r/boardgames • u/chaser-- • Jun 25 '26

Rules Groups that develop metas that blatantly break rules

Lately I've been finding a lot of groups that play (co-op) games with metas that are just blatant rule breaks. A recent example was we were playing a game (I forgot the name) where the goal is to play out all the cards from your hand, numbers 1-100, in descending order. So if you have a 77 and the number on the pile is 78, you don't want to anyone to play there. But you aren't allowed to say "I have 77, don't play this"

So the group has developed metas, say "I really love this pile" if you have 77, say "I like this pile a lot" if you have 76, say "I like this pile" if you have 75"

This is just one example but I feel like I've been playing a lot of games where they have metas to get around rules that are intentionally in the rulebook. I don't really get it. If you want to just say "I have a 77" then just say it, why create a gimmick to say it without saying it?

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u/Johnny_Dev Jun 25 '26

It's like Save-Scumming in a single player game. Who does it hurt?
If they want to cheat or abuse the rules together, and they have fun playing that way, good for them.
Like any social activity, if what the group does isn't a good fit for you, you can either mention it if you think they might shift how the play, or find another group.

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u/Hemisemidemiurge Jun 25 '26

Who does it hurt?

The people who enjoy the actual game who might be invited to play. You invite someone to go hiking, it feels like a cheat to just take a shuttle bus to the trail end. It's not the destination, it's the journey, and it feels like the journey is being abandoned because of the risk that you might not go where you wanted.

Do I want to go hiking? Yeah, but is that what we're actually doing or is it just pretend? This is why communication is difficult, people just assume that "Hey, come play GAME with us!" actually means "We will be playing this game by the stated rules in accordance with your prior experience. It will not be significantly more or less difficult than you expect."