always play to the end anyway, and strive to make the best possible move on every turn, regardless of how far behind you may be. It might help you get better, and one of these days you’ll actually beat him!
There is a difference between quitting when you are currently losing and quitting when there is no longer any possibility of winning.
I think it’s worse sportsmanship to continually challenge an inferior opponent to an unwinnable game. I would simply decline to play in the future.
The reason why children need to be taught not to precipitously quit just because they are behind is because the quitting is often a passive aggressive expression of anger at the opponent. Congratulating an opponent on a win and ending the game is not remotely in the category of poor behavior. I think the husband is being a poor sport. I wonder if he’s just trying to run up the score, and is upset that his opponent won’t let him get six kajillion points if the game ends early.
Note that this lesson about the gracefulness of conceding also applies to debates on this message board. One person may agree to disagree and let a debate conclude; others seem set on proving that there’s no horse too dead to beat further. I say there really isn’t a big point to debating someone into submission, though I am confident that I have tried to do just that on several occasions.
Not that it really answers the question but I have feeling the hubby with the competive streak would NOT like a game he sucks at. Try playing one of those with him and see how much he wants it drag on and on. Or take a normal game he is good at and handicap the crap out him so he generally won’t win.
Some games are fun just to play and winning or losing is secondary. Others are where the winning is the fun part. If its more the later (or thats your personal feelings towards such things) I think playing and playing and playing and not enjoying yourself is just silly.
Yeah, quiters never win but IMO there is a difference between a game for fun and other aspects of life.
I’m for finishing the game once you start. But I wouldn’t enjoy playing against someone with whom I’m so unevenly matched. It’s not fun to lose all the time, but neither is it fun to win all the time.
Depending on how competitive you both are, you could also adopt this attitude without telling him. If he usually wins by X points, play to beat the spread 
Coming from a chess background where it is expected that one resigns when behind, I say that it’s fine to quit a lost cause. I support run-rules in baseball and softball as well.
I just started playing Words with Friends on my phone last week so I am still pretty new at it. My record so far is 6-1. I got destroyed in my one loss 498-298 but played until the end. That’s how I like to do things. In two of my wins, the opponent conceded and it didn’t bother me a bit. Given that the option is there, it isn’t against the rules and I don’t see how it’s poor sportsmanship.
I just want to clarify that agreeing in advance with your partner that the game will end under whatever conditions is absolutely good sportsmanship. Likewise wherever it is customary for the losing player to concede, it is also fine.
“Refusing to play” after falling behind in a game in which the customary practice is the complete all turns per the OP is not good form and has the flavor of a storm off/temper tantrum.
Yes.
Exactly. Only winning freak douchebags insist on continueing a game that they know there is no way their opponent has a chance of catching up or winning.
I think so, too. I don’t love losing, but I can live with it. I don’t enjoy being forced to play when I have no hope of winning - I’ll gladly concede, then we can all get on with our lives.
Big fan of the mercy rule, but I firmly believe the loser should have the ability to waive the rule if they want to. This is not always feasible in sporting events where another pair of teams is waiting for the field, however, and the current game will not be over for another 8 hours.
Surrendering when defeat is a foregone conclusion is just sensible if the main objective of both players is simply ‘victory.’ Some games though, like Yahtzee in my family, have a ‘hall of fame’ written on the game box lid wherein are recorded for the awe and covetousness of posterity the all-time crazy high scores. Mom is currently in possession of the box lid–when last I looked her mother held the top score with 723 (the infamous ‘5-yahtzee’ game of '72). Would have been a shame if she had to quit just because everyone else was done.
I play backgammon, where conceding defeat in a game can be a strategic move for the match.
What gets me is that you are already ‘playing the spread’ as someone suggested since you’ve set a limit of 150 point behind.
No-one else will play your husband because either he beats them or they’re just not that into the game.
Insisting on beating you into the groound when he’s already won the game (to all intents and purposes) strikes me as the bad sportsman attitude. It almost guarantees that you, too, will just stop playing the game.
But yes, it would be better on your part to discuss your limits before the game.
Playing a game whose outcome isn’t even remotely questionable is boring. Since the point of games is to alleviate boredom, I don’t see much point in continuing past that point.
Now, if he were beating the pants off you when you were normally evenly matched or you normally won, I’d expect you to continue due to novelty of the outcome and out of kindness to your husband, but not when he expects to win. That’s just letting him enjoy rubbing it in a your expense.
I’m not sure at all why he’d insist on completing lopsided games when you’re the only person still willing to play against him. Surely he realizes that if he makes it utterly unenjoyable for you, he’ll be left without an opponent?
playing the spread is a great idea in this case. games are for fun and for the mental stimulation, not for the aggravation. also for those who insist you play the game out til the bitter end I recommend
it might change your mind about a lot of things.
I think it depends on the game. With Scrabble I think it’s very bad form to concede, because the turn by turn play is more important than the final score. Each turn is its own challenge to find a good word position, even ignoring the context of the greater game. It really annoys me when people quit those sorts of games.
This holds for other games where each turn is the focus of the game, like pictionary, and “winning” the game by getting to a certain number of points is just an arbitrary way to end gameplay.
Games like Monopoly or Risk or Chess (except the mission version) where the point really is to reach a specific goal or eliminate other players - in those cases each turn is just in service of the overall strategy and if winning is impossible, then each turn no longer holds any entertainment value or challenge, in which case dragging it out is just torture.
But word games - conceding is definitely being a bad sport, and also robbing you of entertainment.
I mostly agree, but when physically playing scrabble with someone and you’re getting your ass kicked badly it’s very viscerally satisfying to:
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