Multi-tasking in Commander: good time management technique or just downright rude?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Dec. 8, 2015, 4:04 p.m. by canterlotguardian
I was talking with a friend about something yesterday and I was curious as to the opinions of the T/O EDH community at large (though, I suppose, this could apply to players of any format, really).
How do you all feel about players in a game who do things other than playing the game during the course of said game? To give a personal example, at my former LGS, our EDH group were multi-taskers. Some would complete homework while playing, others would play video games, others would talk on the phone via Skype or otherwise- hell, a few of us would even play games of Commander with more than one group at the same time. (Naturally, we'd have to use more than one deck, but still.) On Wednesday nights, since that was our LGS' Dungeons and Dragons night, a lot of us would alternate between playing Magic when it was our turn, and RP'ing as our characters when it wasn't.
Obviously, our group was ok with such skullduggery, but when I brought it up in conversation with my friend, he was very vehement against such a thing. His opinion was that if your attention is not 100 percent devoted to the game the entire time, then you might as well just scoop and leave.
So what do you all think? Have you ever had an experience with someone that wanted to do other things in the middle of playing an EDH game? How did you handle that situation?
Discuss! :D
-CG who loves you all
I generally like to stay focused but I'm not gonna make a fuss about it. The less attention someone is paying the less chance they have to win.
Also it's kinda hard to not pay attention on other peoples turns when 1/5 of your deck is counterspells.
December 8, 2015 4:14 p.m.
@Vasseer "counter the spell you didn't see" lol lol lol lol
i get kind of annoyed when my friends multitask. it's mostly just playing on phones (facebook, clash of clans, etc) and they're like "what? it's my turn?" so some games can take twice as long as they should.
at my LGS when games may include 8-12 people, you have plenty of time to dink around between your turns, but if i invited you over to my house to play EDH i'd prefer not to be ignored lol
December 8, 2015 4:21 p.m.
ItchiUchiha117 says... #5
I am perfectly fine with multi tasking as long as they are back for their turn or can come back when prompted. If they miss a trigger or can't respond to a spell because they left, that's on them.
December 8, 2015 4:27 p.m.
Hootiequack says... #6
It really depends on the setting. The games at our LGS are very laid back and rarely seem to have everyone's attention. But the vast majority of games we play are at somebody's house. It can be hard to find a time to meet up when everyone is working at least 40 hours a week, most of us have kids/families to schedule around, etc. Those games need focus because we actually wanna play, not watch videos on someone's phone/computer/TV when we do actually find the time.
D&D, I find, is similar. We only meet twice a month, so we gotta make it count.
December 8, 2015 4:34 p.m.
logansullivan says... #7
I personally don't multitask while playing edh with 4 or less people but I don't really care what the other people do as long as they play their turn.
December 8, 2015 5 p.m.
Karns_Pyromancer says... #8
I think there are some things that are acceptable to multitask. For instance, I have a kid, I'm going to be distracted even if my kid isn't there. I know Steve Argyle does his "black thumb" pieces during commander games. I don't think anyone would have an issue with either of these scenarios.
I would have a slight issue with playing multiple games at a time.
December 8, 2015 5:06 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #9
I don't have anything against multitasking, provided the following are true:
- What you're doing isn't distracting to the rest of the players.
- You aren't asking us for a recap of everything that happened while you weren't paying attention.
- You aren't forcing us to wait for you to finish your other task before you resume your turn.
I don't demand your undivided attention, but the onus is on you to watch the game. Don't join if you can't commit to the full game (if something comes up unexpectedly, that's fine) or if you're not actually interested in playing. If you'd rather make a phone call, make your phone call and don't sit down to play me. Don't ask me to give you a play-by-play or repeat myself because you weren't paying attention. Don't ask me to wait while you start on the second half of your grinder.
December 8, 2015 5:26 p.m.
Some people will do other stuff in the middle of a game and I'm okay with it. I mean to be fair I text constantly and will check up on my games like CoC during long turns.
I think it just goes with the territory. Long games with long breaks between your turns.
Although the stuff you're talking about seems much more chaotic.
December 8, 2015 5:28 p.m.
canterlotguardian says... #11
Our D&D nights tended to get a bit hectic, true, and most of us (most) rose to the occasion rather nicely. I think we were all used to it, though, and although we were all doing other things except Twiddle-ing our thumbs while waiting for our next turn, we were all paying attention to what was going on in the game (as Epochalyptik mentioned) so we didn't have to get caught up.
December 8, 2015 5:35 p.m.
multitasking is fine, but if you have to do something else, don't make other players wait on you whenever it IS your turn or when you have to make a game decision (like blocking).
If you are doing something that takes priority over playing a game, you should probably focus on that and not start a game of EDH.
Personally, I think that a game where everyone is focused on the game is more fun though.
December 8, 2015 5:43 p.m.
I guess ad long as its not a distraction. sometimes, a friend of mine would start playing some games on steam while its not his turn on his computer. its sometimes annoying because it distracts all of us and sometimes he just like is too focused on his computer that he doesnt realize its his turn even though we have told him. we just tell people to not be "That One Guy"
December 8, 2015 6:01 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #14
my group finds it fine to do, but I never do things like you described
i usually will be switching out the lands of a deck, sleeving cards for the cube, or sometimes sleeving the deck I'm using, all of which my group is 100% fine with.
December 8, 2015 6:53 p.m.
I think it comes down to the level of multitasking you're doing as well. As DERPLINGSUPREME said, doing menial tasks, eating, talking with people, that kind of stuff is generally fine. There is also the times where people have to take a call or answer the call, generally people are happy to wait.
But that whole "playing another game" thing is annoying. Especially as a combo deck, even in a casual setting. I'm not going to wind back a play if you voluntarily missed it and I don't think that anyone should have to. Commander games go on for long enough as is.
December 9, 2015 12:22 a.m.
Our playergroup allows you to do stuff like pop into the kitchen for food or simple stuff like that. Anything beyond is off limits. The only one we make an exception for is a friend who pips by occasionally just to hang out. He's not really invested into magic although he can play the game. He'll often be in the lab for some fighting game on his laptop for most of the game. We tolerate it mostly.
December 9, 2015 12:34 a.m.
VictorSilvertome says... #17
I Despise whenever you are trying to play your turn and the other players are having a loud full-on conversation and you just sit there for a couple minutes waiting for them to finish so that you can play something. I don't mind conversation during a game, but I don't like when it puts the game on pause for an extended amount of time. We sat down to play a game of MAGIC. I don't think it's quite fair to treat someone that puts his full concentration into the game while another player doesn't even give a f&%# what's going on. I guess that's what you get when you mix casual/kitchen table magic players with more competitive/serious players.
Vasseer says... #2
I think it depends how many players are in the game, I start to fall asleep between turns when we reach 5+ players so in a big game I really don't care. But if it's 1v1 or 3-way, come on, you can stay focused till your turn. Also don't expect us to go back so you can counter the spell you didn't see.
December 8, 2015 4:07 p.m.