Of Killer Bunnies and Beer Money

I've played Killer Bunnies exactly once, and that was enough for me. I've never played Beer Money, but the description of the game convinced me that it wasn't for me either. Apparently, I'm supposed to imbibe large amounts of alcohol before even attempting to play.

I listen to a really fun podcast from The Dragon Page called Wingin' It where the crew led by Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra drink beer and talk about... well, practically anything. It's usually somewhere in the genre universe of science (speculative?) fiction and fantasy and it's almost always funny. Anyway, the folks on the podcast are sometime (casual) gamers, and lately Evo's been on a Killer Bunnies kick ever since some bloke from Australia named Phil visited their studio in Phoenix and introduced them to the game.

As a person who would never willingly play Killer Bunnies ever again, I'm fascinated by the way they talk about it. They're passionate. Excited. Pumped. And they're ready to play Killer Bunnies right. this. second. After drinking some beer. In the referenced show, the people on the cast talk a bit about some of the games that many of the Euro or War game crowd probably wouldn't touch with a 10-foot meeple.

I mention all of this because of this thread on Boardgamegeek disparaging party games, of which Killer Bunnies and Beer Money are a subset of, if not in form, then certainly in spirit. People seem to forget that we play games because they're interesting or fun. Moreover, we play boardgames and cardgames instead of computer games or online games because of the PEOPLE. Even if you're playing the biggest baddest multiplayer brainburner on the planet, you've still got other people sitting at the table around you. So what if they want to play Killer Bunnies or Cranium or Taboo? Suck it up and play, or sit out and shut up. But don't complain that they're stupid or retarded or uneducated. That just proves that YOU are stupid, retarded and uneducated.

Listen to the people playing. Are they having fun? You're not having fun? You're the problem, not them. You need to find people who like the same stuff as you if you're unable or unwilling to suck it up and just enjoy the company of other human beings. Or, maybe you can imbibe some Arrogant Bastard and that'll loosen up your clenched ass enough to have fun. It doesn't always have to have anything to do with what game you're playing.