Have You Used The X Card Or Seen It Used In Person?

[TiQuinn]

Not universal but typically yes there will be a code of conduct document setting out things like "the game is PG 13" and "no harassment" and things of that nature.


-Have cards
-Bring them to the game
-Distribute and tell people how to use it
-Include information about the card in code of conduct.

No, none of these take long or are challenging. But if you add every nice to have 30 second thing, you end up with quite a long spiel to start the game and more information for players to take in. So if the card is not materially helping games, across at least my own experience...I think it is reasonable to look at cutting it.

It's a piece of paper put on the center of the table or held nearby that everyone can see and ask to use, and the only investment of time is explaining its purpose.

 

[Reynard]

It's a piece of paper put on the center of the table or held nearby that everyone can see and ask to use, and the only investment of time is explaining its purpose.

I advocate replacing the "card" with, say, Christmas crackers. They add a bit of surprise and they are fun to use, so it might motivate folks to use it more often!

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

The X card is explicitly a safety tool, and none of that seems to be a safety issue.

Its goal is to make players speak about problems beforehand. Extending the use from "discussing safety" to "discussing everything that make the game unenjoyable" is certainly positive.

Other safety tools already aren't only restricted to safety. For example, the Open Table Policy allows one to leave the table to place personnal phone calls or go on bathroom break on the basis that everyone deserves respect to take care of their own need, on top of the case where you excuse yourself from a button-pushing scene. I don't think it relates to safety in those other cases.

 

[The Firebird]

How often do you do a new Code of Conduct from scratch? Normally, when I work with such things, I take an old one, and edit it for any new bits to include or take out. Which means once you've added it once, it gets inherited in every following CoC.

Not often. But you do often show new players a code of conduct. It is worth it to be concise.

So, adding one thing for you is a slippery slope to every other thing? That sounds like a recipe for paralysis.

No. Things you are expected to do as an AL GM:

-Prepare the module
-Modify the module to cater to the desires of the players
-Bring maps, markers, minis
-Bring additional material to track initiative, X card, status effects, w/e
-Have pregens available
-Explain the game rules to new players
-Explain the AL rules to new players
-Police the table to keep the game on time
-Build in time for breaks

It is already a long list, and long enough that AL struggles to retain GMs. Why not remove something if that thing isn't positively affecting the experience?

 

[Reynard]

Its goal is to make players speak about problems beforehand. Extending the use from "discussing safety" to "discussing everything that make the game unenjoyable" is certainly positive.

Other safety tools already aren't only restricted to safety. For example, the Open Table Policy allows one to leave the table to place personnal phone calls or go on bathroom break on the basis that everyone deserves respect to take care of their own need, on top of the case where you excuse yourself from a button-pushing scene. I don't think it relates to safety in those other cases.

All I can say is that if I had a X card on the table and a player picked it up to say "This game sucks," I would immediately invite them to leave -- mostly for trivializing the X card, but also for being a bit of a [redacted].

 

[TiQuinn]

All I can say is that if I had a X card on the table and a player picked it up to say "This game sucks," I would immediately invite them to leave -- mostly for trivializing the X card, but also for being a bit of a [redacted].

Yeah, I agree - that's trivializing and abusing the intent of the tool.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

All I can say is that if I had a X card on the table and a player picked it up to say "This game sucks," I would immediately invite them to leave -- mostly for trivializing the X card, but also for being a bit of a [redacted].

Sure. If the players couldn't express "Could you change this detail that reduces our enjoyment of the game or that just doesn't make sense" in another way than "This game sucks", then you'd be better off asking them to leave. I would do the same.

Also, if you want people to use the tool, your goal is to trivalize it. If one of the players has arachnophobia and is loathe to use the X-card because it shouldn't be trivialized, there is a chance he'll just grit his teeth instead of speaking up about his discomfort, trying to work out in his head if his arachnophobia is strong enough to become a safety issue or not. Making it a nuclear bomb doesn't seem to be a way to encourage people to use it.

 

[Reynard]

Sure. If the players couldn't express "Could you change this detail that reduces our enjoyment of the game" in another way than "This game sucks", then you'd be better off asking them to leave. I would do the same.

You are still intentionally demeaning the value of the x card in a way that is unacceptable and should get you booted, IMO.

 

[CellarHeroes]

Is that a valid use of the X card?

The organizer and myself felt it was. Their agitation was quickly turning into anger.

 

[Reynard]

The organizer and myself felt it was. Their agitation was quickly turning into anger.

That still isn't a safety concern, and therefore a bad use of the tool. "I am not enjoying this game because it is badly written" is something you can just say out loud, then stand up and leave.