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Am I the only one who can still have fun while dialing it back a bit? Just "fumble" a few times, fall behind intentionally, and then use your skill to catch back up. If you can't catch up, your friends win and have fun. If you do catch back up, your friends think it was a close game. Either way you get to flex and nobody thinks you're a sweaty tryhard and we all get to have fun.
This is part of why super smash bros is so good. Playing against friends who are decent but not as good as you? Play one of your secondaries. Friends are bad but learning? Play a low tier/a character you don't ever play. Friends are casual gamers/don't know how to play smash? Spam b moves as a low tier. No matter how good you are you can sandbag pretty hard without your opponent feeling like you aren't trying/not having fun.
Right you just have to find a sweet spot handicap to use. You can absolutely both be challenged at the same time, just find the right equivalent of tying one arm behind your back.
This is how we used to do it with SF2 on SNES.
One of us is constantly beating the crap out of everyone else with a particular character? Switch it up.
Or learn to counter whatever they're doing to win.
Dhalsim's endless string of "Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!TigerUppercut! You! Win!" was eventually conquerable with the right combination of moves and that wasn't even player skill, it was a shortcoming in the game's internal timing (that was bad enough that it overwrote the existing playing sound effect while you were doing it).
Dad mode activated
On behalf of the dads: We used to let you win all kinds of shit and you never knew! Then one day we couldn't beat your anymore... and we had two choices while you gloated: convince ourselves we let you win or let the mid life crisis begin.
This is exactly what I've had to end up doing in a few games. Some games I don't mind. Like Battlefront 2. I used to play, and win, tournaments in it so when friends call me in to help them with a game or something it's great because you get a ton of praise and hype. Your friends going "FUCK THEM UP DUDE! YEAH! GO FOR IT!" Or the thanks for helping a friend. But that same prowess meant that (even if there was easily accessible invite pvp) I can't fight any of my friends. There are ways you kind of can and everytime I've suggested it it's always a resounding and hard no. I've had similar levels of skill in other games that I actively tone down around my friends because I want to be able to play against them and not just play with them. I don't give a shit if I win or lose. I give a shit that I'm hanging out with people who I like and playing games I enjoy.
I have this problem with the board game Go.
It has a perfect handicap system, and the game sucks if you don’t use the correct handicap, but I simply can’t get people to play me with a handicap because they think it’s shameful. They want to play me without a handicap, then I mop the floor with them.
But we can have a really good game that’s really engaging if we use a handicap.
Hi, fellow go player here!
You are not alone. I'm the strongest regular at my go club, and when I ask if people want to pay even or with handicap, they 90% of the time choose even. I love the handicap system because it makes both sides have a close game, which is inherently more fun for everyone. And skill progress can be seen when their handicap decreases. The most common complaint I've heard against handicaps is that it changes the game too much. It does in terms of joseki and openings, but the important stuff which actually decides games—direction of play, fighting, evaluation of the board—still very much applies.
I travelled to Japan recently and played three games at a go parlour. There was no asking for an even game. The stronger players said the handicap the game would be played with and that was that.
In my country, that probably would be seen as rude because we don't have that honour system. But maybe the solution is to just be more assertive and declare the handicap anyway. As a stronger player, people respect what I have to say, but I have never felt superior to anyone so I've always still asked. But if I say a handicap straight away, that respect means that people would probably just agree and play. And if they say that they'd rather play an even game instead, then we can! Maybe the solution is to make it opt-out instead of opt-in.
Maybe euphemisms? Level adjustment, skill balance, rank difference?
I'm not big on fighting games, don't they usually have a handicap setting? How do they work? I'm guessing good ones do stuff like break guard easier and do more damage, right?
Generally it'll do something like make one person do more damage and take less, but if the skill gap is too big it really won't make a difference if they can never land a hit. Personally I'm a fan of "I can't use X" or "I will only use Y." It allows everyone to still have a challenging and fair feeling time, instead of pounding away at a punching bag that one hits you which just doesn't feel great for anyone.
It's also like this for many hobbies. I can run further and cycle faster than almost everyone I know, but would probably barely even be mid-pack in a local race for either.
Just set your own goals.
I relate with this one. I cycle further and faster than my friends, so it feels like I have to slow down when I cycle with them, however I'm nowhere near professional level.
