"Well Played"

Happy Friday everyone isn't it great to be at the end of the week. Olympics are starting up which means myself and every other Canadian will have their eyes on Men's Hockey. Sometimes I do feel bad for the other Canadian athletes who work so hard and will always play second fiddle to the Hockey. Regardless of that every athlete from every country there should be proud of themselves.

Now that the sappy moment is out of the way today being Friday means it is time for this week's Reader Post. Now this is something which to me is important and not just for Hearthstone. You see being a gamer doesn't have to mean insulting someone's mother and bitch about everything. Believe it or not you can thank a person for a game and wish them well. I know crazy concept to some but it exists. This week I was sent something from Itsacardgame who is confused on people's reaction to saying "Well Played" in Hearthstone for a look.

So I was playing Hearthstone and some decided to friend my and be overly angry with me because I decided to say "well played" when I was about to win. I say "well played" before I complete a round because it's important to me to convey to my opponent that I enjoyed a game, on the off chance that I lose attention for a moment, or just don't get over to my emote list quickly enough after I land the killing blow to shoot it out to them. I also try to send people a WP when they make a move that I know has defeated me - buff a minion enough in the turn that I know I'm going to die, congratulate them on the play. Or just pull something off that I'm impressed/amused by - kill/steal one of my minions, knock me down by a fair shake of health by creative deck usage, etc. 

The HP count in this game is obvious. And by the last round, it's a pretty simple subtraction problem to determine if you're going to win or not - I just don't see the problem.

Dare I suggest that this might boil down to a perception bias? Some players seem to view the WP as a sarcastic/condescending move - people use it according to some people to make fun of their opponent, rather than to convey a sense of respect and enjoyment of the experience. I'm actually guilty of the same view of Threaten - especially when that's used at the end of a game when my opponent has clearly won.

It's a limitation of the limited conversation system, honestly. We just can't really know what an opponent is thinking other than what we choose to take from it.

I dare say the best advice I can give you is to just squelch everyone and spare yourself the annoyance it you believe this game is anything but fun.

As always thanks to everyone who sent something this would not be possible without you. Enjoy your weekend everyone!