The night my gaming group split over a house rule in St. Paul

Honestly, I still think we were right to enforce the 2-minute turn timer during that Catan marathon last December. We were at Mike's place in St. Paul, eight of us deep into a 5-hour session, and Sarah kept taking 6 or 7 minutes per move while checking her phone. I called it out, she got defensive, and before I knew it, three people walked out and the whole night collapsed. I get that some folks like a relaxed pace, but when the rule was agreed on at the start, I don't see why I'm the villain for holding people to it. We tried a compromise the next week with a 4-minute timer, but half the group refused to come back. Has anyone else lost friends over enforcing a basic house rule that everyone originally voted on?

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averywright29d ago

Read a blog post the other day that basically said board games are like a social contract test, and honestly that hit home. You agree to rules up front, you follow them, that's the whole point. It's not about being a jerk with a timer, it's about respect for everyone else who showed up to play, not to watch one person scroll Instagram. Sarah checking her phone for six minutes means everyone else is just sitting there, bored and losing focus, and that kills the whole vibe of the game. I've seen groups fall apart over way dumber stuff, like someone not shuffling right or arguing over a rule nobody remembers correctly. Good on you for trying the 4-minute thing, though, that was a fair move. Sometimes people just want an excuse to storm off and make it someone else's fault.