Gaming Etiquette

I know this has nothing to do with any of my blog challenges, but I had to put this up here because it is funny and sad at the same time...to even have to do a blog on Gaming Etiquette

One of the activities I do enjoy (besides writing and pictures) is playing online games.  I admit, some I don't have a lot of time for.  I may just design a new account just so I can do extensive gaming on there, rather than to clutter up my personal Facebook account.  I am doing good by not caving accepting any invites that come to my fan page to start playing games.

But back to what I was saying.  I do like online games.  I am a sucker for the classics--Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, a little bit of Jeopardy, Millionaire, and Uno.

My newest favorite is this twist on Bingo called Bingo Blitz.  I did try a couple of other Bingo spots, but this one definitely has my attention for a number of reasons:

1.  It has these interesting power ups you can use.  I try to conserve mine.  I like getting my Bingo's the old fashioned way.  But some of the perks you can use to help get your Bingo faster.  There's even an Instant Bingo one where if you land on the number, automatic Bingo.

2.  Plus, there is this incentive for team building...where if you have people on your team, you get more credits, coins..people can help you with collector's items and assist you with getting trophies.  You all don't have to be online at the same time to get the perks, just be on each other's team. 

But the most lucrative prize in this particular game is Blackout:

Blackout is when all of the numbers in Bingo get called; your whole card is filled up.  With the whole card filled up, everyone has a Bingo.  From what I hear (since I haven't gotten it yet), you get a whole lot of credits, you get collection items faster, and you get a trophy.  It is a great incentive.

But here is the catch. 

With the exception of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, the huge majority (dang near everyone) in the room has to agree to it.  The payoff after 3rd place is the same, so it would seem to make sense to wait for the blackout where you can get more for more Bingo's being on your card.  Also, you cannot hit the Bingo until the last number is called and the timer is starting to wind down.

And believe it or not, there are people who have itchy fingers.

There are different lounges to this game--I have yet to play the more expensive ones (where it's more credits to buy in), but the two I have played are NY and Plano.  NY is the one a lot of people tend to stick to; it's a good start to build up your credits so when you have enough dollars and credits (completed the NY collection, etc.), you can move on to the more lucrative rooms.  However, since NY is usually very crowded...sometimes averaging over 100 people a room, it is very hard to pull off a blackout.

Plano, however, is the easier room because:  You are not allowed to use any of your Power Ups (you have to get the Bingo the old fashioned way).  Therefore, a lot of people who like using Power Ups will not go into Plano.

Smaller room= less amount of people=greater chance to be able to achieve a Blackout.

Now that I've laid the foundation, here's where the etiquette comes in.

I finished up my NY collection but wasn't quite ready to go into Sydney yet.  I figured I would check out Plano and here's where I started hearing about blackout and how certain rooms had worked together to achieve all the Perks.  Of course, the Perks sounded good to me.

But the drawback is that Bingo Blitz doesn't have it set up where a room can be set aside for Blackout.  It's not like Poker where you can choose the room you go in to.  It puts you in the first available room. 

So there are some people who have no idea what blackout is.  Some who are just in it for fun and don't care about blackout.  Some who have no idea what they are doing.

You already see what the problem is if there is a group who wants nothing but Blackout and you have new folks coming in messing up the Kool-Aid.

And it gets rather nasty....folks spelling things funny (because you can't curse outright...it will put censored in the chat box) to curse folks out that aren't down with the program.  Stuff in all caps.  Shouting matches in the chat box.  Telling folks to get out.  All types of madness.

I think there should be some ground rules, myself:

1.  Everyone has the right to go in whatever room she chooses to.

2.  Whoever is in the room should mention whether it is a blackout room or not; ask if the person wants to participate or not.  If the person does, great.  Outline what needs to be done; do not assume a person walking in knows the rules.

3.  If a person is not interested in the teamwork aspect, don't call the person idiot, asshole, cunt, cocksucker, mother fucker, dipshit, scum bag, selfish prick, dill hole...I could go on but I'm chuckling like crazy already...well you get the idea; variations of these insults got fired at people.  It doesn't help the cause if you want to convince the person to be a teammate. 

4.  If the person isn't interested in doing blackout, you cannot make the person leave, since none of the rooms are moderated (unless it gets too unruly then a mod is called) or indicate Blackout only.  Even the Moderator is like, "Try for a blackout if you want, but don't abuse others who do not want to."

5.  Do not type in all caps.  All caps should be used every once in a while for emphasis.  Anything over that is yelling...and that's not just bad gaming etiquette, but bad Internet etiquette. 

But is amusing and sad how Internet gaming can have grown folks act like rowdy kids outside at recess.