This was FPS games back in the day for me.
Having to carry every BLOPS game between two people while everyone else was average or worse. Every night for like 2 years lol.
I was once the highest ranked player of Shootmania in California.
Nevermind that I was also the only player in California at the time.
For me, it's pinball. None of my friends will play me because I crush them, but I know if I played in a tournament, I would be the crushed instead.
But that's a single player game... 🤔
Yes, but people compete with high scores
Actually, you can do multi-player games. On real machines you pay for credits, and then you have to use one credit per player. But, the first player plays their first ball, and after the first player drains (loses) their ball, the second player plays their first ball until they drain it, then the third player, etc. Once everyone has played their first balls, then Player One returns with their second ball, and play continues like that through all three balls.
The amount of trash talking during play varies depending on who you're playing, but as with most things, trash talking your buddies while they're playing is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game.
This was probably me with Smash Bros in college: Nobody in the dorms would play me after a certain point, but I'm sure I would've gotten my ass whooped by professionals.
My kid could beat everyone at smash bros in high school. My friend's kid was number two in the state. My kid couldn't touch him.
My friend's kid could not touch the number one kid in the state and that kid wasn't good enough to go pro.
I went to school with the number one melee player in my state. I played him a ton over the years and never beat him once. The skill disparity between "serious tournament competitor" and "best in the neighborhood" is boggling.
This is the sobering reality for many a hometown hero of physical sports too. Being the best in your city, 1 in a million even, puts you in tight competition in college sports and then worse as a pro.
I have this problem playing smash bros with my kids. Solution? Pump up my handicap to >100% and play Kirby. Basic hits knock Kirby out, so it actually becomes a challenge for me, and they love beating me up. Win win!
This is me in racing games. This is why I like to play games like Forza. I can play a private lobby where I can take less powerful cars and race my heart out against friends in more powerful ones.
Spent most of my time making liveries and tuning my cars to make them ridiculous to drive.
Love me some Forza. Been playing 5 lately for the first time. Feels lonely not having friends to play with anymore but I gotta start messing with this Horizon Open shit.
All my friends stopped wanting to play guilty gear with me, I feel this
I’ll play with you toomanypancakes
me in tetris. none of my friends will fight me anymore after i kept beating them even when drunk and high. but i am nothing compared to professional players
The point of games should be that they are fun without being productive. If not, it is job
I really genuinely enjoyed learning to get better at super smash bros. But then I fell into the awkward zone described in a meme. It sucks.
That's why I love co-op games. Couch co-op games are the absolute best and they are going extinct for shitty online co-op.
Me at Rocket League and most sports games. It's a real struggle.
Also me at 2k hours but I got a few friends into it. Then they’re better at it than me in like 200-400 hours lol
This is me at ranked, competitive sex vs casual.
I’m a speed runner, I think i can compete but im not sure where to submit my runs
We found a glitch in my house that allows that allows you to skip the beginning middle and end of the game.
Could just play ranked
Me at the arcades in the 90s with my friends. After a while we all just go home kinda bored.
Playing random characters can help. Picking someone I'm not familiar with for casual play gives me exposure to other styles and helps me become more rounded, while tipping the less experienced player a balanced playing field.
Me with Speedrunners. Got hooked on it for a little while and got pretty good, but put it down for a few years and don't stand a chance against anyone still playing it, especially with any custom map.
Me on soul calibur
Reminds me of the one time I played 4 online. I played maxi as I always do, even though he got gimped hard. This guy played Asteroth and he let me win for 2 rounds. Then he schooled me. Hard.
He let me win the first 2 rounds to give himself the handicap. 5th round came, and I tried. Harder than ever. Sidestepped at the right moments, blocked, the whole shebang. We both had a sliver of health left, and I jabbed him. Simple little doosh. And I won.
I've never sweat harder from a game in my life. It was a waterfall coming from my armpits. My heart rate was so high that I felt it in my arms.
I will always remember and relish that victory, and I will never play soul calibur online ever again.
Lmao this is me 😅
My time splitters 2 phase. Sad times.
Cut my life into pieces...
Well, there's rollback on almost every fighting game nowadays at least, you can play with better people online fine.