By Gavin Bowyer and Keira De Vita
Cheating is serious in all situations. Except (especially) for board games. In the world of board games, it’s a delicate situation; you don’t want to cheat yourself out of having no one to play with, but if a game lacks a level of sophisticated cheating, board games might as well be called bored games.
We agree that cheating benefits a game if done properly. If you think cheating is bad… you probably suck at cheating or never tried it before. It’s made serious when done poorly or played in a setting by which goody two shoes prefer a more boring game. If you’re playing Monopoly or Life… I encourage cheating, specifically because these games represent life, and how best to represent real life if not by throwing in a dash of cheating.
Board games with your family are always (rarely) great fun, especially with a competitive group. Despite this, cheating during casual board gaming competitions doesn’t present as large of a problem, as long as you don’t take it too seriously, and definitely do NOT act cocky (nobody likes a cocky cheater). Like what are you proud of… winning a game you cheated at (yeah, maybe, ok). Surprisingly, there are some rules and variations to cheating, some less serious, and others downright cataclysmic in the board game world. From our extensive experience in board gaming, we know the ins and outs of the art of cheating and wish to grant you a guide to cheating. With that… BABY LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
For starters, you have the rules of the game. Whenever introducing someone to a new game, you want to ease into the rules to allow the other player(s) to learn the game and hopefully come to enjoy it. One common example of cheating comes here, where you, the knowledgeable one, withhold information in order to have an upper hand later, backed by the rule book, making for an easy win against newbies. For example, should you choose to play “Scythe” with Weston McCormick Kelly, late in the game, he will protrude a random rule or aspect from thin air, easily allowing him victory in a game that seemed in your favor. Now, this isn’t the worst case of cheating, a rather low-level offense, purely for one reason … it totally backfires. For a new player, it is not about winning, instead, it is about understanding the game. However, feeling cheated like this will deter you from playing the same game again, especially if you are completely crushed by the lies of your opponent. So, despite a simple scam, the consequences on behalf of the cheater will likely ruin their chances of growing to learn a game they might love. And all thanks to a lowly cheater, never play again. Moral of the story: Don’t cheat against a new player.
Then you have the money stealer. Of course, it is always funny to catch the money stealer in their act and realize the game probably would’ve been over much earlier. And, even though it’s a nuisance to deal with a drawn-out game that might even be unwinnable, it is a lighthearted joke that doesn’t have much effect on the game (usually a losing player will still lose). The worst part is when your 5-hour “Monopoly” game became a multi-day operation, all because someone grabbed a bunch of $100 when everyone else went to grab snacks (usually the little sibling).
Another major infraction, one we here are familiar with (and guilty of) is creating rules of our own or reading too deeply into the rules. Similar to rule withholding, creating random rules that benefit only yourself is one of the most fun, and funny, ways to cheat. Rule creation shows up in many ways, like rhyming in “Taboo” (thotally theating), or using a “Scrabble” dictionary (yeah, I knew qibla was a real word). Either way, rule-creating usually makes for comedic times and can even spice up boring games, keeping the good times going just a little longer. Cheating is an outlet for creativity. Finding new ways to explore rules via the deepest parts of the web is the best way to do it. If a random website on Safari tells us “quo” “qib” or “tiedown” are Scrabble words… we will be turning a blind eye to the Scrabble dictionary. With this, usually, you won’t want to use these against a very competitive family … your uncle might find it funny … but Weston probably won’t. Significantly regarded are rules that are on “official websites” but are not presented in the rule book included in the physical game board. Our personal favorite is the addition of $200 (a total of $400 for passing go in Monopoly) when you land on the actual “GO” tile. It’s not cheating, it’s simply bringing a new dynamic to the game. Plus why wouldn’t every player want an additional $200 from simple luck?
The most CRUCIAL thing to know is this … if you cheat, don’t be that one person who cheats and complains. You lose? Take it on the chin, you cheated. You win? Don’t get an ego, or even better, admit you cheated and have a laugh, because then if you get caught in the future it will be less serious. And if you get caught? Just be chill. Money is on the line? Don’t cheat. But remember … it’s just a board game, a nice little family/friend bonding time … unless of course, you’re playing Weston McCormick Kelly or Emma Rae De Vita … then, it’s no holds barred.
For those who are absurd enough to obtain perpetual disdain for cheating… take a chill pill. You can find them at your local pharmacy. Cheating not only makes for an interesting game, but it builds skill. How discreet can I be when sliding myself or my allied player in Monopoly an extra buck or two? How do I display the perfect poker face when I just committed fraud while deep in a card game “BS?” Or more importantly, how do I win at Yahtzee… I could roll the dice off the table or continuously roll when my gamemates are gazing at their cellular devices. Cheating is simply an act that should not only be executed but embraced. Our families roll on the floor, dying of laughter when the cheater publicly attempts to change the rules. If your family has never died of laughter during a board game, then a cheater was most likely not amongst the group, and that’s just boring.