Are you a Man-Child? Take the quiz!!!

It seems the new hip word for a low level boardgame geek is man-child. Most gamers seem to accept the fact they are game geeks but most don't go so low as to become a man-child.

Let's look at a recent post by Mr. Skeletor:

This site(referring to BGG) is supposedly about boardgames but the reality is the focus is more about the activities of the man-children who inhabit here then the actual playing of games. BGGers buy games to look at the bits, make 'collections', work out 'storage solutions' and write pages and pages of dick comparing bullshit. I always smirk when I read session reports that obviously took 5 times longer to write then play the game.

This post was very interesting because Mr. Skeletor began to flesh out the characteristics of the man-child. At first blush, one would think F:AT members would tend to be more of a man-child than members of other sites but I think it is untrue. The key is what the gamer is focused on. Members here I believe are truly focused on just playing the game more than anything else. The man-child focuses on silly things in gaming and puts the actual playing of the game last.

I think it is important to keep the focus on the PLAYING of the game rather than these man-child activities so I have devised a quiz to identify if you are a man-child.


ARE YOU A MAN-CHILD? A quiz devised by The Mad Gamer

1) How many sealed copies do you have in your game collection?
a) none 0 points
b) less than 3 1 point
c) less than 10 3 points
d) more than 10 5 points

2) Do you have multiple copies of more than one game?
a) no 0 points
b) yes 5 points


3) Have you ever sold a game to thin out your collection and then you have bought it again?

a) no 0 points
b) yes 5 points

4) Which of the following statements best describes you when you put your game components in baggies?

a) I don't put the components in baggies , I just keep them in the box 0 points
b) I put them in baggies, but any baggie will do 3 points
c) I search out a specific brand of baggie to bag my components 5 points


5) How many times do you use Online package tracking to track a recent game order?

a) I never track my game order online 0 points
b) I will usually track the order if it hasn't arrived in a timely manner 1 point
c) I track my game order daily 3 points
d) I track my game order multiple times per day 5 points


6) Have you ever left work early to go pick up a game order package at the post office or one waiting for you on your doorstep?

a) No. 0 points
b) Yes 3 points
c) Yes and I used a day of vacation 5 points
d) yes and I was fired 10 points


7) Which statement best describes you when receiving a new game order package?

a) I set it aside, have a beer, eat dinner and open it up later 0 points
b) I rip it open, look at it for a few minutes and then relax 3 points
c) I go get a special knife and use extreme care as to not damage the game box inside
open slowly then check the packing slip to see if I was overcharged. If the order is from Boulder games I get a glass of water to have ready while I eat the Fireball and read the rules. 5 points

d) I come home to find my wife nude and waiting for me with a gourmet meal but I totally ignore her as I open the package and pour over the components and rules. 10 points


8) Boardgame Website membership:

a) I have been banned from a boardgame website -10 points
b) I check the websites every now and then but on a whole they bore me 0 points
c) member in good standing on a major boardgame site 3 points
d) Member and major contributor to a boardgame website 5 points
e) Took out a 2nd mortgage to buy a microbadge on BGG 20 points

9) Convention attentance

a) never been to a boardgame convention 0 points
b) I have been to a boardgame convention once 3 points
c) I have attended BGG Con 5 points
d) I have attended the Gathering of Friends 10 points


10) During a game night I drink:

a) a domestic beer 0 points
b) an imported beer 3 points
c) a soft drink 5 points
d) a Yoo Hoo 10 points


11) During a game night I play wearing:

a) casual or dress shoes 0 points
b) socks only 3 points
c) Flip flops or sandals 5 points
d) White reeboks 10 points


12) Which statement best describes your game night:

a) Really a Poker night with beer, bullshit, and lots of laughs 0 points
b) A social event but with a focus on gaming 3 points
c) A strategy session where conversation is frowned upon 5 points


13) Have you ever wrote a Session report?

a) What is a session report? 0 points
b) No 1 point
c) Yes 5 points


14) Have you ever done any sort of statistical analysis of games?

