{"id":2545,"date":"2014-11-26T15:34:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T15:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/?p=2545"},"modified":"2014-11-26T20:36:19","modified_gmt":"2014-11-26T20:36:19","slug":"dealing-with-difficult-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/2014\/11\/26\/dealing-with-difficult-players\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with Difficult Players"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Written<\/a>

Written by Evan Cherry<\/p><\/div>\n

Judging isn\u2019t just about knowing rules and policy. It\u2019s about interacting with people and promoting a good environment. \u00a0We have established documents for rules and policy, and even those documents are flexible in order to handle unusual situations. Judges can be taught the basic anatomy of a judge call: determine the issue, explain the fix, issue a ruling, open up for questions, and exit the call. What they don\u2019t teach in the books is what to do when players make the basics of judging difficult. In this piece, we\u2019re going to outline some common difficult behaviors and basic strategies for addressing them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Chronic Complainer<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>This player has something to say about everything. It\u2019s rarely constructive, and almost always sounds like a broken record. The more it goes on, the more annoying it becomes and the more it spreads.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cWe\u2019re always waiting 15 minutes for the next round!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Address or direct their complaint somewhere it can be productive. \u00a0Acknowledge it if you can\u2019t. Focus on resolving the issue and moving along.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cI hear your concern and we\u2019re sorry for the delay. We\u2019re putting up pairings as soon as the last slip comes in. If it continues to be a problem, I\u2019d love to talk about improving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Insensitive One<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>Not really a bad person, they just don\u2019t think before they act or say something. Often times they use non-Politically Correct terms that can silently affect those around them and make the environment less comfortable. Usually they\u2019re not even aware they\u2019re causing problems. Sometimes they don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cI can\u2019t believe how gay Siege Rhino<\/a> is. It totally raped me last game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Focus on explaining why their behavior affects others and encourage them to be cognizant of others before they act or speak. If you think they\u2019ve reasonably caused others to feel uncomfortable or harassed, consider a USC \u2013 Minor or USC – Major at Competitive REL or upgrading or removal from the event upon repeating at Regular REL.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cThese specific words you used are making others uncomfortable. I don\u2019t think you meant to, but by not thinking about what you say you\u2019ve affected others and caused an issue. Please be aware that words or actions may have other meanings, and let’s not use [word] in a derogatory way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Know-it-All Rules Lawyer<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>They know about the rules. They know they know more about the rules. They know they know more about the rules than you. You\u2019re likely to get appealed and have to deal with an argument if it doesn\u2019t go their way. They may want your name to report you later.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cMy opponent bounced a creature with Force Away<\/a> before untapping his creatures to the Jeskai Ascendancy<\/a> trigger. The trigger should resolve on the stack before the spell!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Explain the rules clearly to both players, acknowledging when the player is technically correct. Address cases like Out of Order Sequencing where playing to the letter of the rules doesn\u2019t improve playing the game.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cYou\u2019re technically right. The spell goes on the stack before the trigger is put on the stack, so the trigger should resolve first. We allow a little bit of imperfect technical play as long as it\u2019s clear to both players.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Loudmouth<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>You can hear these people from across the hall. You know who these people are, and so does everyone in the room. It breaks player concentration and it makes it difficult for people to communicate.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cHEY CAN YOU GET ME WHATEVER FOOD YOU\u2019RE GETTING I AM REALLY HUNGRY!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Ask that they keep it down. Inform them it\u2019s distracting to others and disrupts the event. If it\u2019s getting out of hand, consider USC- Minor at Comp REL or explain the upgrade path at Regular REL.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cPlease lower your voice. We can hear you across the hall and it\u2019s disruptive to the other players and the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pottymouth<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>This person sounds like a George Carlin <\/a>standup routine. Every other word makes their message sound less intelligent. Perhaps they\u2019ve put all their bad-word eggs into one really profane basket and said something that shocks others around them.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201c#@$@#$&% Topdeck! $%#@#$*& Lucksack #$%*@#$!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Indicate to them their language is not appropriate for the event, and explain why it could be considered disruptive. If you think it affected the event, consider issuing a USC \u2013 Minor at Competitive REL, and explaining the upgrade path at Regular REL.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cI\u2019d appreciate it if you would clean up your language. There could be children and other people around that are uncomfortable with that type of language.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That Shady Guy<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>Weird things happen whenever they\u2019re around. You can\u2019t exactly put your finger on it all the time, but the concerns keep coming in from players that something is amiss.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cHe keeps missing triggers and playing with his hand under the table and building his draft deck away from the table and cutting his own deck and drawing the right card he needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Make contact with this player. You can be friendly and introduce yourself with some vague indication that they\u2019re under scrutiny. Address them by name.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cI love to watch games of Magic and see the various players having fun. I\u2019m glad you could be here [name], I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll see each other later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Talkaholic<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>This player wants to talk about anything: their trip to the venue, how long you\u2019ve been judging, what happens when you Fork<\/a> a Shahrazad<\/a>, and a bad beats story. You wanted to be friendly and listen, but now they\u2019re continually seeking you out during the rounds and distracting you from other tasks.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cIt\u2019s so cool you\u2019re a judge, I\u2019ve thought about it for a while but haven\u2019t because of [reasons]. My first round went so well but then the second round derailed by some miser copy of [obscure card]. Speaking of which, how does [obscure card] work with Eye of the Storm<\/a> and Knowledge Pool<\/a> out?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Maintain a friendly disposition and listen when they speak. Eventually you will have to interrupt them and respectfully inform them that you need to handle something.\u00a0Be on the lookout to rescue other judges trapped in conversations.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cI\u2019d really love to keep talking, but we\u00a0need to walk around the floor and collect Match Result Slips before the end of the round. Can we talk more later when I\u2019m less busy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Turtle<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>These players think slow and steady wins a Magic race. In reality, they\u2019re eating up the time of everyone in the room. \u00a0With prodding to play faster, they\u2019ll try to explain why this is the most important part of their match and everything is so complex, and you don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cHe\u2019s got 5 blockers and I have to get through this damage or I might lose 4 turns from now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fix: Acknowledge their pleas and ask them to proceed with their game. Explain later that every extra second they take deliberating is less time for their opponent. It adds up for all the other players waiting to start the next round.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cI understand that things are complex, but we still need you to make a play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later: \u201cI know it feels like I was rushing you earlier, but you need to understand that your pace of play was too slow and affects the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Angry Hulk<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>This player has some issues. They\u2019re likely to be loud, combative, and a little physical. They\u2019re possibly a bit rough with their opponent\u2019s cards and don\u2019t care. They may slam their fists on tables or flip cards. If you\u2019re unlucky, they may be unable to handle themselves and cross over into truly aggressive territory.<\/p>\n

