Sore Losers

I play a lot of games with a lot of people, and I'm actually really happy with the usual Wednesday gathering I attend because we've managed to stay free of Sore Losers.

You know the type - they finish a game and, if they don't win, they sulk. Or rant.

Or they feel the need to talk your ear off after the game about how if they'd done this instead of that, you wouldn't have won.

If it's a short enough game, you can sometimes play again to shut them up. But not always.

The worst, however, are the people who walk away to keep you from finishing the game. I really hate unfinished games. I've run into these in tournaments before - they'll reach the point where they are technically ahead, but it's clear to anyone with a brain that with two moves you'll be able to clear the board. And then they start stalling. And delaying. And not taking their turn.

Even in tournaments, games are just that: Games. Something you do for fun.

Seriously: Lighten up. Losing is part of the game, and learning to lose gracefully (and, for that matter, win gracefully) is part of growing up.