a) No 0 points
b) Yes 20 points


15. What is your opinion of Clearclaw?

a) Who??? 0 points
b) A nut 1 points
C) He is the DATA (Star Trek Character) of BGG 3 points
d) brilliant 5 points


16. A dog eats one of your boardgames. How do you react?

a) You hug the dog, laugh and say "You crazy mutt!" 0 points
b) You put the dog outside after saying "BAD DOG!" 1 point
c) You cry 3 points
d) You shoot the dog and log onto ebay to find a replacement with free shipping 25 points



17. Your wife or girlfriend cleans the house and in the process reorganizes your game collection: How do you react?

a) You kiss her and take her out to dinner 0 points
b) You have a look of concern 1 point
c) You brush past her to check the alphabetical status of the games 3 points
d)You divorce her and make a post on BGG about crazy wives 10 points


18) Collection size:

a) Under 12 games 0 points
b) Under 25 games 1 points
c Under 100 games 3 points
d) Over 100 games 5 points


19) Your house catches on fire! What do you do!

a) get everyone out as soon as possible and call 911 0 points
b) make sure everyone is out and try to get important documents 5 points
c) Get Agricola and run! 10 points


20) Which best describes your attitude toward the Boardgaming Hobby

a) Hard to call it a hobby, just something for fun 0 points
b) Can be fun but I am slightly concerned with the direction the hobby is going 5 points

c) We need a Boardgame representative at the U.N.!!! 20 points




OK, add up your score. If you scored 65 or higher you are a MAN-CHILD!!!!

I scored an 11 on this test.

I baggie components = 3
Wrote a session report = 5
Own 30-40 games = 3

TOTAL = 11 points

I think I'm borderline--but only because of that stats one. I can't help it--IT'S A DISEASE!

Phew! Only 16 points here.

I didn't take the test.

Therefore, I'm clear.

Bah,

I came in with a 24, it was the statistical analysis that got me. However, I cop the excuse that it is my job to develop new analytic techniques and TOS has a ridiculous amount of free data for the analyzing.

I submit, Mr. Weeks, that my stat score be cut-in-half to only 10 instead of 20 due to it being an occupational hazard.

I only scored a 29, but one of my ex-girlfriends basically called me a man-child while we were still dating. We were both 31 at the time. It was the Saturday morning after Valentine's Day, and we were talking (in bed) about her plans for the day.

Her plans: Drive home to get cleaned up for work. Go to work at her part-time job for a half-day. Pick up some groceries on the way home. Do laundry. Grade papers for the professor (her other part-time job). Maybe do some work on her doctoral thesis that night.

My plans: Watch Saturday morning cartoons, especially The Tick. Shower and eat breakfast. Rent some HK action movies at the video store. Host a group of friends playing Shadowfist, while playing the HK action movies in the background. Possibly go out drinking with a couple of the Shadowfist players afterwards, at the local goth bar.

She said, "You are just like a little boy!"

I said, "I just know how to have fun."

EDIT: My score drops to a 26 if F:AT isn't considered a major boardgaming site.

22 - and that's only thanks to the Ban question . Bloody Q2 (Space Crusade games and two copies of Samurai Swords) and Q3 (don't ask), and what's wrong with saving your vital docs ?

Shellhead wrote:

EDIT: My score drops to a 26 if F:AT isn't considered a major boardgaming site.

BANNED~!

Michael Barnes wrote:

I didn't take the test.

Therefore, I'm clear.

What are you afraid of...?

What are you afraid of...?

Right now Shellhead is the closest to being a man child, could his girlfriend had been right?

Barnes should be clear based on the banning question and not wearing White reeboks

I'm going to receive a lot of flak for this, but I think nearly everyone on here runs the risk of being a man-child. Looking at Shellhead's 'to-do' list I don't think there's a one of us that doesn't think that'd be a great day, myself included (minus the cartoon watching).

HOWEVER, I think it's a pretty sad situation. (Again, including myself)

There's a good book about the subject called Boys Adrift that basically touches on the subject of boys no longer 'sacking' up and being a 'man', but instead trying to live a life of childhood, thus being a drag/detrimental to society. To which I agree.