Player: \u201cI CAN\u2019T BELIEVE I KEEP LOSING TO THIS DECK!\u201d *Slams fists or throws cards*<\/p>\n

The Fix: Diffuse the situation right away. Position your body language as strong but approachable and use a calm tone. Ask them if they need a moment to calm down and approach the problem when they have. Consider USC \u2013 Minor at Competitive REL or the upgrade path at Regular REL.<\/p>\n

Judge: \u201cAre you ok? Do you need a moment away from the table? You got pretty upset there, and it affected the comfort of people around you. I need you to stay calm in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re getting physically or verbally aggressive, maintain your calm composure but address the safety of others and yourself first. Focus on calming them down, then explain that they\u2019re being removed from the event.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/b><\/h1>\n

A common pitfall is to get too wrapped up in interacting with a problematic player. One of the \u201calways\u201d fixes if you\u2019re finding yourself using too much time is to say\u00a0 “I\u2019d love to talk about this with you later, but right now I need you to get back to your game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget judges are people too, and sometimes they fall into these bad habits. If you start to see these behaviors manifest in judges going about their work, feel free to respectfully address bad behavior in judges as well.<\/p>\n

While the list of problematic behaviors is not extensive, hopefully you can use some of these containment strategies to handle others not discussed here. As always, respect and good judgment are the secrets to dealing with problematic people.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make Magic fun for everyone by promoting good social behavior!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

L3 Evan Cherry provides some tips and tricks to address common problem behaviors with respect and communication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":2547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[97,176,213,214],"language":[180],"class_list":["post-2545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education_development","tag-diplomacy","tag-evan-cherry","tag-players","tag-problems","language-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2545"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions\/2587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2545"},{"taxonomy":"language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/language?post=2545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}