Let us take this afternoon to conclude our discussion on Table Citizenship and take a look at the remaining four sins of Greed, Wrath, Sloth, and Lust. For each of these sins let us take a look at the manifestation at the table and how to prevent them from plaguing your game night.
Greed
One of the more simple sins, Greed can be defined as wanting everything whether it is all of the games at the table or if someone always needs to have their way. If you have a player who always wants to play games that they suggest try finding games that are similar but can add new flavor to your game nights. To avoid this greed, you could also set up a schedule where on different game nights different people bring different games. Alternatively, games could be voted on beforehand. As a player, you should always be open to new games and recognize that if you insist on the same games over and over then you might find that the table becomes fed up with the game. If you find yourself playing a game you do not like then find a similar one that you like and offer that suggestion after the game night is done. If people still insist on their own games or constantly and refuse to agree to a resolution then it might be better for them to join another game night.
Wrath
Now while many of the sins can be irksome to a game night but few can ruin it like wrath. It can either be an explosive outrage after a game is lost or it could comment during following games. Wrath can be also targeted towards a person or it could be towards a game. My advice is to take a break after a game if only for a little bit. If you are the player who is enraged, then suggest taking some time away from the table. I always find taking walk is a good thing to do as well as talking about the source of the disagreement after enough time has passed. If enough people are angry then the game night should be ended and then people need to talk about what made them angry. The important thing to keep in mind is that if the grievances are not addressed then these issues can lead to the dissolution of the game night. Time and patience are key when dealing with wrath.
Sloth
Sloth could be least of the 7 sins described for board gaming. The worst scenario for sloth is that a game is not cleaned up after it is played and that can easily be handled by simply being diligent after a game is complete to clean it up. If it becomes a problem then a rotation of who cleans up can be implemented.
Lust
As I wrote this article today, this was the sin that is the most difficult to talk about. The issue with talking about lust is that there are a ton of ways that it can manifest. Instead of trying to enumerate all of them I will simply try to provide some rules. First and foremost, a game night is for games, trying to flirt or make advances is not appropriate for the table. Second, consent is the most important thing: ask for permission and respect the wishes of those at the table. Third, if someone is being inappropriate remove them from the situation and talk to them about what is not appropriate. Finally, if a group member is made uncomfortable by another’s actions, move quickly to resolve the situation. In all of these rules, the key thing is to remove group members who are not acting appropriately. There are many other people in the gaming community who have tackled this issue a lot better than I can.
So these rules are but a guideline to trying to be a better citizen at the table and hopefully your game nights will benefit.