Again, I find shellhead's day fun, BUT I would never spend a day like that (unless on vacation at a Con). Having my own son really put it in perspective. Fortunately, I've always lead an active lifestyle, and have kept my 'gaming' time to a reasonable amount. Anymore, having a game night more than once a week makes me feel sick. It's also been liberating giving up videogames. I've had a lot more time to dedicate to other pursuits and become more well-rounded. Also, I hope to model the qualities of a gentleman to my son and not that of a man-child. No fan t-shirts, no videogames, no action figures, etc. To use shell's day only as an example, I'd cut some of it out to find some time to do an errand for the girlfriend or some other token of appreciation instead of filling it with self-centered juvenile pursuits. Looking back over the day, not only was the girlfriend the one building herself a brighter future, but she was doing all the errands around the house/apartment.

I hope in me, my son sees a person that takes care of his family, respects his wife, can kick some ass if need be, enjoys intellectual stimulation, yet still knows when to kick back and enjoy some laughs over a game.

Again, Shellhead, please don't take this as a critique, as here I am posting on a game site, during work hours, formerly using a videogame avatar. I can be just as guilty. I've just tried to be conscience of controlling it.

I'm going to receive a lot of flak for this,

No flak, great post!!!

The key is moderation in everything. I find it facsinating that you get sick when you have game night more than once a week.

I am curious about your reaction when you see Tom Vasel's wall of games.

Jack, you and I are cut from exactly the same cloth in a lot of ways.

I can't stand to game more than one night a week myself, I would never bother to go out of town to game, and all these fannish pursuits (action figures, fan t-shirts, excessive cartoon watching) have all fallen by the wayside in favor of becoming more of a rounded gentleman...because really, like you said, a lot of that stuff does amount to self-centered, juvenile pursuits. Even with video games, which I've been playing a lot recently, it's sort of a last-ditch, I-have-nothing-else-to-do-right-now pursuit. I don't even turn the Wii on while my wife is at home and awake.

At AGF, I made a lot of friends that were younger than me- still too young to fall into that Manchild morass. And while we were gaming or hanging out at the store it didn't really matter. However, when those friends would call me on a friday night to "hang out" or go to the movies or something it was awkward. Here I am over 30 and married and I've got 20 year olds who only think about goofing off and hanging out calling me to do the same things I was doing when I was 18-20. And I took a lot of flak for not wanting to do all that stuff because they just didn't get it...but I really just wanted to go out to eat with my wife and play with my dogs, maybe do some stuff around the house, and not waste time in some dingy bachelor pad playing Xbox or something.

I have a couple of friends who are my age that still live like that...and it really bothers me. They just don't get how priorities change when you grow up a little and have other, more rewarding obligations and are in permanent relationships. You lose the _want_ to run off and just play games and watch cartoons all day.

That's really what sums up the Manchild phenomenon- misplaced priorities, selfishness, and a complete failure to understand the proper context for amusement and entertainment. What's worse, most of these man-children are fundamentally slaves to corporate pop culture.

But echoing Jack, I'm somebody who owns Nightmare Before Christmas dolls, loves Pee Wee Herman, and has a shelf full of board games. The difference is that those things do not define who I am, what I am, or what I do. For WAY too many people in the hobby, it's the opposite.

Regarding walls of games, to be honest, I used to be envious. I had nearly the entire run of *all* GW games at one point. From board, to minis, to cards. Then I realized I had multiple thousands of dollars sitting on shelves, yet my wife wasn't in a house and my dog didn't have a yard. One dump on ebay later and I was able to throw cash down for a house. Sure, there are times I wish I still had all of those games, but I look at what the change has provided me and also realized that only a small percentage of them ever got played. The rest were simply collecting dust.

It's been a cleansing process.

As far as getting sick playing more than once week. With time being limited, it's kind of sad to think I'd choose *another* night of gaming over taking the wife out, playing/reading with the boy, or doing something athletic. I agree with your statement on moderation and I feel you can tell a lot by a person in regards to what they do in their spare time.