How to deal with moaners?

[Citizen Nev]

Now we all like a good moan from time to time but there comes a point when people moaning just becomes tiresome. In Blood Bowl the random nature of the dice makes this even more pronounced as people pick up on percieved statistical injustices and bore you to death with cries of 'Why always me?'

e.g.

So what tactics do you have to halt the moaners mid-moan?

I played a game last night against one of those dastardly foreign types. It was a Human vs Human matchmaking game. Midway through the 2nd half in a game where I was losing players left right and centre (2 to inj, 4 to KO) by opponent had the audacity to moan that 'I always got CAS' whenever I broke armour. Whist this might be true I think I broke armour about 5 times in the entire game doing 3 CAS and 2 stuns.

I found that not directly engaging his moaning with my perecptions of the game and instead making passing comment on this being 'a good, close game' (It was, I ended up winning 1-0) as well as ending everything I typed with a smiley face curtailed his moaning somewhat.

I'd be interested to see what other people do.

Incidently his 2D6 luck was 16.25 whilst mine was -4.35

 

[Vusfnuv]

Just turn your chat window off.

 

[Lebe666]

I think you did well... I don't like to feed them reasons to moan more.

Sometimes the moaner is right too... had a game where just about everything went wrong for him... I just kept quiet or said "nuffle has you"... because it was true.

I know that when I moan I make sure to say... "its nothing personal... just need to vent"

 

[John McGuirk]

Stop playing?

It's a dice game. Admittedly it's one of the better ones, with an emphasis on punishing unnecessary risk rather than rewarding it, but there will always be the luck element and so there will always be moaning. Armour and injury rolls are particularly egregious because their impact is harder to mitigate. Nuffle knows I've moaned about dice before when the chances are I was just being outplayed. I'm afraid it's just an unpleasant byproduct of human psychology; we're all hardwired to think we're the one true example of canine reproductive anatomy and any evidence we encounter to the contrary has to be explained (for which read moaned) away.

A little self-restraint would go a long way, but this is the internet which we all know is restraint kryptonite. Like you, Nev, I can't stand moaning, but I do understand it and I suspect anyone who thinks themselves above it is basically kidding themselves.

 

[Limdood]

if i see something happening that favors my side heavily for luck (and lets face it, i faced an ogre team that couldn't break armor on my zons except for 3 times, and i stunned 6 ogres - i played with a Norse Ulfwerener that never failed a ball handling roll 2 games straight, and he made at least 4 each game...etc.) i'll usually comment on it first.

the best way to curtail complaining is to head it off early....before it even comes out. admit that "yeah, luck does seem to be on my side" (whether it is or not....it may seem to be at certain times.....in a game vs. Dreamy's Norse and my norse, he started off getting 3 KO in the first couple turns and i thought i was doomed....suddenly i countered with 2 back to back Cas in the same game, and i had a babe to counter the KOs and suddenly it felt like luck to a HUGE U-turn).

 

[Barmution]

I moan a bit, but I always try to acknowledge when I'm being lucky too, so I hope it evens out. And there's nothing worse than somebody trying to present facts in a way as to undermine my reasons for moaning when I feel that I have good cause (ie. "But you're breaking armor like crazy!" - in a match where I've got 14 stuns and 1 KO on him vs his 2 stuns 1 KO and 6 injuries on me )

So just do as Limdood says, acknowledge your good luck or your opponent's bad luck and do it early.

 

[Netsmurf]

Whine for the win is a long testet and even proven tactic. Whine for the win can distract opponents and make them hurry as they really just want to get it over with. It is very used in TT and it is great fun when drinking beer as it is normally a fine excuse to get more beer

 

[Panda with issues]

Netsmurf would definitely know about whining...

 

[Citizen Nev]

I wonder if I should try a 'rubbing it in' tactic?

 

[Barmution]

I wonder if I should try a 'rubbing it in' tactic?

You wouldn't exactly be breaking new ground. Also, it'll mostly work on people who's moaning is caused by perceptual bias. I just get annoyed and stop typing anything but 'FFS' everytime I get more snake-eyes, double-skulls or unlikely injuries

 

[John McGuirk]

Yeah. Definitely don't discount the potential for provoking a moaner into spending their turn typing rather than playing. Past a certain level of experience most coaches will know only to chat on the other guy's turn, but even then you're still distracting them from the game and hurting their concentration.

