Everyone loves the satisfaction of a well deserved win. You fought your hardest. Climbed up the dangerous terrain reaching the summit and as you look down upon your achievement you can say I deserve this feeling of greatness. Now winning isn’t everything and I have had very few times where I placed first in a Gaming Related tournament. But usually I can take from those tournaments a feeling of a good challenge and fun games had by both me and my opponents.
It is easy though to ruin that mood for your opponent and maybe his opponents from your game. I know the feeling on both sides of being completely outclassed. When your being utterly defeated and you feel like nothing you can do to win. On the other side when your opponent is put into a situation where you seem to be the only one doing anything meaningful. What can you do in these extremes to still have fun?
There is no simple answer and it all depends on the person. For me when I am being outclassed I set a small short time goal for a moral victory. I only have 2 Squads of Space Marine left and I am facing the onslaught of a Chaos Daemon invasion with Bloodletters, Bloodcrushers, and the Mighty Skarbrand coming down upon me. I set the goal of taking out one of those forces. I put all my focus into it and say this is where I make my stand. The enthusiasm you get from that is contagious and can bring a smile to you and your opponents face.
If you are the one outclassing your opponent there is not much you can do. Give them a pep talk some helpful advice after the match. It all depends on how they take it and the attitude you give them while playing.
To sum it up even losing can be fun as long as you try your hardest and have a positive attitude towards your game. If your opponent wants to argue rules with you the whole game just smile and pick up the rule book since if you are wrong you now know better. If you are being utterly defeated set yourself a small term goal. The thing you should take from every game is a sense of accomplishment no matter how small.
Gaming with a Hat 