Cheating - who cares?

[iwatt]

Before the Boards crashed, there was an ongoing topic about cheating in a game.

Many of the typical responses to the OP current situation were given, including:

"Talk to her privately about it"

"Make a joke about fudging during the game"

"Walk out"

"Kick her out"

Now, my response was simply:

"who cares" and "does her cheating really matter?"


Now, I don't want to go into the OP's circumstances, cause it really isn't germane to the issue IMO. I'll just qualify my initial comment (something I wasn't able to do because the boards crashed ) and let the flames take over.

So:

When I said "does her cheating really matter" I was responding from my own experience. In my groups we are friends first and gamers second. I tend to assume that this is true for most of us as well (I might be very wrong here though). IMO, introducing friction into a friendship by accusing somebody of cheating at something that isn't really that important (IMO) isn't worth the potential hassle. If someone feels the need to cheat in order to enjoy spending time with their friends, I really don't care.

This poll is about a particular situation: minor fudging in a group composed of friends.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

Fudging by the GM? Don't care, because it's not cheating, just a GM style which I wax/wane in agreement with.

Cheating by a player? Completely unacceptable. Personally, I'll call this out publicly and embarrass the git responsible. Public shame is society's greatest weapon against such minor infractions; it should be wielded to the hilt.

 

[Imruphel]

The only time it bothers me is when it upsets the other players. I DM to have fun and to ensure that my players have fun. If another player ruins that by cheating or something else, then it's a problem.

The only player I have who regularly cheats is also one of the most fun to have at the table and he does it without anyone, except me, noticing.

 

[Dog Moon]

Poll?

Anyway, there's a person in my group that we strongly believe cheats [basically, he rolls behind things and turns his back to use to roll, etc. So we've technically never seen him cheat, but through his actions and rolls, we're positive he does] and though it annoys the rest of us in the group, we don't really say anything except the occasional joke targeted at him to show our annoyance.

Well, he just goes along with it and doesn't seem to care what we think. Between that and what I've seen on the boards, I've kinda come to the conclusion that it annoys me, but not enough for it to REALLY matter, and if that's the only way he's capable of having fun while playing, then I guess I'm not going to stop him [never have I said it was okay, though]. But he seems to play as if he's trying to win, so I guess that's fitting.

Heck, I admit to cheating occasionally, but it comes in the form of trying to stay alive [if you've read one of probably numerous threads I've started talking about my game - like 2 TPKs in 2 weeks (which almost turned out to be 3 TPKs in 3 weeks ) - you'd probably understand].

 

[Thunderfoot]

Poll?

Anyway, there's a person in my group that we strongly believe cheats [basically, he rolls behind things and turns his back to use to roll, etc. So we've technically never seen him cheat, but through his actions and rolls, we're positive he does] and though it annoys the rest of us in the group, we don't really say anything except the occasional joke targeted at him to show our annoyance.

<SNIPPY>
That one's easy, long standing policy at my table, roll in the open or roll on out the door.

 

[Nac_Mac_Feegle]

Cheater : Its only a game

Response : If its only a game, why cheat?

See here's my take on it.

If it matters so much that you have to cheat, then its become more than a game, your taking an unfair advantage, and in my opinion, cheating is tantamount to lying, would you lie to your friends? if you would, why do you call them friends.

If its just a game, for fun, then theres no reason to cheat, if however, the stakes are so important, you feel the need to cheat to win, its no longer a game, but a competition, and if you feel you need to compete that strongly with your friends that you have to cheat, then kindly go elsewhere. Go and play competatively, and see what they think of cheating.

In a competition, its cheating
Among friends, its lying

A proud member of Certified Gamers Allaince

Feegle Out

 

[glass]

Cheater : Its only a game

Response : If its only a game, why cheat?

My attitude exactly. If the stakes are high enough for it to be worth cheating, they are too high for cheating to be acceptable.


glass.

 

[Dog Moon]

<SNIPPY>
That one's easy, long standing policy at my table, roll in the open or roll on out the door.

You know, I think that if I were starting a group with random people or joining a group with random people, I would definitely agree with that and go along with it, but I think it's because we're good friends and have been playing together for like 6 years that we are a little more lenient, which of course might mean we're screwing ourselves over a little.

 

[FickleGM]

I care. All games have certain rules that are to be followed. If you don't know the rule, fine, it's a mistake that can be corrected. If you don't like the rule, suck it up or don't play. If you want it changed, perhaps you can get it changed (that's what house rules are there for).

So yeah, it bothers me when someone can't follow the rules of a game. I'm all for changing rules to improve the fun, but once we are playing I don't think it's too much to ask for a person to follow the rules.

 

[Pseudonym]

This poll is about a particular situation: minor fudging in a group comrpomised of friends.

I was stopping by to check on that thread when I noticed the boards had crashed.

I'll vote for "Care" and leave it at that.