Of course, this can be just as easily accomplished with good natured chat/banter, confirming politeness and good manners as the ultimate dark arts we always suspected them to be.

 

[Gallows Bait]

I am one of the moaners, so no real tips here other than let me rant it out.

Edit: One sure fire thing though is don't make it personal.

If I've rolled my 4th double skull in a single half don't tell me how great your tactics are or how skilled you are, its a sure fire way to turn me from bemoaning Nuffle to ranting back in a personal and (sadly) sometimes offensive manner.

I'm not proud about it, but when I'm having bad luck, it really really winds me up when someone takes that for their own skill.

 

[Citizen Nev]

I make conscious decisions to not moan from time to time when i feel like I'm being nuffled. It's usually just as cathartic to scream bloody murder at my screen, which at least my opponent can't hear. I suppose he assumes I'm taking it all in good grace.

My Mrs on the other hand is less than happy with me getting wound up over 'that stupid game that isn't real life.'

She'll have to go...

 

[Barmution]

My Mrs on the other hand is less than happy with me getting wound up over 'that stupid game that isn't real life.'

My GF has taken to assuming that I've won whenever I haven't sighed or cursed particularly loudly. How I wish she was wrong...

 

[Viajero]

I love the rub it in technique but sadly I feel I cant apply it freely in an environment like OCC or CC or I d be losing "friends" fast.

In Nagaroth or Auld MM it´s fair game though . Tend to do it only when my win seems secure though, cant give that guy the opportunity to rub it in back! Love it when you can get your opponent insane. So much fun reading his insulting text and making them disconn.

 

[Citizen Nev]

My GF has taken to assuming that I've won whenever I haven't sighed or cursed particularly loudly. How I wish she was wrong...

I was playing a late one and woke her up once. THAT didn't go down well!

I won but had to postpone my SSC game the next day as she was still grumpy about it.

I do wear the trousers in the relationship...honest...

 

[Fallowheart]

ha!

some funny stuff here. I've only really experienced one big moaner in MM. I played my first ever game with Khemri and basically murdered his team with only one player left on the field for him but the ball on the complete other side of the pitch. he was complaining about armor rolls and 'shouldn't have taken this match against stupid khemri' with his elves.

so he's up 1-0 and I pick up but can't get to the other endzone in time (1 square short, should have done a GFI the turn before but mis-counted). He starts typing in caps 'YOU L O S E' over and over. I knock down his last player, surround him and foul him out 'dead' with my ball-carrier', then type: 'yup, good game '

my spp = 20+MVP, his spp = 3+MVP.

eh, i've had my fair share of thinking 'how can this get any worse'. but i like to 'kill them with kindness'.

 

[Citizen Nev]

I knock down his last player, surround him and foul him out 'dead' with my ball-carrier', then type: 'yup, good game '

I like to 'kill them with kindness'.

I'd hate to see you being unkind

 

[Rama Set]

ha!

some funny stuff here. I've only really experienced one big moaner in MM. I played my first ever game with Khemri and basically murdered his team with only one player left on the field for him but the ball on the complete other side of the pitch. he was complaining about armor rolls and 'shouldn't have taken this match against stupid khemri' with his elves.

so he's up 1-0 and I pick up but can't get to the other endzone in time (1 square short, should have done a GFI the turn before but mis-counted). He starts typing in caps 'YOU L O S E' over and over. I knock down his last player, surround him and foul him out 'dead' with my ball-carrier', then type: 'yup, good game '

my spp = 20+MVP, his spp = 3+MVP.

eh, i've had my fair share of thinking 'how can this get any worse'. but i like to 'kill them with kindness'.

Thats amazing Fallowheart what perfect justice. I also tend to kill with kindness as I am not playing to engage with donkeys who have no idea how to have a good time. Unless being a dick is your thing I guess...

 

[Kjelstad]

I cut it off before it starts by pointing out that I am seriously lucky.

Oh but I will bitch. When that dirty red headed whore killed my ogre on on a two red dice block last night I had nothing but hate