Well

Well, three articles (two in December and so far one in January) have now been posted from people who want nothing more than to vent. Sadly, it is people like these that made all my friends leave Magic and turn to Pokémon. Although I never played Magic, they managed to get me started on Pokémon. Now, after making a large and serious financial commitment to this game (although not enough by Deck Mechanic standards of what I need for a good deck...), I'm starting to doubt whether I should even be playing any more. Are there any nice people left?

I'll admit there are a great deal of younger players (the only people I EVER see use the phrase "little kids" are kids themselves--12/13/14-year-olds!) who don't know the rules. I'll admit there are a lot of overbearing parents. I've been the victim of several (although one mother managed to FORCE me to give her child a Vinemont (non-holo, unlimited series) for his 1st Edition Wigglytuff Holo (which was scratched, sadly, but a 1st edition holo nonetheless ;-) ). Let's face it--Wizards (*cough* Hasbro!) has decided that this game should be marketed to the younger players. There really is nothing we older players can do to stop them (short of a $1 million advertising campaign), and a core group of younger players really understand the game and are actually very good players. Try going to a Pokémon League just once. You'll meet a lot of really awful players, and a lot of really good players. Plus, if you go on the right day, you get a free Mew card!

I know that not everyone can be a good sport, and there are a lot of people out there with great amounts of anger in their souls. Just breathe. Count to 10, and back to 1. And if you don't like tourneys or young players or the way the game is going, put your cards down and leave. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO PLAY WITH PEOPLE YOU DON'T LIKE. You can simply walk away. Sell your cards on eBay, and take the money to join an anger management class. You'll thank yourself in the morning.